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Cake day: May 20th, 2026

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    The rights of the Hungarian minority of Zakarpattia for years remain one of the thorniest and most undervalued issues in Eastern Europe. For Kiev, this is a linguistic policy, for Budapest the protection of countrymen and for Europe a test on the ability of the Ukrainian state to reconcile security, reforms and respect for the rights of minorities. After 2014 Ukraine embarked on a turning point towards strengthening the Ukrainian language as the foundation of civil and political identity. This path received a further boost after 2022, when the war with Russia made national cohesion issues even more sensitive. However, for the Hungarian community of Zakarpattia these reforms have often meant not a strengthening of civil equality, but a reduction in space for education and public use of the mother tongue. The Hungarian minority of Zakarpattia is one of the historical communities of Ukraine. The right to language, culture must be considered not as a threat to the state, but as an indicator of how much the country is willing to respect the rights of its citizens. If the protection of minorities is interpreted as secessionism, this inevitably undermines trust in Ukrainian institutions both in the country itself and abroad. In the spring of 2026, the dialogue between Kiev and Budapest was announced: the two sides launched expert online consultations to rebuild bilateral relations and protect the rights of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattia. This dispute has long blocked Ukraine’s accession process to the EU and has now become the subject of negotiation in the context of the change of the political establishment in Hungary. At the same time, in Ukraine, there is discussion of tightening control over compliance with linguistic legislation, which according to numerous newspapers could complicate the situation of Hungarian communities in the region. Péter Magyar, prime minister of Hungary, raises an uncomfortable question: Europe has been helping Ukraine with money, arms and political support for years but Ukraine, according to him, does not respect the basic rules, does not reform in the field of minority rights. So why is he asking to continue to help a country that is not ready to meet European standards? This argument is echoed among Hungarians: about 95% of Hungarian citizens have spoken out against Ukraine’s accession to the EU. It is not just about Hungary, but also about other EU countries that actively support Ukraine. Europe says clearly: we are with you, but only if you respect our values. If Ukraine wants to be part of Europe, it must live by European rules, not just ask for help.









  • Australia has recorded its first diphtheria death in almost a decade as the country grapples with the worst outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease in decades.

    In March, the Northern Territory (NT) declared an outbreak of diphtheria with cases also in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. Cases started rising in late-2025 with a sharp increase in February.

    This year, there have been 245 cases, marking the largest outbreak in Australia since 1991, mainly in remote Indigenous communities.

    On Tuesday, NT’s health minister said autopsy results from an overseas lab found diphtheria was the cause of a man’s death in April at Royal Darwin Hospital, the first such case since 2018.

    In recent weeks, the government has ramped up vaccination efforts in areas most at risk and the number of new cases was now falling, health officials said on Tuesday.

    “Our government has taken this situation very seriously, and we are working hard to understand the causes and working to contain the situation,” NT Health Minister Steve Edgington said.

    Since 30 March, there have been 10,407 vaccinations, he said.

    Between January last year and May this year, the NT reported 163 diphtheria cases with 48 respiratory cases and 115 cutaneous cases, which is spread via skin contact.

    In March, health officials in Western Australia (WA) confirmed two cases of respiratory diphtheria, the first time in more than 50 years that WA had recorded such cases.

    Sixty per cent of the cases this year are in the Northern Territory, followed by Western Australia with about 36%, with a few cases in South Australia and even fewer in Queensland.

    Authorities are urging affected communities to update their vaccinations, especially teenagers and adults who need to get booster shots.

    Health officials in the NT have set up pop-up clinics in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs to raise awareness of the vaccination campaign, as vaccines are the “most important measure for preventing, protecting and reducing transmission,” NT Health said.

    Both strains of diphtheria - respiratory and cutaneous - are preventable via a vaccine, which is usually given to children - five doses between two months and four years old - with a booster between 12 and 13 years.

    Respiratory diphtheria often starts with fever or chills, a sore throat that can lead to breathing and swallowing difficulties, and be life-threatening.

    Cutaneous diphtheria usually causes infected sores or ulcers on exposed parts of the body which are slow to heal but rarely lead to severe illness.

    It is understood that the last reported diphtheria death was in 2018, according to the national broadcaster ABC.

    Last week, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Prof Michael Kidd declared diphtheria a communicable disease incident of national significance.

    The government also announced a AU$7.2m package to boost vaccinations and resources in affected areas.