Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – Budapest Socialist – MSZP – party
chief Sandor Burany said on Friday that a walkout, in which nine out
of thirteen MSZP members of the city’s Obuda district council quit
the party, had been for local reasons and did not reflect MSZP’s
poor showing at the polls in recent months. Obuda has a population of approximately 126,000, and its
residences range from top-of-the-line luxury homes to working class
pre-fab apartment units. The opposition Fidesz party won local
elections in October of 2006 and holds a majority in the district
council. Continue »

President Laszlo Solyom will name
his candidates for two vacant ombudsman slots next Wednesday, the
Office of the President announced on Friday. Solyom’s last nominees for the posts of parliamentary
commissioners for environmental issues and data protection were
voted down by parliament, where the appointment requires a
two-thirds majority. Continue »

Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – 2008 is a key year for drafting a
long-term environment protection strategy, the Environment Minister
told reporters in Eger (N Hungary) on Friday. The ministry will prepare a national strategy that will focus on
climate change, sustainable development, energy efficiency and
renewable energy over the next decades, Gabor Fodor said, after a
county meeting of his co-ruling party of Free Democrats. He said the
strategy was planned to serve as a basic document for any future
government. He welcomed that his ministry managed to raise the Hungarian
public’s awareness on environmental issues in 2006, and said that
the ministry’s annual budget had been increased by 20 percent to 97
billion forints (EUR 382m) in 2008. Continue »

Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – The first shipment of artworks
arrived on Friday from Italy to be displayed at a grand exhibition
on the renaissance in Florence in January-May at Budapest’s Museum
of Fine Arts, the museum director told MTI. The most noteworthy piece is the “Pallas and the Centaur” by
Sandro Botticelli from 1482, Laszlo Baan said, while unwrapping the
painting in the presence of journalists.    It will be put on display among 200 valuable pieces by
renaissance masters including Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael,
Verrocchio, Donatello, Fra Angelico, Bronzino and Vasari, on loan
from 60 Italian collections, he said.    The exhibition, insured at a total value of 315 million euros,
will run from January 24 to May 18. Continue »

  Continue »

Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – Opposition Fidesz Members of the
European Parliament cried foul on Friday on learning that the civil
rights ombudsman suggested limiting protests in front of parliament. Ombudsman Mate Szabo issued a statement earlier in the week
calling for some limitation on assembly by parliament since the site
had been subject to major conflicts this past year, and was a venue
that could trigger violence among radical demonstrators. He noted
that many countries in Europe limit assembly by their parliaments
and with good reason.    Fidesz MEPs Jozsef Szajer and Kinga Gal begged to differ.
Calling on Szabo to withdraw his proposal, they said the right to
free assembly was an achievement of the end of communism, which the
ombudsman should strive to protect and not limit. Even raising the
idea of restrictions undermined the prestige of the ombudsman as an
institution protecting civil rights, they said. Continue »

Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – The junior government coalition
SZDSZ party on Friday proposed to raise the borrowing ceiling for
government-subsidised student loans from September 2008 to grow with
students’ increased costs when tuition fees are introduced. The liberals proposed to raise the upper limit of monthly loan
amounts from 30,000 (108.6 euros) to 40,000 forints for students
enrolled in government-financed programmes and from 40,000 to 50,000
for those enrolled in a self-financed course, for example.    Main opposition Fidesz said plans for the tuition fee should be
scrapped altogether and that raising the borrowing limit would only
get students deeper into debt.
(EUR 1 = HUF 253.50) Continue »

Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – An Irish festival will be held in
the city of Gyor (NW) within the EU’s European Year of Intercultural
Dialogue 2008 in July, the deputy mayor said on Friday. The programmes of the festival taking place on July 10-13
include classical and folk concerts and exhibitions depicting
Ireland’s history and the Celtic culture, Rudolf Ottofi said.    Gyor has been fostering exemplary relations with Ireland since
the 17th century. The city’s Cathedral houses a picture of the
Madonna from the Clonfert Cathedral of Ireland. It was donated by
Walter Lynch, Bishop of Clonfert, who, escaping religious
persecution in the mid 17th century, found refuge in Gyor, where he
worked and died in July in 1663. The legend is that in a miracle the
picture began to weep tears and blood on March 17 in 1697, on Saint
Patrick’s Day. The festival will mark the bishop’s death anniversary and
expected to attract many Irish pilgrims, Ottofi said. Continue »

Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – A strike by Italian railway
employees planned for this weekend will impact the schedule of the
Venezia express train running between Budapest and Venice, MAV
Hungarian railways told MTI. The train leaving Budapest at 1700 hours on Saturday will travel
as far as Ljubljana and return from that city on Sunday. During the
strike, the Slovenian railway company will operate a train of two
carriages between Ljubljana and Sezana.     The train scheduled to leave Venice for Budapest at 21.27 on
Saturday will be cancelled, MAV said.     The company has also warned passengers that all train lines
connected to the Italian railway system will be affected by the
strike; delays and cancellations are to be expected. Continue »

Budapest, January 11 (MTI) – Mostly overcast skies and lasting
fog expected, with sporadic showers, mixing with sleet mainly in the
west. Skies may clear up for short periods in the east and the west.
Breezes will be from the south and southeast and may pick up to high
in the west and northwest. Nighttime lows should range from -3 to +2 degrees Celsius and
daytime highs will be between 2 and 7 degrees Celsius, the National
Weather Service reports. Continue »