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.

Hungarian families decorate pine trees into Christmas trees to be ready by the evening with presents under it. In Hungary, Christmas is a two-day festive event (December 25 and 26) and is now less of a religious holiday but that of the family.

Given the outstanding performance of Hungarian athletes at this year’s Summer Olympic Games in London, it has come as no surprise that the Hungarian athletes of the year in 2012 are all Olympic gold medal winners.

Secondary school students gathered in front of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on Wednesday to protest against government plans to change Hungary's higher educationby cutting funding for higher education.

In the morning of December15, soldiers of the Hungarian-American Military Advisory Team (MAT) came into fighting contact in Afghanistan’s Kilagaj region. The night before, the MAT-base was attacked by insurgents' rocket fire.

Over a thousand Hungarian students took to the streets on Monday evening in Budapest in protest of the government's plan to cut subsidies to finance college tuition briefly blocking a bridge over the Danube in freezing weather.

Three leaders of the of the European Union received in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the EU "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe".