Spain mourns deadly train crash as Hungarian corruption cases deepen
Spain declared three days of national mourning after a train collision killed at least 68 people. In Hungary, several corruption investigations advanced, while a planned pay rise for healthcare workers fell short of earlier promises. Israel’s election produced no clear governing majority, and the European Commission approved a €5.4 billion Hungarian defence-loan plan.
- Spain declares three days of mourning as train crash death toll reaches 68 — At least 68 people died when a high-speed Renfe train struck an Iryo train stopped on the tracks, prompting three days of national mourning and the suspension of election campaigning by most parties.
Original (Hungarian): Háromnapos gyászt hirdettek Spanyolországban, már 68 halálos áldozata van a vasúti tragédiának - At least 64 dead in Spanish train disaster — At least 64 people were killed and about 80 injured when a Renfe train hit an Iryo train from behind on the high-speed line linking Madrid and Andalusia.
Original (Hungarian): Már legalább 64 halottja van a spanyolországi vasúti tragédiának - Two trains collide in Spain, killing at least 30 — At least ten people were initially reported dead after an AVE train struck a stationary Iryo train, with two carriages derailing and the cause under investigation.
Original (Hungarian): Összeütközött két vonat Spanyolországban, legalább 30 ember meghalt - Court: Miklós Seszták hid 9 billion forints; only empty safes found at his home — A court extended Seszták’s detention after authorities found empty safes at his home and said he was suspected of hiding 9 billion forints in cash and accepting 12.6 billion forints in bribes.
Original (Hungarian): Bíróság: Seszták Miklós elrejtett valahol 9 milliárd forintot, a házában már csak üres páncélszekrényeket találtak - Hankó Balázs’s detention extended; former minister will spend Christmas behind bars — A court extended the detention of former minister Balázs Hankó and former state secretary Veronika Varga-Bajusz until February 1 over alleged irregular distribution of more than 17.3 billion forints in cultural funding.
Original (Hungarian): Meghosszabbították Hankó Balázs letartóztatását, a volt miniszter rácsok mögött tölti a karácsonyt - Court extends Miklós Seszták’s detention — A court extended Seszták’s detention until January 30, citing risks of flight and interference with evidence in a bribery case linked to Volánbusz.
Original (Hungarian): Meghosszabbította a bíróság Seszták Miklós letartóztatását - Matolcsy’s official asset declaration does not explain how he left the central bank with just 19 million forints — György Matolcsy’s final asset declaration listed 19 million forints in savings after 12 years as central bank governor, but his disclosures do not explain the decline from earlier savings or where his reported income went.
Original (Hungarian): Matolcsy hivatalos vagyonnyilatkozatában nincs válasz arra, hogyan fejezhette be MNB-s pályafutását mindössze 19 millió forinttal - Authorities may seek up to 15.6 billion forints from Orbán’s former pandemic procurement intermediaries — Companies involved in ventilator procurement may have caused up to 15.6 billion forints in losses, while an international arrest warrant has been issued for former OTT-One chief Bálint Majer on suspicion of money laundering.
Original (Hungarian): Akár 15,6 milliárd forintot is számon kérhetnek a hatóságok Orbán Viktor fürkészein és portyázóin, akik közül az egyik már Balin üzemeltet egy óriáskereket - Bálint Majer, a key figure in the ventilator business, may be in Indonesia as international warrant is issued — Authorities suspect two men used fictitious invoices and a network of companies to avoid taxes on billions of forints in ventilator and mask profits, and an international warrant has been issued for Majer, who is believed to be in Indonesia.
Original (Hungarian): Indonéziában lehet a lélegeztetőgép-biznisz egyik főszereplője, Majer Bálint, aki ellen most nemzetközi elfogatóparancsot adtak ki - Ventilator investigation: warrant issued for another businessman linked to the company — An international arrest warrant has been issued for Gábor Kósa on suspicion of money laundering in connection with iSRV, which held a major stake in a company that supplied 12 billion forints’ worth of ventilators.
Original (Hungarian): Lélegeztetőgép-nyomozás: elrendelték még egy, a csaló céghez szorosan kötődő üzletember körözését - Former bailiff tells parliamentary committee of intelligence-service intrigue and an accessible enforcement IT system — Former bailiff Ferenc Kiss alleged that corruption persisted in the bailiff profession and that unauthorized people could access its IT system, which he said posed a national-security risk.
Original (Hungarian): Titkosszolgálati kavarásról és szabadon hozzáférhető végrehajtói informatikai rendszerről beszélt a volt végrehajtó a parlamenti bizottság előtt - Balázs Hankó wants his own hairdresser to cut his hair in prison — Former culture minister Hankó asked prosecutors to let his Budapest hairdresser visit him in prison, although prison authorities say inmates cannot use their own hairdressers.
Original (Hungarian): Hankó Balázs a saját fodrászával szeretné vágatni a haját a börtönben - They are ashamed to say how much they earn — Healthcare workers will receive an average 15 percent pay rise instead of the previously promised 20–25 percent, leaving some considering leaving the profession or moving abroad.
Original (Hungarian): Szégyellik kimondani, mennyit keresnek - Layoffs begin at Komárom battery plant after cuts at Iváncsa — SK On Hungary has begun layoffs at its Komárom battery plant, including Hungarian and at least 20 Ukrainian workers, while the union says it has not been informed about further plans or worker health protections.
Original (Hungarian): Az iváncsai után most a komáromi akkugyárban is elbocsátások kezdődtek - European Commission approves Hungary’s plan to borrow €5.4 billion for defence investment — The European Commission approved Hungary’s €5.4 billion defence-loan plan under the SAFE programme, which still requires approval by the Council of the EU’s member states.
Original (Hungarian): Az Európai Bizottság hozzájárult, hogy Magyarország 5,4 milliárd euró hitelt vegyen fel védelmi beruházásokra - Record number of Palestinian parties become kingmakers in Israel, with neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot assured a majority — With 91 percent of votes counted, neither Benjamin Netanyahu’s nor Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc had the 61 seats needed to form a government, while Palestinian parties could win a record 19 seats.
Original (Hungarian): A rekorddöntő palesztin pártok királycsinálók lettek Izraelben, biztos, hogy Netanjahunak és Ejzenkotnak sem lesz többsége - Israel’s president will play a key role in the post-election deadlock — Partial results put Netanyahu’s bloc at 53 seats, Eisenkot’s at 48 and Arab parties at 19, leaving President Isaac Herzog’s role in government formation potentially decisive.
Original (Hungarian): A választás utáni patthelyzetben Izrael elnökének lesz kulcsszerepe - For reasons unknown, Viktor Orbán congratulates Benjamin Netanyahu — Although preliminary Israeli election results showed no bloc with a governing majority, Orbán congratulated Netanyahu and expressed confidence that he would continue as prime minister.
Original (Hungarian): Ki tudja miért, de Orbán Viktor gratulált Benjamin Netanjahunak - Terror attack at Israel’s Belgrade embassy; suspected underage attacker shot dead — A person believed to be a minor attacked a police officer guarding the Israeli embassy in Belgrade with a knife, and Serbian authorities classified the incident as terrorism and raised the threat alert.
Original (Hungarian): Terrortámadás történt Izrael belgrádi nagykövetségénél, a feltehetően kiskorú elkövetőt lelőtték - ‘You could feel freedom in the air’—Hungarian example helped Serbia’s political change — A Serbian student movement’s decisive election victory ended Aleksandar Vučić’s rule, with the article saying Hungarian political experience and lessons from the Tisza campaign contributed to its success.
Original (Hungarian): „Érezni lehetett a szabadságot a levegőben” – a magyar példa is nagyban segítette a szerb rendszerváltást - Head of Serbian public broadcaster resigns — Manja Grcic resigned as head of Serbia’s public radio and television service less than nine months after taking the post, following calls for her departure from staff, unions and the winning student list.
Original (Hungarian): Lemondott a szerb közszolgálati televízió vezérigazgatója - Viktor Orbán may visit Belgrade in the coming days — Aleksandar Vučić said his party was preparing major personnel and organizational changes after its election defeat and that he might meet Orbán in Belgrade in the coming days.
Original (Hungarian): Orbán Viktor a következő napokban Belgrádba látogathat - Constitutional Court may decide whether paying for parking in cash is a fundamental right — Hungary’s ombudsman has asked the Constitutional Court to clarify whether choosing to pay in cash is a fundamental right, after Budapest made parking payments available only through phone-based methods from July 1, 2026.
Original (Hungarian): Az Alkotmánybíróság döntheti el, alapvető jog-e készpénzzel fizetni a parkolásért - Government plan would require a licence to use high-powered electric scooters — A draft proposal would require riders aged 16 and over to hold at least an AM licence to use faster scooters, while setting helmet, speed and sidewalk rules and limiting rental scooters to 20 km/h.
Original (Hungarian): Csak jogosítvánnyal lehet majd használni nagy teljesítményű elektromos rollert a kormány tervei szerint - Railway line where a man in a snail costume outran a train may finally be upgraded — Plans for the Mátészalka–Debrecen railway include a 160 km/h track between Debrecen and Apafa and a full upgrade and electrification as far as Nyíradony, potentially cutting journey times.
Original (Hungarian): Előbb-utóbb most már tényleg felújítják azt a vasútvonalat, ahol egy csigajelmezes férfi lefutotta a vonatot - Bank transfers up to 150,000 forints to become exempt from transaction duty — The government will raise the threshold for household bank transfers exempt from the transaction duty from 50,000 to 150,000 forints, Magyar Péter said.
Original (Hungarian): 150 ezer forintig illetékmentesek lesznek a banki utalások - Advertising tax to return from January 2027 — A draft would reintroduce advertising tax in January 2027, applying rates of 2.5–7.5 percent to advertising revenue above 500 million forints, with the government expecting about 14 billion forints in revenue.
Original (Hungarian): 2027 januárjáról ismét bevezetik a reklámadót - Kármán András’s team presents route to the ‘waiting room’ for the euro — A Finance Ministry programme through 2030 forecasts moderate economic growth and aims to bring the budget deficit below 3 percent, a condition for adopting the euro.
Original (Hungarian): Kármán Andrásék bemutatták, hogyan jutunk el a magyar euró előszobájába - Jászai Gellért’s company issues statement on the Gondosóra programme, denies overcharging — 4iG denied overcharging for the Gondosóra programme, reported projected net revenue of 66.8 billion forints for 2022–2026 and said it was transferring programme assets and documentation to the state.
Original (Hungarian): Rendkívüli tájékoztatást adott ki Jászai Gellért cége a Gondosóra-programról, tagadják, hogy túláraztak volna - István Tiborcz disappears from private equity funds, while Ádám Matolcsy is linked to six holding assets worth billions — A review of 19 private equity funds found Tiborcz no longer listed as a beneficial owner in funds previously linked to him, while Matolcsy was identified behind six funds with interests potentially worth about 111 billion forints.
Original (Hungarian): Tiborcz István eltűnt a magántőkealapokból, Matolcsy Ádámot viszont hat mögött is megtalálták, százmilliárdos vagyon rejtőzik ezekben - Felcsút received the fourth-highest amount of sports tax-support certificates across all sports — Government figures show 1,408 billion forints in tax-support certificates were issued across six team sports over 11 years, with Felcsút ranking fourth, before the system is replaced by direct budget support in 2027.
Original (Hungarian): A teljes sportági listában a Felcsút kapta a 4. legtöbb tao-támogatást - Móring József Attila tells court election defeat caused him financial loss — Móring said a video accusing him of a 30 percent kickback may have affected his election defeat and caused financial and reputational harm, and he is maintaining his defamation complaint.
Original (Hungarian): Móring József Attila amiatt panaszkodott a bíróságon, hogy a választási vereség miatt anyagi veszteség érte - Tisza seeks to extend reporting deadlines for four investigative committees — Tisza representatives proposed extending the reporting deadlines for four investigative committees to June 15, 2027, citing the complexity of their work and the volume of data still to review.
Original (Hungarian): Négy vizsgálóbizottság jelentéstételi határidejét hosszabbítaná meg a Tisza - Ukraine may pay the price for Trump’s unpopularity — Experts discussed the possibility that Trump could pressure Ukraine to show political results before midterm elections, as well as the effects of energy purchases, European protests and Russia’s war plans.
Original (Hungarian): Ukrajna fizetheti meg Trump népszerűtlenségének árát - Russia wants to discuss foundations of a multipolar world order at G20 foreign ministers’ meeting — Sergey Lavrov plans to attend the October 30–31 G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta and present proposals to strengthen a multipolar world order, while no date has been set for US-Russia-Ukraine consultations.
Original (Hungarian): Az oroszok a multipoláris világrend alapjairól szeretnének tárgyalni a G20-ak külügyminiszteri csúcstalálkozóján - Putin flatters Elon Musk — Putin called Musk a genius as Russia develops a satellite system intended to resemble Starlink, while the service’s restrictions in Ukraine and Musk’s role in them remain disputed.
Original (Hungarian): Putyin benyalt Elon Musknak - United States has spent more than $47 billion on war with Iran — The United States has spent more than $47 billion on the war against Iran, mostly on ammunition, and the Pentagon is prepared to resume operations if ordered.
Original (Hungarian): Az Egyesült Államok már több mint 47 milliárd dollárt költött az iráni háborúra - Flávio Bolsonaro, who fled to Miami, alleges election fraud — Flávio Bolsonaro said he travelled to Miami to protect his family and denied fleeing Brazil, while rejecting allegations against him and facing investigations including suspected corruption and money laundering.
Original (Hungarian): A Miamiba menekülő Flávio Bolsonaro választási csalást kiáltott - Flávio Bolsonaro arrives in Florida — Flávio Bolsonaro arrived in Miami with his family after travelling from Argentina via Ecuador, while denying wrongdoing in investigations into suspected corruption and money laundering.
Original (Hungarian): Flávio Bolsonaro megérkezett Floridába - Orbán’s scouts, Hankó’s hairdressers — The newsletter reports that healthcare workers may not receive the promised 20–25 percent pay rise, that detention has been extended for several former officials linked to corruption cases, and that authorities may seek up to 15.6 billion forints from former pandemic procurement intermediaries.
Original (Hungarian): Orbán fürkészei, Hankó fodrászai - ‘Dad denies the Holocaust because you turned a Reddit comment section into a play’ — A review of the play The Oath says its characters feel more like embodiments of ideas than real people and that its static staging and weighty dialogue make it exhausting rather than dramatically effective.
Original (Hungarian): Apu azért tagadja a holokausztot, mert te színdarabot csináltál egy reddites kommentszekcióból - Mysterious celebrity threatens suicide if details of alleged sexual abuse are published — The UK High Court is considering whether to block ITN and the Guardian from publishing reports about an unnamed celebrity and sexual-abuse allegations, with the outlets arguing publication is in the public interest.
Original (Hungarian): Egy rejtélyes híresség azzal fenyegetőzik, hogy öngyilkos lesz, ha nyilvánosságra hozzák szexuális visszaéléseinek részleteit - Police issue warrant for Ekhoe — Police issued an arrest warrant for 24-year-old rapper András Tircs, known as Ekhoe, on suspicion of drug possession.
Original (Hungarian): Körözi a rendőrség Ekhoe-t - Real Madrid apologizes to Chinese people over Mbappé’s dictator remark — Real Madrid apologized after Kylian Mbappé compared himself to Mao Zedong in a television programme, prompting China’s state broadcaster to suspend Spanish league coverage and several companies to end partnerships with him.
Original (Hungarian): Bocsánatot kért a Real Madrid a kínaiaktól Mbappé diktátorozása miatt - Patrióta to return after three-month break — The Patrióta YouTube channel, which has 332,000 followers, is set to resume on November 2 after publishing no videos since late July.
Original (Hungarian): Három hónap szünet után újraindul a Patrióta - Stan Wawrinka retires after a career of breaking Djokovic and Nadal in the biggest matches — Wawrinka ended his professional career after losing in the first round in Basel, having won three Grand Slam titles and 16 ATP tournaments.
Original (Hungarian): Visszavonult Stan Wawrinka, aki a legkiélezettebb helyzetekben is meg tudta törni Djokovicsékat
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