This week, the Hungarian government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán confirmed it has secured a billion-euro ($1.09 billion) loan from Chinese banks, which Budapest must repay in three years.
The loan, finalized in April, came ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Hungary, where he and Orbán signed over a dozen bilateral agreements.
Following Hungary’s assumption of the EU Council presidency, Orbán and Xi met again in July during Orbán’s efforts to address the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This loan is reportedly the largest in modern Hungarian history and is causing concern among observers familiar with China’s exploitative lending practices through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
While this loan does not appear to be part of the BRI, it is intended for infrastructure projects and involves the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, and the Bank of China’s Hungarian branch, all at a variable interest rate, Breitbart News has reported.
Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is gaining momentum as expectations rise that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates by September.
Economists predict a series of rate cuts throughout 2024, following signals from key Federal Reserve officials indicating readiness to ease borrowing costs due to a weakening jobs market.
This development could relieve economic pressure ahead of the closely contested election between Harris and Donald Trump in November, The Guardian has reported.
The Nasdaq 100 Index has entered correction territory, losing over US$2 trillion in value in just over three weeks due to a sharp rotation away from Big Tech stocks.
The index fell 2.4% on Friday, bringing its total decline since a July 10 record to more than 10%. Despite this drop, the index is still up nearly 10% for the year.
Major tech stocks, including Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc., have seen significant declines, with both down more than 20% from recent highs, placing them in bear-market territory.
Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. have also lost over 10%, although most major tech stocks, except Tesla, remain higher for the year, BNN Bloomberg has reported.
Plans by Police Scotland to introduce live surveillance cameras for scanning faces have been criticized as “deeply intrusive” and dangerous by a coalition of international privacy groups.
The cameras are intended to help catch shoplifters and people violating bail conditions, with images monitored from police vans and checked against a database.
Privacy advocates, including Big Brother Watch, Liberty, Privacy International, and others, have urged Justice Secretary Angela Constance to withdraw the proposal, the Daily Mail has reported.
According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, Iran has provided Hezbollah and other proxies with electromagnetic ordnance capable of disabling communication systems and shutting down radars.
Rotem Mey-Tal, CEO of Asgard Systems, likened this technology to an extreme power outage that affects all electrical and electronic systems, including critical medical equipment.
Mey-Tal speculated that the technology might be used in low-flying UAVs, similar to recent attacks by Iranian-backed forces, but noted that there is no historical precedent or detailed documentation for such weapons, the Jerusalem Post has reported.
David Dutch and James Copenhaver, the two men injured in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, were both discharged from the hospital recently.
Dutch, 57, was released from Allegheny General Hospital on July 24, while Copenhaver, 74, was discharged on July 26.
Copenhaver, who suffered critical injuries at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, is reported to be recovering from “life-altering” wounds. His family expressed gratitude for the support received during his recovery.
Former fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed at Trump’s rally on July 13 while trying to shield his wife and two daughters from gunfire.
During the attack, a bullet or its fragments struck Trump in the ear, as confirmed by the FBI, NBC News has reported.
This week, the Hungarian government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán confirmed it has secured a billion-euro ($1.09 billion) loan from Chinese banks, which Budapest must repay in three years.
The loan, finalized in April, came ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Hungary, where he and Orbán signed over a dozen bilateral agreements.
Following Hungary’s assumption of the EU Council presidency, Orbán and Xi met again in July during Orbán’s efforts to address the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This loan is reportedly the largest in modern Hungarian history and is causing concern among observers familiar with China’s exploitative lending practices through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
While this loan does not appear to be part of the BRI, it is intended for infrastructure projects and involves the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, and the Bank of China’s Hungarian branch, all at a variable interest rate, Breitbart News has reported.