https://www.scmp.com/rss/524340/feed The latest news and updates on Viktor Orban, a Hungarian lawyer who co-founded the anti-communist Federation of Young Democrats (Fidesz), initially liberal, later shifting it to the centre-right. He served as Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002, overseeing Hungary’s NATO accession and economic improvements. Continuously holding the premiership since 2010, Orban leads Fidesz, implementing conservative, nationalist policies. His tenure is characterised by "illiberal Christian democracy," strong... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Bloomberg Bloomberg Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would not take up his seat in parliament following his party’s landslide defeat in this month’s election but wants to stay on as Fidesz’s leader to lead a process of “renewal”. The most dominant figure in Hungarian politics since the fall of communism in 1989, Orban has sat in Hungary’s legislature for 36 years without interruption, serving as prime minister for the past sixteen years. “I’m not needed in parliament now but in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351444/hungarys-orban-wont-take-parliament-seat-after-landslide-loss-wants-lead-renewal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351444/hungarys-orban-wont-take-parliament-seat-after-landslide-loss-wants-lead-renewal?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Apr 2026 20:12:19 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The European Union on Thursday approved a massive loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for the next two years, the bloc’s Cypriot presidency said, after Hungary lifted its veto. The EU also approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine. The measures were prepared early this year and set to be announced in February to mark the fourth anniversary of the conflict, but Hungary and Slovakia opposed the move. Hungary and Slovakia have been locked... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351197/eu-approves-us106-billion-loan-ukraine-after-hungary-lifts-veto?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3351197/eu-approves-us106-billion-loan-ukraine-after-hungary-lifts-veto?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:41:17 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse EU’s top court ruled on Tuesday that anti-LGBTQ legislation Hungary enacted in 2021 breached the bloc’s rules, including an article which sets out the fundamental values on which the EU is founded. The European Commission, 16 of 27 member states and the European Parliament took Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the law, in what has been billed as the largest human rights case in the bloc’s history. Originally aimed at toughening punishments for child abuse, the law was amended... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350888/hungarys-anti-lgbtq-law-breaches-eu-rules-court-ruling-hailed-historic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350888/hungarys-anti-lgbtq-law-breaches-eu-rules-court-ruling-hailed-historic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:58:55 +0000 Reuters Reuters Pro-Russian former President Rumen Radev has won Bulgaria’s parliamentary election by a landslide, official results showed on Monday, crushing long-dominant political forces and possibly pushing the EU and Nato member state closer to Moscow. The performance, exceeding opinion poll forecasts, is one of the strongest results for a single party in a generation and may end, for now, the chronic instability that led to eight elections ‌in five years. Radev’s Progressive Bulgaria party had 44.7 per... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350771/bulgarias-pro-kremlin-ex-president-wins-election-russia-and-eu-welcome-victory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350771/bulgarias-pro-kremlin-ex-president-wins-election-russia-and-eu-welcome-victory?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:25:34 +0000 Reuters Reuters Hungary’s election winner Peter Magyar said on Wednesday he will suspend state media news broadcasts, which critics at home and abroad say became a government mouthpiece under Viktor Orban, ‌and restore media freedoms after his cabinet takes power. Magyar’s TISZA (Respect and Freedom) party won a landslide victory in Sunday’s election, ending Orban’s 16-year rule that became a prototype for “illiberal” conservative rulers across the Western world. “Every Hungarian deserves a public service media... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350170/incoming-hungarian-leader-magyar-vows-suspend-state-news-broadcasts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3350170/incoming-hungarian-leader-magyar-vows-suspend-state-news-broadcasts?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:05:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse J.D. Vance had two jobs last week: get an Iran deal and keep Hungary’s Viktor Orban in power. Neither happened for the US vice-president. The 41-year-old Vance looked exhausted as he left Pakistan on Sunday after 21 hours that failed to produce an agreement with Tehran to end a war he had never wanted to begin with. At a terse press conference in Islamabad, Vance delivered the “bad news” and took just three questions before getting on a plane for the long flight back home. But just before... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349979/double-defeat-vance-failed-iran-talks-and-orbans-exit-bruise-us-vice-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3349979/double-defeat-vance-failed-iran-talks-and-orbans-exit-bruise-us-vice-president?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Apr 2026 03:33:17 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu Hungary’s prime minister-elect Peter Magyar has extended a warm overture to China, which he referred to as “one of the world’s most powerful countries”, saying he would like to visit Beijing and that Chinese leaders are welcome to visit Budapest. “We are absolutely, absolutely open [to discussions with Chinese leaders] and China is one of the world’s most important, largest and most powerful countries. It is in our interest, and I believe it is in the interest of both countries,” Magyar said in... https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3349943/hungarys-prime-minister-elect-vows-fair-play-firms-review-orbans-deals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3349943/hungarys-prime-minister-elect-vows-fair-play-firms-review-orbans-deals?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:05:55 +0000 Orange Wang,Laura Zhou Orange Wang,Laura Zhou Hungary’s stunning political transition will not trigger a dramatic overturning of its ties with China, Chinese experts suggest, with China-EU relations also expected to see limited impact. A landslide parliamentary election victory on Sunday for the centre-right Tisza Party, led by Peter Magyar, ended Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16 years in power. Orban conceded defeat and congratulated Magyar in a phone call. Magyar is now on course to become Hungary’s next prime minister, and his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349941/why-beijing-isnt-panicking-over-hungarian-pm-viktor-orbans-stunning-election-defeat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349941/why-beijing-isnt-panicking-over-hungarian-pm-viktor-orbans-stunning-election-defeat?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:14:12 +0000 Xiaofei Xu,Finbarr Bermingham Xiaofei Xu,Finbarr Bermingham Viktor Orban’s 16-year grip on Hungary is over, with the prime minister conceding Sunday’s election in a phone call with Peter Magyar, leader of the main opposition Tisza Party. “The election result is painful but clear. I congratulated the winning party,” Orban said from his election headquarters in Budapest. The result is a resounding rebuke to a government marked by authoritarianism and corruption, and by closer ties with Beijing, Moscow and Donald Trump’s Washington over Brussels. Hungarians... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349821/orban-concedes-defeat-hungarian-voters-deliver-sweeping-rebuke-16-year-rule?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349821/orban-concedes-defeat-hungarian-voters-deliver-sweeping-rebuke-16-year-rule?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:44:52 +0000 Xiaofei Xu Xiaofei Xu Travellers stepping out of the railway station at Hungary’s second-biggest city, Debrecen, are immediately greeted by a banner hanging over the street that reads “No battery, no deal”, “Debrecen belongs to Hungarians” and “Chinese, go home”. Targeting a mega-factory set up by Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), it also calls for a protest on Saturday, on the eve of Sunday’s general election in the central European nation. The banner was put up by the local candidate... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3349649/chinese-firms-hungary-face-post-election-reckoning-no-matter-who-wins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3349649/chinese-firms-hungary-face-post-election-reckoning-no-matter-who-wins?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:00:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters US Vice-President J.D. Vance lavished praise on Hungary and Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday as he arrived in Budapest to boost the veteran nationalist leader’s campaign ahead of an election that many opinion polls suggest Orban will lose. Orban, a Eurosceptic nationalist in power since 2010, is facing the toughest re-election bid of his career, with independent polls indicating his Fidesz party will lose Sunday’s vote to centre-right challenger Peter Magyar’s Tisza party. Vance’s visit,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349288/president-loves-you-us-vance-visits-hungary-boost-orban-re-election-bid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349288/president-loves-you-us-vance-visits-hungary-boost-orban-re-election-bid?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:18:02 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham Major powers are closely watching Hungary’s election next week – a vote seen as a referendum on Europe’s right and crucial for Chinese interests in the EU. Recent polls show self-styled “illiberal democrat” Viktor Orban’s Fidesz trailing challenger Peter Magyar’s Tisza Party by between 19 and 23 points among likely voters ahead of an election on Sunday that has been described as “Europe’s most consequential”. For China, Russia and the United States under President Donald Trump, an Orban defeat... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349109/orban-brink-could-hungarys-election-dent-chinas-influence-europe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3349109/orban-brink-could-hungarys-election-dent-chinas-influence-europe?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Apr 2026 04:00:08 +0000 dpa dpa Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Sunday appeared to suggest Ukraine was involved in planning an act of sabotage after Serbia reported finding explosives on a gas pipeline used to transport Russian natural gas to the two countries. Earlier on Sunday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said explosives “of devastating force” were found on the Balkan Stream pipeline near the village of Velebit on the Hungarian border. The pipeline transports Russian natural gas from Turkey via Bulgaria,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349104/orban-appears-blame-kyiv-serbian-gas-pipeline-explosives-find?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3349104/orban-appears-blame-kyiv-serbian-gas-pipeline-explosives-find?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Apr 2026 18:46:53 +0000 Reuters Reuters The European Commission will no longer submit a legal proposal to permanently ban Russian oil imports over Moscow’s war in Ukraine on April 15 as previously ‌planned, an updated EU legislative agenda showed on Tuesday. An EU official, however, said the proposal had not been cancelled and would still be published though no longer by the mid-April date due to “current geopolitical developments”. The US-Israeli war on Iran is creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history, according to the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347756/eu-delays-proposal-permanently-ban-russian-oil-imports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347756/eu-delays-proposal-permanently-ban-russian-oil-imports?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:09:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters European Union leaders failed to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday to lift his blockade on a €90 billion (US$103 billion) EU loan to help Ukraine keep up its fight against Russia’s invasion. After a summit in Brussels, several leaders voiced deep frustration with Orban, who has cited a dispute over a war-damaged pipeline to justify blocking the implementation of the loan agreed back in December. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz accused Orban - who maintains cordial ties... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347233/eu-leaders-clash-hungarys-orban-blocking-ukraine-loan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347233/eu-leaders-clash-hungarys-orban-blocking-ukraine-loan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 02:27:20 +0000 Agencies Agencies European Union experts have arrived in Ukraine to assess the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline, state energy firm Naftogaz said, after its closure in January caused a row with Hungary that is blocking an EU loan to Kyiv. The EU last week proposed sending a mission to inspect the pipeline. Ukraine later said it had accepted the EU offer of technical support and funding to restore oil flows through the damaged pipeline. Hungary and Slovakia have been cut off from Russian oil deliveries via... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347183/eu-inspects-druzhba-pipeline-bid-unclog-hungarys-block-ukraine-aid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347183/eu-inspects-druzhba-pipeline-bid-unclog-hungarys-block-ukraine-aid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 10:26:56 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday urged the European Union to overcome a veto by Hungary on a €90 billion (US$103 billion) loan vital for his country. Zelensky, during a visit to Madrid to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, said he considered that the “main issue” of an EU summit to be held Thursday and Friday in Brussels. “We are really counting on the countries and the EU to find ways to resolve this issue,” he said. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban – Russian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347075/zelensky-urges-eu-bypass-hungarys-blackmail-veto-vital-us103-billion-loan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3347075/zelensky-urges-eu-bypass-hungarys-blackmail-veto-vital-us103-billion-loan?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:35:57 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump on Thursday promised US$10 billion and Muslim-majority nations offered funding and troops for Gaza as he inaugurated his “Board of Peace”, a new institution whose ultimate mission has drawn questions. Trump brought together allies from around the world - many authoritarians, with few Western democrats who traditionally ally with the United States - to hail his peacemaking just as he sends US military might near Iran and threatens war. Presiding with a gavel over the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3344048/trump-kicks-his-board-peace-war-clouds-loom-over-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3344048/trump-kicks-his-board-peace-war-clouds-loom-over-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 17:06:55 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Trump administration will ‌fund efforts to promote free speech within Western countries allied with Washington, a senior State Department official said ‍on Monday during a visit to Europe focused on pushing back against European regulations that US officials have branded censorship. US officials have forcefully opposed online rules such as the EU’s Digital Services Act and Britain’s Online Safety Act, which Washington says stifle free speech, and in particular criticism of immigration... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342981/us-fund-free-speech-initiatives-europe-state-department-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342981/us-fund-free-speech-initiatives-europe-state-department-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 23:16:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The presidents of Argentina and Romania said on Sunday they have been invited to attend the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s controversial “Board of Peace” in Washington on February 19. Originally designed by Trump as a mechanism to oversee the Gaza truce and post-war reconstruction, the board’s mandate has since expanded, prompting concerns among critics that it could evolve into a rival to the United Nations. Writing on his Facebook page, Romania’s President Nicusor Dan said... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342854/romania-argentina-leaders-invited-trumps-board-peace-meeting-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3342854/romania-argentina-leaders-invited-trumps-board-peace-meeting-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Feb 2026 19:29:27 +0000 Agencies Agencies US President Donald Trump showcased his new “Board of Peace” on Thursday, a day after backing off his own threats against Greenland. Trump abruptly announced on Wednesday that he was scrapping tariffs against Europe and ruling out military action to take Greenland from Denmark, partially defusing a crisis which has shaken the meeting of global elites. On his second day at the Swiss ski resort, Trump sought to promote the “Board of Peace”, his controversial body for resolving international... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340860/watch-trump-showcase-his-board-peace-davos-after-greenland-climbdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3340860/watch-trump-showcase-his-board-peace-davos-after-greenland-climbdown?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 10:02:24 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Key allies reacted coolly on Monday to US President Donald Trump’s invite to pay US$1 billion for a permanent spot on his “Board of Peace” for resolving international conflicts, with analysts likening it to a pay-to-play version of the UN Security Council. The White House has asked various world leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump himself, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The board’s charter, seen by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340480/allies-tepid-trumps-board-peace-invited-leaders-wondering-how-it-will-work?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340480/allies-tepid-trumps-board-peace-invited-leaders-wondering-how-it-will-work?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jan 2026 22:16:21 +0000 Reuters Reuters Governments reacted cautiously on Sunday to US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his “Board of Peace” initiative aimed at resolving conflicts globally, a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations. Only ‍Hungary, whose leader is a close Trump ally, gave an unequivocal acceptance in response to the invitations, which have been addressed to some 60 nations and began arriving in European capitals on Saturday, according to diplomats. Other governments appeared... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340349/world-leaders-show-caution-trumps-broader-board-peace-amid-fears-un?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3340349/world-leaders-show-caution-trumps-broader-board-peace-amid-fears-un?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Jan 2026 17:43:10 +0000 Rob York Rob York The new US national security strategy says a great deal about how the government imagines its foreign policy in the next few years but tells us just as much about communism and the US president’s view of it. Donald Trump has long had an unusual relationship with communism, in that he does not seem especially concerned by it. Yes, it’s true he does denounce “communists”, “socialists”, “radicals” and “the far left”, but he is rarely speaking about communist regimes opposed to US interests... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336268/trump-only-communists-really-dislike-are-those-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3336268/trump-only-communists-really-dislike-are-those-home?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:30:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The European Union on Friday indefinitely froze Russia’s assets in Europe to ensure that Hungary and Slovakia, both with Moscow-friendly governments, cannot prevent the billions of euros from being used to support Ukraine. Using a special procedure meant for economic emergencies, the EU blocked the assets until Russia gives up its war on Ukraine and compensates its neighbour for the heavy damage that it has inflicted for almost four years. EU Council President Antonio Costa said European leaders... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336297/eu-indefinitely-freezes-russian-assets-so-hungary-and-slovakia-cant-veto-their-use-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3336297/eu-indefinitely-freezes-russian-assets-so-hungary-and-slovakia-cant-veto-their-use-ukraine?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Dec 2025 18:39:11 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Saturday that he was sending a business delegation to Russia in the coming days in preparation for the end of the Ukraine war. Orban addressed Budapest’s foreign relations with Moscow and also Washington at an exclusive rally in the central city of Kecskemet, ahead of legislative elections in the spring. The delegation’s mission would focus on economic cooperation, particularly in a post-war landscape that could see Russia not cut out from the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3335484/hungarys-orban-send-team-russia-expecting-end-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3335484/hungarys-orban-send-team-russia-expecting-end-ukraine-war?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Dec 2025 21:40:52 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse US President Donald Trump handed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a one-year exemption from sanctions for buying Russian oil and gas on Friday, after the close right-wing allies held a chummy White House meeting. Trump slapped sanctions on Moscow’s two largest oil companies in October after losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his refusal to end the nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine. But while Trump has pushed other European countries to stop buying oil that he... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332009/trump-hosts-hungarys-orban-eyes-russian-oil-sanctions-carve-out-putin-ally?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3332009/trump-hosts-hungarys-orban-eyes-russian-oil-sanctions-carve-out-putin-ally?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Nov 2025 19:32:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A plane crash killed 11 people, mostly foreign tourists, in Kenya’s coastal region of Kwale early Tuesday while en route to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The airline, Mombasa Air Safari, said in a statement that eight Hungarian and two German passengers were on board, and that the Kenyan pilot was also killed. The plane crashed in a hilly and forested area about 40km (25 miles) from the Diani airstrip, authorities said. The airline did not confirm what time the aircraft departed Diani,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3330679/8-hungarian-2-german-tourists-die-kenyan-plane-crash-en-route-game-reserve?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3330679/8-hungarian-2-german-tourists-die-kenyan-plane-crash-en-route-game-reserve?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:39:43 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg European nations are working with Ukraine on a 12-point proposal to end Russia’s war along current battle lines, pushing back against Vladimir Putin’s renewed demands to the US for Kyiv to surrender territory in return for a peace deal. A peace board chaired by US President Donald Trump would oversee implementation of the proposed plan, according to people familiar with the matter. Once Russia follows Ukraine in agreeing to a ceasefire and both sides commit to halting territorial advances, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3329850/europe-and-ukraine-prepare-12-point-plan-end-war-including-peace-board-headed-trump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3329850/europe-and-ukraine-prepare-12-point-plan-end-war-including-peace-board-headed-trump?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Oct 2025 16:55:01 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would be ready to join Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump at their summit in Hungary if he is invited. Trump and Putin said they would meet in the Hungarian capital, possibly in a matter of weeks, as the US leader continues to try to broker a peace deal to end the three-and-a-half-year war, triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion. “If I am invited to Budapest – if it is an invitation in a format where we meet as three... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329669/ukraine-war-zelensky-open-joining-putin-trump-talks-hungary-if-invited?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3329669/ukraine-war-zelensky-open-joining-putin-trump-talks-hungary-if-invited?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Oct 2025 08:31:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The party of billionaire ex-premier Andrej Babis topped the Czech general election on Saturday with 97 per cent of the vote counted, according to official results. His ANO (Yes) party, campaigning on pledges of welfare and halting military aid to Ukraine, scored 35.2 per cent of the vote in a country of 10.9 million people. The Together grouping of outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala came second with 22.9 per cent, ahead of its coalition partner STAN with 11.1 per cent. A total of six parties... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327891/czech-republics-trumpist-ex-pm-set-win-vote-putting-ukraine-aid-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327891/czech-republics-trumpist-ex-pm-set-win-vote-putting-ukraine-aid-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2025 12:52:51 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service US President Donald Trump said Nato nations should shoot down Russian aircraft that violated their airspace and struck a more sympathetic tone on Ukraine’s chances of winning the war. He spoke as he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following recent jet incursions that have alarmed allies. “Yes, I do,” Trump said when asked directly by a reporter if Nato allies should take down Russian aircraft during his meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326613/trump-tells-nato-nations-shoot-down-intruding-russian-planes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3326613/trump-tells-nato-nations-shoot-down-intruding-russian-planes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2025 01:52:32 +0000 Reuters Reuters Russia has won the war in Ukraine, right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday. In power since 2010, Orban has been criticised by some European leaders for his government’s ties with Russia and opposition to military aid for Ukraine, while his cabinet is struggling to revive the economy from an inflation shock. Orban, who has maintained close ties with Putin even after... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321637/russia-has-won-ukraine-war-hungarys-orban-says-ahead-trump-putin-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3321637/russia-has-won-ukraine-war-hungarys-orban-says-ahead-trump-putin-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Aug 2025 18:17:34 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo The European Union is determined to talk down to China from a position of considerable weakness. The result has been a prematurely concluded summit in Beijing with nothing to show for it other than a standard statement on climate cooperation. At the same time, it has literally cried “daddy” by accepting 15 per cent tariffs on exports to the United States after Donald Trump threatened to slap the bloc with duties of up to 50 per cent. No wonder many European politicians openly complain that... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3320153/europe-being-run-ground-amateurs-and-ideologues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3320153/europe-being-run-ground-amateurs-and-ideologues?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jul 2025 13:30:11 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen comfortably survived a vote of no confidence on Thursday, as an overwhelming number of European Union lawmakers rejected a censure motion against her. The motion contained a mix of allegations against von der Leyen, including text messaging privately with the chief executive of vaccine maker Pfizer during the Covid-19 pandemic, misuse of EU funds and interference in elections in Germany and Romania. The motion was defeated by a 360-175 vote,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317736/eu-chief-ursula-von-der-leyen-easily-survives-parliament-no-confidence-vote?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3317736/eu-chief-ursula-von-der-leyen-easily-survives-parliament-no-confidence-vote?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 11:02:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Record numbers of people marched in the Budapest Pride parade on Saturday, defying a government ban that marked a major pushback against LGBTQ rights in the European Union. Organisers estimated up to 200,000 people took part in the 30th parade in the Hungarian capital, which was held in a festive atmosphere with rainbow flags flying high. Those numbers far exceed the previous record turnout of 35,000 people and came in spite of a police ban imposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s nationalist... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3316232/eu-backs-budapest-pride-over-orbans-curtailing-lgbtq-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3316232/eu-backs-budapest-pride-over-orbans-curtailing-lgbtq-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jun 2025 13:03:34 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The EU’s 27 leaders on Thursday agreed to extend sanctions on Russia for another six months, resolving fears that Kremlin-friendly Hungary would let the measures lapse, officials said. The decision at a summit in Brussels means that the EU’s sweeping sanctions over the war in Ukraine, including the freezing of more than €200 billion (US$234 billion) in Russian central bank assets, will remain in force until at least early 2026. It comes after officials said they were preparing contingency plans... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3316007/eu-leaders-agree-prolong-sanctions-russia-another-6-months?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3316007/eu-leaders-agree-prolong-sanctions-russia-another-6-months?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jun 2025 22:27:36 +0000