William Penn Life, 2006 (41. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)

2006-12-01 / 12. szám

Magyar Matters Hungary, Romania try to become model of Central Europe cooperation from The Budapest Sun "Hungary and Romania provide the best example for cooperation in central eastern Europe," Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said at the opening of the second joint government session in Budapest Nov. 16. His Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsány agreed, saying, "coopera­tion between the two countries and the level of understanding is higher than ever before in the past 100 years without disclaiming their own development goals." He added that, since the two governments' first session in Roma­nia last year, cooperation has strengthened in the areas of energy supply, European projects, culture, education and environmental protec­tion. "Hungary's government will partially open its labor market to Romanian citizens when Romania joins the European Union next year," Gyurcsány announced at the session. "We want to open up as much as possible without endangering Hungarian interests." Tariceanu welcomed the decision and noted that Hungary had been the first nation to ratify Romania's EU accession treaty. "As Romania will join the Euro­pean Union on Jan. 1,2007, the governments should now agree on a framework of cooperation between two EU member states," he said. The two sides also discussed cross­­border regional development, agricul­tural cooperation, joint road construc­tion projects and the use of EU funds for environmental purposes in the Tisza and Danube valleys. Zsolt Németh, the Hungarian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commit­tee chairman (and an MP with main opposition party Fidesz), said he saw little sense in holding such meetings while Romania breaks the agreements made with Hungary. He suggested Hungary should discuss the issue of territorial au­tonomy for Székely Land in central Romania, the approval of Romania's minority law, the return of property and payment of compensation to churches, the autonomous Hungarian university of Transylvania and the flow of manpower. Hungarian soccer legend dies at 79 Ferenc Puskás, widely regarded as the most famous figure in Hungarian sports, died Nov. 17 at the age of 79. Fiis death followed years of treatment for Alzheimer's. Known to many as "Öcsi bácsi," Puskás led the Hungarian national soccer team to one of the greatest upsets in sports history when Hungary defeated England 6-3 at Wembley Stadium in 1953. Puskás was one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, scoring 83 goals in 84 national appearances. He scored 358 goals in 249 Hungarian league matches from 1942 to 1956, during which time he won five league titles with Honvéd and was top scorer four times. The International Federation for Football History and Statistics called Puskás the most successful first­­division player of all time. After fleeing in 1956, he signed for Real Madrid, winning six Spanish league titles, the Spanish cup twice and was top scorer in Spain five times, with 512 goals in 528 matches. After retiring at the age of 40, Puskás coached all over the world, including Chile, Egypt and Australia. His greatest coaching success was taking the Greek club Panathinaikos to the European Champion Clubs' Cup final. Puskás' funeral will be held at Budapest's Szt. István Basilica Dec 9. In Brief Hung, symphony to perform at Shippensburg SHIPPENSBURG, PA - As part of its 100th anniversary, the Hungar­ian Symphony Orchestra will perform Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007, at 8:00 p.m. in the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center at Shippensburg University. The orchestra, under the direction of conductor András Ligeti, will perform works by Mussorgsky, Liszt and Tchaikovsky. Tickets are $35 and $20. For more informa­tion, call (717) 477-7469. Or, you can log onto www.luhrscenter.com to order tickets. Folk Ensemble to dance in California PALM DESERT, CA - The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble will perform at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 22, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. The Ensemble, founded in 1951, presents a colorful and rich repertoire of authentic Hungarian and Gypsy folk music and dances. For ticket information, call (760) 340-2787, or you can log onto www.mccallumtheatre.com. Exhibit recalls 1956 revolution NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - “Hope, Despair and Triumph - Remem­bering the 50th Anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in Art and the Photos of Erich Lessing” is being presented from now until Feb. 25, 2007, at the Museum of the American Hungarian Founda­tion. For more information, call (732) 846-5777. William Penn Life, December 2006 13

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