Hungary lost on penalties to South Korea Monday night in the Budapest qualification tournament for to the Top Division of the 2013 Ice Hockey World Championship. The defeat makes clinching the first or second qualifying spot even more difficult.

The Csodalámpa Foundation has fulfilled the wish of another child. This time, it was a 13-year-old boy who received a valuable gift from the Foundation that is the beneficiary of the raffle income of this year’s Best of Budapest and Hungary Gala.

Budapest Week Publishing presented the most outstanding restaurants, hotels and winemakers of the past year with the coveted Best of Budapest & Hungary Award during 20th of such galas in the Hungarian capital this past Saturday evening.

“I am partially Irish, partially Hungarian. I grew up in Ireland with a Hungarian father and an Irish mother and with a Hungarian name that nobody could pronounce.” Nick Kós, Country Managing Partner of PWC Hungary told Diplomacy & Trade.

Budapest Week Publishing has collected a nice sum in charity at its recent Valentine’s Day Gala evening. The proceeds from that event are used to fulfill the wishes of two children through the Csodalámpa (Magic Lamp) Foundation.

The Hungarian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that one of the victims of the deadly hot-air balloon accident over Luxor, Egypt was a woman of Hungarian nationality. She was one of the 18 tourists who died as a balloon exploded in the air.

Within the framework of the SymbioCity 2013 program, the Smart City conference took place in the ‘Green House’ in Budapest this week focusing on sustainable urban environment with the participation of Swedish and Hungarian experts.

Among the European cardinals, Hungary’s Péter Erdõ is the favorite in the conclave to be elected as the next Pope, according to the ‘Italian Insider’ that says 60-year-old Erdõ could be pontiff for a long time. Hungarian circles dismiss the idea.

The Advisory Board of the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Team of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) admitted Hungary as a new member at its annual meeting on February 5-6 in Geneva, Switzerland.

24-year-old Hungarian tennis player Ágnes Szávay, has announced her retirement from competitive tennis due to a vertebral injury she has long been suffering from. She hopes to capitalize on her experience in teaching tennis to children.

France is a major investor in Hungary, its presence has tripled in this country between 2001 and 2011. The scope of this presence is described in the study published by the French Embassy and the Hungarian-French Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

If there is such a request, Hungary stands ready to continue its presence in Afghanistan after 2014, the end of the mandate, Hungarian President János Áder said after his discussions at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

Snow that began to fall Sunday night and continued Monday morning hinders traffic in the Hungarian capital. Roads both in Budapest and Western Hungary are snowy and skiddy, motorists are advised to stay home or use the means of community transport.

Hungarian journalist Zsolt Bayer's recent remarks concerning the Roma minority are unacceptable, Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission. Hungary’s Deputy Prime Minister, Tibor Navracsics also condemned the remarks.

FIFA, world soccer's governing body, sanctioned Hungary to play the next World Cup qualifying match on home ground behind closed doors. The disciplinary action came after racist abuses by Hungarian fans at a recent match against Israel.