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Trump praises Orbán ahead of April elections
US President Donald Trump has wished Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán “best of luck” in his election campaign and hinted at a possible visit to Budapest, underlining the close ties between the two leaders in a letter Orbán shared on Facebook. The message followed a White House meeting on November 7, after which Trump granted Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions on Russian energy. In the letter, Trump praised Orbán’s “bold leadership” and said he looked forward to “deepening cooperation” on defence, energy, and illegal migration, adding: “You have always stood firm to defend the principles that make Hungary such a tremendous place – faith, family, and sovereignty.”
Orbán, a far-right leader who has been in power for 16 years, faces his toughest elections, amid economic stagnation, rising living costs, and a child abuse scandal in a government institute that has strengthened an opposition challenger who leads most polls. The election is expected to be held in April. Trump and Orbán also discussed possible financial assistance in November, though Trump later rejected Orbán’s claim that Washington had agreed to up to $20bn in support. Orbán admitted on Monday that Hungary had not secured the level of backing it initially sought, but that talks were ongoing. Trump also thanked Orbán for an invitation to visit Hungary, saying his team would “be in touch” about scheduling. In contrast, Orbán noted a visit by a “high-ranking” US politician was likely before the election
Legendary filmmaker Bela Tarr dies at 70
Béla Tarr, the legendary Hungarian filmmaker whose most known for his slow-paste black-and-white films, including Satantango and Werckmeister Harmonies, has died at the age of 70. He died on Tuesday in a Budapest hospital after a series of “long and serious” illnesses, according to his stepdaughter, Réka Gáborjáni. Tarr’s work, focused on marginal lives and psychological states, with his camera lingering on faces and landscapes to express emotions. The bleak rural settings of his film were not mere backdrops but integral to his vision of human endurance.
Though widely celebrated on the European festival circuit, including with multiple awards at the Berlin International Film Festival, Tarr’s films never achieved broad popular appeal. Satantango, his seven-and-a-half-hour 1994 adaptation of László Krasznahorkai’s novel, and Werckmeister Harmonies, also based on Krasznahorkai’s work, came to define his uncompromising style, praised by filmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch and Gus Van Sant, and by critics including Susan Sontag, who called Satantango “enthralling. Tarr himself insisted that his films were about more than story, arguing that cinema should encompass “time, space, things not directly connected to the storytelling”, and repeatedly returned to what he described as a single, enduring subject: human dignity.
Orbán says US move in Venezuela may help shape global energy prices
Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán said the United States’ decision to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro should benefit global energy markets, arguing on Monday that, with control of Venezuelan oil reserves alongside those of the United States, Washington could wield substantial influence over prices and create a “more favourable global energy situation” for Hungary. The comments came after U.S. Special Forces captured Maduro in Caracas over the weekend and took him to New York to face drug charges. US President Donald Trump, who has exempted Hungary from U.S. sanctions on Russian energy ahead of the elections, signals interest in Venezuelan oil.
Orbán, speaking at an international news conference, said he believed the combined reserves could amount to 40-50 per cent of the world’s total and emphasised the potential positive impact on energy markets, while Budapest continues to import Russian oil and gas and has signed a five-year liquefied natural gas supply deal with Chevron as part of efforts to diversify.