India plans to cap air conditioner settings at a minimum of 20°C to ease pressure on its power grid amid surging demand during intense heatwaves. With AC usage driving peak electricity load, the regulation aims to cut energy consumption, improve efficiency, and curb emissions in one of the world’s fastest-growing cooling markets.
‘Hungary chose sovereignty, and did so with courage. It’s sent a powerful message: The definition of who we are is ours to give. And in Europe, we need more Orbáns and fewer Macrons,’ Greek MEP Afroditi Latinopoulou told the audience at CPAC Hungary 2025 back in May. A clip of her speech was shared on X earlier this week and generated quite a bit of attention again.
A Newsweek op-ed by Ilya Shapiro and Charles Yockey hails Hungary’s university reform as a template for conservatives, claiming Western campuses have abandoned neutrality for ideological enforcement. They argue the foundation model ensures accountability and academic freedom across the political spectrum.
Opposition protests in Serbia turned violent on 13 August in Újvidék, leaving 16 police officers and 64 civilians injured. President Aleksandar Vučić vowed to punish ‘violent offenders’ who are looking to ‘plunge Serbia into a civil war’.
This year’s St Stephen’s Day celebration promises the most spectacular fireworks in its history, with over 45,000 light and pyrotechnic effects spread across a nearly five-kilometre display area, accompanied by a drone show and light projections.
A Forsa poll shows Germany’s AfD ahead of the CDU, 26 to 24 per cent, the biggest lead since February’s election. The result mirrors a rightward trend across Europe, with Austria’s FPÖ, France’s National Rally and Reform UK also dominating national polls.
The Sziget Festival drew 416,000 visitors this year, a 5 per cent increase over 2024, thanks to fresh concepts, a younger audience, and diverse programming. Despite the boost, the event still fell short of profitability but showed improved results.
‘Bismarck’s campaign for a “good treaty” with Russia reflected the notion that antagonizing the Russians could be as disastrous as waking a bear from hibernation—an apt metaphor for what the U.S.–NATO expansionist approach eventually did…Bismarck emphasized the urgency of not only respecting Russia’s interests but also recognizing it as a crucial player on the global political stage…’
European leaders’ obsession with the Munich analogy ahead of the Trump–Putin summit is turning history into a political crutch. Leaders warn of appeasement, yet ignore the radically different context of today’s war, risking self-imposed irrelevance in peace talks and handing strategic advantage to Washington and Moscow.
On the night of 8 August, the Baltic Air Defence Readiness Unit of the Hungarian Defence Forces was called on its their first live Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) scramble, after an unidentified aircraft not willing to engage in radio communications with air traffic control entered the intranational air space over the Baltic Sea. The aircraft was identified as Russian, and was successfully captured by Hungarian fighter jets.