12 hours in surgical masks, a lack of testing and a string of nurses falling ill. In May, coronavirus tread down a hospital in Western Hungary.
Continue readingHow sloppy coronavirus measures pushed healthcare workers to the brink of death
Secret battles of Orban’s rival – Budapest’s first year under opposition rule
What conflicts emerged between Gergely Karácsony and Ferenc Gyurcsány? What did Antal Rogán tell the mayor? Who are the most influential people at Budapest’s city hall? Direkt36 presents the behind-the-scenes story of the capital’s opposition leadership.
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Orban’s father was involved in controversial road construction
Not only the European Union, but also the Hungarian government criticized the project for being too expensive. This did not stop the mining company of the PM’s father to benefit from it.
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Offshore company involved in suspicious transactions was protected by Hungarian bank, leaked secret files show
Suspicious transactions have been routinely moved through the Hungarian banking system, Direkt36 has revealed as part of the the global FinCENFiles investigation.
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How Orban played Germany, Europe’s great power
Why isn’t Germany tougher with the Hungarian government? Viktor Orbán has been building his alliances for decades through personal friendships, political gimmicks and pouring hundreds of billions of forints on German corporations. Direkt36 explored in detail the hidden history of Hungarian-German relations.
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An internal document reveals a problematic real estate transaction financed by Hungary’s state bank
According to an internal document obtained by Direkt36 the state-owned Eximbank identified several risks related to a Budapest real estate development project. Nevertheless, it decided to financially support it with a loan worth millions of euros.
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The government boasted about ventilator purchases, yet Hungary made the worst deals across the EU
Good Chinese relations didn’t bear fruit, as Hungary paid the highest price among all EU countries, international trade data show.
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Iranian students expelled from Hungary during the pandemic may be able to return
Criminal charges have been dropped against the majority of the Iranian students who were expelled from Hungary in the spring for violating quarantine rules, and the Hungarian authorities have also begun to revoke their expulsion orders.
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It started as a simple patient transfer, but then it showed the chaos in the coronavirus fight
In April, elderly patients were transferred between two Hungarian hospitals without testing. Thus, Covid-19 got into another institution.
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Valuable archaeological treasures were demolished under a priority construction of the Hungarian government
During the reconstruction of the Buda Hospital, archaeological finds from Roman times were unearthed. Civil engineering works were done by the same company that will be responsible for groundworks related to the Paks nuclear power plant expansion.
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Huawei is slowly pushed out from European 5G networks but the Orban government still supports them
5G rollout has finally started in Hungary during the pandemic. Telenor, the partly state-owned mobile operator could be the lifeline for the beleaguered Chinese company.
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“Mr. Russia” is now helping Viktor Orbán’s government to nurture German relations
Klaus Mangold, an influential German businessman with links to the European and Russian business elites has been advising the Orbán-government for many years. His consultancy contracts obtained by Direkt36 show that Mangold has been recently focusing on deepening Hungarian-German industrial relations.
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Tens of thousands of forgotten Hungarians on the frontlines of the coronavirus
While the conditions in nursing homes for elderly have become the number one political issue in Hungary, there has been little talk of homes for the disabled and psychiatric patients, or the social workers who provide care to them. Their problems are almost invisible.
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Nuclear power plant Paks 2 rescheduled to favor the Russians
After two years of negotiations, the Hungarian government adopted during the epidemic an important legal modification related to the Paks nuclear expansion. From now on, the position of the Russians will be stronger and the Hungarian state will bear higher risks.
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People close to Orban’s advisor appear in controversial Russia-connected megaproject
Preparations for a megaproject in which a Russian-Hungarian company will supply 1300 rail cars to Egypt seem to have accelerated. Simultaneously, people close to Arpad Habony, the PM’s chief advisor, and Zsolt Hernadi, CEO of MOL have appeared inside the firm which co-owns the winning company.
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How the epidemic disrupted Orbán’s machinery
While in the past ten years the government seemed to operate with almost military-style discipline, the last few weeks brought several U-turns from the Orbán administration. Here’s what happened behind the scenes.
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China suspended the export of some COVID-19 tests in April. The Hungarian government had already stocked up on them
Hungarian paramedics are still using tests whose exports were suspended in April. This week, China again loosened export requirements, and it seems that the Hungarian government also managed to find a reliable supplier.
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„By now, no one can give even a piece of bread”
For Hungarians living in deep poverty, the world has turned upside down since the coronavirus lockdown. Although poor rural communities have not yet seen a breakout but most jobs are gone and with no savings and barely enough food left, people cannot afford to buy even disinfectants. So far, the government has failed to take action, leaving thousands of starving families without help.
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Hungarian ministerial adviser searched for coronavirus masks. He found them at a company where his father is a senior manager
Tons of medical masks and other personal protective equipment are arriving to Hungary almost every day. One of the big winners of the state orders is a little-known Chinese-Hungarian company with family ties to the ministry that handled the procurements.
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How once cherished Iranians became coronavirus scapegoats in Orban’s Hungary
Hungary saw great business opportunities in Iran and the Orban government tried to strenghten relations through university scholarships and residence permits. Then the course of world politics and the coronavirus changed everything.
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