In a series of personal rather official stories shared with the readers of Diplomacy & Trade by ambassadors accredited to Hungary, the Croatian Ambassador Gordan Grlic-Radman has written a diary about his visits around Hungary.

The Hungarian movie ‘The notebook’ submitted to the 86th Academy Awards ('Oscars') for Best Foreign Language Film has been short-listed to be among the nine finalists from which the final five nominees announced on January 16, 2014.

This winter has so far been unseasonably mild in Hungary. Daily heat records were broken again this Friday afternoon with over 12 degrees Celsius measured in Budapest and over 15 degrees in Békéscsaba in the southeast of the country.

The world's best-known female organ player Rhoda Scott gave a concert this past Sunday in the Budapest Marriott Hotel, performing with fellow American Sylvia Howard, Hungary's Roby Lakatos and the Modern Art Orchestra.

Earlier this year, members of Omega, the legendary Hungarian rock group were recognized in Russia for the role they played decades ago. In a recent issue of Diplomacy & Trade, János Kóbor and László Benkõ talked about the surprise.

Swimmers Katinka Hosszú and Dániel Gyurta have been voted the athletes of the year for 2013 by the Association of Hungarian Sportswriters. The awards were presented at the Sports Stars Gala Evening in Budapest this Thursday.

Hungarian-Turkish relations have strong roots dating back several decades and have a promising future as well, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said at a Turkish-Hungarian business forum organized in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

The Hungarian state struck a deal on buying out Germany utility RWE’s share in Fõgáz, the capital city’s gas distributor. The buyer is the Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) and the subject of the transaction is RWE’s 49.83% stake in Fõgáz.

Hungary's most powerful supercomputer is scheduled to be operating in Debrecen University, in the eastern part of the country, by the end of 2014. It is another project that will be realized in the country from European Union funds.

”Looking back on the two years since my arrival in Budapest, I am proud of having the opportunity to serve my country here,” the Ambassador of Republic of Korea, Gwan-Pyo Nam tells Diplomacy & Trade in a recent interview.

At a charity event hosted by the Hungarian Foreign Ministry in Budapest, the diplomatic corps in Hungary have collected donations for tow organizations: the Missionaries of Charity and the Budapest Methodological Center of Social Policy.

There are always new challenges in the European Union, in addition to the old dilemmas - Foreign Minister János Martonyi said at the winners' ceremony of the competition entitled ‘Hungary in the European Union, the European Union in the World’.

Certificates recognizing the nation's Hungaricums were awarded for the first time at the First Hungarian Ball - "a celebration of the national treasures of the Hungarian people", Minister for Rural Development and Hungaricum Committee Chairman Sándor Fazekas said.

Young people consider important honesty, but they do not always think it pays off. This is why there is a need to educate ethics to them. This was pointed out at the "Átláccó" festival held by Transparency International Hungary the International Anti-Corruption Day.

The global trade agreement signed at a ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Bali, Indonesia, represents a positive development for Hungary and Europe, Minister of Foreign Affairs János Martonyi said.