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British ‘The Sun’ wrote follies about the Hungarian national anthem

Hungary football fans

They wrote that what Hungary lacks in footballing skills makes up for with its national anthem, the ‘Himnusz’. 

Furthermore, they added that the Hungarian anthem has been used since 1989 and it is twice the length of the God Save the Queen. Furthermore, they published the full English version of the Hungarian anthem from which the first verse you can find in the end of this article.

Of course, the 1989 date is not true since the Hungarian national anthem has been used since 1844 though officially it was included in the Hungarian constitution only in 1989. Even , at the beginning of the 1950s, during the darkest days of the communist dictatorship, Mátyás Rákosi, the leader of the communist party, was not able to change the national anthem of Hungary. Want to read more about the Hungarian national anthem? Here is a good introductory article:

However, this is not the only mistake the British tabloid made. For example, they mentioned Dominik Szoboszlai among the key players of the Hungarian soccer squad even though Mr Szoboszlai is not going to play in the EURO2020 because of an injury.

And finally, here you can read the national anthem of Hungary. The anthem contains eigh verses, but only the first is sung.

Verse 1

O God, bless the nation of Hungary
With your grace and bounty
Extend over it your guarding arm
During strife with its enemies
Long torn by ill fate
Bring upon it a time of relief
This nation has suffered for all sins
Of the past and of the future!

England must avoid complacency against Scotland

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With England listed as one of the top contenders to win the tournament, you can understand why English football fans will be in confident mood ahead of this summer’s European Championships. A relatively favourable draw, combined with the fact that numerous matches will be played at Wembley in London, and many fans are optimistic that England can enjoy a run to the latter stages of the competition.

However, it’s important that Gareth Southgate and his team keep their feet firmly on the ground. They cannot afford to take any liberties in the group stage, especially when their opponents include Scotland, who will be highly motivated to make an impression in their return to the major international tournament scene. The two sides square off on June 18th, and although England are the firm favourites to win the match in the England v Scotland betting odds, they must avoid falling into the pitfalls of complacency.

A worthy opponent

While England are certainly a superior side to Scotland on paper, anything can happen in a big game at a major tournament, and coach Steve Clarke will be preparing his side to cause an upset. England v Scotland is a fixture as old as time, and in the last few years there have been some close matches between the two teams.

The last meeting between England and Scotland was in June 2017, and a thrilling 2-2 draw was the result, with Harry Kane’s last-gasp equaliser saving England from defeat at Hampden Park. Scotland’s Leigh Griffiths had scored twice in the last five minutes to give the home side the lead before Kane spared England’s blushes.

There’s no doubt that Scotland have the quality to push England close at Wembley on June 18th, and any lapses of concentration will undoubtedly be punished.

Motivated foes

None of this current Scotland side will have experienced playing in a major tournament before, and as a result they will be extremely motivated to do themselves justice. Their first match is against the Czech Republic, and should Clarke’s men emerge with a win from that fixture, their confidence will be through the roof going into the game against England.

The last thing Southgate will want to see is a match where Scotland want the win more than England. With quality players like Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay and Ché Adams lining up against fellow Premier League stars, we’ll witness a game where most of the players know each other’s games inside out. With that in mind, Scotland might just fancy springing a surprise.

Chance of a lifetime

England have a major opportunity to go far in a big tournament. With matches being played at Wembley, and the chance to win a trophy on home soil, Southgate should have no problem motivating his troops for every match, particularly against their old rivals Scotland.

If England take it one step at a time, and avoid falling into the trap of thinking they have group-stage progression all wrapped up before a ball is kicked, they should be fine. They cannot afford to take Scotland lightly — the last thing Southgate and his team wants is to be remembered for another catastrophic failure in a major international tournament.

Govt official: The past ten years of policies unified the Hungarian nation

London Katalin Szili

Hungarians have become a unified nation thanks to the policy for Hungarians beyond the border pursued by the government over the past ten years, Katalin Szili, the prime minister’s commissioner in charge of autonomy affairs, said in London on Saturday.

Szili is attending a conference of Hungarian weekend schools in London, which provides an opportunity for teacher training, building relationships and sharing best practices.

She said the government considered it important that those living in the diaspora retain their Hungarian identity, and thanked the teachers who teach at Hungarian schools in their free time.

How old is one of the world’s most difficult language, Hungarian?

Szili noted that the priority areas of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers include national minority protection, religious communities and the rights of families and children. 

Ambassador Ferenc Kumin said that weekend schools required a lot of energy, commitment and sacrifices from both teachers and parents,

as they use their weekends and free time to give children special education without which they would not be able to preserve their Hungarian identity, special cultural traditions and heritage.

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Prince Charles can help to identify the remains of Hungary’s third king

Prince Charles, Royal Family, England

Prince Charles can identify whether the remains of Hungary’s third king, Sámuel Aba and his wife have been found at an excavation in Abasár, Northern Hungary.

The historical significance of Abasár can be compared to Székesfehérvár, Esztergom or Budapest, where valuble royal treasures were previously discovered at archaeological excavations.

The settlement, currently inhabited by 2,500 people, used to be a royal centre in the past. This was the place where Hungarian kings ruled the country for 1,000 years, and it seems that some of them even chose it as a burial site, based on the fact that

certainly, Samuel Aba’s skeleton, Hungary’s third king has been found at an excavation in Abasár.

According to the Hungarian Archaeological Research Center, „there are only a few memorial sites, archaeological sites that have remained in such a good condition as Abasár”, adding that in the Árpádian era, there was a busy life around the royal mansion of the settlement.

Abasár2
Photo: www.facebook.com/kazsuattilaofficial/
Abasár
Photo: www.facebook.com/kazsuattilaofficial/

In Budapest, we can find a church and a Dominican monastery of a similar size and importance on Margaret Island, where St. Stephen and St. Margaret were buried.

As the Hungarian news portal Origo reports, recently, the skeletons of two people buried close together were found in Abasár. It had been already known that Samuel Aba was buried here, but it is not yet 100% certain that the skeletons found belong to the Hungarian king and his wife.

The remains of Hungary’s third king can be identified with the help of Prince Charles, whose DNA could contain the evidence.

The Rhédey family in Transylvania is one of the oldest Hungarian families, born of the Aba family in the 13th century. In the 15th century, the family had lands in Heves and Nógrád counties, then later fleeing the Habsburgs, the family settled in Transylvania, Erdőszentgyörgy. Klaudia Rhédey was born here in 1812, who is the great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth and the great-grandmother of Prince Charles.

According to Ripost, since in archaeogenetics, a male DNA is required for the determination of the kinship, the sample is needed not from Elizabeth, but his son, Prince Charles, in order to determine whether the skeleton of the Hungarian king, Sámuel Aba, was found in Abasár.

Thousands of medieval coins unearthed in Hungary 2021
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Orbán’s Oxford mentor disappointed in the Hungarian PM

Hungary PM Orbán

Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, famously spent a few months studying at Oxford University. His then-mentor has now shared some memories.

Orbán’s mentor at Oxford, the Polish Professor Zbigniew Pełczyński, told Blikk that he considered the Hungarian PM an extremely talented student back in the day but was disappointed in him in recent years.

Pełczyński organised study programs at Oxford for Polish and Hungarian students in the early 1980s, and Orbán was one of the participants in 1989 when he received a $10,000 scholarship from the Soros Foundation to study at Oxford University. Although he is proud to announce this experience on his website, according to Index, he fails to mention the fact that he attended the training with a Soros Foundation scholarship.

His interview at the famous university was allegedly so successful that he was not only admitted to Pembroke College in Oxford but was also offered mentorship by the Polish professor.

According to his classmates, he was an easy-going, charismatic student with

a characteristic accent and the personality traits of a rock star.

Professor Pełczyński claims that Oxford did not really mean much to Orbán, it was merely a tool for him in his political career. At the very beginning of their acquaintance, the current prime minister stated that he would immediately head back to Hungary if elections would be announced. This is exactly what happened, so he ended up completing only one trimester at the prestigious university. According to Pełczyński, there was not much to evaluate during that short period, so Orbán left without any certificate.

Before suddenly leaving the university, Orbán met his mentor regularly, and the professor considered him a talented, bright student. When Fidesz won the election in 1998, he gladly accepted Orbán’s invitation to Hungary, and it was not until around 2010 that he expressed his disappointment in the illiberal turn of the Prime Minister.

Pełczyński claims he would feel embarrassed to meet his former student now.

PM Viktor Orbán Hungary
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London police searching for the body of a Hungarian woman – they expect the worst

Agnes Akom lost murdered

A 20-year-old Hungarian woman named Ágnes Ákom was reported missing on the 11th of May, two days after she left her home in London, in the Cricklewood Broadway area two days earlier.

The London authorities are working hard on the case and even though they still did not find her, nor her body, they continue the search. According to our previous report on the case, the police suspects that something terrible might have happened to Ágnes.

The London police have arrested a 63-year-old man and they are suspecting that the man might have murdered the 20-year-old Hungarian girl,

BBC reported. The suspect, Neculai Paizan is said to have known Ágnes, who moved to London about three years ago.

Photo: Metropolitan Police

Neculai Paizan was already heard at the Willesden Magistrates’ Court exactly a week ago, said BBC, but the search is still going on, as the suspect is denying the charges.

Mylondon collected in their article all the places the Metropolitan Police has looked for her. According to them, the suspected murderer was arrested on the 18th of May and on the same day, the police have started their search around the area of the Lennox Auto Car Showroom in North Acton. The search took three days with no breakthrough.

From the 19th of May, the London police have thoroughly searched Park Royal and Holland Park in the West London area, Mylondon reported. The police also searched for two other locations since our last report.

On May 21st the Metropolitan Police have also searched the areas of Neasden Recreation Park, with no success. Thanks to a statement by the Metropolitan Police, Mylondon have connected that the high police presence around the Welsh Harp Reservoir and the West Hendon Playing Fields can also be connected to the search of the 20-year-old Hungarian woman, Ágnes Ákom.

Blikk has managed to find the girl’s uncle, who hopes his niece is still alive:

“Ágika is a very sweet girl. After reading the news, I immediately called her mother, who, along with me, was very hopeful that this was just a nightmare. We believe Ágnes is alive and trying to stay strong.”

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a Hungarian woman has been murdered in England. In 2019, the body of Henriett was found in a freezer, along with another woman.

It turned out that both women were murdered by the same man: he had a love affair with Henriett, then abused her. The man was sentenced to life imprisonment, Blikk reported.

Ágnes Ákom Camere Recording
Photo: Metropolitan Police

The police asks that if anyone knows anything about the whereabouts of Ágnes, or have seen something suspicious between the 9th the 11th of May, please report it to the authorities. Ágnes Ákom wore a white coat with fake fur on it, blue ripped jeans and light pink trainers when she went missing. She is an approximately 5ft tall (165cm) woman with light blonde hair.

Murder Knife Gyilkosság Késelés
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Hidvéghi on Britain: it is very important to maintain bilateral relationships

balázs hidvéghi epp fidesz parliament

Britain and Hungary share the same vision of Europe which involves free cooperation of sovereign nation states without an overcentralised and bureaucratic European Union, ruling Fidesz MEP Balázs Hidvéghi said in an English-language interview on Sky News.

Hidvéghi said during the interview with journalist Adam Boulton that he believed the main reason for Brexit was that the Brits were not happy with how the EU was moving forward. He added that Hungary had always looked upon Britain with great respect for its history and for its stance in international affairs.

While Hungary regretted to see the UK leave the EU, it is very important to maintain bilateral relationships, he said.

Hungary and the UK are allies in NATO and in the Council of Europe, where Hungarian representatives share a party group with the Tory party, he said.

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Commenting on illegal migration, Hidvéghi said “when we talk about human rights it has to be talking about the human rights of all the people, not only migrants but also of European citizens”.

“I’m glad to see that European leaders now, including Brussels leaders, are now saying the lines and opinions that Mr. Orbán was saying six years ago,” he said. “Back at that time he was very much criticized by a lot of people,” he added.

Migration policy has to reflect reality, Europe cannot continue letting in hundreds and thousands or millions of illegal migrants, he said.

“We have to re-establish border control … and then we can talk about each member state should decide what they want to do about migrants,” he added.

“That has to remain a member state decision and Brussels cannot dictate to us in what kind of country we want to live in,” Hidvéghi said.

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All agreements in place for post-Brexit cooperation with UK

Hungary Brexit UK

Hungary and Britain have concluded all agreements that specify the conditions of post-Brexit cooperation, Hungary’s minister of foreign affairs and trade said in London on Friday.

After attending official talks between Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his British counterpart Boris Johnson, Péter Szijjártó said that Hungary strives for the closest possible bilateral cooperation with Britain. The minister identified two strategic areas, namely the

energy and defence industries,

which he said would see even more intensive and promising cooperation in the period to come.

Szijjártó noted that Shell was the first non-Russian energy company with whom Hungary had signed a long-term gas purchase agreement. He added that Hungary’s government seeks to expand cooperation with, and import more gas from, Shell. “Now we have a six-year contract on the purchase of 1.5 billion cubic metres of gas,” he said.

Defence industry cooperation focuses on

enhanced security as both countries are members of the same defence alliance,

Szijjártó said. He said that Hungary’s defence industry had launched ambitious development projects, and that British companies may play a substantial role in joint R+D and manufacturing.

Szijjártó said that the

900 British companies present in Hungary employ over 50,000 workers.

During the coronavirus pandemic the Hungarian government granted support to six of them to prevent mass layoffs, he said.

Cooperation between central Europe and Britain was significant and, from the political point of view, especially important within the European Union, and the situation has not changed since Britain’s departure either, Szijjártó said.

Hungarian immunity certificates to be accepted in the UK soon!

Orbán Johnson Hungary UK
Hungary’s task in its relationship with the United Kingdom is to establish new forms of cooperation with the country following its departure from the European Union, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London on Friday.
 
Hungary and the UK had developed their relations during a period when they were both members of the EU, Orban told reporters in Downing Street, adding that that period was now over.
Orbán said his talks with Johnson had focused mainly on the future of Hungarian-UK relations,
while also covering opportunities for cooperation between Britain and the Visegrad Group countries. He highlighted the energy and defence industries as two “particularly promising” areas of cooperation “in the post-Brexit and post-Covid” era. Orbán noted that Hungary’s gas delivery agreement signed with Shell was the country’s first long-term energy deal that did not involve Russian energy suppliers.
He said the deal was also significant in terms of Hungary’s sovereignty.
Aked if he believed there was a chance that Hungary and the UK would lift quarantine restrictions for each other’s citizens given both countries’ high vaccination rates, Orban said the decision was up to the British government.
Orbán said it was understandable that the UK government was being “highly cautious” when it came to lifting restrictions, given that it is an island country, which he said made things more difficult than in the cases of landlocked countries. He added that hopefully
the two countries’ foreign ministers would sign an agreement on the mutual recognition of each other’s immunity certificates.
In response to a question, Orbán said his talks with Johnson had also touched on issues concerning democracy, the press, the LGBT community and the rule of law.

He said Hungary’s judiciary was among the most independent in Europe, adding that there was an abundance of publications in the country that are critical of the government. The prime minister
dismissed accusations of anti-Semitism as “simply ridiculous”, noting that Hungary had a large Jewish community.
Orbán rejected the suggestion that US financier George Soros had been the target of attacks with anti-Semitic undertones. He called Soros a “talented Hungarian businessman”, adding at the same time that he was also a “serious rival” for “supporting migration” and “financing NGOs that organise it”.
“We don’t like this, but this has nothing to do with ethnic identity,”
Orbán said.

Johnson’s Downing Street office said in a statement after the meeting that the prime minister was looking forward to the UK working more closely with the Visegrad Group in the future. The statement said that in his talks with Orbán,
Johnson had raised concerns about human rights in Hungary, including gender equality, LGBT rights and media freedom.
The two premiers also discussed several foreign policy issues including Russia, Belarus and China. “The Prime Minister encouraged Hungary to use their influence to promote democracy and stability,” the statement said.

Ireland to resume EU, UK and U.S. travel from July 19

Ireland EU UK

Ireland will adopt the European Union’s COVID-19 certificate to help citizens to move more freely across the bloc from July 19 and broadly apply the same approach to arrivals from elsewhere, including the United States and Britain, it said on Friday.

Prime Minister Micheal Martin also confirmed that a gradual exit from one of the EU’s longest and toughest lockdowns will continue, with bars and restaurants able to serve guests indoors from July 5 when arts and sports events can also resume both indoors and outside but with heavy restrictions on attendance.

Ireland currently has the strictest travel curbs in the EU.

It advises citizens against non-essential travel, imposes fines on people heading to airports to go on holiday and enforces a two-week mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals from 50 countries.

The EU certification scheme will allow people who received a vaccine,

had a negative test or are immune after recovering from COVID-19 to travel freely around the bloc.

Under Ireland’s plan, unvaccinated children aged between 7 and 18 must have a negative coronavirus test before coming to the country, regardless of departure point. Passengers with valid proof of vaccination from outside the bloc can also travel freely, so long as the countries they are arriving from are not deemed to be at high risk of spreading COVID-19 variants.

Unvaccinated travellers from outside the EU must arrive with a negative test and self-quarantine until they take a second post-arrival test.

The approach to travel outside the European Economic Area will apply to neighbouring Britain and the United States – Ireland’s two largest markets for tourists.

The government chose not to follow British-run Northern Ireland in allowing unencumbered travel for arrivals from the rest of the United Kingdom, citing concern over the rapid spread there of the coronavirus variant first found in India.

The more transmissible variant accounts for 6-7% of cases in Ireland. Ireland does allow free movement across its open border with Northern Ireland, which Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar acknowledged meant that someone could travel freely to Ireland from Britain via Belfast. Ministers will set out a new phase of fiscal supports next week, Prime Minister Martin also said.

“If we continue to mind each other, if we continue to make the right choices, the end of this is within our grasp,”

he said in a televised address.

Hungarian fashion label Nanushka opened store in London

Nanushka London Hungary

Speaking at the opening, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said it was crucial for Hungary to have businesses that can succeed internationally. Building global brands, he said, was one of the pillars of Hungary’s economic policy.

The Hungarian government’s implementation of the biggest economic programme in modern Hungarian history has allowed it to mount the most effective response to the coronavirus pandemic out of all European countries, Szijjártó said.

The minister said that though global foreign direct investment last year was down 42 percent, Hungary during this period saw a 140 percent increase in FDI. And though global trade fell by 9 percent in 2020, the value of Hungarian exports exceeded 100 billion euros, putting the country in 12th place globally in terms of exports as a percentage of GDP, he added.

When it comes to managing crises like the coronavirus pandemic, Hungary always puts national interests first,

Szijjártó said, arguing that it was this strategy that gave the country the best chance to avoid mistakes.

“This was Hungary’s compass in the management of the crisis caused by the pandemic, too,” he said. The Hungarian government introduced the biggest-ever economic package designed to encourage investments in the country’s economic history with a view to preventing high unemployment, he added.

“The results are in the numbers,” Szijjártó said, noting that there were

now 41,000 more people working in Hungary than before the pandemic.

“Nanushka has also set a good example by increasing its headcount,” he said.

Nanushka co-owner and managing director Péter Baldaszti said the brand’s turnover had grown by a factor of 20 since GB and Partners invested in the company in 2016 and

transformed the brand from a local one into a global one.

Nanushka products are available at more than 500 resellers in 50 countries around the world. The brand’s online sales extend to more than 100 countries.

Orbán-Johnson meeting: Hungary seeks new bilateral ties with Britain

Viktor Orbán Johnson

Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán said on Friday his country needs to build new bilateral links with Britain, lamenting the loss of an ally in the European Union ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“We agreed on many things, which created a sort of balance in the EU,” Orbán told public radio. “We are weaker without them… But the question now is where their place will be in the world.

We need to build a new bilateral cooperation.”

EU expects more than a billion COVID shots by end of September

vaccine-covid-hospital-nurse

The European Union expects to have received more than a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of September from four drugmakers, a document presented to EU leaders on Tuesday shows.

The document, seen by Reuters and prepared by the European Commission, shows the EU is confident of having enough vaccines to immunize its entire eligible population of 450 million by the end of September, well beyond the initial goal of inoculating 70% of the adult population by the end of the summer.

More precisely, the EU expects to get 413 million doses in the second quarter of this year, and another 529 million in the July-September period. It received 106 million vaccines in the first quarter.

The estimates take into account only vaccines from four drugmakers: Pfizer-BionTech, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Moderna.

They exclude doses from German biotech firm CureVac and French drugmaker Sanofi, which have signed contracts with the EU for hundreds of millions of doses but are struggling to develop their vaccines and get them approved by EU regulators.

The numbers are in line with public commitments and previous announcements, but also include previously unknown targets for the second half of the year.

The EU has also said it plans to share this year at least 100 million doses with poorer nations outside the bloc.

LION’S SHARE

Pfizer and BioNTech account for more than half the supplies in the second quarter of this year and for nearly 40% of total deliveries in the third quarter, making it by far the main supplier to the EU, the document shows.

It also shows that the two companies will deliver 200 million doses in the July-September period, nearly completing their commitment to supplying 600 million vaccines under two initial contracts with the EU.

The two drugmakers are also expected to deliver roughly another 200 million doses in the fourth quarter of the year, the largest part of which would come from a third contract for up to 1.8 billion doses the EU signed with them in May and which runs until 2023.

Pfizer was not immediately available for a comment.

In total, the EU expects to receive 452 million doses in the fourth quarter of the year, including several millions from AstraZeneca, even though it had been required to deliver all its 300 million contracted doses by the end of June.

The company in March said it would aim to deliver only 100 million doses to the EU by the end of June due to production problems and export restrictions.

The EU document is based on the company’s estimates rather than on the EU request to deliver 120 million doses by the end of the second quarter.

That request was made by EU lawyers in a Brussels court earlier in May, with judges expected to decide next month.

Koronavírus Coronavirus Vaccine Vakcina Oltás
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Derby County could still be relegated

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The English Premier League season is over, the professional divisions beneath it have completed their full set of fixtures as well. Aside from the always-dramatic playoffs, promotion and relegation have already been decided. The Championship was the league to watch on the last day of the season, with Derby County battling against the drop after a dreadful run of form under the management of legendary former England striker Wayne Rooney in his first managerial role. At first, it seemed that the club would retain their Championship standing with a draw against Sheffield Wednesday. Now, the position is far less clear.

All season long, the club has been beset by financial issues. A few months ago, a takeover was supposed to be completed, which would give the Rams new ownership and new financial backing. As of the time of writing, it still hasn’t gone through. All of the necessary paperwork is believed to have been signed and filed, but the deal is being held up for reasons that nobody appears to be able to get to the bottom of. In the meantime, scrutiny of Derby’s finances is intensifying. On Monday 10th May, only two days after the club’s escape from the threat of relegation, a terrifying new possibility appeared on the horizon for Derby fans. Even though they amassed enough points to retain their league position, they might still go down thanks to a potential legal challenge.

The issue hinges on a legal challenge brought by the English Football League itself, which has found Derby to be in breach of Financial Fair Play rules. The matter went to appeal, but a ruling has now been handed down in favour of the EFL. That leaves the EFL free to impose sanctions on Derby, and it’s thought that those sanctions might be applied to their standing this season as opposed to next season. The EFL has several enforcement options here. They could impose a fine, impose a points deduction, or do both. Derby County stayed up by one point. Even the smallest points deduction would result in them being relegated – and that’s of interest to Wycombe Wanderers, who finished one place below Derby and ended up in the final relegation position.

The matter was thought to have been dealt with last August when the EFL brought two separate charges against Derby for breaching FFP rules.

The disciplinary commission cleared them at the time, but the EFL was unhappy with the ruling. The matter rumbled on in the background for months but has now resurfaced at the least opportune time for the club and its fans. It’s understood that the appeal was eventually successful because of a specific violation of rules surrounding player valuation, with Derby’s owners having been found to be at fault. American Mel Morris – who remains the owner of Derby County until the takeover goes through – did not factor in the depreciation of player assets in the club’s most recent accounts. The net effect of that was to mask or remove what would otherwise have been approximately thirty million pounds worth of losses over the past three years.

If Derby were to be relegated, the entire takeover could be at risk.

The club’s proposed buyers currently believe they’ve bought a team in the Championship. A team in League One, two divisions below the promised land of the Premier League, would be a very different and far less attractive proposition. Erik Alonso, the Spanish businessman who’s set to take over, might take the opportunity to withdraw his interest if relegation transpires to be the outcome of this long-winded process. That would leave Derby under enormous financial pressure and facing an uncertain future. We’ve seen this happen before with former English Premier League teams that have struggled after being relegated, with Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers being the highest-profile of the most recent examples.

All of this is ironic for a company that only two years ago was riding high off an endorsement from a high profile online slots company. It was, in fact, the gambling and online slots money that resulted in Wayne Rooney coming to the club as a player. His shirt number corresponded to the name of the online slots company in question, which itself proved to be controversial at the time as a possible breach of gambling regulations. Completing a takeover of Derby with the threat of relegation hanging over the club would be a bigger gamble than you’d ever find at Rose Slots NZ. Every gambler occasionally loses, though – a fact of the hobby that any online slots player will already be familiar with – and this might be one of those losing bets for both Derby’s current and potential future owners.

The lay of the land as it stands is currently unclear. The EFL knows it will face supporter fury if it imposes a points deduction that sees Derby relegated but has to be seen to impose its own rules. That’s especially true after fighting so hard to have its findings upheld in the first place. Wycombe Wanderers is already understood to be considering filing a separate legal challenge citing the unfairness of Derby staying up in their place after being found guilty of breaching such important rules. Having been through the appeals process already, most analysts agree that Derby is unable to challenge the ruling. It must, therefore, comply with any order that the EFL makes. It’s likely that the English FA will have to get involved in the matter. It could even fall on UEFA or FIFA to get involved.

While no club should get away with breaching rules that everybody else has to comply with, this would be an enormous shame for Derby County’s fans. Only two seasons ago, they were unlucky to miss out on promotion to the Premier League under the management of Frank Lampard. Now they stand on the brink of disaster through no fault of their own, with a rookie manager struggling at the helm and a complete lack of stability behind the scenes. Whatever action the EFL takes has to be taken quickly. Both Derby and Wycombe need to begin preparing for next season, and knowing which division they’ll be competing in is a huge part of that. The financial costs of relegation are considerable even outside the Premier League, and budgets will be set accordingly. The sweet feeling of relief didn’t last long for Derby. What comes next might be even worse.

Jobbik MEP Gyöngyösi: What did the Brexit teach the EU?

Brexit European Union Great Britain

Remarks from Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi:

Although it’s not part of our daily discourse, it’s important to note that European nations came to the EU with quite diverse legacies and historical backgrounds. However, if we can’t talk about different aspects and perspectives, we will unfortunately make an easy target for populists. The case of the United Kingdom is a good example of the serious price you may sometimes have to pay.

The idea of the European community naturally has a different meaning for a millennium-old trade city lying in the continent’s heart than for a citizen of an island country.

It is especially so if this island country is Great Britain whose political moves and views have been characterized by a certain amount of suspicion and reservation in terms of Europe for centuries. No wonder the United Kingdom’s entry into the EU’s predecessor was no walk in the park, either. Although the past decades have seen the Brits assimilating to Europe in many respects (now we can truly see how much), but they have always been able to maintain a sort of isolation.

On the other hand, the world has changed a lot since the UK’s accession in 1973, even if the public discourse or the people might not have fully recognized it. The mistaken belief that Brexit will restore “the things as they were” came with a huge cost.

Most of the political elite probably had no idea what would happen to the UK after the “Leave or stay” referendum of 2016. The government was likely just aiming to pull pro-Brexiters’ teeth by holding a referendum that was supposed to bring victory for the “Stay” side, thus settling the matter for at least a generation. Of course, David Cameron and his advisors had a reason to expect such an outcome, since the EU’s benefits were obvious for them. However, they failed to consider the power that lies in nostalgia, the ignorance of facts and the populist politicians willing to capitalize on both.

Five years into the post-Brexit era, the case seems to be closed for the European Union.

We have severed all ties, Brexit is legally completed, but as far as the United Kingdom is concerned, these years may have just been the beginning of a real chaos, adding to the tremendous challenge London already had to face in terms of tackling the existing problems.

The list of troubles includes such international matters as renegotiating the trade and business agreements with the EU or the recent fishing rights dispute between France and the Channel Islands. These cases clearly show that the United Kingdom was not prepared for Brexit at all. Mind you, a full preparation would have been impossible, because the relations between Great Britain and the continent have grown closer by now than anyone could have expected fifty years ago.

In addition to the above problems affecting the UK’s international affairs, Brexit has clearly brought serious internal problems to the surface in 2021, too.

The most evident one is Northern Ireland, where the relative calm of the recent years have been replaced by renewed tensions between the Catholics and the Protestants. If the United Kingdom wants to make a deal with the EU, they will obviously have to either upset the protocols settling the Irish issue, thus angering the Catholics of Northern Ireland, or start letting go of Northern Ireland together with its loyalist Protestants, thus giving a push to the country’s disintegration as well, not least because of what is going on in Scotland where the voices calling for independence are louder and louder again.

Many Scots feel it’s a blatant slap in the face that they are forced to leave the EU because of the English votes, even though Scotland is mostly in favour of staying in the European Union, just like they voted for staying in the United Kingdom when it came to the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014.

Anyone who thought in 2016 that leaving the EU would bring back the time when the United Kingdom was the world’s No. 1 power must now experience a rude awakening to see that the process might get to the point where the real question is if the United Kingdom can stay together or will fall apart completely.

What can we say about it here in continental Europe? First of all, we can of course hope for the best, which means that Britain will stay on our side as a good neighbour and ally, albeit no Member State any longer.

We can also hope that the Brexit-induced uncertainties are over, and we can start moving closer to each other again to make mutually beneficial deals and develop profitable relations now as two separate entities.

I’m sure that both the British and the European side are in sore need of those.

On the other hand, we need to learn the lessons of Brexit, especially when the leaders of some countries with perhaps historically different attitudes than Western Europe are trying to play the same cards that the pro-Brexit side used five years ago. We must always remember one thing: Europe is us, together. If we fail to take care of each other and do something to stop suicidal politics, we can very quickly destroy everything we built up together. I hope we won’t let that happen.

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Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators march in Britain

Israel Palestine United Kingdom

Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through London and other British cities on Saturday to protest against Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip during fighting with the Islamist group Hamas.

Protesters called for sanctions on Israel during the march in London. Some were draped in Palestinian flags and set off green and red smoke flares. Others carried banners declaring “Free Palestine”, “Stop bombing Gaza” and “Sanctions on Israel”.

A ceasefire on Friday, mediated by Egypt, ended 11 days of hostilities,

during which the Israeli military pounded Gaza with air strikes which it said were a response to rockets fired at Israel by Palestinians militants.

Gaza medical officials said 248 people were killed in the Palestinian enclave,

and aid officials have expressed concern about the humanitarian situation there.

Health officials said 13 people were killed in Israel in the hostilities, during which the Israeli military said Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militant groups fired around 4,350 rockets, many of which did not reach Israel or were intercepted.

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A 63-year-old London man is suspected of murdering a 20-year-old Hungarian woman

Agnes Akom lost murdered

London police have arrested a 63-year-old man suspected of killing 20-year-old Ágnes Akom, according to a MET statement. Police are still looking for the Hungarian woman who reportedly knew the man and had been living in London for five years.

She is considered missing for the time being. It is believed that she left her home in Cricklewood on May 9 and disappeared on the 11th.

According to Telex, the head of the investigation said they would continue the search but were highly concerned about the woman’s safety. 

Blikk managed to find the girl’s uncle, who hopes his niece is still alive.

“Ágika is a very sweet girl. After reading the news, I immediately called her mother, who, along with me, was very hopeful that this was just a nightmare. We believe Ágnes is alive and trying to stay strong.”

This is not the first time that a Hungarian woman has been murdered in England. In 2019, the body of Henriett was found in a freezer, along with another woman. It turned out that both women were murdered by the same man: he had a love affair with Henriett, then abused her. The man was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Young British people want to ditch the monarchy, poll suggests

queen elizabeth

Young people in Britain no longer think the country should keep the monarchy and more now want an elected head of state, with their mood souring over the last couple of years, a poll on Friday showed.

The British monarchy traces its history back to William the Conqueror who invaded England in 1066, though royals ruled the patchwork of kingdoms which stretched across what became England, Scotland and Wales for centuries before that.

According to the survey by YouGov, 41% of those aged 18 to 24 thought there should now be an elected head of state compared to 31% who wanted a king or queen.

That was a reversal of sentiment from two years ago, when 46% preferred the monarchy to 26% who wanted it replaced.

However, overall the survey had better news for Queen Elizabeth, 95, and the royal family, with 61% favouring the monarchy while just under a quarter thought it should be replaced with an elected figure.

The last few months have been difficult for the Windsors with the death of the queen’s 99-year-old husband Prince Philip in April and the crisis that followed the interview by Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan with U.S. chat show host Oprah Winfrey in March.

Previous polls have indicated an age divide, with younger generations holding more favourable views of Harry and Meghan than their older counterparts who had overhwelmingly negative feelings about them.

While there is no possibility of an end to the monarchy while the queen remains on the throne, there is concern for the royals about a declining support among younger Britons.

The survey of 4,870 adults found 53% of those aged between 25-49 supported keeping the monarchy, down five percentage points from a similar poll in 2019, while support for an elected head was up 4 points.

Amongst those aged over 65, 81% backed the monarchy, almost unchanged from two years ago.

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