Hungary and Slovakia have escalated pressure on Ukraine to restore oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline, with Viktor Orbán threatening to block a €90 billion EU loan and Robert Fico warning to halt electricity exports. Kyiv has rejected the demands as ‘blackmail’, accusing both governments of acting irresponsibly and undermining regional energy security.
The Kansas House overrode Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill restricting public bathrooms and locker rooms to biological sex, prompting an outburst from transgender Democratic Representative Abi Boatman. Claiming that men want to ‘police our bodies’ through the bill, Boatman was quickly grilled on social media.
Will Iran sign a new deal on its nuclear and ballistic missile programme? How strong are Russian, Chinese, and American influences in the Middle East? What will happen to Gaza and Hamas? We asked the former CEO and President of the Middle East Institute about the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape of the Middle East.
‘I would not be surprised if they try to strike with missiles beyond the Middle East,’ the Israeli expert said before specifically highlighting the Hungarian capital as a potential Iranian target.
Hungary has a place in the newly formed Peace Council based on both its principles and interests, as the initiative could help efforts to end conflicts beyond Gaza, including the war in neighbouring Ukraine, Foreign Minister Szijjártó Péter said in Washington.
US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most recognizable figures of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, has been mocked for her performance at a panel at the Munich Security Conference. She followed that up by mistakenly claiming that Venezuela was below the Equator during an interview at a Berlin university just a few days later.
‘The radical leftist kills the right-wing man; the moderate leftist is content to applaud.’
Standing beside Viktor Orbán in Budapest, Marco Rubio praised the Hungarian prime minister’s role in advancing US interests and pledged a financial protective shield for the country, saying Hungary should thrive ‘as long as you’re prime minister’. The remarks, coupled with the signing of a key nuclear deal between the two countries, signal firm support from the Trump administration ahead of Hungary’s closely watched April elections.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy sharply criticized Viktor Orbán for blocking Kyiv’s EU accession during remarks at the Munich Security Conference, intensifying an already strained relationship between Ukraine and Hungary. In response, the prime minister condemned the political attacks directed at his government ahead of the parliamentary vote in April, stressing that Kyiv is directly interfering in Hungary’s electoral process.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed support for US-led peace efforts in Ukraine during talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Budapest, where the two sides also signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement.