BUDAPEST, July 12, 2024 (AFP) – An airport in eastern Hungary is temporarily closed due to runway damage caused by the scorching temperatures of a heatwave hitting the central European country, its operator said on Friday. Despite a typically temperate climate, Hungary has been experiencing daily highs exceeding 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in recent days, and temperatures could hit a record high over the weekend. Due to the “continuous thermal stress”, the […]
Tag: Hungary
Sweden joins NATO after Hungary approves bid, marking “historic day”
STOCKHOLM, Feb 26, 2024 (AFP) – Sweden on Monday cleared its final obstacle to joining NATO after Hungary’s parliament ratified the bid in what Sweden’s prime minister called a “historic day”, while other alliance members expressed relief at the move spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sweden would make the alliance “stronger and safer” while the United States, the main alliance power, as well as Britain and Germany welcomed Sweden’s […]
Orban reaffirms ‘support’ of Sweden’s NATO bid in Stoltenberg call
BUDAPEST, Jan 24, 2024 (AFP) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Wednesday said he reaffirmed in a phone call with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg his “support” for Sweden’s membership to the security alliance. Budapest remains the last holdout to ratify Stockholm’s bid to join NATO. “I reaffirmed that the Hungarian government supports the NATO membership of Sweden,” Orban wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I also stressed that we will continue to urge the Hungarian […]
Hungarian leader blocks 50 billion euro Ukraine aid package after membership talks agreed
By Max Delany and Dave Clark BRUSSELS, Dec 15, 2023 (AFP) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday blocked 50 billion euros ($55 billion) in EU aid for Ukraine, after leaders side-stepped his opposition to agree to open talks with Kyiv on joining the bloc. A crunch summit in Brussels broke up after a day of wrangling as the Hungarian authoritarian leader refused to greenlight funding to help prop up Ukraine’s government over the […]
Artistic swimmer Alvarez finds peace and beauty in images of her rescue
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — American artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez said she was “shocked” when she saw the “beautiful” AFP photographs showing her sinking unconscious to the bottom of the pool and being rescued by her coach at the World Swimming Championships. Alvarez fainted and dropped to the bottom at the end of her individual routine and was saved by her quick-thinking coach. AFP’s underwater robot camera captured astonishing images as the drama unfolded. Alvarez, […]
Hungary says EU’s Russia oil ban proposal crosses ‘red line’
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday blasted European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen for “attacking” EU unity with a plan to ban Russian oil, saying it crosses a red line and has been sent back. “The European Commission president, intentionally or unintentionally, has attacked the European unity that had been worked out,” Orban said on state radio. “From the first moment we made clear that there will be […]
Stay or go? Ukraine refugees torn between safety and home
by Christophe Archambault © Agence France-Presse SIGHETU MARMATIEI, Romania (AFP) – A heartbreaking human drama is playing out along Ukraine’s borders — fleeing refugees pass the homesick going back, while others who left and then returned flee for their lives for a second time. Women and children are still pouring out of a land being pummelled by what one called Russia’s “creatures from Hell”. But hundreds of thousands of refugees are returning home, determined to […]
Hungary elects Katalin Novak, first ever woman president
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — The Hungarian parliament Thursday elected Katalin Novak, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as the EU member’s first ever woman president. Novak, who most recently served as a minister for family policy, portrayed her election as a victory for women. She was elected to the mostly ceremonial role by 137 votes to 51 in the parliament dominated by Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party ahead of opposition challenger Peter Rona, […]
Ukraine: 370,000 refugees already
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia invaded Thursday. The United Nations’ refugee agency, UNHCR, says at least 370,000 people have fled the fighting so far and it is planning to deal with up to four million if the situation worsens. – Poland – Some 156,000 Ukrainians have fled over the Polish border, its frontier guards say. On Friday alone, 50,000 Ukrainians arrived. While 90 percent of the refugees […]
PHL includes UAE, Hungary in list of countries with travel restrictions amid COVID-19 pandemic
(Eagle News) — The Philippine government has announced the inclusion of Hungary and the United Arab Emirates to its list of countries with travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The government said foreign travelers from these countries will be temporarily banned from entering the Philippines starting January 17 until January 31. Filipinos, on the other hand, who have been to the affected countries and jurisdiction in the last 14 days are required to undergo and […]
Hungary’s Orban under fire as virus second wave bites
by Peter MURPHY / Géza MOLNAR BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — As the second coronavirus wave bites, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — who shut the borders in September — is holding back on tougher measures such as a lockdown, despite growing criticism of his response. During the first wave, the Central European EU member had relatively low numbers of infections and deaths from the virus compared with most European countries. But in October more Hungarians […]
Rowers dredge waste in days-long Hungary race
by Géza Molnar / Balazs Wizner Agence France-Presse ZÁHONY, Hungary (AFP) — The 150-odd competitors meeting on the banks of Hungary’s second largest river carried somewhat unusual equipment for a boat race — protective gloves, rubber boots and large bags. Their challenge was to collect as much rubbish as possible from the Tisza, in the northeast of the country on the Ukrainian border, navigating it on rafts, built themselves from trash, for nine days. “Every […]
