Bensőséges ünnepség zajlott le 2010. január 18-án este Montrealban, a Foyer Hongrois-ban. Dr. Hiller István oktatási és kulturális miniszter a Magyar Kultúráért éremmel tűntette ki Blanár Andreát a kanadai magyar közösségben kifejtett kultúrális tevékenységéért. A kitűntetést dr.Vastagh Pál Magyarország kanadai nagykövete adta át. Az eseményről aznap este a Montreali CTV – a legnagyobb helyi angol és fancia nyelvű tv csatorna – is beszámolt. Blanár Andrea „megrögzött alapító” családból származik. Édesapja, Tekker József 1956-ban alapítója volt a Kanadai-Magyar Mérnök Egyesület-nek, a KMME-nek.

Sergeant George Miok, a 28 year old reservist in the Canadian forces, died in Afghanistan on December 28th when the armoured vehicle he was in was blown up by a roadside bomb. Three other Canadian soldiers and a journalist from the Calgary Herald died with him. This was Sgt Miok’s second tour of duty in Afghanistan and all obituaries about him mention his strong belief in the value of what he was doing for his country and for world peace. Also mentioned is his love of teaching and the high regard in which he was held by students at St Cecilia Junior High in Edmonton where he taught last year. The Edmonton Journal published a letter George wrote to St Cecilia Junior High for Remembrance Day this past November: George’s Letter.

Sgt Miok was born in Canada to Hungarian parents and he participated in many events of the Hungarian community in Edmonton, including a Hungarian dance group.

Az alábbi cikk a Föld és Ég című folyóirat 1970 november 11-ei számából lett beszkennelve és ezzel indítjuk új retró rovatunkat. Célunk hogy összegyűjtsünk és az interneten elérhetővé tegyünk olyan nyomtatott formában megjelent cikkeket és iratokat, melyek a „grassroots” magyar kulturát ábrázolják. Magyarországi, kanadai és máshol publikált, rég elfelejtett sajtótermékekből válogatunk, így bizonyára meglehetősen eklektikussá válhat retró rovatunk. De a cél egyértelmű: a digitális világban visszaemlékezni a helyi újságok, hírlevelek és nyomtatott sajtó történelmünkben betöltött fontos szerepére és a nyilvánosság elé tárni a grassroots magyar kultúra elfelejtett pillanatait, ismeretlen alkotóit. Várjuk olvasóink beszkennelt retró grassroots sajtótermékeit is! Lehetőségeink szerint, ezek is közlésre kerülhetnek a hírlap oldalán!

Hungarian director Ferenc Török’s most recent film, entitled Overnight, was screened in Ottawa this evening, as part of the European Film Festival. The Library and Archive Canada’s auditorium was packed for the screening–organized in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in Ottawa–with a mix of Hungarians, English-speaking Canadians with a keen interest in foreign films and other Eastern Europeans, who will see films in their own languages shown in upcoming nights. (A Polish film entitled Little Moscow and directed by Waldemar Krzystek will be screened on 3 December 2009 at 9:00pm.) Overnight portrays 21st century contemporary, urban and multicultural Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai gave an interview today to CNBC and spoke at length about how Hungary averted a financial meltdown in late 2008. CNBC spoke with Bajnai, the country’s interim centre-left prime minister, on Kossuth Square, right outside Parliament. The network’s reporter opened the interview by noting that the crisis in Hungary peaked just over a year ago, when interest rates rose to as high as 11 percent and when the former economic power-house of Central Europe had to turn to the International Monetary Fund, in order to obtain a $25 billion loan. At the time, Bajnai served as Hungary’s economy minister, but ascended to the prime ministership following the sudden resignation of his Socialist predecessor, Ferenc Gyurcsány, this past spring.

A new website entitled Visegrad-4 was launched earlier this week and it aims to serve as an independent English-language news source for Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The site notes that these East/Central European states share a common historical heritage, each of them having been impacted by pre-World War I empires, Soviet influence and a dramatic transition to democracy and free market economy in 1989. Twenty years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the re-introduction of multi-party democracy, the member states of the Visegrad Group should aim for greater cooperation and alignment of policies when negotiating with other […]

A power failure Saturday evening at Budapest Ferihegy Airport’s Terminal 2A resulted in scores of delayed flights, as authorities attempted to evacuate passengers from the building and transfer all flights and bags to Terminal 2B, located right next door. The electricity went out at 8pm local time and power will likely only be restored Sunday morning. According to Budapest Airport Zrt. spokesperson Mihály Hardy, problems with two 110 kilowatt cables caused the power outage. As such, all baggage reclaim machines are out of order, as are all automatic doors in the terminal. Terminal 2B, however, is not experiencing any of […]

Szeptember 16-án Barack Obama amerikai elnök és Stephen Harper kanadaiminiszterelnök bizakodóan nyugtázták a két ország példátlan gazdaságélénkítő intézkedéseinek pozitív hatásait. Egyetértettek abban, hogy a pittsburghi G-20 csúcs jó alkalom arra, hogy a többi résztvevővel együtt további lépéseket tegyenek a globális fenntartható fejlődés és az újabb pénzügyi reformok irányába. Szakminisztériumi jelentések alapján megállapították, hogy az Obama elnök februári ottawai látogatása során elindított USA-Kanada tiszta energia párbeszéd hozzájárul a környezetvédelemhez és az energiaforrások kiegyenlített és hatékony elosztásához. Juhar Levél

Michaëlle Jean fő kormányzó, a kanadai csapatok főparancsnoka szeptember 8-9. között másodszor utazott Afganisztánba, hogy meglátogassa a kanadai csapatokat és humanitárius dolgozókat, illetve kinyilvánítsa szolidaritását az afgán nép iránt. Kanada feltett szándéka, hogy hozzásegítse Afganisztánt a biztonságos, demokratikus, emberi jogokat tisztel jogállamisághoz. Juhar Levél

Szeretném emlékeztetni Önöket, hogy szombaton, szeptember 26-án Szureti Bál lesz az Ottawai Magyar Házban, este 7 órai kezdettel. A vacsora menü a következő: zöldségleves, lecsós sertés szelet burgonya pürevel és rizskörettel, és szöllő. A zenét a Kardinál együttes szolgáltatja. Belépő: $20 tagoknak, $25 nem-tagoknak. Szeretettel várunk mindenkit! A Magyar Ház Nepean-ben található, a 43 Capital Drive alatt. Tisztelettel: Farkas Erika Titkár

Christopher Adam According to a press release circulated minutes before midnight (Central European Time) on 31 August 2009, SkyEurope has formally declared itself bankrupt and has canceled all of its flights. Bratislava’s Letisko M.R. Stefánik’s airport’s website now lists all of the Slovak discount carriers flights as canceled and SkyEurope’s own website carries a message informing passengers that the company has suspended all operations. Further, the vast majority of passengers will not be eligible for a refund, if they have already purchased a ticket for a SkyEurope flight. What can you do if you bought a ticket with SkyEurope for […]

Christopher Adam SkyEurope has stranded more than 1,200 passengers at Bratislava’s Letisko-M.R. Stefánik Airport earlier today, when it decided to cancel all of its afternoon and evening flights without any warning. As we reported earlier today, as well as last week, SkyEurope teeters on collapse, as airports in Vienna and Prague have decided to ban the carrier due to outstanding debts. Bratislava Airport’s spokesperson, Zuzana Hornanova, told journalists that SkyEurope canceled all of its flights due to „operational reasons.” Hornanova described the situation as „complicated.” The airline has yet to issue a statement, even though SkyEurope is now effectively grounded. […]

Christopher Adam SkyEurope’s financial situation went from bad to worse today, after Prague Airport decided that it would no longer serve the Slovak low-cost carrier’s flights until it paid its outstanding debt. Prague’s move follows the Vienna Airport’s decision to cancel all SkyEurope flights due to unpaid bills, which forced the carrier to transport ticket-holders to Bratislava Airport, located 59km from the Austrian capital. But the question now becomes whether or not SkyEurope will be able to survive the suspension of both its Prague and Vienna bases, and the likely collapse in passenger bookings. The first signs seem to cast […]

Christopher Adam Simmering tensions threatened to boil over between Hungary and Slovakia, as Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico decided to ban Hungarian President László Sólyom from visiting Slovakia, in order to unveil a statue of Saint Stephen, Hungary’s founding king, in the southern Slovak town of Komarno (Komárom). According to the most recent census, more than 60 percent of Komárom’s 37,000 residents are ethnic Hungarians and the town is located along the Danube, on the border between Hungary and Slovakia. Mayor Tibor Bastrnák had decided to erect the bronze statue in Komárom’s Lúdpiac Square, which depicts St. Stephen mounted on […]

Christopher Adam Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air has now clearly overtaken its main regional rival, Slovakia’s SkyEurope. Once Eastern Europe’s largest discount airline, SkyEurope has failed to turn a profit since its founding in 2002 and was forced to file for creditor protection in June 2009. Since then, the Slovak carrier’s woes have only gotten worse. The carrier failed to reach a deal with Vienna’s Schwechat Airport last Friday, which led to the cancellation of all flights from SkyEurope’s Central European hub. SkyEurope reportedly has a significant outstanding debt with airports in both Vienna and Prague and as such, Schwechat […]