About 3.3 percent of just over three million members in Hungary's mandatory private pension funds have opted to stay in the private system, according to the National Pensions Directorate. The total number of those who have chosen to stay is 102,019.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday discussed how to finance infrastructure needed for joining up the bloc's energy networks to form a single energy market. The meeting was chaired by Hungarian foreign minister János Martonyi.

Ferenc Szõnyi is the fifth man in the world to have completed the double deca ironman competition: 76 kms of swimming, 3,600 kms cycling and 844 kms running. it took him 481 hours, 54 minutes and 10 seconds to finish this race.

Hungary's new drug strategy will focus on prevention at the earliest ages while proposing stricter prosecution for drug dealers, a senior official at the National Resources Ministry, told the daily Népszabadság on Tuesday.

Swiss Ambassador Christian Mühlethaler arrived to Hungary for the first time in 1969 as a tourist and came back several times as a tour guide in the 1970s. He gave an interview for the Swiss Focus section in Diplomacy & Trade.

Three young women died at a club in downtown Budapest late Saturday night after panic broke out and guests were trying to leave. No other injuries were reported. Police detained five people in connection with the incident.

At their recent meeting in Budapest, the Secretaries of State for EU Affairs of the EU trio presidencies – Spain, Belgium, Hungary – presented an evaluation of their joint efforts aimed at the smooth transition between the presidencies.

Melting snow and rainfall have aggravated the already serious inland water situation in Hungary where close to 400,000 hectares are affected. The country has not seen such inland flooding in 11 years.

The President of the Republic of Hungary, Pál Schmitt gave a reception to the members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Budapest. The event took place in the Sándor Palace housing the President’s Office in the Buda Castle of the Hungarian capital.

The popularity of the European Union has increased in Hungary with 46 percent of people stating in early January that Hungary's accession has been beneficial to the country as against 38 percent last July. The figures are quoted from a survey by Szonda Ipsos.

Former Foreign Minister of Slovakia, Miroslav Lajèák has been appointed as the head of department at the External Action Service of the European Union on a territory that is of significant importance for Hungary and its EU Presidency.

The European Union's '2011 European Year of Volunteering' program series was opened this past week-end in Budapest by the European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has promised that the country's new media law would be changed if necessary, the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said after talks with Orban on Friday.

Hungarian peacekeeper István Papp, who was kidnapped in Sudan in early October, has been freed. The news was forwarded by the Sudanese foreign minister to his Hungarian counterpart over the phone on Wednesday.

Hungarian police plan to buy sixty new medium-category cars and fifty motorcycles to escort diplomatic convoys during Hungary's EU presidency in the first half of 2011, national daily Népszabadság said on Tuesday.