Budapest's Szabadsag Hid engulfed in smog

When Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he had no idea that it could also be used for corruption purposes, so loud that it can be heard on the other side of the Atlantic.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Hungary’s telecommunications group Magyar Telekom (alias MATAV) of serious corruption, via its parent company – Germany’s Deutsche Telekom (DT).

SEC claims that MATAV was directly involved in a major corruption scandal in violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (bribing the governments to obtain a monopoly in Hungary, Macedonia and Serbia during the period 2005-2006). Officials at DT declined to directly comment on the accusations. In a parallel lawsuit three Hungarian nationals (namely former MATAV CEO Elek Straub, former Director Andras Balogh and former Director Tamas Morvai were personally also directly involved in the corruption scandal. MATAV had allegedly already earmarked some USD 48-mil to settle the penalty with SEC.

The South African Government confirmed that Kovacevic and his wife Danijela Lazic had illegally entered the country four years ago, using fake documents. The government in a statement said that Kovacevic and his family (including minors) are “prohibited and undesirable” in South Africa, adding that under its immigration act, the country has made provisions to return them to Serbia.

Initially governmental spokesmen denied any shadowing, later another admitted that the jet was shadowed but had never landed in New York as it had reportedly landing half-way on the Canaries.

Although defense secretary Ndivhuwo Mabaya claimed that the recordings were “not reliable” everything was eventually leaked and admitted, with the government arguing that a shadow aircraft had been employed to monitor Zuma’s private jet, as it had allegedly been serviced prior to his official trip to the US.

The scrutiny is that while the president is riding a costly airplane and wasting extra fuel and not to mention tax-payers’ money, the national air carrier South African Airways (SAA) is in dire financial state. Aviation enthusiast Tony Pereira, 39, says that the president of all people should fly SAA wherever he goes and lead by example instead of riding more costly flights on an unnecessary million dollar government jet. If SAA is good enough for me, it should be good enough for the president,” he said. The Ministry of Defense was not available for any further comments.

Hungarians love to celebrate and be jolly, but according to a recent study (asking 37,000 adults) carried out by opinion search company GfK Hungaria Piackutato Intezete, the majority of Hungarians prefer to stay at home. The study showed that less Hungarians are willing to turn time towards expanding the horizons in the area of entertainment, culture and arts.

The study was quick to touch on the fact that Hungarians have less dispensable income for such activities. They tend to stay at home and play video games (60%) and do gardening.

Office clerk Janos Szabo, 52, told Budapest Report that he had not been to a movie theatre or a play theatre for almost 15 years. “Prices are so expensive and our salaries have not followed the inflation of the forint,” he complained. Taxi driver Zoltan Toth, 47, says that about 20-25 years ago elderly people would flag a cab to go to the opera, coffee shop or even a museum. “Nowadays I have absolutely no elderly pensioners who want to go for a social fun ride for a few blocks in Budapest. I now exclusively have corporate clients who are working on contract with my company,” he said.

Only about 10% of Hungarians claimed to be theatre-goers, while only 7%claim to attend museums and art exhibitions in 2011

The GfK study reveals that 90% of those answering the survey said they prefer to stay at home and listen to music on the radio or simply watch television. About 70% (mostly men) prefer to read newspapers and 60% (mostly women) prefer to read magazines and books. Hungarians are allegedly also eating more at home, more than 60% in the survey said they have a passion for cooking at home instead of eating out at restaurants (only about 30% of Hungarians eat out at restaurants compared to about above 70% in Italy and Spain).

The survey however also revealed that less Hungarians are receiving party guests in their own homes, most likely because partying is an expensive past-time. Only about 40% said they invite friends and colleagues to party or dine with them (compare this to nearly 70% in Italy).

One of the world’s most famous teams, the UK-based Liverpool FC has broken ties with German sportswear manufacturer Adidas, the club confirmed Wednesday.

Adidas may have missed the fine print on the aborted contract which implies a very impressive track record. Liverpool FC have claimed 18 league titles, 5 European Cup titles and have an unconfirmed global supporter base of at least half a billion fans.

Adidas claims it had “walked away” after negotiations failed to renew their supplier agreement had stalled. Sources close to Liverpool revealed that Adidas was “unhappy with performance” by Liverpool, claiming that such a historically successful team had not performed “good enough” in the season. Some skeptics however claim that because Liverpool FC’s ownership is rather a patriotic North American one, they had always wanted their investment to have a US and not German-owned supplier and as the merchandising agreement was about to expire and as a result Adidas pulled a stunt announcing that it would pull out of the agreement. “Adidas knew that Liverpool had not performed as it should have for some 20-years, so why did they sign a six-year deal earlier,” said 49-year-old Paul Smith, who claims to be one of Liverpool’s most avid supporters.

The club says they signed the outgoing agreement in 2006 but millions of fans worldwide would be indifferent to whether Adidas was the supplier or not as the brand “Liverpool” is what they have devoted their time, energy and money to and not the German paraphernalia manufacturer.

In a press statement Adidas’ CEO Herbert Hainer claimed that his company had walked out on the British club sponsorship agreement due to an “imbalance” in performance numbers on the field.

A source at the US-based John W. Henry’s Fenway Sports Group (which acquired Liverpool FC in the year of the last FIFA World Cup) said that the club had been going through a dry spell, but hoped that as one of the most successful European clubs the tide would turn in the new season. However, they have not won the English league for more than two decades and have recently been eclipsed by north-west rivals Manchester United, who also have American owners in the shape of the Glazer family.

But the owners believe that Liverpool’s partnership would only benefit under a new 6-year deal with the US Boston-based supplier Warrior Sports (established in 1992, better known for their ice-hockey paraphernalia, but relatively unknown to the soccer world as yet).

This may be Warrior Sports’ big break into the multi-billion dollar sport and the springboard of their activities in European soccer. Fans and club executives are said to unanimously agree that Adidas will suffer a major loss by chickening out of their sponsorship with Liverpool, despite the fact that the English team has not won a home league for more than 20 years. Nevertheless the new American connection (soccer fans in the US are allegedly increasing 10-fold per year) could be Liverpool’s biggest stunt to win exposure on the 300-million strong US market and further boost Liverpool’s global awareness.

In a press statement Richard Wright, General Manager of Warrior Sports said that his company is about to rock the world of football by piggy-back riding on of the world’s most loved and most successful soccer clubs. No matter who comes and goes in the world of merchandising one thing for sure, fans will always continue to chant that their club will “never walk alone.”

Ironically Adidas is currently in a legal dispute in Budapest, where Hungarian inventor Laszlo Oroszi has sued the German giant for their infringement of his patent. Oroszi claims that he had shown and offered to sell a special patented idea to Adidas’s Netherlands-based development chief Herbert Galoke (who has since retired). Although Adidas had “rejected” Oroszi’s idea, they built it into their predator soccer shoe range, making millions (during and after the Asian world cup).

An alarming number of people continue to be arrested for drug trafficking in South Africa, despite the recent severe Chinese sanction, where a South African woman was executed for her alleged role as a drug mule in Beijing.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) on Thursday revealed that in 2011 in Cape Town International Airport alone 34 drug mules were arrested after search dogs detected their loads of illegal substances (like cocaine, tik and khat) estimated at street value of ZAR 7.5 million.

The general public are still questioning the government authorities role in cracking down on illegal drug trafficking after Sheryl Cwele (50), spouse of Siyabonga Cwele South Africa’s Minister of State Security, was received a 12-year jail sentence after a court convicted her for recruiting young women as drug mules to smuggle cocaine from South America into the South Africa. This has sparked calls for the minister’s resignation, but the government has swept the issue under the carpet, political experts said.

She has been let out on bail (ZAR 100,000) and is appealing her ruling, while South African Broadcasting Company (SABC) reported that a frantic mother is doing all she can to help free her duped drug mule daughter (31-year-old Tessa Beetge) who was arrested in Brasil after she was caught with 10kg of cocaine. Beetge received an 8-year jail sentence in Soa Paulo

The daughter claims that she was recruited by Sheryl Cwele. Ironically Sheryl Cwele was immediately suspended from her job as director of the health service of a local municipality, but nevertheless she is allegedly still receiving a hefty monthly salary (allegedly ZAR 30,000/month), after a labour court ruled in her favour and reinstated her full salary following her dismissal.

Independent weather soothsayers will allegedly be given a jail sentence under a new law amendment to be passed in the Republic of South Africa.

This was revealed by Gareth Morgan, spokesperson for the Democratic Alliance (DA) environmental faculty. He claims that the current government wishes to amend the South African Weather Service Law in an attempt to illegally gain an monopoly over other independent commercial weather services available to the population.

Morgan says that members of the general public and municipalities could also be threatened by the law amendment as it would be prohibited to issue warnings of thunderstorms or even air pollution unless they obtain permission in writing from the National Weather Service. Even if it is in the best interest of the population an “offender” could receive ZAR 10 million penalty or even up to 10 years jail. Morgan argues that the amendment is unclear as it doesn’t define certain definitions, like ‘severe weather event’.

So the national weather service is practically discouraging citizens who encounter natural phenomena like hurricanes to report them to public radio stations and other media for warning broadcasts. “Nobody, not even the Weather Service, has real time weather knowledge or knows what’s going to happen at a given moment as the weather changes,” he said. “We says the DA wants the offences clause, in the amendment, to be removed.”

OR Tambo International Airport authorities on Thursday (Jan 12, 2012) confirmed radio reports, saying that the culprits had been arrested for extortion on Thursday after they had been under surveillance for quite some time. Authorities said the four policemen had targeted a Ghanaian national on Jan 1, 2012 and extorted USD50 (R400) from the tourist, when demanding an invitation letter.

The savvy tourist was reported to have paid the money (despite having all the required entry documents) to a sergeant and his three constable accomplices and shortly after immediately reported the case to a senior policeman nearby. South Africa has a dark track record of corrupt policemen. Former Interpol head Jackie Celebe has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment on account of charges of corruption.

It is an acceptable joke that people are dying to get into cemeteries, but it is no joke that just recently the late entry into a local university led to a stampede of students and caused the death of a person.

Police are still investigating the cause that led to a stampede ate the University of Johannesburg (UJ) causing the death of one person and the critical injury of 20 others during the late enrolment application on Monday (Jan 9, 2012). The UJ was draped in grief, flying a black flag of mourning, as the empty corridors revealed that late applications had been suspended due to the crisis.

Marie Muller, a spokesperson for UJ, said that contrary to general belief it was a parent (47-year-old Gloria Sekwena) and not a student who had died in the tragic incident. She explained that the mother had been killed after she was stampeded by thousands of other people wanting to arrange registration at the university for the new academic year.
Some student applicants, who preferred not to be named, claimed that UJ should have organised the application properly and more orderly and not just collect non-refundable application fees whether admittance was granted or not.

One student said that she believes the stampede took place after applicants at the entrance had heard that the UJ office was closing late applications because their 17,500 head-count annual quota had already been met. Allegedly 7,000 people had tried to submit their late applications on the day of the stampede.

“Many applicants disregarded security and simply bashed the gates open and everything and everybody was just pushed by the disorderly crowd,” she said.

Another witness claims that after the person had been announced dead, UJ called paramedics to remove the body, wrapped up in a blanket. It took more than an hour before authorities restored some order, another witness said.

The interest group Higher Education for South Africa (HESA) said it was sorry to hear of the tragedy. It claimed that the late application was most probably due to the fact that many high-school graduates may have opted for late application to the lower entrance requirement institution of UJ after realising that other tertiary options required much higher entrance prerequisites.

Engineering factory owner Johan Odendaal, says he is in general disgusted with the deteriorating low standard national curriculum and claims that since the African National Congress (ANC)-led government has ruled South Africa science and mathematics in higher education has been forced to give way to subjects like Marxism and other ideologies that do not require strong academic performances.

“Today any Tom, Dick and Harry can get into a university, especially if they are black.” Said Odendaal. “I struggle to find decent qualified engineers. When I applied to university some 30 years ago, I had to work hard and pay a fortune to complete my studies. Now quality has been diluted and the nation has a major shortage of quality engineer training.”

“Not all school leavers should be accommodated in the current public tertiary education system especially if their high school grades are low. South Africa’s dire national education system needs to a complete restructure if politicians want the economy to remain competitive in the new Millenium,” he said.

But the ANC Women’s League disagrees and says that even applicants who don’t have the required grades should be encouraged to apply to universities. It claims that the stampede at UJ was merely another manifestation of how desperate black youth are to obtain a higher education to secure better paying jobs. The league urged: “don’t give up, try again next year.”

Instead of waiting for legal action UJ came forward with a notion. Muller said that it would waive the tuition cost of the dead parent’s 19-year-old son, Kgositsile, should he win entrance.

Minister of Tertiary Education, Blade Nzimande, had promised to visit the family of the deceased mother to formally express his condolences. On the contrary the youth league of political party Pan African Congress (PAC) has called for the minister’s resignation due to the unnecessary demise. PAC also blames the current government for what it calls “shambles in the education system.”

In reply Nzimande said in the foreseeable future he hopes to see at least 4.5 million students studying in the nation’s tertiary education system by 2030. In a statement he said that in 2011 some 900,000 students were studying at 23 universities. He expects this to increase to at least 1.5 million by 2030.

The difference would be absorbed via 50 so-called Further Education and Training (FET) colleges after the merger of 152 technikons. FET colleges would be connected to the job market, while offer and demand would be based on market requirements.
Nzimande has asked for public debate on his so-called green paper before April 30, 2012.

This is why activists of the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) is now hopes to collect at least 50,000 signatures for its petition to ban the use of sunbeds.

Lucy Balona, a spokesperson for CANSA said that she hoped her organisation could collect the signatures before February 12 as part of their research file of documents to be handed over to the South African Government on World Cancer Day.

She said, “Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in South Africa and risk levels for the disease are among the highest in the world.”

She added that CANSA is especially concerned about the use of sunbeds as research shows that it is one of the biggest contributors to skin cancer among youngsters under the age of 18. Teenagers are especially gullible to magazines promoting body tanning trends, while gyms are reporting a surge in the number of teenagers using sunbeds.

An increasing number of beaches along the South African coastline are claimed to be unsafe – from uncontrolled dogs.

South African law enforcement and special services on Thursday warned that they will take stricter measures against dog owners walking their canines on the nation’s so-called ‘blue flag’ beaches.

Cape Town Assistant Police Chief Neil Arendse said that more stringent measures are now required as bathers on the nation’s beaches are not safe.

He said that the latest (Jan 11, 2012) incident of a toddler mauled by a Rottweiler was just the tip of the ice-berg.

Luckily the girl was rushed to hospital and after life-saving surgery is now in a satisfactory condition, police said.

This unfortunate incident was the “result of the dog being walked on Clifton (beach), a blue flag beach not intended for animals,” he said. The dog was impounded as soon as law enforcers arrived to the scene. It will be handed over to the SPCA animal shelter, until police investigations have been completed.

Arendse believes that several dog-owners suffering from what has been dubbed “main-man syndrome” are intentionally negligent, declining to accept the fact that their pets are prohibited from the nation’s blue flag beaches.

Surfer Richard van der Merver told Budapest Report that many surfers on Clifton Beach have had bad experiences with unruly dogs and claim to be more afraid of the treacherous dogs than a possible shark attack.

Arendse said that in his jurisdiction alone some two-dozen dogs have been impounded after members of the public on blue-flag beaches alerted police.

Based on a recent economic survey 85% of the Hungarians enjoy drinking tap water. At least 75% of all adults participating in the survey, carried out by order of the Hungarian Public Water Association (MAVIZ) claim to “love” the quality of their water.

However the survey failed to mention that bottled water costs an arm and a leg and many people wouldn’t bother buying water in retail outlets. Nevertheless Hungarians are more positive about their drinking water than its neighboring seven countries and most of the European Union peers.

MAVIZ claims that Hungary’s drinking water is considered the nation’s most prized asset and therefore undergoes stringent health and safety measures. The majority of the population answering the questionnaire said that the advantages of Hungarian drinking water lies in its “sustainability for the environment” and “affordability.”

MAVIZ now claims that it wishes to improve legislation for public water in 2012 following a bill that was enforced on Jan 1, 2012. The bill regulates the presence of some 200 components present in drinking water.

Experts agree that all public drinking water in Hungary satisfies legal requirements.

MAVIZ is a collective association for about 100 public water service companies who not only supervise the water industry and trade, but also provide 95% of all available drinking and public water.

Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi

Hungary refused to recall its Ambassador to Iran following a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on Thursday, news-wire MTI reported, saying it would cripple normal day-to-day operations due to its limited staff.

Despite this the Hungarian Government joins is European allies in utterly condemning the attack on the Iranian British Embassy, Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi told reporters in Brussels, after the meeting.

Iranian protesters on Wednesday stormed the British embassy in Tehran, smashing windows, hurling petrol bombs and burning the British flag in protest against sanctions imposed by London.

National Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy

Arriving on the heels of embarrassing news about Hungary’s ‘new’ relationship with the IMF and the Government’s confusing PR campaign about “this time being different,” the Orban-cabinet was dealt another crushing financial blow on Friday morning.

For the first time in 15 years, Hungary’s credit rating was downgraded to ‘junk’ (Ba1) status by Moody’s Investment Service. The agency said that faith in the Government’s ability to consolidate the Hungarian budget and cut state debt (on the medium term) has dwindled, and a further downgrade could come if there is a significant decline in government financial strength due to a lack of progress on structural reforms.

The National Economy Ministry labeled the move as being part of a series of financial attacks against the Hungarian government, saying the economy has improved in several key areas. “Budget deficit will be pushed below 3 percent for the first time in 7 years,” a statement revealed, adding that only 6 out of the 27 other EU member states will achieve this with their current budget.

Homeless shelter in Hungary. Photo by Boroka Feher

Cleared out of bridge underpasses, hiding in underground stations, finding refugein forests, the homeless people of Budapest feel they are being treated as fugitives onthe run. This has FEANSTA, the European Federation of Nation Organizations workingwith the homeless, expressing concerns over concerted attacks in Hungary. The countryis seeking punitive measures against dumpster-diving and street sleeping and FEANTSAforesees this leading to the criminalization of the homeless.

Most of the focus on the growing trend to enforce laws that will lead to theimprisonment of the homeless is falling on the shoulders of István Tarlós, mayor ofBudapest. Tarlós has said, “those who believe that all problems would be solved ifhomeless people were given housing […] are mistaken.”The Mayor of Budapest believes his city is following the strict regulations setforth by other European nations that include Austria, the United Kingdom, France,Spain, Germany, and Holland. FEANSTA has countered with evidence that eventhough many European nations apply strict rules for services that grant the homelessfunding and support, there are no laws in those countries that threaten significant fines orimprisonment as in Hungary.Boróka Fehér, Representative of Tizek Társasága, an umbrella organization ofBudapest homeless service providers, said that after his election last October Tarlós declared a “Program of Public Reconciliation.”

“Although the program was never fully developed in written form, its mostobvious element was the clearing of 13 of busiest inner city underpasses of roughsleepers,” said Fehér. “Without any additional financial support offered, he orderedthese underpasses to be cleared, meaning that after a period of 30 days, while outreachworkers tried to offer accommodation to the people they had registered as living in thoseunderpasses, the police moved in and sent rough sleepers outside.

Hundreds demonstrated against the growing criminalization of homelessness. Photo by Fuggetlen Hirugynokseg

”There was no legal framework to back up the clearing out of the underpasses.Some Hungarian human right watch groups and Fehér claimed it to be a violation andfelt it was propaganda, as only the underpasses most frequented by tourist were clearedout. Fehér’s main concern was that there was no viable solutions to the homeless that hadbeen displaced and left them to the limited option of moving on to the underpasses thathad yet to be raided.Part of problem is the opaqueness of an amendment passed by the HungarianParliament in the autumn of 2010, which defines the functions of public places andallows the municipalities to create a criminal offence for the use of public places ifthe use is not in line with its functions. Stefánia Kapronczay, of the Hungarian CivilLiberties Union, said, “The justification of the amendment revealed the real purposeof it, which is charging homeless people for sleeping in public places and usingthem “inappropriately”.”

“Before this amendment coming into force the Mayor of Budapest announced hisproject to clear the inner city of Budapest and terminated the contract with those NGOsinvolved in services provided for homeless people,” said Kapronczay. “The municipalityof Budapest introduced its decree on the non-conform use of public places anddefined “residing in public spaces” as a criminal offense. People who live on the publicplaces as a life style or to store their belongings used for living there can be charged witha fine up to 50,000 HUF (216 USD).”Tarlós confronts these allegations and claims Budapest is in accord with otherWestern European countries concerning issues of public space rules, homeless rights andregulations. “Even the liberal Netherlands has got more consistent and more explicit rulesthan Budapest,” said Tarlós.

“I think that the interests of the majority of the citizens of Budapest count morethan the opinion of various ill-informed organizations who are not aware of the realsituation or who are inaccurately informed.” He added, “They are not responsible for thiscity, while I am.”“We only criminalize what is criminal. Homeless people too have to abide bythe law and rules of human coexistence,” said Tarlós regarding on how his city treats thehomeless.Tarlós’s evaluation of Budapest’s homeless situation and solutions may bedistorted by comparing his tactics against those of other European nations. “I think Tarlósis not aware of what is happening in other European cities,” said Fehér.

“Some of hiscolleagues might have visited a huge shelter in London or Paris, and now think that this isall there is, but it is obviously not the case.”The homeless shelters in Budapest are overcrowded and dilapidated, according toFehér. “There are [shelters] where people have to sleep in huge dormitories of 12-20-50people. There are still some, where there are bugs that bite and carry infections.”Funding for homeless shelters has been going down in the past few years andmany shelters are struggling for survival and don’t have the money to offer moreattractive services, according to Fehér. “There is only one service in Budapest offeringindividual bedrooms, and there are only a few offering double rooms for couples. Theirmodernization would cost a considerable amount of money.”In October Tarlós proclaimed that Budapest would open new host sites andshelters for the homeless and would follow through on a proposal passed by the GeneralAssembly of Budapest in August to establish and renovate three shelters in the city’s 4th,1st, and 8th districts.“It is true that we build and establish new homeless shelters. We provide hundredsof millions for this,” said Tarlós.

“Furthermore, we also provide working opportunitiesfor the homeless through our public service companies who are already employing morethan 400 homeless people.”The mayor’s primary objective is to achieve a state where homeless people cansleep in human conditions and not out in the streets, and provide an opportunity so thatthe homeless can work, which he believes will promote their integration into society in asignificant way.The widespread affront against the homeless seems to be bottlenecking inBudapest’s notorious 8th district. The 8th district is traditionally the poorest district of thecity and heaviest hit by all kinds of social problems. The area has one of the highest ratesof unemployment and school dropouts.

There also a number of elderly people scraping byon meager pensions.Máté Kocsis is the mayor of the 8th district, a member of FIDEZ the samepolitical party as Tarlós, and Fehér sarcastically deems him “the party’s expert onhomelessness.”“Máté Kocsis would like to make the district a yuppie one, and is doing all hecan to ensure this,” said Fehér. New development projects in the 8th district are leadingto the displacement of homeless people, and instead of revitalizing neighborhoods andencouraging a social mix, Kocsis has tried to push poor people out of the center of thedistrict.The opening of a 24/7 booking center exclusively for the homeless in the 8thdistrict in October has riled many in the community. It has been set up to deliver peoplewho have been caught in the act of rough sleeping, or looking through the contents of agarbage bin, or who are caught smoking or drinking alcohol in a forbidden place.

Fehérsees this as hypocritical, “The 8th district has forbidden smoking in certain public placesin the district, mostly in the slum areas, while smoking in public is still allowed in theyuppie restaurant district and squares frequented by students.”The booking center is seen as a tool for penalizing and harassing thehomeless. “The booking center is a police station in reality, where police bring peoplefor ‘questioning’ and then either send them away with a warning, or give them a ticket.”Fehér added, “There have been people who were brought in for questioning every singleday, as they persisted in sleeping rough. Informally, the police were told to advisehomeless people to go and sleep in one of the other districts.

”Recently demonstrations have been held to oppose what people have deemed theunconstitutional and inhumane treatment of the homeless in their city. A group called TheCity is for All marched in the streets on 17, October to stop a government proposal toincrease fines and imprisonment on people who are found residing in public places. Up toa thousand people attended the demonstration, which ended dramatically when hundredsof people lay down on the street in front of the Parliament building, while other activistdressed as police officers tried to drag them off to jail. For the demonstrators, laws thatpunish the homeless for not having housing are not the solution.“I think it is shameful that the 8th district has spent much more on its campaignof criminalizing homeless people than what they spend on services for the homelessthemselves,” said Fehér.

Fehér believes Budapest can start reversing the trend of targeting the homeless bytaking a first step with a minimalist solution that would begin with affordable single unitoccupancies. “At the moment there are 300 plus such units in Budapest, and the waitinglist is more than a year long, for a small bedroom, with shared kitchen and bathroomfacilities.”Ending homelessness is the only solution for making sure mistreatment doesnot continue. “We urge the preparation of a strategy on homelessness. Such a strategyshall focus on prevention and provide effective ways out of homelessness,” saidKapronczay. “In our (Hungarian Civil Liberties Union) opinion staying at a shelter canonly be considered as temporary solution.”Meanwhile politicians have welcomed the homeless to shovel snow this winter inorder for them to earn some money to rent their own places.

“I think it is shameful thatyoung men who have been politicians and worn suits all their lives are running wholedistricts and evicting or harassing people much older than them who are down on theirluck,” said Fehér. “These young men call on the value of honest work, while they havebeen earning at least 10 times the minimal wage all their lives and have never knownwhat it is like to have no money or not be able to pay the rent.”Demonstrators will continue to protest the passing of bills that will further lead tothe criminalization of the homeless. They march carrying signs that read “Habitat Insteadof Prison” and “The Poor are not Criminals.”

Budapest's Szabadsag Hid engulfed in smog

A warning has been issued in Budapest, after a leading paediatric hospital (Svabhegyi Gyogyintezet) reported an alarming increase in the number of children with respiratory complaints due to excessive smog levels.

Patient numbers could double in the coming days, the center said in a press release, as even children with no previous history of respiratory disorders are affected.

According to Dr. Andrea Banfi, those suffering from symptoms are advised to remain indoors or visit high altitudes. A child showing early signs of respiratory illness should immediately be taken to the appropriate healthcare professional, she added.

Who knows who and when new delegations are arriving to Hungary from China.

However based on the latest reports Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is paying an official visit to the Goulash capital on a week-long trip and will allegedly discuss how it can relocate billions to Europe, in what markets have dubbed “support from Europe’s ailing economy.” The European Union had planned to see their group be the strongest economy of the world, by 2010, but corruption and political feuds had allegedly undermined these plans.

The Chinese have disclosed that they are sending thier premier President Hu Jintao to Budapest (as Hungary is still presiding the EU until July 1, 2011) from where he will also visit Berlin and London on a red-carpet visit (colour not connected to China’s communist regime). He is expected to sign all kinds of trade and cultural agreements but will certainly avoid any questions from the state media on human rights issues.

It is unclear exactly Wen will discuss what as Hu knows exactly what he wants. However China, with its foreign exchange reserve exceeding USD 3-trillion, is expected to buy up large sums of European debt and in return would receive a strong foothold in the EU.

Wen’s delegation is expected to pen some state and commercial deals with Hungary during the visit. Those staning in line to get a handshake and a pat on the back from the Chinese will include Hungarian President Pal Schmitt, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

This picture is an illustration.

A priest, his wife and two accomplices were due to stand trial on Monday (June 13, 2011) at a court in South Africa, sources told Budapest Report.
The priest and his accomplices have allegedly been charged with kidnapping, murdering and mutilating the body of a little girl for so-called “muti” harvesting purposes. The child’s remains were found in a deserted bush area in the Ekurhuleni area of Gauteng province.

Muti murders are quite common in Southern Africa, where unconfirmed reports alleged that even politicians have approached so-called Sangomas (traditional Zulu witchdoctor) to advance their careers. The Sangomas pay handsomely for the body parts of young maidens, especially the mutilated genitals. The priest had allegedly used the mutilated genitals and services of the Sangoma to boost the membership of his low attendance church.

Last year just before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the South African government expressed serious concerns about African traditional healers and their roles in killing people for muti purposes. But underfunded authorities are struggling to carry out their pledge to root out the devious act, practiced under the auspices of “traditional healing” and “traditional exorcism.” Many former human muti practicing men and women have given up the practice, but authorities claim that young maidens are still being poached, just like rhinos for their horn – primarily for aphrodisiac purposes. Municipalities have allegedly set up special security services to safeguard children, especially young girls. Authorities have no official statistics, but alleged that at least 300 people are sacrificially murdered each year for muti purposes. Every month there are reports of vigilante groups who allegedly take the law into their own hands and reportedly lynch the perpetrators.

In its June 6, 2011 edition South Afica’s leading North-western newspaper Platinum Weekly (http://www.platinumweekly.co.za/article825.html)ran an article about the village of Tlokweng- Swartruggens that depicted a war zone after police were called to silence the angry population who had allegedly formed mobs to lynch a local pub owner who they claim was involved in a spate of muti murders in their area. Police had allegedly known about his involvement but were allegedly incompetent in solving the cases. Three members of the vigilante mob – demanding the expulsion of the provincial police commissioner – were allegedly killed by riot police gunshots.

The Republic of South Africa on Sunday (June 12, 2011) announced the establishment of a brand new, African continental Free Trade Area (FTA).

The country’s 69-year-old Zulu president Jacob Zuma told reporters that the new trading bloc would be the biggest ever from Cape-to-Cairo (a term first coined by British colonialist Cecil John Rhodes in the end of the the 19th Century) consist of African 26 countries with a population exceeding 700-mil, many of which are under-developed impoverished nation’s that heavily rely on South Africa’s help.

Zuma called for international and African unity claiming that no single nation on the black continent was capable of prospering in the 21st Century by its own. He said at the launch that the new initiative would see the Southern African Development Community; Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and East African Community could generate an annual trade value of USD 875-bil.

The president also said that he believes the free trade area would “help and accelerate regional integration” to ensure that African nations are not exploited globally by more developed capitalist nations.

Zuma told the 24 heads of state who were present that the new agreement was initiated in 2008 and now with its inception would be another “major step towards achieving economic freedom in our lifetime on the continent.” He also expressed that the continent must also continue building unity to get rid of poverty, disease, deprivation and conflicts.

African leaders however expressed concerns about the seriousness of the new announcement following major political turmoil and human rights violations by various African dictatorships including Libya, Madagascar, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

Participants also warned of major stumbling obstacles including import restrictions, national competitivemenss and other burning issues like illegal diamond trade, rhino poaching, human trafficking slave trade and drug smuggling.

The rich have grown richer and the poorer are even more poor, according to an independent survey carried out by South African street vendors to review one year after the 2010 South African Football World Cup, to which FIFA had all rights of sales and merchandise. Mpho Tshabalala, a street Vendor in Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD) says he had had high hopes of making some real money and help secure a prosperous a future for his family, via the football spectacle.

Through a translator the 55-year-old Tswana man said, “I have helped my three kids through high school and now they all want to go to college, but I can’t afford it. Local council members promised that we will be able to make some real money during the football spectacle, but then withdrew their promises saying that FIFA has all the rights to sales in the vicinity of the stadiums and other football related merchandise.” He added, “I am in a worse situation than before the world cup as South Africans have continuing inflation, high unemployment, increasing petrol prices. A year ago I purchased quality beef mince meat for ZAR 35 per kilo, now I’m paying ZAR 45 per kilo at the wholesaler.” He argues that while in the UK the minimum wages are about GBP 6 (or ZAR 60)/hour; his wife Themba- who has been working as a teller at a local Checkers retail supermarket for 20 years – is earning only ZAR 16/hour.

Mpho says that he is speaking for thousands of other street vendors who have all complained that the 2010 soccer spectacle did not help reduce poverty and was merely another FIFA stunt to make billions, by exploiting the good will of the South African nation. “I’m a local South African, but I couldn’t even afford a ticket to one of the 2010 matches, said Tshabalala, pointing towards the revamped Ellis Park football stadium, almost a stone’s throw from his struggling micro business.

Vendors like Mpho have questioned why their own government is capable of squandering billions for a sporting event, but unable to help micro businesses and alleviate poverty stricken South Africans, almost 20 years after the fall of the dreaded Apartheid regime. Another vendor Simphiwe Golele says, “We are reportedly sending millions of Rands in aid for Japan, one of the world’s richest countries, when we have millions of South Africa living in shanty towns that also look like they had been in an earthquake.” He added, “We can’t always use the Apartheid regime as an excuse for poverty in South Africa, when thousands of black politicians are living like the American and European elite neglecting the poor.” Golele was shocked to learn that despite the growing poverty in South Africa, the national government has done nothing to promote industry. He exclaimed “While there is high unemployment in the textile industry all South African national football jerseys for the 2010 FIFA World Cup were being made in China, while we had the means of producing them locally just as cheaply. Now I hear that all the Springbok rugby jerseys for our team in the 2011 Rugby World Cup are now also being manufactured in China.”

Some financial experts say that it may be too soon to say but the legacy of 2010 spectacle may easily contribute to South Africa becoming another “Greek tragedy” after the country’s economy collapsed in the aftermath of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Joe Public enjoyed no financial benefits of the hype that was marketed by FIFA, they said. It is believed that South Africa had estimated that the soccer spectacle would help create 400,000-700,000 new jobs and generate at least USD 6-bil for the local economy. But the political promises and ephemeral figures brought nothing for some 60% of the 49 million South Africans who are still living below the poverty line.