Hungary

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, the defense minister, reportedly spent 800 million forints using military aircraft as government planes. The figure is six times higher than the total travel expenses claimed by the minister and his staff; it appears that in the government’s budget, the distinction between a troop transport and a private jet is largely a matter of who is on board.

A 4.7 billion euro EU refund, which Viktor Orbán had blocked for several years, has finally been released. The timing coincides with more difficult news for the state’s investment portfolio: Nanushka, the fashion brand that received substantial public funding, is closing stores and shrinking to 20 employees. The company is now reportedly facing bankruptcy, an outcome even a Cayman Islands-registered partner could not prevent.

Budapest’s municipal politics descended into a public dispute after Mayor Gergely Karácsony clashed with district leaders at an association meeting. According to the mayor, several colleagues walked out specifically to create a televised moment of discord. Elsewhere, prosecutors have filed charges against kindergarten employees accused of taping a boy’s mouth shut and calling him names, a rare point of consensus in a morning defined by adult arguments.