Hungary will not accept illegal immigrants or pay fines for refusing them, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said
Hungary has vowed a “revolt” against the EU in 2026, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said, declaring that Budapest will lead a rebellion against the bloc’s new Migration Pact.
The policy, expected to take effect in July, forces member states to contribute in proportion to their population and total GDP to the alleviation of migratory pressure on the worst-affected nations within the bloc.
Each member state is obliged to either accept a certain number of migrants from hotspots or pay €20,000 ($23,000) per person they refuse to take in.
”Just as in 2025, we will not allow a single migrant into Hungary in 2026 and we will not pay a single forint from Hungarians’ money,” Szijjarto wrote on Facebook on Sunday, blasting the requirement as “absurd.”
The EU mandate clashes with Hungary’s own tough national measures, which include border fences and a rejection of mandatory quotas. The stance has already led Brussels to penalize Budapest, with the European Court of Justice forcing it to pay a daily penalty of €1 million since June 2024 for non-compliance.
Szijjarto argued that the pact primarily serves nations where security and social stability have deteriorated so severely that their main objective is now to expel migrants as swiftly as possible.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban previously warned that Hungary will not comply with the new EU requirements, condemning the policy as “outrageous.” Orban is known for his staunch criticism of EU policies, including those related to migration and the Ukraine conflict.
Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic have also opposed the EU migration pact. Warsaw and Bratislava have demanded an exemption, and the new government in Prague wants the policy renegotiated.
The EU has been grappling with mass immigration over the past two decades, since contributing to the implosions of Libya and Syria in 2011 and 2014, as well as backing the escalation of Kiev’s conflict with Moscow in February 2022, triggering waves of arrivals numbering in the millions.
People seeking to prolong the conflict are “in full panic mode” as Trump pushes for resolution, Kirill Dmitriev says
People seeking to prolong the Ukraine conflict fear US-Russian diplomatic contacts, senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev has said.
US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone before hosting Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky at his Miami residence on Sunday. “Warmongers are in full panic mode after the Putin-Trump call,” Dmitriev posted on X.
Zelensky spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer before the meeting, thanking him for “constant coordination” with Kiev. Dmitriev remarked, “People follow Keir’s advice at their own risk.”
Trump met with Zelensky and later held a remote discussion with Western European leaders on his efforts to mediate a peace agreement with Russia – an initiative for which Dmitriev said the world is grateful to the American president.
Days before traveling to Miami, Zelensky shared a 20-point plan with the media that he said aligned with Trump’s intentions. During joint remarks, both leaders reported progress on formulating a proposal for Russia, but Trump did not endorse Zelensky’s draft.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused European nations of pushing Kiev to continue hostilities regardless of the cost to Ukrainians. Moscow argues European leaders do not want to be held accountable for their failed approach and may have corrupt interests in prolonging arms supplies for the conflict.
Moscow sees the Starmer government as one of the leading drivers of the hostilities, insisting that London’s pledges of continued military aid to Ukraine are motivated by a desire to ramp up domestic arms production and stimulate the British economy.
The Trump administration has repeatedly condemned curbs targeting online speech
US Undersecretary of State Sarah Rogers has defended Washington’s decision to sanction several Europeans, saying that “extraterritorial censorship of Americans” undermines free speech and innovation.
Last week, the US State Department imposed sanctions on five individuals, including British nationals Imran Ahmed and Clare Melford, German citizens Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon, and former EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said those targeted had “led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose.”
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Rogers said the measures were aimed at protecting free expression and the competitiveness of the US technology sector. “These are people who, in many cases, took government money to destroy American businesses for the purpose of suppressing American speech,” she said.
“These are, ultimately, serious decisions that rest with the Secretary of State and take into account all of our foreign policy priorities. But free speech is one of those priorities, and so is the continued ability of the American tech sector to lead and innovate,” she added.
The sanctions come amid a widening dispute between the US and the EU over online speech regulation, digital platform governance, and the reach of national laws beyond their borders. Elon Musk, whose platform X was fined about €120 million ($140 million) by EU regulators for what they described as violations of transparency rules set out in the bloc’s Digital Services Act, welcomed the move, calling it “so great.”
Earlier, Musk blasted the penalty, calling the EU a “bureaucratic monster” that should be abolished, while accusing Brussels of trying to pressure X into censoring speech.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who appointed Breton himself, accused Washington of “coercion and intimidation.” UK Labour MP Chi Onwurah said banning individuals over speech disputes undermines the free speech the US administration claims to defend.
The rift was reflected in Washington’s latest National Security Strategy, which warned that the EU faces potential “civilizational erasure” due to curbs on free speech, suppression of political opposition, and regulatory pressure on innovation.
The UN watchdog says a temporary “window of silence” has enabled power line repairs near the facility
The International Atomic Energy Agency has brokered a local ceasefire between Russian and Ukrainian forces near the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, enabling crucial repairs to power lines serving the facility, agency chief Rafael Grossi has said.
Europe’s largest nuclear facility, which has been under Russian control since 2022, has repeatedly lost external power due to attacks on surrounding infrastructure. Russian officials have accused Ukrainian forces of targeting the station, forcing it to rely on emergency power systems. The disruptions have raised concerns over nuclear safety. Ukraine, in turn, has accused Russia of severing power lines supplying the plant.
In a post on X on Sunday, the IAEA said its on-site team was monitoring repair work expected to last several days, as part of efforts to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident during ongoing hostilities.
Director General Rafael Grossi thanked both sides for agreeing to a new temporary “window of silence” to restore power transmission and strengthen nuclear safety, the agency added.
The IAEA has repeatedly warned that military activity near nuclear facilities poses serious safety risks and has urged all sides to ensure the protection of critical nuclear infrastructure.
During Grossi’s trip to Moscow in September for the Global Atomic Forum, Kiev attempted to strike Russia’s Kursk II nuclear power plant with a drone. Later the same day, the IAEA chief met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss global nuclear safety and Russia’s cooperation with the IAEA. Putin praised the agency’s work and pledged Moscow’s continued support for its activities.
US President Donald Trump also addressed the issues of the Zaporozhye plant following a meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in Florida on Sunday.
“President Putin is actually working with Ukraine on getting it open,” Trump told reporters, adding that the Russian leader has never targeted the facility “with missiles.”
The country must do everything to maintain its national identity and independence, Karol Nawrocki has said
Poland must remain “ready to defend the western border” with Germany, President Karol Nawrocki has declared. The remarks drew pushback from Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who insisted that as long as Germany is an EU and NATO member, it poses no threat.
Nawrocki delivered his warning on Saturday at an event marking the anniversary of a 1918 uprising against German rule, recalling that Poles had lived under “severe German imperialism” during historical partitions, when “aggressive” efforts were made to “take away our culture and national heritage.”
Poland, he said, is a “national community open to the west, but also a national community ready to defend the western border of the republic.”Nawrocki, who was elected this year with the support of the right-wing opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, stressed that “we must do everything we can to ensure that Poland remains Poland.”
The remarks drew an immediate response from Foreign Minister Sikorski. “As long as Germany is in NATO and the EU, and is governed by Christian or social democrats, there is no threat to our western border,” Sikorski said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk echoed the criticism, saying that the remarks reflected “the essence of the dispute between the anti-European bloc… and our coalition. A deadly serious dispute… over our values, security, sovereignty. East or West.” Nawrocki fired back by noting that “it’s hard to believe that we graduated from the same department – history.”
PiS, with which Nawrocki is aligned, has long presented Germany as a threat to Polish sovereignty. In 2023, party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski warned that the EU is seeking to introduce a “German plan” that would result in the “annihilation of the Polish state.” He has accused Tusk – whom he compared to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler – of leading a “pacification operation” to destroy Poland’s independence and “turn us into farmhands for people from Western Europe, especially Germany.”
The distrust harks back to the brutal Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II, for which Warsaw has recently demanded up to $1.3 trillion in reparations. Berlin has rejected the claim, saying the legal matter has long been put to rest.
Moscow deems the self-governing island as an integral part of China, the foreign minister has said
Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and Russia stands firmly against the island’s independence in any form, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
In an interview with TASS published on Sunday, Lavrov stated that Russia believes that “the Taiwan problem is an internal affair” of China and that “Beijing has every right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
According to Lavrov, the standoff over Taiwan is often being discussed “in isolation from reality and by manipulating facts.” He noted that some countries, while declaring commitment to the One-China policy, de-facto favor preserving the status quo, which actually means “their disagreement with the principle of China’s national reunification.”
In addition, Taiwan is currently being used as a tool of “military-strategic deterrence” against Beijing, with some Western countries keen to profit from Taiwanese money and technologies, including by selling expensive US armaments to Taipei, the minister said.
Russia’s support for China over Taiwan is enshrined in the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation signed between Moscow and Beijing in July 2001, Lavrov recalled, stressing that one of its basic principles is “mutual support in defending national unity and territorial integrity.”
Taiwan became a self-ruled territory following the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when Nationalist forces retreated to the island after losing mainland China to Communist forces. While formally adhering to the One-China policy, the US maintains close unofficial ties with Taipei – which include visits by top lawmakers – drawing ire from Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized his preference for peaceful reunification with Taiwan but has not ruled out the use of force while denouncing what he described as Taipei’s separatism.
Lavrov’s statement comes after Russia reaffirmed its support for Venezuela as the country faces a US military blockade in the Caribbean. Washington has accused Venezuelan authorities of having links with drug cartels – a charge Caracas has denied – and has struck boats allegedly transporting narcotics to the US. Washington also seized oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast, a move Caracas has denounced as “piracy.”
The Russian president is “very generous” when it comes to selling energy to Kiev at bargain prices, the US president has said
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to “succeed” and is ready to support the country economically, including by supplying low-cost energy, US President Donald Trump has said.
The two leaders discussed Ukraine during a phone call on Sunday, shortly before Trump met Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
The Kremlin said the friendly, businesslike conversation lasted more than an hour, with both sides expressing interest in reaching a lasting settlement.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Zelensky, Trump was asked whether Russia would play any role in Ukraine’s reconstruction once a peace agreement is reached.
“Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. It sounds a little strange, but President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity, and other things at very low prices.”
Before 2014, Russia and Ukraine were closely linked through gas supply and transit arrangements that formed a key part of their economic ties. Moscow supplied natural gas to Ukraine under preferential pricing frameworks, while Kiev served as a major transit route for Russian exports to European markets via its pipeline network.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that the conversation with the Russian leader had been “very productive.”
According to Kremlin foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov, both sides agreed that a temporary ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and its European backers would only prolong the conflict and risk renewed hostilities.
After meeting Zelensky, Trump said he understood Putin’s position of not agreeing to a ceasefire that could lead to fighting resuming later.
Ushakov said the Russian leader also agreed to Trump’s proposal to continue settlement efforts by forming two working groups focused on security and economic issues.
On Saturday, Putin told senior military commanders that some Western figures were offering Kiev peace terms that included security guarantees, economic recovery, and a roadmap for restoring relations with Russia.
He warned that if diplomatic options are rejected, Moscow would pursue its objectives by military means.
Only the pilots were inside the aircraft at the time of the crash, US officials have said
At least one person has died after two helicopters crashed in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, according to local news reports, citing US officials.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that Enstrom F-28A and Enstrom 280C helicopters collided in mid-air near the airport in the small town of Hammonton. The pilots were the only people aboard each chopper, it said.
One was killed, while the other was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, Fox29 Philadelphia reported.
On a video circulating on social media purporting to show the incident, one helicopter spins out of control before crashing.
In other footage, a plume of smoke can be seen rising from one of the purported crash sites.
One person is dead and another is injured in midair helicopter crash in Hammonton New Jersey, officials say https://t.co/Nas2Xx0DxO
Acknowledging frontline realities in order to bring about a sustainable peace deal was expected to feature significantly
US President Donald Trump has held a face-to-face meeting and a press conference in Miami with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky over settling the conflict between Kiev and Moscow. The sit-down came after Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone for over an hour.
Zelensky, who faces another corruption scandal implicating lawmakers that erupted over the weekend, is following up on days of negotiations in Florida between Ukrainian and US negotiators on a potential deal to end the Ukraine conflict.
Trump touted good progress in the talks but acknowledged that Ukraine’s potential territorial concessions remain one of the thorniest issues on the agenda. He added that both Moscow and Kiev are working to reopen Russia’s Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
Shortly before Zelensky’s arrival, Trump announced on his Truth Social that he had had a “very productive” conversation with Putin, while Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said that both “hold broadly similar views” and that a temporary ceasefire would only prolong the conflict.
A 20-point proposal revealed by Zelensky ahead of the meeting has been dismissed by Moscow, which called it “radically different” from what Russia and the US had discussed on the issue. Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Moscow was “fully” ready to move forward with the peace process while Kiev and its European backers seek to derail it.
Trump has invited media representatives to attend the meeting, and our updates will follow events and reactions.
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