Latest news with #Kovács
Euractiv
14-07-2025
- Health
- Euractiv
Europe's Alzheimer's research needs generational renewal, warns neurology expert
Despite promising strides in European dementia research, Hungarian neurologist Tibor Kovács warns that turning science into patient care still depends too heavily on national systems. In an interview with Euractiv during the 'Mind the Future' summit in Milan, Tibor Kovács, Full Professor and Deputy Director at the Department of Neurology at Semmelweis University in Budapest, welcomed the growing momentum behind international cooperation on dementia. But he also issued a warning: cooperation is not the problem - implementation is. 'There is extensive collaboration through various European and international grants,' Kovács said, welcoming the increasing involvement of less-resourced partners in cutting-edge research through inclusive application systems. 'The trend is clearly moving in a positive direction, which is promising for the future.' However, turning research into patient care remains a much tougher task. 'When it comes to translating that research into clinical practice, things become much more dependent on national contexts,' he explained. In other words, supranational efforts may push the frontier of discovery, but clinical neuroscience still lives - and often stalls - within domestic borders. Keep it local Any common European regulation, he added, would still need to be adapted to local realities: 'Applied and clinical research must be grounded in specific national circumstances.' Despite these challenges, Kovács remains cautiously hopeful: more funding, he said, could help smaller institutions take part in research at the highest level. And in Hungary, that kind of shift is sorely needed. While the country has long had a strong tradition in neuroscience, Kovács pointed out that this strength lies mainly in basic science, not in clinical applications. 'We still face a lot of handicaps,' he said, particularly when it comes to the use of new biomarkers for early diagnosis of degenerative dementias. A few centres in Hungary are conducting high-level clinical research on dementias and movement disorders, but staffing shortages and limited resources continue to slow progress. For Kovács, the solution must begin with generational renewal: 'We need to attract young researchers into the field, starting from university years.' The challenge isn't a lack of talent - quite the opposite. Many Hungarian researchers, he said, are working on neurodegenerative diseases abroad. 'The idea,' he added, 'is to bring those brains back and improve the local research environment.' Until then, the gap between what is discovered and what is delivered will remain. And for countries like Hungary, bridging that gap is now the real frontier. Alessia Peretti, Cesare Ceccato [Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv's Advocacy Lab ]
New European
27-05-2025
- Politics
- New European
Here's how Orbán could be ousted
In British political terms, it would be a safe Tory seat, and for nearly 30 years it voted consistently for Orbán's conservative Fidesz party. But today, it is led by Gergely Kovács, head of the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party (MKKP), which, as its name suggests, is a joke party. Its policies include free beer for all, and eternal life. District XII is the South Kensington of Budapest. Overlooking the city from the steep slopes of the city's Buda side, Hegyvidék, as it is officially called, is home to the country's wealthiest and most influential people. It's where the celebrities live. It's where the oligarchs live. It's where Viktor Orbán lives. Kovács, 45, doesn't look like the mayor of one of the country's richest neighbourhoods. He is usually to be found wearing a T-shirt, jeans and trainers. He is also one of Hungary's most successful grassroots politicians. It all started at the turn of the century in Szeged, a town in southern Hungary, where Kovács and his friends ditched academic elitism for underground culture, hanging out with skaters, rappers and street artists, and plastering the streets with politically themed stickers. After a poster competition to imagine the consequences of a nuclear war, the two-tailed dog was born, and in 2006, so was the party of the same name. To start with, the whole thing remained a political joke between Kovács and his friends, who made posters, staged fake protests, and ran the occasional joke candidate in elections. As a former member put it, they were a group of friends who smoked weed together, sobered up, then actually did the things they planned when they were high. That all changed in 2015. In response to the refugee crisis, Orbán's government littered the country with billboards bearing xenophobic slogans. Kovács raised £100,000 to run a counter-campaign using the same template, with satirical messages like: 'The Hate Campaign Loves You'; and 'Immigrants Don't Work, They Just Take Our Jobs'. The billboards attracted many who were tired of hateful politics. They formed MKKP's grassroots network of 'passivists', and volunteered to rejuvenate their neighbourhoods and help people in need. After the Dog Party's parliamentary campaigns failed in 2018 and 2022, it moved into local politics, a shift spearheaded by Kovács, who turned his attention to Hegyvidék. By the late 2010s Fidesz was struggling in its historic stronghold. As Orbán pivoted to the far right, he increasingly turned towards working-class rural voters in his messaging and policies. While this helped him secure landslide victories in general elections, it estranged his party's centrist and centre right base in areas like Hegyvidék, where it lost the parliamentary race in 2022. Kovács won a seat on the District XII council in 2019. He started making a noise about Fidesz's corrupt practices and campaigned against destruction of green areas, and led a campaign to support the elderly during the pandemic. As Fidesz's politics turned farcical, the joke party emerged as the serious alternative. In 2024, opposition parties united in District XII to kick out Fidesz. Kovács ran a satirical-yet-serious campaign for mayor. He won a 14-point victory, and the Dog Party formed a majority on the Hegyvidék council. He has now been mayor for a year. 'Even if we don't end up doing anything, we'll already be better than Fidesz,' he said when taking office. He has already reversed Fidesz's shady public procurement policies, and launched fundraising efforts for disadvantaged communities. In 2026, there is a good chance Hungarians will remove Orbán from power, with the help of the opposition leader, Péter Magyar. As for the Dog Party, it has announced its candidate for prime minister: Kutyika Kutyi, 'Doggity Dog' – Kovács's labrador. Iván L Nagy is a Hungarian political journalist living in New York
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UEFA selects Romanian referee István Kovács for Champions League final between Inter Milan and PSG
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA picked István Kovács as its Champions League final referee on Monday, completing a European competition hat trick for the Romanian official. Kovács will take charge of the Inter Milan vs. Paris Saint-Germain title game on May 31 in Munich, UEFA said. He also handled a standout game in the Champions League this season — PSG's 1-0 victory at Liverpool in the round of 16 second leg before the French champion won a penalty shootout. Kovács will complete a set of UEFA cup competition finals. He worked Atalanta's win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last year and Roma beating Feyenoord in the 2022 Europa Conference League final. His multinational team for the Champions League final includes video review specialists from the Netherlands and back-up officials from Portugal. ___ AP soccer: The Associated Press
San Francisco Chronicle
12-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
UEFA selects Romanian referee István Kovács for Champions League final between Inter Milan and PSG
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA picked István Kovács as its Champions League final referee on Monday, completing a European competition hat trick for the Romanian official. Kovács will take charge of the Inter Milan vs. Paris Saint-Germain title game on May 31 in Munich, UEFA said. He also handled a standout game in the Champions League this season — PSG's 1-0 victory at Liverpool in the round of 16 second leg before the French champion won a penalty shootout. Kovács will complete a set of UEFA cup competition finals. He worked Atalanta's win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last year and Roma beating Feyenoord in the 2022 Europa Conference League final. ___
Fox Sports
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
UEFA selects Romanian referee István Kovács for Champions League final between Inter Milan and PSG
Associated Press NYON, Switzerland (AP) — UEFA picked Istvan Kovacs as its Champions League final referee on Monday, completing a European competition hat trick for the Romanian official. Kovács will take charge of the Inter Milan vs. Paris Saint-Germain title game on May 31 in Munich, UEFA said. He also handled a standout game in the Champions League this season — PSG's 1-0 victory at Liverpool in the round of 16 second leg before the French champion won a penalty shootout. Kovács will complete a set of UEFA cup competition finals. He worked Atalanta's win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final last year and Roma beating Feyenoord in the 2022 Europa Conference League final. His multinational team for the Champions League final includes video review specialists from the Netherlands and back-up officials from Portugal. ___ AP soccer:
