Hungary

Suspect in murder of handball star nabbed in Austria

Suspect in murder of handball star nabbed in AustriaBudapest  - Austrian police arrested one of two men suspected of killing Romanian handball international Marian Cozma, Hungarian officials said Sunday night.

Hungarian police spokeswoman Piroska Varadi said international arrest warrants had been issued for two suspects, Sandor Raffael and Ivan Sztojka, but did not confirm which of the two had been caught at the Austrian border.

Cozma was killed and two of his teammates injured in a knife attack outside a Hungarian nightclub early Sunday.

Hungarian national airline cannot pay staff on time

HungaryBudapest - Hungary's cash-strapped national airline Malev told staff on Friday that they would be receiving their wages in two installments this month as it cannot afford to pay in full.

The airline, which was privatised for a token sum in 2007, blamed its inability to meet its payroll costs on the worsening economic situation in Hungary and the global financial crisis.

Malev spokeswoman Krisztina Nemeth said in a statement on Friday that low passenger numbers and a drop in turnover through the winter season were to blame for the company's embarrassing announcement.

IMF and EU in town to keep Hungary on the straight and narrow

IMF and EU in town to keep Hungary on the straight and narrow Budapest  - Delegations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union arrived in Budapest Wednesday to ensure Hungary is meeting commitments to strict financial housekeeping that were a condition for a huge rescue loan package last year.

The IMF, EU and the World Bank offered Hungary a 25 billion-dollar credit line last October as its economy teetered on the brink of collapse.

Plans for a militant "Gypsy Guard" shelved after Hungarian outcry

Budapest  - Political parties of all stripes on Wednesday slammed provocative plans by a Roma group to set up its own "Gypsy Guard" in response to the controversial extreme right-wing, paramilitary "Hungarian Guard".

Laszlo Padar, head of a Roma interest group in western Hungary, told the local press on Tuesday of plans to set up a "Gypsy Self- Defence Guard" in the near future.

However, Padar - who is also a socialist councillor in the town of Gyor - withdrew his plans on Wednesday afternoon after provoking a storm of protest.

"The setting up of a Roma Guard could lead to accusations of incitement," said Attila Horvath, the head of the local Roma minority council.

Hungarian premier reacts angrily to opposition press comments

Hungary Prime Minister Ferenc GyurcsanyBudapest  - Hungary's socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany reacted angrily on Tuesday to comments made in an interview in the UK Financial Times newspaper by his arch rival, the centre- right opposition leader Viktor Orban.

Orban accused the Hungarian government of wasting the opportunity to use the 25-billion-dollar rescue loan granted by the International Monetary Fund, the EU and the World Bank last October.

Hungarian PM: Weakening currency a worry as economic crisis deepens

Hungarian PM: Weakening currency a worry as economic crisis deepensBudapest  - Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany on Monday expressed concern over the ongoing rapid weakening of Hungary's currency, the forint, after signalling that euro adoption is now a matter of urgency.

"The government is distinctly worried by the rapid fall in the value of the forint, and the fact that it is very difficult for businesses and individuals to get credit from banks," Gyurcsany said on Monday.

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