u/DailyNewsHungary

Hungary’s tax and customs authority has closed the money-laundering investigation connected to the Hungary-Ukrainian gold convoy case, finding no evidence that the large quantities of cash and gold seized from Ukrainian couriers came from criminal activity. The case drew national attention before Hungary’s parliamentary election after heavily armed counter-terrorism officers intercepted the transport near Budapest.

The Criminal Directorate-General of Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) terminated the proceedings because investigators concluded that no crime had been committed.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/ukrainian-gold-convoy-case-closed-hungary/ | DailyNewsHungary

Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated András Baka on taking office as Hungary’s new president, stressing the long-standing friendship between the two countries. The message comes, however, at a sensitive moment for Hungary-China relations: after years of exceptionally close political and economic cooperation under Viktor Orbán, the new Hungarian government is still defining how much of that relationship it intends to preserve.
In his message on Wednesday, Xi noted that Hungary was among the first countries to recognise the People’s Republic of China and highlighted 77 years of diplomatic relations between Budapest and Beijing.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/xi-congratulates-hungarys-new-president-baka/ | DailyNewsHungary

The possibility of directly electing the president resurfaces from time to time. For now, András Baka was elected by Tisza’s parliamentary majority, but Péter Magyar, the prime minister, has repeatedly indicated that he would support a direct election. Baka, meanwhile, is only an interim president, appointed for the transitional period. One of Tisza’s leading figures, Péter Magyar’s brother-in-law, has spoken about the powers a directly elected president should have and the constitutional changes such a decision would entail.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/new-president-direct-election-strong-powers/ | DailyNewsHungary

A Budapest pro-Palestinian protest planned for Friday has triggered growing opposition after Hungarian police said they found no legal grounds to prohibit the gathering. The demonstration is intended to express solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and with Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the detained former director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, whom Israeli authorities accuse of having links to Hamas.

The Community of Palestinians Living in Hungary announced the event. Its appeal calls on participants to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners and Abu Safiya and encourages them to bring Palestinian flags, keffiyehs, photographs and posters.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/abu-safiya-rally-budapest-israeli-jewish-protest/ | DailyNewsHungary

Around 7,000 children currently live in children’s homes in Hungary. A report produced in early 2024 exposed appalling conditions in these institutions, but the Orbán government chose instead to conceal the reality: abuse, a lack of psychological support, starvation, and outdated, unusable furniture and equipment. The new government has promised action, but for now it has only reached the stage of assessing the conditions

The Orbán government tried to conceal the trut

Starving children, mouldy bathrooms, dangerous furniture and flooring, a shortage of psychologists, and sexual abuse among peers: these were among the findings revealed by child-protection inspection reports commissioned by the Orbán government in early 2024, following the presidential pardon scandal. The government kept the results secret until the very end. Direkt36 eventually obtained the documents through litigation, and following the change of government they were handed over by the successor to the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Social and Family Affairs, on 31 July.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian-childrens-homes-horrific-reality/ | DailyNewsHungary

A group of “headscarf-wearing women and black men” got off a Hungarian-registered bus at a rest stop near the country’s western border. That was all it took for Virág Gulyás, a journalist and influencer for Mandiner, one of the Orbán regime’s flagship media outlets, to suggest that Péter Magyar had begun the mass resettlement of illegal migrants. It apparently did not occur to her that they might be foreign students.
“There isn’t much of a tourism branding angle on that bus,” Gulyás wrote, swiftly concluding that the passengers could not be tourists and must instead be illegal migrants.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/foreign-students-orbans-next-target/ | DailyNewsHungary

Fidesz’s leadership has tasked János Lázár with assessing the party’s internal condition, visiting its key organisations, holding consultations, providing direction and producing an internal assessment by September. Party members are also being asked for their views: not only are they being questioned about the reasons for the defeat, but also whether Fidesz should be dismantled and replaced by a new party or movement. There is even an opportunity to send a message to Viktor Orbán.

While the former prime minister is on holiday in the United States, Serbia and Croatia – or, according to some reports, holds discussions on a range of issues – Fidesz is pressing ahead with an internal assessment after suffering a historic defeat on April 12. According to rumours, the public face of the exercise is János Lázár, who once harboured ambitions of becoming prime minister and, alongside Orbán and former foreign minister Péter Szijjártó – now employed by BYD – was one of the faces of the losing 2026 campaign.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/orbans-fidesz-may-be-dismantled-within-weeks/ | DailyNewsHungary

Prime Minister Péter Magyar called on MBH Bank and Lőrinc Mészáros, who has ties to business interests with stakes in the lender, to reinstate a charity programme benefitting children from low-income households with good grades in a post on Facebook on Monday.
Magyar said that the International Children’s Safety Service had announced that MBH Bank had pulled support for the programme, after 32 years, while moving forward with the construction of a new corporate headquarters, “in an untransparent manner”, at a cost of more than HUF 100bn.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/lorinc-meszaros-bank-decision-poor-children/ | DailyNewsHungary

Former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány has issued an unexpected warning about the dangers of turning public anger and the desire for revenge into government policy, arguing that even legitimate grievances must be handled through the rule of law.
In a Facebook post published on Sunday, Gyurcsány said that wanting retribution after suffering a serious injustice was a natural human reaction. However, he stressed that what may be understandable for an individual cannot become the guiding principle of a state.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/former-prime-minister-sends-message-magyar/ | DailyNewsHungary

Many believe Viktor Orbán breathed a sigh of relief after his election defeat, first travelling to the United States for the final matches of the football World Cup, then to Serbia for a festival, and more recently being spotted in Croatia in decidedly illustrious company. Is he truly merely on holiday, or is the former prime minister engaged in vigorous negotiations?
Political, water and energy crisis, yet Orbán is not at home

According to Viktor Orbán, by the Tisza majority accepting the removal of President Tamás Sulyok – elected by Fidesz – via the 17th constitutional amendment, they have driven yet another nail into the coffin of Hungarian democracy. He chose to voice this on his Facebook page while everyone knew he was in the United States, attending the World Cup semi-final and final in person, albeit not from a VIP box.Since then, investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi has suggested he might secure a vice-presidential role at FIFA, while also reporting that Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei could be engineering a deputy UN secretary-general post for his erstwhile ally. Bertalan Havasi, Fidesz spokesman, dismissed all such speculation as press fabrication. Further background and possible consequences can be read in our earlier coverage.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/why-orban-visits-all-our-southern-neighbours/ | DailyNewsHungary

The Türkiye-Saudi Arabia-Pakistan defense pact signed in Mecca could reshape security cooperation in the Middle East, bringing together a NATO member, a nuclear-armed state and one of the Gulf’s most influential powers. Hungary is not a party to the agreement and faces no direct obligations under it, but Türkiye’s NATO membership and Budapest’s increasingly close defence ties with Ankara mean the pact could have indirect consequences for Hungary.

According to Anadolu Agency, Türkiye’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday that the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement was designed to strengthen joint military capabilities and was not directed against any particular country. The agreement was signed by Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on 7 August.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/turkiye-saudi-pakistan-defense-pact-hungary/ | DailyNewsHungary

Ferencváros fans were attacked in Poland on Wednesday evening ahead of the Hungarian champions’ Europa League qualifier against Górnik Zabrze. A large group of masked attackers targeted a restaurant in the centre of Zabrze where Hungarian supporters were staying, leaving one Hungarian man with a broken leg. Police are working to identify those involved.

The incident took place on Wednesday, 12 August, just one day before Ferencváros were due to face Górnik Zabrze in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/ferencvaros-fans-attacked-poland-gornik-zabrze/ | DailyNewsHungary

The Danube has begun falling again at Paks, increasing the threat of further restrictions or even a complete shutdown at the Paks nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Thursday. The government has already begun emergency river-engineering works, while two 80-metre barges are being prepared for possible deployment if the water level drops faster than expected.

According to MTI, the water gauge at Paks stood at around minus 119-120 centimetres on Thursday afternoon. Magyar said even a few centimetres can now make a significant difference to the operation of Hungary’s only nuclear power station.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/government-press-conference-paks-shutdown-risk/ | DailyNewsHungary

Russia’s Rosatom is accelerating work on the Paks II project, which will provide Hungary with two new nuclear reactors, but a key political relationship behind the massive investment has changed dramatically. While Viktor Orbán’s governments maintained unusually close ties with Moscow for years, Rosatom now says it has established working relations with the new management of the Hungarian project company – but has received no approach from Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government itself.

Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev discussed both the construction and the changed political environment in comments to the Russian press on Thursday. According to a statement by the Russian state nuclear corporation reported by MTI, construction at Paks has accelerated and Rosatom says it is proceeding according to the schedule agreed with its Hungarian client.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/rosatom-hungary-paks-ii-nuclear-project-magyar-government/ | DailyNewsHungary

Many see András Baka becoming Hungary’s next president as a form of historical justice after his controversial removal. But does that make the removal of Sulyok any more democratic?

The similarities between the removal of András Baka in 2011 and that of Tamás Sulyok in 2026 are difficult to ignore. In both cases, a constitutional change was used to bring the mandate of an incumbent constitutional office-holder to an early end.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/andras-baka-tamas-sulyok-removal/ | DailyNewsHungary

Hackers did attack the Hungarian State Treasury’s IT system from Russian servers, according to Népszava, but the operation was not carried out by any Russian intelligence service. Instead, it is alleged to have been the work of an organisation believed to be linked to an Algerian man. The newspaper suspects that the Russian connection is being emphasised merely in an attempt to downplay the authorities’ own serious information-security failings. Hackers may have penetrated deeply and obtained vast amounts of data The consequences of the attack on the Hungarian State Treasury’s IT system may have been far more serious than initially suspected. According to information obtained by Népszava, the attackers may have gained access not only to agricultural subsidy data, but also to the pension and family-support systems.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian-state-treasury-hacking-russia/ | DailyNewsHungary

On the basis of his professional record and tenure in high office, András Baka, who is due to be elected president today, may well take a hard line against Péter Magyar and his government, just as he did not hide his criticisms during the consolidation of Viktor Orbán’s power in 2010–11. That, indeed, is why he was removed at the time. Analyses suggest he could provide a serious counterweight to the government in defence of democratic institutions – should that prove necessary – yet the opposition is still attacking him vehemently and dredging up unsavoury episodes from his past.

The promise of the presidency

Hungary is a parliamentary republic, so the president’s role is largely ceremonial, with political power exercised by the prime minister and the cabinet he appoints. If Péter Magyar and his allies intend to change this, they have not made much of it so far, merely stating that the future president should be elected by the people rather than by parliament.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/new-president-andras-baka-pm-magyar-attacks/ | DailyNewsHungary

Former prime minister Viktor Orbán has insisted that he has nothing to do with the estate at Hatvanpuszta, which many have compared with 18th- and 19th-century French châteaux. Others have wondered why his father, who is approaching his 86th birthday, might need a contemplative walkway or a grand reception area spanning several hundred square metres. He has now been fined millions of forints, while the number of complaints against the project continues to grow.

Where did the money come from?

Győző Orbán Sr, former PM Viktor Orbán’s father, was born neither wealthy nor a businessman. Yet he successfully – and, many believe, under at least questionable circumstances – acquired the stone quarry at Gánt during privatisation. He later obtained further quarries, founded a logistics company and, during his son’s governments, repeatedly won contracts to supply major state construction projects.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/fine-viktor-orban-father-castle-project/ | DailyNewsHungary

Wellhello’s Sunday set at the Sziget Festival was not all about the music. At the close of the concert, Tomi Fluor, a popular Hungarian rapper, used the platform to offer a few political reflections, addressing the crowd — and younger festivalgoers in particular.

Strong message to the premier from the main stage of the Sziget Festival

The day’s programme had been devoted to János Bródy, with nearly 70 performers revisiting the work of the legendary songwriter. Wellhello contributed two of Bródy’s numbers — Micimackó and Ezek ugyanazok — reworked in their own distinctive style.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/hungarian-singer-message-sziget-festival/ | DailyNewsHungary

By this time next year, former prime minister Viktor Orbán could hold a senior international position after Tisza’s two-thirds election victory closed off his prospects in Hungarian politics – at least for now. One post would allow him to pursue his childhood passion; another could provide diplomatic immunity in the event of criminal proceedings in Hungary

Is Viktor Orbán’s political career over?

Former prime minister Viktor Orbán turned 63 this year. If we take the comparison literally, he has two years left before reaching Hungary’s official retirement age. He spent virtually his entire active life as a member of parliament, from 1990 to 2026, including 20 years as prime minister – from 1998 to 2002 and again from 2010 to 2026. During four parliamentary terms, he governed with what was effectively a two-thirds majority.

Continue reading at https://dailynewshungary.com/orban-international-career-with-allies-help/ | DailyNewsHungary