Over this past weekend that saw the 20 August celebrations and the grand opening of the Budapest World Athletics Championships, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with the leaders of several countries, creating a one-off diplomacy summit in Hungary.

The spirit and dedication to God of Cardinal Duka were not broken when in prison as an underground clergyman—he kept conducting masses for his prison mates that he disguised as occasions of a chess club. A couple of years ago, in an interview with Mandiner, he said: ‘My personal experience is, as someone who also suffered imprisonment for the sake of justice, is that the question often arises: “who is really the prisoner?”. It was not clear whether it was us or those who were looking at us from the other side of the bars.’

It could be argued that modern tools and methods are part of what shapes the outcome of war, but not the decisive factors, as they have not brought about the drastic change in the pattern of war that many expected.

The energy cooperation between the two countries will gain a new dimension as gas supplies will soon also originate directly from Turkey, following the finalisation of an agreement between MVM and Botas for the purchase of 275 million cubic metres of gas next year.

Géza Szőcs, a Transylvanian Hungarian poet, writer, public intellectual and politician, who resisted the oppression of the Romanian communist dictatorship, was born exactly 70 years ago today.

National anniversaries, especially 15 March, were regularly celebrated in the Dohány Street synagogue. Mourning services were also held on the occasion of the passing of great Hungarian statesmen. In addition to the regular services, the synagogue also hosted a number of special events. On 20 December 1860, a ‘Jewish–Hungarian brotherhood’ ceremony was held, attended by statesmen, scholars, writers and artists, and for the first time, the Szózat was sung in a Jewish synagogue. On 8 April 1861, a memorial service was held for István Széchenyi, and in 1894 for Lajos Kossuth.

King Saint Stephen’s ‘Admonitions’, with more than half of its chapters addressing Christian faith and the church, transcends legal and religious realms, potentially safeguarding familial unity for generations.

‘The best interests of children are not served by turning education into this battleground over values and this instrumental way of solving problems in society. Because as you do that, what was traditionally understood as the purpose of education, gets crowded up. And it becomes less about inculcating or teaching young people about what the best that human beings have thought or written or done: the things that as a society we have deemed worthy of being passed down to the next generation. Instead, it becomes about all of different projects.’

As all the Danube bridges were destroyed by the retreating Germans, tram service could start again between the two sides of the city over Liberty Bridge only on 20 August 1946.

Surprisingly, the earliest royal secular knightly order in Europe was founded in 1326 in Hungary, a country just emerging from civil war, by King Charles I, in honour of St George, the patron saint of knights since the crusades.

Socialist Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy resigned on 19 August 2004, partially due to his engagement in counter-espionage for the communist regime being exposed by the newly independent and free media.

This Saturday marks the 34th anniversary of the Pan-European Picnic, when East German refugees, attempting to defect to West Germany, were allowed to enter Austria by the Hungarian authorities. The Picnic is also a symbol of a borderless, free, united and Christian Europe.

Ádám Schmidt called attention to the championships’ mascot, Youhuu the Hungarian racka sheep, a lovable and entertaining character. He also mentioned that, for the first time in the 40-year history of the world championships, short films about the athletes will be shown to the audience before certain events.

During a ceremony held in commemoration of the foundation of the state where high state awards were conferred, Chief of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás stated that as Hungary is celebrating the 1023rd birthday of its nationhood, the nation must take stock of its history. He also added that the anniversary of the foundation of the Hungarian state is an apt occasion to express gratitude to those who, with years of effort, have served their communities, big or small, through exceptional achievements.

At the historic 1926 event, the Hungarian men’s water polo team got the gold by beating all other teams in the tournament, while swimmer István Bárány triumphed in the 100-metre freestyle competition.

At an extraordinary press conference, the minister referred to this event as a great collective success for all Hungarians, highlighting that Budapest is now ready to host one of the world’s largest sporting events thanks to environmentally friendly, sustainable, and large-scale sports infrastructure developments.

Francis Joseph, King of Hungary and Emperor of Austria, was born on 18 of August in 1830. He left a complex legacy, but, at least in Hungary, he is mostly remembered as a benevolent fatherly figure.

The Prime Minister stated that both the European and Hungarian economies are influenced by the Russo-Ukrainian war. If the war were to end, both economies could show their ‘better side.’

The 92-year-old Munkácsy Prize-winning painter, while building upon the legacy of his Nagybánya predecessors, has also reflected on the historical tragedies of the 20th century in his art.

István Abonyi, the decorated Hungarian chess player, laid the foundations for Hungary becoming one of the most successful chess nations in the world.

For the government, the successful fight against inflation is a key issue as it aims to restore the previous trend of continuous wage growth, disrupted by the protracted war and the misguided sanctions.

The Hungarian American media mogul donated $1 million of his own wealth to Columbia University to establish a Journalism School exactly 120 years ago today. Pulitzer went through a lot to amass that wealth, having arrived in the United States as a foreign recruit for the Union Army in 1864, penniless and barely speaking a word of English.

Tamás Kádár proudly announced that the total attendance of Sziget this year was estimated at over 420,000. He added that although it is less than last year, the company cannot complain.

From the tram stops of lines 1, 2, and 24, a few minutes’ walk from Müpa will get spectators to the northern and main entrances of the National Athletics Centre. The Ráckeve (H6) and Csepel (H7) suburban railway lines are also excellent choices, and several buses serve the nearby Közvágóhíd stop as well.

Hungarian Ombudsman Ákos Kozma urged his Austrian counterpart Gaby Schwarz in a letter sent earlier this week to help find a solution to the conflict around the Ágfalva–Schattendorf border crossing.

‘Thanks to their huge user base, the largest social media sites have become unavoidable power factors, having enormous potential to influence public thinking. They can determine who, how and what can say, although this is done mostly indirectly, through business-interests- driven algorithms. Yielding to the pressure of progressive and woke ideologues, most service providers also develop principles of behaviour expected on their platform, and those who allegedly do not conform can be cancelled.’

Hungary as a small country does not make decisions for global order as a whole, but it has a unique message for many other small and medium-sized countries that are in the same situation as Hungary, with the same interests in openness to other countries, connections with other countries, their existing alliances, and which also have an interest in preserving their culture and identity, Gladden Pappin suggests.

Earlier this year, referring to a fresh decree, the Ukrainian police removed Hungarian flags from several public institutions in the town, including the Hungarian-language secondary school. Furthermore, without any justification, its director was dismissed overnight. On 15 August, Marija Pauk, an ethnic Ukrainian with no connection to the Hungarian community or the school was appointed to lead the institution.

In 1881, the Hungarian State Railways started building the new railway station at a changed location, near Kerepesi Road, at present-day Baross Square. The construction of the Central Passenger Hall was overseen by Gyula Rochlitz, an architect and MÁV supervisor whose designs were also used for the construction of the Hungarian State Railways headquarters on Andrássy Avenue and the first Danube connecting bridge.

Tibor Helényi’s legacy as a Hungarian artist extends far beyond the borders of his home country. His iconic Star Wars and RoboCop posters have become symbols of their respective franchises’ global impact, reflecting his ability to capture the essence of stories through visual simplicity.