condolence

Swimmer Katinka Hosszú was in the area where the terrorist attack took place in Stockholm

Not long before the terrorist attack in Stockholm yesterday, Olympic Champion Swimmer Katinka Hosszú and her husband visited the area where the attack took place.

Luckily, they had left the place before the attack happened.

Katinka Hosszú arrived in Stockholm on Thursday to compete in an international swimming tournament.

This is what Katinka wrote on Facebook:

“It was heartbreaking to hear the news about the attack in Stockholm. My heart goes out to the families and friends who were affected. We were walking around that area just before but fortunately we got to the hotel when the attack happened. Thanks for all your concerned and caring messages, we are ok.”

Photo: facebook.com/katinkahosszu/

Hungarian leaders condole on Stockholm attack

Budapest, April 7 (MTI) – Hungarian leaders have expressed condolences to their Swedish counterparts concerning the Stockholm attack carried out on Friday.

President János Áder sent a telegram to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, expressing his and the Hungarian people’s “deepest sympathies” to the victims of the “devious terrorist act” and their families.

In a letter written to his Swedish counterpart, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed his and the Hungarian people’s sympathies and pledged support to the victims and their families, saying that “we cannot give in to senseless violence”.

The attack was also condemned by the Hungarian foreign ministry.

On Friday afternoon, a truck drove into a crowd on a shopping street in Stockholm, killing three people in what the Swedish prime minister said seem to be a terrorist attack.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Fredrik Sandberg

Hungary sends condolences to Russian president over St Petersburg blast

Budapest, April 3 (MTI) – President János Áder has sent his condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the explosion in the St Petersburg metro on Monday.

In his letter, Áder conveyed the sympathy of Hungarians to the families of nine people who died earlier in the day.

“We deeply sympathise with those injured, too, and wish them a speedy and full recovery,” Áder wrote in his letter.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also expressed condolences in a letter to the Russian president, the PM’s press chief said.

“Such violent and inexplicable attacks cause every nation great pain, but at the same time they do not diminish, and cannot diminish, our common commitment to fighting terrorism,” the letter said.

Orbán assured Putin of the support of Hungary and the Hungarian people “in these difficult hours”.

“I share with my compatriots the pain of the victims’ families and I wish the injured the swiftest possible recovery,” the letter said.

Hungary’s president sends condolences to Queen over London attack

Budapest, March 23 (MTI) – The Hungarian president expressed condolences to Queen Elizabeth II in a telegram over Wednesday’s terrorist attack in London, the presidential office reported.

János Áder said he was deeply saddened to learn about the attack which claimed the lives of innocent people.

He expressed deep sympathies on the Hungarian people’s behalf to the families of the victims and wished them a speedy recovery.

Hungary resolutely condemns the attack as a “brutal and heinous” act of violence, Áder said.

 

Photo: MTI/AP/Matt Dunham

Hungary expresses condolences over London terrorist attack

Budapest, March 23 (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has expressed his condolences to the victims of Wednesday’s terrorist attack in London in a letter sent to British Prime Minister Theresa May, Orbán’s press chief said on Thursday. The Hungarian government expressed its sympathy to families of the victims in Wednesday’s terrorist attack in London, and wished a speedy recovery to those injured, the foreign ministry told MTI.

“I was devastated to learn about the brutal terrorist attack in the heart of London,” Orbán said in the letter and expressed his deepest condolences on behalf of the people of Hungary, Bertalan Havasi said.

“This heinous event cannot and will not weaken our commitment to stand up against terror and violence,” he said.

“I can assure you that Hungary remains a firm ally of the United Kingdom in the fight against international terrorism,” the prime minister said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Britain in these difficult moments,” he said.

Government expresses condolences over London attack victims

In government’s statement, the ministry said that “such tragic events also highlight the importance of making the security of Europeans a top priority in European politics”.

“Efforts against terrorism must be stepped up… to restore security in Europe,” the statement said.

According to reports from the Scotland Yard, four people died and at least 20 were seriously injured in the attack which happened in central London.

Photo: MTI/AP/Stefan Rousseau

Prize-winning film director András Kovács dies, aged 91

Budapest, March 11 (MTI) – The prize-winning Hungarian director András Kovács died on Saturday, aged 91, his family told MTI.

Kovács was awarded the Kossuth Prize in 1970, Hungary’s highest state honour for artists, and was a two-time winner of the Balázs Béla Prize.

Kovács’s 1966 film Cold Days, which examined individual responsibility for the massacre by Hungarian military and gendarmerie of Serbs and Jews in Vojvodina in 1942, became the source of much controversy.

His 1978 film The Stud Farm was among the first to deal openly with Hungary’s history in the 1950s.

Hungarian-American Nobel laureate Oláh dies

Budapest, March 9 (MTI) – Hungarian-born American Nobel laureate chemist George (in Hungarian: György) Oláh has died, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences said on Thursday.

Oláh, who died in Beverly Hills at the age of 89, received the 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for his contribution to carbocation chemistry”, the academy said.

Oláh was one of the founders of plastic industry and research in Hungary before emigrating after the 1956 revolution. He lived in Canada and the USA where he lectured at the University of South California. Much of his work focused on researching the possibilities of higher-octane petrol production. His work with superacids reacting with methane started a new era in plastic production.

Oláh was awarded a Szechenyi Grand Prize in Hungary in 2011.

Bus crash tragedy in Italy – Pope Francis expresses condolences over Verona bus accident

Budapest, January 25 (MTI) – Pope Francis has expressed his condolences to everyone affected by a Hungarian bus accident near Verona last Friday, including the families of the victims and those injured.

The telegram forwarded by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to MTI on Wednesday states that the Pope was deeply saddened to hear about the bus accident that claimed the lives of 16 Hungarians and caused serious injuries to several others.

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Pope Francis said he would pray for the injured and for everyone affected by the tragedy, trusting that they recover and find solace during the time of sadness.

He said he would ask the blessing of God for the entire community of the Szinyei Merse Pál secondary school in Budapest and all mourners.

 

Photo: MTI/EPA pool/Alberto Pizzoli

Former Smallholders’ Party leader József Torgyán dies at 84

Budapest, January 22 (MTI) – The former leader of the Independent Smallholders’ Party József Torgyán has died, aged 84, his family told MTI.

Torgyán passed away surrounded by close family early Sunday.

Torgyán was born on November 16, 1932 in Mateszalka in northeast Hungary. He studied in Budapest, first music, then law, graduating with honours in 1955. He was a practicing lawyer until 1990.

Torgyán joined the Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party (FKGP) during the crushed anti-Soviet revolution of 1956 and he was among the organisers when the party resumed operations in 1988. He became the party’s leader in 1991 and held the post until 2002.

Torgyán was a member of parliament between 1990 and 2002 and FKGP group leader for a year starting in 1990 and later between 1994 and 1998.

He was Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in the government of Viktor Orbán in 1998-2001.

In 2000, he was the FKGP’s candidate for the office of President of Hungary but did not accept the nomination. In 2007, he founded the Movement for Renewing Hungary party which operated for one year.

News portal Ripost reported last December that Torgyán was hospitalised with congestive heart failure.

Photo: MTI

Bus crash tragedy in Italy – Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and Russian President Putin expressed condolences to Hungary

According to Sputnik news agency, Kremlin press service said that Vladimir Putin expressed on Saturday his condolences to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Hungarian President János Áder over a deadly crash of a bus with Hungarian citizens in Italy. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni expressed his condolences on the phone to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the whole of Hungary.

Putin expresses condolences to Hungary

The Sputnik news agency said:

“It is especially tragic that children and teenagers became victims of the accident,” Putin said in a telegram. He also expressed support for families of victims and wished soon recovery to those injured in the crash.

Italian and Hungarian Prime Ministers spoke on the phone

Paolo Gentiloni informed his Hungarian counterpart of all the circumstances related to the accident, as well as of the fact that the Italian ambulance service and health care institutions are doing everything they can to provide the best possible care for the injured Hungarians, the press chief said.

Mr Orbán thanked the Italian Prime Minister for the information and the work of the Italian authorities. He asked his partner to ensure that the Italian and Hungarian state agencies form the closest possible cooperation in order to uncover the circumstances of the mass disaster and to transport the injured back to Hungary within the shortest possible time, the information released reads.

Photo: MTI

Prime Minister Orbán condoles over death of “monk of the Gulag”

candles-condolence

Budapest (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sent a letter of condolences to Archabbot Asztrik Várszegi of Pannonhalma over the death of Placid Oloffson, a Benedictine monk who spent nine years in a Soviet prison camp, the prime minister’s press chief Bertalan Havasi told MTI.

Born as Karoly Olofsson, Father Placid died at the age of 100 on Sunday evening.

 

He was arrested in 1946 by the ill-famed Hungarian secret policy AVH, then transferred to the Soviet authorities, which finally sentenced him to ten years in a Gulag camp under trumped-up “terrorism” charges.

Orbán wrote in the letter that “a true representative of Hungarian freedom and European Christian culture has passed away. During his one hundred years, he bravely demonstrated that there is freedom where the Spirit of God is present: in church and the classroom just as in prison and the forced labour camp.”

Hungary’s President, PM send condolences over Turkey shooting

Budapest, January 1 (MTI) – President János Áder has sent a message of condolences to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, over the shooting on New Year’s Eve at a nightclub in Istanbul.

Áder said he was full of sorrow to have to express condolences over yet another cruel terrorist attack, which this time happened in the first few hours of 2017. “It shook me deeply that the maniacs of destruction could not even spare people who were welcoming in the New Year with hope and joy,” the president said, according to a statement by his office on Sunday.

On his own behalf and that of the Hungarian people he expressed sincere sympathy to the relatives of the innocent victims, as well as hope that the injured would recover as quickly as possible.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also expressed his sympathy for the families of the victims and wished a swift recovery to those hurt in the attack which killed 39 people. In a message to his counterpart, Binali Yildirim, he wrote: “Hungary greatly values the active role of Turkey and the Turkish people in the fight against terrorism. This inhuman attack strengthens the commitment of my government to act against terrorism and to support Turkey’s related efforts.”

The foreign ministry also condemned the attack saying, “We feel sympathy for the mourners and we trust that the injured will recover.”

Photo: MTI/AP/IHA

Hungarian president expresses condolences to his German conterpart

Budapest, December 20 (MTI) – President Janos Áder has sent a telegram of condolence to German President Joachim Gauck over Monday’s terrorist attack on a Christmas fair in Berlin.

In his telegram, Áder voiced his “deep regret” over the “underhand and ruthless attack”.

“In these difficult hours of hardship you have our sincere sympathy and we share your grief,” Áder said.

“We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the president said in his telegram.

“We must overcome the forces of destruction and, guided by our shared values, do everything to prevent those obsessed by violence from jeopardising the lives of peaceful people. In this fight, Germany can rely on support from its friends including Hungary,” Áder said.

 

Photo: MTI/EPA/Paul Zinken

Hungary sends message of condolence over Berlin attack

Budapest, December 20 (MTI) – Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has sent a message of condolence to his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, expressing sympathy to the families of the victims of Monday’s attack on a Christmas market in Berlin. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has expressed shock and sympathy over Monday’s attack in Berlin, in a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“The Hungarian people deeply condemn the ruthless and vile Berlin attack which took place as Europe prepares for its greatest Christian celebration,” Szijjártó wrote in the letter.

 

Orbán condemns Berlin attack in letter to Merkel

In his letter, Orbán condemned “all forms of terrorism and violence”, the prime minister’s press office told MTI on Tuesday.

Referring to the attack as a “serious blow not only to the people of Berlin but to the whole of Europe and our shared Christian values”, Orban assured Merkel of Hungary’s readiness to cooperate with Germany to ensure security for the citizens of Europe.

“Hungarians share the grief of family members of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” the letter said.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Maurizio Gambarini

Hungary condemns terrorist attack in Istanbul

Budapest, December 11 (MTI) – Hungary’s Foreign Ministry condemned the terrorist attack in Istanbul in a statement issued on Sunday.

The security of the European Union starts with the stability of Turkey, thus any such attack is one against the EU, too, said the ministry’s press chief, Tamás Menczer.

“We extend our sympathies to the bereaved and wish a speedy recovery to those injured. We also assure Turkey that Hungary stands with it in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

“Obviously, the fight against terrorist organisations must continue, without discrimination,” he added.

Two explosions near a football stadium in Istanbul late Saturday killed at least 29 people and injured 166.

The Foreign Ministry said it was unaware of any Hungarians among the victims.

Photo: MTI/EPA/Sedat Suna

Hungary offers condolences on Bulgarian train catastrophe

 

Budapest, December 10 (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed his condolences to his Bulgarian counterpart, Boyko Borissov, on Saturday’s train catastrophe in northeastern Bulgaria.

In a letter sent to Borissov, Orbán told the Bulgarian prime minister that Hungary was ready to help the country with its recovery efforts.

At least four people were killed and 25 injured when a tanker train carrying gas derailed and exploded near the village of Hitrino. The explosion destroyed at least 20 buildings.

Photo: MTI/EPA

Hungary sends letter of sympathy to Poland over mine disaster

Budapest, November 30 (MTI) – Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed sympathy on behalf of all Hungarians to Polish counterpart Beata Szydlo over a mining disaster caused by an earthquake that claimed one life and the disappearance of several people in south-west Poland, his press chief said on Wednesday.

Orbán expressed shock and said he trusted those unaccounted for would be brought to the surface in the next few hours. He offered Hungary’s help in the rescue operation, Bertalan Havasi said.

One miner died and seven went missing when a shaft collapsed 1,100 metres below the surface in a copper mine in Polkowice on Tuesday.

Photo: MTI

Pianist, conductor Zoltán Kocsis laid to rest -PHOTOS

Budapest (MTI) – Celebrated Hungarian pianist, conductor and composer Zoltán Kocsis, who died at age 64 on November 6, was buried in Budapest on Saturday.

The late artist was paid final respects at the Hungarian Academy of Music. The ceremony was attended by President János Áder and First Lady Anita Herczegh, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, House Speaker László Kövér, and other senior officials including leaders of the Hungarian Art Academy and the State Opera.

In his address to the mourners, Áder said that Kocsis, a “devoted envoy” of Béla Bartók in the world, had died as early as Bartók, but he would “leave a lasting mark, eternal music and an internal present tense”.

Veteran composer György Kurtág said farewell to his one-time student and friend in personal tones. He said it was Kocsis’s merit that “Bartok’s works have now become a public asset… pieces we had not even noticed earlier became diamonds in your hand”.

Géza Kovács, head of the National Philharmonic, referred to Kocsis as “a lighthouse, a point of reference, and source of the highest artistic experience for many”. “His radiant talent and his reputation, comparable only to the greatest, made all earthly powers stand back,” he added.

After the ceremony, Kocsis was laid to rest in Budapest’s Farkasréti Cemetery. The burial was attended only by members of his closest family.

Photos: MTI