Viktor Orban

Hungary's parliament on Tuesday voted to transfer state assets worth billions of dollars into foundations that will control many of the country's public universities and cultural institutions, a move opposition figures have decried as a theft of public funds.

Japan has issued emergency declarations for several prefectures, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains in intensive care. And, in Lebanon, Hezbollah's latest front line is the fight against coronavirus. And in Iran many are wondering if they can survive the disease and the financial crisis accelerated by US sanctions. Also, these monkeys at the Tulane National Primate Research Center are helping humans fight the coronavirus.

Hungary's government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has granted itself sweeping powers under the auspices of the coronavirus pandemic. But critics warn it is hastening Hungary's authoritarian decline.

Novel coronavirus cases continue their exponential rise. But desperately needed global leadership is retreating behind national borders — and in some cases, leaders continue to deny the severity of the crisis. Also, unemployment in the US has hit record numbers, and health care workers around the globe continue to face personal and financial risks. And, should Americans be wearing masks in public? When the people are away, the animals will come out to play. In Wales, a herd of goats has taken to the streets of a resort town.

New research shows how recent laws have slowly eroded the role of nongovernmental agencies all over the world . Experts have said that these actions threaten democracy in countries where institutions have already become weak. See where and how laws like these have had their biggest impact.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called for larger Hungarian families to combat the country's low birth rate and shrinking labor force. In exchange, he's willing to provide financial benefits and programs for women like loan expansion programs, subsidies for cars, and no required income tax for women with four or more children.

Analysts say Hungary's Viktor Orbán has created "a new kind of model about how autocrats operate."

Since Viktor Orbán returned to power in 2010, the media in Hungary has been consolidated by the government and friends of the government. Independent voices that remain are struggling to fund their journalism.

Viktor Orbán rose to power on an anti-migrant platform and has severely limited refugee resettlement in the country. But for refugees who have made it and for the NGOs helping migrants, today's Hungary is an uncomfortable place.

In the last nine years, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has created a repressive and increasingly authoritarian state, operating under a pretense of democracy. In recent weeks the political situation has become volatile.