BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s new Prime Minister Péter Magyar on Friday personally removed fencing around a historic building in the capital Budapest that served as the office of his autocratic predecessor Viktor Orbán.
Magyar announced that the famous Karmelita, located at Budapest's landmark Castle Hill, overlooking the Danube river, will be open for public until authorities decide on its future role.
The former Catholic monastery become a symbol of Orbán’s rule after he had it cordoned off in 2021.
“There is no place for cordons in Hungary after the change of regime,” Magyar told reporters as he symbolically pushed open the fences. He said the institutions had been built “from the money of the Hungarian taxpayers and made so beautiful with those funds.”
Magyar and his center-right Tisza party swept Orbán from power in an election in April, winning a two-thirds majority that gave him a clear mandate for major changes after his predecessor's 16 years in power.
Magyar has vowed to restore democratic institutions and governmental checks and balances that were heavily eroded during Orbán’s rule, and to clamp down on alleged corruption.
He has revealed the luxury renovations that former government members carried out on their offices. Magyar himself has said he would move his seat to the administrative part of the city on the other bank of the Danube.
The Karmelita building, he said, will now be accessible for an “extensive period.” Already, a website has been set up where visitors can book a tour. Magyar said some buildings in the castle zone have been renovated while other are under construction.
The situation “is likely to generate a number of new ideas,” he added without elaborating.
The prime minister has promised to repair his country’s ties with its European Union partners and restore Hungary’s place among Western democracies.
Magyar plans to form a National Asset Recovery and Protection Office, an authority tasked with investigating and seeking to recover public funds misused during Orbán’s tenure.
A construction sign prohibits entry to the former Karmelita Palace, which has previously housed the Prime Minister's Office, in the Castle District of Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)
Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar, second left, flanked by Minister of Transport and Innovation David Vitezy, second right, Minister of Interior Gabor Posfai, right, and Government Spokeswoman Vanda Szondi, attend the public dismantling of the barricade surrounding the former Karmelita Palace, which has previously housed the Prime Minister's Office, in the Castle District of Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)
From left, Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar, Minister of Transport and Innovation David Vitezy and Minister of Interior Gabor Posfai begin to dismantle the barricade surrounding the former Karmelita Palace, which has previously housed the Prime Minister's Office, in the Castle District of Budapest, Hungary, Friday, May 15, 2026. (Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)
MALE, Maldives (AP) — Maldivian authorities conducted a high-risk search Friday for the bodies of four Italian divers who died in a scuba accident in a deep underwater cave a day before. The body of a fifth diver was recovered Thursday, local officials said.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry said the group “apparently died while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters" (164 feet) in the Vaavu Atoll on Thursday. It said that the cause of the deaths remains under investigation.
The dead were Monica Montefalcone, an associate ecology professor at the University of Genoa, and her daughter Giorgia, as well as marine biologist Federico Gualtieri and researcher Muriel Oddenino, according to statements from Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and Genoa university. The statement by the institute said the fifth victim was diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
The institute expressed “deep condolences” to their families and colleagues.
The five divers were believed to have been exploring the cave when they went missing, according to Maldivian presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef.
“The cave is so deep that divers even with the best equipment do not try to approach,” he said.
Cave diving is a dangerous and highly technical form of diving that requires specialized equipment and training, and strict adherence to very specific safety protocols. Even entering underwater caves located in shallow depths can pose significant risks.
Maldivian authorities launched a major search operation, deploying boats, aircraft and dive teams to the area.
Rescuers recovered one body from about 60 meters (200 feet) below the surface Thursday, while the remaining four divers were believed to be inside the cave, officials said.
The group had been on a morning dive near Alimathaa and was reported missing after failing to surface by midday Thursday, with weather conditions described as unfavorable at the time.
Search teams were preparing a second dive Friday to assess access to the cave, though rough weather could delay operations. The Italian Foreign Ministry said an Italian expert was assisting Maldivian coast guard crews, and Italy’s ambassador to Sri Lanka — who also covers the Maldives — was on a search vessel as local authorities considered whether to seek international assistance.
The Italian ministry said about 20 other Italians who had been on the same expedition aboard a vessel named the Duke of York were safe, with no injuries reported. Italy’s embassy in Colombo was providing assistance to those onboard and had contacted the Red Crescent, which offered to deploy volunteers to help provide psychological aid.
The vessel was searching for safe harbor from poor weather conditions, and was waiting for conditions to improve before returning to Male, the ministry said.
The ministry added it was also coordinating with Divers Alert Network, a specialist diving insurance group that could support recovery operations with technical expertise and assist with the repatriation of the bodies.
Italian officials and the honorary consul remained in contact with the victims’ families to provide assistance.
Zampano reported from Rome. Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi and Krishan Francis in Colombo contributed to this report.
FILE - A jetty is seen on a resort on Male Attol in Maldives, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, file)
