‘In the event of any engagement with the Taliban, it is crucial for governments to establish a formal framework that incorporates Afghan women in pivotal conversations about the future of Afghanistan.’

A former British police officer has been convicted of sharing a meme mocking Islam, reigniting debate over free speech and Britain’s blasphemy laws. The case has also drawn attention in the US, with Senator Ted Cruz condemning the conviction and declaring on X: ‘No meme is criminal. The UK has fallen.’

Florida’s 2026 primaries delivered another strong result for Republicans, with Trump-endorsed Byron Donalds easily winning the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Republicans also turned out in greater numbers than Democrats, while the biggest surprise came on the Democratic side, where Democratic Socialist Angie Nixon defeated Alex Vindman despite being heavily outspent.

Ceuta’s rape epidemic continues to deepen, with JUPOL warning that groups of Moroccan and North African illegal migrants are dragging girls into secluded mountainous terrain and rape them. 15 cases have already been confirmed since the July mass invasion, while officials are racing to place hundreds of vulnerable migrant girls into emergency accommodation.

More than 30 laws, two constitutional amendments and a series of measures aimed at reforming Hungary were among the achievements of the new Tisza-majority parliament’s first 100 days, the governing party’s parliamentary group said on Wednesday.

Swietelsky will rebuild the 13.6-kilometre railway section between Almásfüzitő and Komárom for 36.3 billion forints. The project aims to enable trains to travel at up to 160 km/h while improving safety, accessibility and passenger facilities.

Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen, convicted over citing a Bible passage on homosexuality, has been blocked from entering the United Kingdom, leaving her unable to attend a Northern Ireland conference where she was due to speak about freedom of speech. ADF CEO Kristen Waggoner urged Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to intervene, arguing that Britain should not uphold another country’s ‘heavy-handed censorship’.

Hungarians used almost twice as much mobile data per day while abroad in 2025 as they did three years earlier, according to the latest report by the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH). At the same time, the amount of roaming voice calls began to decline last year.

Viktor Orbán himself is under review in a confidential Fidesz survey asking members to rate his competence, judge the party’s loss of moral credibility and even consider dissolving Fidesz altogether. The move suggests the former governing party is finally reconsidering assumptions that remained untouchable throughout its years in power, paving the way for the possibility of a genuine self-reflection.

‘After a day or two I no longer felt like a guest, but like an integral member of an old family-and-friends kind of community.’ The 50th ITT-OTT Conference brought together Hungarian Americans and members of the wider diaspora for a week of culture, intellectual exchange, music, dance, food and enduring friendship.

The four-day Strand Festival opens in Zamárdi on Wednesday, featuring Hungarian and international performers, contemporary art exhibitions, theatre productions and gastronomic programmes. The festival will also mark 20 August with a large fireworks display over Lake Balaton.

The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport was reportedly planning to add so-called ‘wudu’ Muslim foot wash stations to accommodate the religious minority’s practice. However, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has threatened to revoke the airport’s state grants for religious discrimination and referred it for investigation to the US Department of Transportation, thus the plans were scrapped.

Apple has trained a large language model specifically for the Chinese market with support from Alibaba, according to three people familiar with the matter. The move marks a shift from the company’s previous reliance on third-party Chinese AI models.

A Berlin emergency nurse has described how treating members of Arab criminal clans can turn hospital wards into security operations, with police alerts, relatives flooding facilities and staff taking precautions against intimidation. His account comes as official figures show clan-related crime rising in Berlin, with 952 offences recorded across the city in 2025.

Hungarian telecommunications and technology group 4iG said it will cooperate with government investigations into its contracts involving the state. The company said its operations and transactions have complied with Hungarian and EU law.

Hungary’s government has ordered a full audit of the Hungary Helps Agency, with every contract and completed payment set to be reviewed as part of a wider reset of the country’s flagship humanitarian programme launched under Viktor Orbán. Deputy Foreign Minister György László Velkey said the agency would continue operating and that a public competition had been opened for the position of chief executive.

‘As geopolitical tensions continue to rise and the self-proclaimed 2027 deadline set by China to be ready and capable of invading Taiwan approaches, NATO nations now more than ever need to close the capability gaps in the Great White North.’

Between 100 and 200 mainly Moroccan illegal migrants have begun a hunger strike in Ceuta, demanding asylum, transfer to mainland Spain and ‘equal treatment’. The protest comes as hundreds of Moroccan applicants receive negative decisions, while the Spanish enclave’s mayor-president declares there will be ‘no regularization, no asylum and no transfer to the Peninsula’.

ELTE and the University of Szeged have been named Hungary’s top universities in the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities, both placing in the 501–600 range. Four Hungarian institutions made the world’s top 1,000, led globally by Harvard, Stanford, and MIT.

‘Meet your new neighbor, America,’ Alberta separatists declared as they promoted an October referendum that could set the province on a path towards a later independence vote. The oil-rich conservative stronghold is being branded the ‘Texas of the North’, while separatist groups increasingly cultivate links with the United States under Donald Trump.

Former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s father has offered a ‘large quantity of stone’ for emergency works at the Paks nuclear plant, joining a growing wave of corporate contributions from businessmen linked to the former Fidesz era. His offer follows pledges from Garancsi-, Szíjj- and Tiborcz-linked firms and others as Hungary races to stabilize Danube water levels and avoid the shutdown of the plant.

A Spanish F-18 fighter operating under NATO’s air policing mission shot down a drone after it had entered Romanian airspace, Romania’s Defence Ministry said. NATO officials said the drone appeared to be Russian, although its origin remains under investigation.

The Eurocentric right-wing X account has clipped a DW report about Berlin’s discounted ‘QueerCityPass’ for tourists. Does this mean that gay people actually get to travel cheaper than straight people in the German capital?

Greece’s hard-line ‘prison or return’ migration policy is beginning to show measurable results, with 599 migrants choosing voluntary return rather than risk imprisonment under the new illegal-stay regime. Total returns rose 20 per cent in the first half of 2026 and forced returns by 41 per cent, making Greece an early test case for the toughest version of the EU’s new Return Regulation.

Companies belonging to the Coca-Cola group have agreed to launch a nationwide campaign to improve consumer awareness of PET bottle recycling following a review by Hungary’s Economic Competition Office (GVH).

The Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted global oil markets, but China has weathered the shock better than expected. By reducing oil imports and promoting the yuan, Beijing may emerge with greater energy and financial independence, while using trade, lawfare, and economic policy to challenge U.S. dominance.

Twelve people were killed and dozens injured when a bus carrying Polish pilgrims crashed on Hungary’s M3 motorway early Sunday. Police suspect the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Hubert Kós closed the European Aquatics Championships with a third gold on Sunday, winning the 200m individual medley in a national-record 1:54.24. The 23-year-old had already taken gold in the 200m backstroke and 4x100m freestyle relay, helping Hungary finish fifth in the medal table with 17 medals, ahead of host nation France, despite being the smallest nation in the top five.

Right-wing journalist Nick Sherley and Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie have clashed on X over government spending and alleged daycare fraud. While Massie criticized Sherley for not targeting Republican leaders on the issue, the 24-year-old journalist fired back, highlighting the success of his investigations as opposed to Massie’s actions.

Budapest’s Festival of Folk Arts will mark its 40th edition with the United States as guest of honour, linking the four-day event at Buda Castle to celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary. Eighteen US artists will showcase traditional crafts, while visitors can help create a new tapestry inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s famous rattlesnake motif.