According to reports, authorities in Belgium have seized
documents, financial records and computer equipment from the local
branch of the Church of Scientology and then sealed off the building. Continue »

Zsolt and Éva Albert handed in 500,000 signatures to
the National Election Council (OVB) calling for a referendum aimed at
scuppering the chances of introducing a multi-player, business-based health
insurance system. Continue »

Chinese-born choreographer Shen Wei, who The
New York Times has described as “startlingly imaginative”, will provide
material for the opening and closing ceremonies of this summer’s Beijing
Olympics. Before that, the multi-talented dancer, painter and designer, who
also creates the sets and costumes for his work, will perform two pieces in
Budapest at the Festival Theatre in the Palace of Arts Continue »

A report shortly due to go before the European Parliament is
expected to recommend slowing down EU enlargement and warn that rapid expansion
will produce a fragmented EU.  Continue »

An extended family last week allegedly beat the driver of a
car who knocked down a three-year-old girl in an incident that echoed the
murder of a school teacher by an angry mob of Roma in the village
of Olaszliszka, northeastern Hungary, last
year. The driver of the car sustained only light injuries in Nyírkáta, after a
crowd of around 30 people attacked the car, smashing the windscreen and
attacking the occupants. The young girl suffered a concussion. A 41-year-old teacher
was beaten to death by an angry mob in the Roma-dominated town of Olaszliszka last year
after his car hit an eleven-year-old, who escaped unharmed. The incident
provoked anti-Roma attacks and demonstrations and increased tensions. Continue »

Around 20% of
Hungarian families with more than one child are currently living below the
European poverty line, sociologist Zsuzsa Ferge said last Wednesday as
parliament debated the issue. MPs agreed that economic and cultural division
was a big problem in Hungary, particularly with regard to Roma, who are falling
behind in society. Ferge said that it was important to integrate Roma more in
schools to ensure there is no educational disadvantage. Continue »

A horse race,
gastronomic festival and concert are planned for HĹ‘sök tere on 31 May and 1
June this year, the organiser of the Nemzeti Vágta (National Gallop) said last
week. Péter Geszti said that around 100 riders would take part in the race,
which he hopes will become an annual event. Continue »

Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány last week said that the cabinet wants to increase the
retirement age from 62 to 65, but that it was a measure that would be put in
place only after public debate. Hungary’s pension system is creaking as the
population ages, and the move would ease the pressures on the budget. However,
Gyurcsány said the plan was a long-term move and would be implemented
gradually. Continue »

Viktor Orbán, the
chairman of main opposition party Fidesz, last week won a court case brought
against him by the Minister for Local Government and Regional Development
Gordon Bajnai. The judge said Orbán’s comments that Bajnai and Prime Minister
Ferenc Gyurcsány were using “mafia methods” to make EU funds vanish were
political opinion and protected by the right to free speech. Bajnai had
demanded HUF 1 million (EUR 3,975) in damages. The verdict can be appealed. Continue »

The Budapest
Prosecutor’s Office has ordered an investigation into accusations of police
brutality on 23 October 2006 after a complaint brought by the Civil Lawyers’
Commission, the daily Magyar Hírlap said last week. The commission filed a complaint
against the Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány, blaming him for the police
beatings carried out during an opposition Fidesz rally, but prosecutors have
split the charge into two. The Chief Prosecutor’s Office will handle the charge
against Gyurcsány. Continue »