Eurotopics.net

According to a leaked audio recording published by investigative media, Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Péter Szijjártó promised his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, that he would do his utmost to have the sister of a Russian oligarch removed from the EU sanctions list. He also reportedly promised Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin that he would work towards having the sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet lifted.

The Israeli parliament has voted to introduce the death penalty for terrorists. Of 120 members, 62 voted in favour of the legislation initiated by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party. The law applies to deadly attacks deemed acts of terrorism by military courts in the occupied territories – meaning that in practice it applies only to Palestinians. Europe's press is alarmed.

One month after the US-Israeli attack on Iran and still no peace in sight. Pakistan's government may have announced that it is ready to host talks between Washington and Tehran. Yet media reports say that the US is preparing to send in ground troops. In a further twist, the Houthis in Yemen have also declared war and fired rockets at Israel.

With parliamentary elections just a fortnight away, things are getting nastier. Long-term Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is trailing behind in the polls and is accusing the opposition party Tisza of being an EU-Ukraine puppet. The challengers, for their part, are accusing the government of ignoring the nation's problems. Meanwhile, Brussels is investigating allegations that the Hungarian foreign minister has been feeding internal information to Moscow.