Exploring Hungary’s ‘Rust Belt’: A New Economy Built on Human Blood

In this edition, TWiCE features Bela Varadi, a freelance photojournalist from the UK and Hungary. He discusses his latest project for BIRN, which explores a new economy in northeastern Hungary’s ‘rust belt’ that thrives on human blood.

In other regional news, leaked recordings of TISZA party leader Peter Magyar are raising doubts about his credibility. Poland has inaugurated its first permanent US military base, the Aegis Ashore air defense facility, in Redzikowo, on the Baltic coast. A Slovak police brutality victim has died, prompting further outcry. Meanwhile, the Czech government is implementing significant changes to its criminal code.

For more stories from the region, visit Balkan Insight’s Democracy Digest.