Far-right Jobbik MEP Krisztina Morvai has filed a complaint against the police for failure to provide assistance in the case of the West Balkán nightclub, according to a statement released on Sunday. Three women died and a dozen were injured when a false fire alert at the club in a disused shopping centre on Nyugati… Continue »

Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), a party representing ethnic Hungarians in Romania, wants to field candidates in the Hungarian general election in 2014, senior members said on Sunday. RMDSZ leader Hunor Kelemen called for ethnic Hungarian parties in Slovakia and Serbia to join the initiative to influence Hungarian policy towards Hungarian speakers in… Continue »

The leader of the far-right Jobbik party, Gábor Vona, has challenged a leading Hungarian rabbi to a debate on antisemitism. Vona told reporters last Friday that “we need to clarify why and in whose interests” the idea of anti-Semitism has been put on the agenda in Hungary. “Jobbik has never had and will never have… Continue »

What is the explanation for Hungarians memorialising those who allied with Hitler and Nazi Germany (“Anti-fascist protest”, The Budapest Times, 22-28 June 2012 and other stories)? There must be some explanation. Do those who love Hungary care what this looks like to the rest of the world? Sincerely, Berne Weiss Continue »

Audi has decided that its new logistics park will be constructed in Gyõr because the city is more economical for the company, communications director Péter Lõre said last week. The construction tender is planned to be completed before the end of summer. Besides Gyõr – home to the company’s current factory – nearby Gönyõ, which… Continue »

The Hungarian affiliate of Swiss-owned foodstuff manufacturer Nestlé has about 2,000 domestic suppliers that provide it with HUF 200 billion (EUR 699.89 million) of products every year, the company told state news agency MTI on Monday. The global chain says it is also a significant customer of Hungarian small and medium enterprises, purchasing an average… Continue »

Every fourth Hungarian, around 2.5 million people, is living in a household in arrears in rent, mortgage payments or utility costs, according to a report released by the Habitat for Humanity Hungary Foundation on Wednesday. Sociologist Lea Koszeghy told state news agency MTI that rising housing costs are causing a headache for many families. The… Continue »

Property developer Indotek will build a HUF 1.1 billion (EUR 3.83 million), 10,000-square-metre bicycle shopping centre in Budapest’s District XXI by 2014. One-fifth of the establishment will be covered by bicycle paths, and stores will be housed in one- or two-story container-like buildings. Indotek CEO Dániel Jellinek said the company is already negotiating with international… Continue »

Budapest Zoo has giraffes, wombats, jellyfish, turtles, apes and, from next Wednesday, weekly open-air concerts featuring jazz, world music, dixieland and klezmer musicians. The zoo celebrates its centenary this year, and although the tradition of holding summer concerts was only revived 11 years ago, it actually harks back to the pre-Second World War period when… Continue »