Democrats make major gains in U.S. midterms as Hungary opens agent files
Democrats scored sweeping gains in the U.S. midterm elections, while Hungary’s new searchable database of former state-security network members is set to prompt debate over how its records should be interpreted. In Hungary, parliament passed a law allowing wealth checks on current and recent officials and selected a new chief prosecutor. Other major stories included a Russian strike on a Kharkiv hospital and investigations into public spending and institutional conduct.
- A blue wave of discontent with Trump swept Republicans away across America — The Democrats’ sweeping midterm victory signaled that voters wanted a check on Donald Trump and punished Republicans for failing to meaningfully oversee him, with economic dissatisfaction and Trump’s unpopularity also hurting the party.
Original (Hungarian): A Trumppal szembeni elégedetlenség kék cunamija söpörte el Amerika-szerte a republikánusokat - Democrats will have a majority in both chambers, Trump says Republicans would have won big if he had been on the ballot — Democrats secured a Senate majority and were expected to take the House after wins in several previously Republican states, while Trump said Republicans would have won decisively had he been on the ballot and final results were still pending.
Original (Hungarian): Mindkét házban meglesz a demokrata többség, Trump szerint ha rajta lett volna a szavazólapon, hatalmasat nyertek volna - Democrats take the House and are on track to win the Senate too — Democrats could regain the House after four years and gained a chance to take the Senate following victories in key states, with the article linking Republican losses in traditional strongholds to Trump’s unpopularity and noting that final results were pending.
Original (Hungarian): A demokratáké a képviselőház, és jó úton vannak a szenátus megszerzéséhez is - Russian attack hits Kharkiv hospital, injuring 62 — A Russian attack struck a hospital in Kharkiv, injuring 62 people and prompting the transfer of 226 patients to other facilities, while buildings and vehicles were also damaged.
Original (Hungarian): Harkivi kórházat ért orosz támadás, 62-en megsérültek - Magyar: The tax authority may investigate the wealth of former and current prime ministers, ministers, MPs and state secretaries — Parliament passed a law allowing the tax authority to examine the wealth of current and recently departed senior officials, including their declared income and assets and, in some cases, those of their relatives.
Original (Hungarian): Magyar: A NAV vagyonosodási vizsgálatot indíthat egykori és mai kormányfők, miniszterek, képviselők és államtitkárok ellen - Chief Prosecutor Fejes Péter: On behalf of the prosecution service, I apologize to society — Parliament elected Fejes Péter chief prosecutor with 139 votes, while Fidesz and KDNP lawmakers walked out, and Fejes apologized for decisions and omissions that had damaged public trust.
Original (Hungarian): Fejes Péter legfőbb ügyész: Az ügyészi szervezet nevében megkövetem a társadalmat - Fejes Péter elected chief prosecutor — Parliament elected Fejes Péter chief prosecutor in a secret ballot by 139 votes to six, while Fidesz and KDNP lawmakers walked out and did not vote.
Original (Hungarian): Megszavazták Fejes Pétert legfőbb ügyésznek - Tarr Zoltán sets up expert panel to address the social impact of the agent files — Tarr Zoltán established an independent, interdisciplinary panel to support public discussion of the release of state-security files, as a searchable database of tens of thousands of names is due to launch on November 4 and experts warn that inclusion does not automatically mean someone was an informer.
Original (Hungarian): Tarr Zoltán szakértői testületet állít fel az ügynökakták társadalmi hatásainak kezelésére - The agent files are coming: What can you learn about your family’s past, and how can you uncover the full story? — From November 4, the Nyitott Akták database will make records on 55,000–60,000 people listed as state-security network members searchable, but the list is incomplete and records may be flawed or contradictory, so results require careful interpretation.
Original (Hungarian): Jönnek az ügynökakták: mit tudhatsz meg a családod múltjáról, és hogyan derítheted ki a teljes történetet? - Lázár’s adviser, the agent files and the new head of the prosecution service — The article reports that tens of thousands of state-security network members’ names will become searchable, that parliament elected Baka András chief prosecutor, and that Feledy Botond’s company received 84 million forints from Lázár János’s ministry and advised the minister.
Original (Hungarian): Lázárék szakértője, ügynökakták és az ügyészség új feje - Investigation launched after Kapitány István’s complaint over 475 billion forints in Kisfaludy Program funds — Authorities ordered an investigation into Kisfaludy Program grants on suspicion of mismanagement and anticompetitive agreements after Kapitány István alleged that 475 billion forints was spent, more than half through individual decisions outside tenders.
Original (Hungarian): Nyomozás indult Kapitány István feljelentése nyomán a Kisfaludy Program 475 milliárdja miatt - Police investigate chamber of commerce’s billion-forint property purchases — Police are investigating the Hungarian and Budapest chambers of commerce’s property purchases, worth about 9.2 billion forints in total, on suspicion of mismanagement, though no one has been questioned as a suspect.
Original (Hungarian): Nyomoz a rendőrség az iparkamara milliárdos ingatlanvásárlásai ügyében - Tax authority investigates Logosz Foundation, which also campaigned for Fidesz’s Németh Balázs using public funds — The tax authority is investigating the Logosz Foundation on suspicion of budget fraud after a ministry reported an alleged loss of nearly 20 million forints, including questions about whether publicly funded publications promoted Fidesz politicians.
Original (Hungarian): Nyomoz a NAV az állami pénzből a fideszes Németh Balázsnak is kampányoló Logosz Alapítvány ügyében - Feledy Botond also worked for Navracsics Tibor and advised Lázár János on the Epstein files at an hourly rate of 62,500 forints — Documents show that Feledy Botond’s company billed Lázár János’s ministry 19.4 million forints for foreign-policy advice, including on the Epstein files and seized Russian assets, and received assignments worth 11.9 million forints through the Prime Minister’s Office to assist Navracsics Tibor.
Original (Hungarian): Feledy Botond Navracsics Tibornak is bedolgozott, Lázár Jánosnak pedig az Epstein-aktákról is adott tanácsokat 62,5 ezer forintos órabérért - Magyar Péter on Feledy Botond’s dismissal: If anything similar emerges about anyone else, the consequences will be the same — Magyar Péter said Feledy Botond was dismissed from the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs for failing to disclose that his company received 84 million forints in public funds from Lázár János’s ministry, and said similar cases would have the same consequences.
Original (Hungarian): Magyar Péter Feledy Botond leváltásáról: Ha bárkinél kiderül hasonló, ott is ugyanilyen következmények lesznek - Navracsics Tibor: Feledy Botond and his team did good professional work, which is why we hired them — Navracsics Tibor said Feledy Botond’s team had done good professional work and was hired for background analysis on EU affairs, while Feledy’s company received a nearly 12 million-forint assignment from the Prime Minister’s Office and had previously been paid by Lázár János’s ministry.
Original (Hungarian): Navracsics Tibor: Feledy Botondék jó szakmai munkát végeztek, ezért is kértük fel őket - Orbán Viktor republishes intelligence documents about himself for the first time in 14 years — Orbán Viktor republished documents saying that state security unsuccessfully tried to recruit him during military service and later surveilled him, his wife and opposition associates, while historian Ungváry Krisztián said there was still no evidence Orbán became an agent.
Original (Hungarian): Orbán Viktor 14 év után újra közzétette a róla szóló titkosszolgálati dokumentumokat - December 24 will be a public holiday starting this year — Parliament made December 24 a public holiday starting this year, amended anti-money-laundering rules and approved the founding document for a new public-media operating company.
Original (Hungarian): Már az idén munkaszüneti nap lesz december 24-e - Tarr Zoltán: A pay rise of more than 10 percent for cultural and public-collection workers is not what our program promised, but it is what the country can afford — Tarr Zoltán said a pay rise exceeding 10 percent was realistic given the country’s capacity and called for patience with cultural-sector reforms, while 11 cultural organizations said the 2027 budget would do little to change the existing funding system.
Original (Hungarian): Tarr Zoltán: A kulturális és közgyűjteményi dolgozók több mint tíz százalékos béremelése nyilván nem az az összeg, amelyet a programunkban megfogalmaztunk, de az ország teljesítőképessége ennyit bír el - Media Council also investigates incitement to hatred over Petrás János’s pre-election public television appearance — The Media Council is investigating remarks on Kossuth Radio that insulted Tisza Party supporters, including possible incitement to hatred, and opened a separate case over a HírTV and Hír FM broadcast in which a caller called the prime minister a “genetic reject.”
Original (Hungarian): A gyűlöletkeltést is vizsgálja a médiatanács Petrás János választás előtti köztévés produkciója miatt - Forsthoffer Ágnes bars two HírTV staff members from Parliament for a week — Speaker Forsthoffer Ágnes barred two HírTV employees from Parliament for a week, saying they had repeatedly and deliberately broken the rules, and warned that access for the entire newsroom could be suspended under revised rules.
Original (Hungarian): Forsthoffer Ágnes egy hétre kitiltotta a Parlamentből a HírTV két munkatársát - Magyar says Pócs claimed his voting machine had failed despite not being in the chamber — Magyar Péter accused Pócs János of falsely reporting a malfunctioning voting machine during a vote on the central bank’s 2025 report, and called for a meeting of the House Committee and a penalty, while the presiding officer said the vote would not count.
Original (Hungarian): Magyar szerint Pócs úgy jelezte, hogy nem működött a szavazógépe, hogy bent se volt a teremben - The committee investigating the central bank scandal will not hear Matolcsy György on Thursday — A parliamentary committee will not hear Matolcsy György at its November 5 meeting because prosecutors said the legal conditions were not met, though the committee may still consider questioning him remotely.
Original (Hungarian): Nem hallgatja meg csütörtökön a letartóztatásban ülő Matolcsy Györgyöt az MNB-botránnyal foglalkozó vizsgálóbizottság - New directors appointed for the Új Színház and Madách Színház — Csiby Gergely was named director of the Új Színház and Szabó P. Szilveszter director of the Madách Színház after the first theater-director competitions under the TISZA government concluded.
Original (Hungarian): Megvan az Új Színház és a Madách Színház új igazgatója - Ókovács leaves the Opera House; Siklósi Beatrix says L. Simon failed to stand up for her, and he replies that no one objected to his dismissal either — Ókovács Szilveszter said goodbye to the Opera House, disputed criticism of his leadership and promised legal action over his removal, while L. Simon László responded to Siklósi Beatrix by recalling that no one spoke up when he was dismissed in 2023.
Original (Hungarian): Kiléptették Ókovácsot az Operaházból, Siklósi Beatrix kommentben hiányolta L. Simon kiállását, aki erre közölte, hogy az ő kirúgását sem kifogásolta senki - Serbian plane bound for Moscow turned back with several senior Serbian officials on board — An Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Moscow was turned back for security checks, and after passengers and luggage were screened again in Belgrade, the plane continued its journey; Alekszandar Vulin denied bypassing checks and called the incident a political settling of scores.
Original (Hungarian): Visszafordítottak egy Moszkvába tartó szerb repülőgépet, amelyen több magas rangú szerb vezető is utazott - Another senior Serbian official arrested barely a week after the election — Jugoslav Nikolic, head of Serbia’s meteorological institute, and two associates were arrested on suspicion of laundering money by concealing the source of at least 650,000 euros through property purchases and financial transactions.
Original (Hungarian): Alig egy héttel a választások után már a sokadik állami vezetőt tartóztatták le Szerbiában - Vučić granted pardons to some of his supporters before leaving office, and the full list is still unknown — Courts have disclosed 23 of the 49 people Aleksandar Vučić pardoned before resigning, including people facing proceedings over alleged violence against protesters, while the remaining names are not yet known.
Original (Hungarian): Vučić még utoljára elnöki kegyelmet adott néhány hívének, és még nem is tudni a teljes névsort - After Vučić lost power, CPAC in Belgrade is postponed after all — Organizers postponed the planned November CPAC conference in Belgrade until 2027 after Aleksandar Vučić’s party lost the Serbian election, while saying they still intend to hold a large event.
Original (Hungarian): Miután Vucsics kibukott a hatalomból, inkább mégsem tartanak CPAC-et Belgrádban - Canada refuses to play Russia in hockey and will not let Russian athletes into the country — Canada said it would not play Russia and would bar Russian and Belarusian athletes while the two countries support the war against Ukraine, a decision that could affect the under-20 world championship scheduled for Canada at Christmas.
Original (Hungarian): Kanada sem hajlandó játszani az orosz hokisok ellen és az országba sem engedi be őket - The war is still raging, but European countries will begin practicing next week for peacekeeping in Ukraine — Nearly 3,000 troops from 12 European countries will practice in Poland how to deploy and operate a multinational force in Ukraine after a possible peace agreement, though the force’s tasks and rules remain unclear and Russia opposes foreign troops there.
Original (Hungarian): Nem lehet elég korán kezdeni: bár még javában dúl a háború, az európai országok jövő héttől már az ukrajnai békefenntartást fogják gyakorolni - Trump announces the United States will end its annual $4 billion in aid to Israel at the end of the year — Trump said the United States would end its roughly $3.8 billion in annual military aid to Israel at year’s end, without giving details, while promising further assistance if needed and noting that the existing agreement runs through 2028.
Original (Hungarian): Trump bejelentette, hogy az Egyesült Államok az év végén megszünteti az Izraelnek nyújtott évi négymilliárd dolláros támogatást - Trump says he does not want to kill a lot of people, but if necessary, it is necessary — Trump said the United States could launch further strikes on Iran if necessary, while saying he did not want to kill many people and claiming Washington had military superiority over Tehran.
Original (Hungarian): Trump arról magyarázott, hogy nem akar csomó embert megölni, de ha muszáj, akkor muszáj - Seven passenger planes had to be searched after bomb threats on Tuesday — Seven passenger aircraft in several European countries were searched after bomb threats, with no explosives found, while 1,537 people were evacuated from a threatened cruise ship sailing from Greece to Israel.
Original (Hungarian): Kedden hét utasszállító repülőt kellett bombafenyegetés miatt átvizsgálni - Four planes across Europe made emergency landings because of bomb threats — Bomb threats prompted four passenger aircraft to divert or take emergency measures in Europe, with planes searched in Warsaw, Sofia and Murcia, and a Budapest-bound flight had earlier been escorted by Hungarian Gripens.
Original (Hungarian): Európa különböző pontjain négy repülő hajtott végre kényszerleszállást bombafenyegetés miatt - Spain’s transport minister resigns over train crash that killed 69 — Transport Minister Óscar Puente announced his resignation after two serious fatal rail accidents in less than a year, including an October crash that killed 69, but said he would remain in office for now to manage the aftermath and prevention measures.
Original (Hungarian): Lemond a spanyol közlekedési miniszter a 69 halálos áldozattal járó vonatbaleset miatt - Investigation opened into Spanish footballer’s death after collision with opposing goalkeeper — Spanish police are investigating Jesús de Miguel’s fatal injury on suspicion of negligent homicide after the Tenerife player was struck in the chest by an opposing goalkeeper during a match against Andorra.
Original (Hungarian): Nem szándékos emberölés miatt indult nyomozás a spanyol focista ügyében, akit úgy letarolt az ellenfél kapusa, hogy belehalt - Spanish footballer dies after being hit so hard by opposing goalkeeper that he had to be resuscitated — Tenerife player Jesús de Miguel died on November 3 after suffering a serious injury in a collision with Andorra’s goalkeeper, with the match abandoned at 2–2 after the incident.
Original (Hungarian): Meghalt a spanyol futballista, akit olyan brutálisan tarolt le az ellenfél kapusa, hogy utána újra kellett őt éleszteni - Two helicopters collide near Everest, killing a tourist — Two helicopters collided while landing near Phericse in Nepal’s Everest base-camp region, killing a 47-year-old Indian tourist and injuring a New Zealand passenger and a Nepali pilot.
Original (Hungarian): Összeütközött két helikopter az Everest közelében, egy turista meghalt - Private plane that crashed in Florida may have broken apart in midair — A private plane traveling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas crashed in Palm Beach, killing a technology entrepreneur and his family, and authorities are investigating whether parts broke off in flight and what role weather played.
Original (Hungarian): Már a levegőben széteshetett a Floridában lezuhant magánrepülő, ami rakétaként csapódott a földbe - Three students arrested over fire at their own high school in Nantes — Three students were arrested in connection with an October 1 fire at Nantes’s Nelson Mandela High School, which injured no one but may cost 4–5 million euros to repair.
Original (Hungarian): Három diákot fogtak el a saját gimnáziumukban pusztító tűz ügyében Nantes-ban - Elderly woman murdered in Újpest — Police found an elderly woman dead in her apartment in Újpest and opened an investigation on suspicion of homicide, arresting a 47-year-old woman suspected of the crime in the apartment building.
Original (Hungarian): Megöltek egy idős nőt Újpesten - Man from Nógrád allegedly hit his brother in the head with an axe, then stabbed him to death nine months later — Prosecutors allege that a 31-year-old man from Somoskőújfalu fatally stabbed his brother after an argument in June 2025, nine months after previously causing him life-threatening injuries with an axe, and are seeking a 15-year prison sentence.
Original (Hungarian): Baltával fejbe verte, majd kilenc hónappal később halálra szúrta a testvérét egy nógrádi férfi - Szombathely prison ordered to apologize and pay damages after denying man access to his dying son — A court of appeal ruled that the Szombathely prison was responsible for failing to promptly inform Ruckel József that his son was in critical condition and delaying a visit, ordering an apology and 500,000 forints in damages.
Original (Hungarian): Nem engedték, hogy beszéljen a haldokló fiával, bocsánatkérésre és sérelemdíjra kötelezték a szombathelyi börtönt - Josef Mašín, who fought his way west from Czechoslovakia with weapons in 1953, dies — Josef Mašín, the last surviving member of a group that escaped communist Czechoslovakia in 1953, died in California aged 94, with his armed resistance against the regime remaining controversial because police officers were killed in the group’s actions.
Original (Hungarian): Meghalt Josef Mašín, aki 1953-ban fegyverrel küzdötte át magát Nyugatra Csehszlovákiából - James Talarico wins in Texas, giving the state a Democratic senator for the first time since 1988 — Democrat James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton in Texas, where no Democrat had won a Senate seat since 1988, with his local ties and small-donor campaign among the factors cited in his victory.
Original (Hungarian): James Talarico győzni tudott Texasban, 1988 után lesz demokrata szenátora az államnak - The midterms are not yet the end of the Trump era, but they could mark its beginning — The article argues that an expected Republican defeat could weaken Trump and encourage divisions within his party, while noting that the result alone would not end his political era.
Original (Hungarian): A félidős választás még nem a Trump-éra vége, de a vég kezdete lehet - Nobel-winning AI pioneer expects the first global AI sabotage operation within 14 months — Geoffrey Hinton said a global act of AI-enabled sabotage, such as a power outage or payment-system collapse, could occur within 14 months and criticized technology companies for prioritizing profit over risks.
Original (Hungarian): 14 hónapon belül várja az első világszintű AI-szabotázsakciót az AI alapjainak Nobel-díjas kidolgozója - Wind-power tenders drew 2,300 megawatts of bids for 700 megawatts of capacity — Thirty-seven applicants submitted 46 wind-power bids totaling nearly 2,300 megawatts, although the first round can connect only about 700 megawatts, and applicants also pledged to build 1,947 megawatt-hours of energy storage.
Original (Hungarian): A szélerőművekre kiírt pályázatokon 700 megawattnyi kapacitásra 2300 megawattnyi ajánlat érkezett - Ueno Bank, OTP’s Paraguayan investment, collapses, paralyzing a country where two-thirds of the population are customers — Paraguay’s central bank began resolving Ueno Bank after its capital adequacy fell to half the legal minimum, leaving customers unable to withdraw money, while OTP confirmed it had acquired a non-controlling stake of less than 10 percent for $47 million.
Original (Hungarian): Bedőlt az Ueno Bank, az OTP paraguayi befektetése, lebénult az ország, mert a lakosság kétharmada az ügyfelük - Dohánygyár #14: Next year’s budget starts with a handicap, and we still don’t know what will happen — A disappointing third-quarter GDP figure left Hungary near the bottom of Europe’s growth rankings, with drought affecting agriculture, while the 2027 budget faces uncertainty over economic performance and market confidence.
Original (Hungarian): Dohánygyár #14: Eleve hendikeppel indul a jövő évi költségvetés, és még azt se tudjuk, mi fog történni - These 10 locations record the most speeding drivers in Hungary — Six of the ten speed cameras recording the most speeding violations are in Budapest, where fixed cameras logged 157,105 violations in the first half of 2026 and fines exceeded 7.2 billion forints.
Original (Hungarian): Ezen a 10 helyen mérik be a legtöbb gyorshajtót Magyarországon - The world-twisting finale of the festival — The three-hour documentary You Can See Everything, described as a humorous and emotional film that defies genre boundaries, premiered to a full house at BIFF, with tickets for further screenings selling quickly.
Original (Hungarian): A valóságcsavarás vébédöntője - You can only hope your partner will say goodbye to you at your grave like this fish-farm owner did to a dead carp — A fishing-lake owner posted an emotional farewell to a koi carp that had lived at the lake for 11 years, and the article humorously describes the intensity of his grief.
Original (Hungarian): Örülhetsz, ha a szerelmed úgy búcsúzik majd tőled a sírnál, mint ez a tógazda egy döglött pontytól - Toroczkai calls the government a mess; Magyar says it would have been better if he had not spoken — Toroczkai criticized the government over parliamentary disorder, VAT, fuel prices and the dismissal of the head of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, while Magyar Péter called his speech pointless and criticized his political associations and past remarks about 1956.
Original (Hungarian): Toroczkai szerint a kormány egy kupleráj, Magyar szerint jobb lett volna, ha fel se szólal
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