Hungary

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungary is commemorating its crushed 1956 Revolution against Soviet domination and the 20th anniversary of its declaration as an independent republic, marking the end of communism.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- The Visegrad Group of European Union Foreign Ministers have agreed to support Serbia and other western Balkan countries to become full fledged members of the EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization, despite remaining nationalistic tensions in the region, even among officials. They made the decision at a special ministerial meeting in Budapest, Tuesday, October 6.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- United Nations delegates are demanding better coordination between UN rescue teams and non governmental organizations (NGOs) during natural disasters such as the recent earthquake in Indonesia.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungarian evangelical Christians have protested against a poster carried during last weekend's annual Budapest Gay Pride Parade for more rights for homosexuals. The poster says: "Jesus had two fathers too."

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Sopronpuszta, Hungary SORPONPUSZTA, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungary is marking the 20th anniversary of itsdecision to allow tens of thousands East Germans to cross the Hungarian border and flee to the West. It was a risky decision that contributed to the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Former refugees from then-communist East Germany and aid workers still recall the often traumatic experiences that preceded the mass exodus to freedom.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- The Prime Ministers of Hungary and Slovakia have agreed to tackle extremism as part of efforts to overcome their countries' worst diplomatic crisis in years. They made the announcement following a meeting at the Hungarian-Slovak border Thursday, September 10. Both nations are at loggerheads over a controversial language law and the treatment of ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia, many of whom are Reformed Christians.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungarian police have detained four men on suspicion of carrying out attacks in which at least six Roma, or Gypsies as they are also called, were killed. The violence has underscored growing ethnic tension in the European Union nation.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Sopronpuszta SOPRONPUSZTA, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the site Wednesday, August 19, where exactly 20 years ago Hungary briefly opened its border with Austria, allowing over 600 refugees to flee to the West.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Hungarian Catholic Priest Imre Kozma seems a humble man. Yet the priest made world news when his Budapest church and the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service he founded accommodated tens of thousands of East German refugees in 1989, when Germany was still a divided nation.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Officials of Hungary's Orthodox Jewish community have urged the government to urgently provide police protection amid growing extremism and violent attacks in the country.