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.

As a result of rain and melting snow, the local water management authorities reported rising river levels from north-eastern Hungary on Monday. Areas covered with inland water increase in various parts of the country.

The stability of the eurozone is a matter of key importance and all member states are ready to do more to ensure stability, president of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said on Tuesday in Budapest.

Hungarian Foreign Minister János Martonyi and Radoslaw Sikorski, his Polish counterpart, met for talks on the upcoming European Union presidencies of their countries in Budapest on Wednesday, and discussed cooperation in several key areas.

Thе American envoy tο Afghanistan аnd Pakistan, Richard Hoolbroke whο came to fame when brokering a Balkan peace to end the war in Bosnia, died at the age of 69. He is survived by his third wife, Hungarian-born author Kati Marton.

The the UN Climate Conference in Cancún, Mexico, has ended successfully, with the participating states approving a balanced package of resolutions that pave the way for a global convention on climate change.

The Hungarian army's Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) based in Afghanistan's Baghlan Province does not participate in armed action and has never had a mandate to do so, the Defence Ministry said in reaction to a report by Wikileaks.

Hungary's Ferenc Szõnyi won the world's longest triathlon race, the Double Deka World Challenge 2010 in Monterrey, Mexico, swimming, bicycling and running a distance of over 4,500 kilometers. Last year, he was the world's best in the 10-time triathlon