PETER SZIJJARTO

Hungary's foreign minister says the West’s steady criticism of his country on democratic and cultural issues makes the right-wing government reluctant to offer support on practical matters, specifically NATO’s buildup against Russia.

Hungary's foreign minister says his country won't block a planned tranche of 500 million euros ($543 million) in European Union arms funding to Ukraine to use in the war with Russia.

The European Union has reached a deal in principle to send an 18 billion euro ($18.93 billion) financial aid package to Ukraine and approve a minimum tax of major corporations in a big move that narrowed a rift between the European Union and recalcitrant member Hungary.

The European Union’s executive branch has recommended that billions of euros in EU funds be withheld from Hungary over its failure to implement solid rule-of-law reforms, a move highlighting lingering divergences between the European partners.

The European Union is planning to provide Ukraine with around 18 billion euros in financial aid next year to help the war-ravaged country keep its energy and health care facilities running, and to fund salaries and pension schemes.

The European Union is sending up to 40 experts to Armenia to help watch over its border with Azerbaijan.

European Union energy ministers have adopted a package of measures to ease an energy crisis, including a levy on windfall profits of fossil fuel companies.

Slovakia and Hungary say they won't support sanctions against Russian energy that the European Union is preparing over the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. Senate will take up legislation Thursday to end normal trade relations with Russia and to ban the importation of its oil.

Hungary’s foreign minister has accused Ukraine’s leadership of attempting to interfere in the upcoming Hungarian election.

Hungary’s right-wing nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, has nurtured close political and economic ties with Russia for more than a decade.

President Joe Biden has wrapped up his two-day democracy summit, an event that was more about starting a global conversation about how best to halt backsliding than producing immediate results or expanding democracy’s reach.

MTV says its Europe Music Awards will air next month in Hungary.

Hungary has offered neighboring Romania help in caring for coronavirus patients as the country faces an alarming surge of COVID-19 cases and a shortage of intensive care beds.

An uptick in anti-European Union rhetoric in Hungary and Poland has some observers worried the countries' right-wing governments might be planning to pull out of the 27-nation trade bloc.

Hungary’s right-wing government is attracting conservative thinkers from the United States who admire its approaches to migration, LGBT issues and national sovereignty.

The top health official in Australia's Queensland state is advising adults under age 40 not to take the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine because of the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder, even though the Australian government is making those shots available to all adults.

The European Union’s chief executive is vowing to take action to thwart a new law in Hungary that would ban content portraying or promoting homosexuality or sex reassignment to children.

Foreign ministers of Europe's four Visegrad countries discussed cooperation to boost national economies and tourism after the pandemic.

Hungary has loosened several COVID-19 pandemic restrictions for people holding a government-issued immunity card.

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2021, file photo, people receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada is making all residents ages 16 and older eligible for the coronavirus vaccine starting April 5 as part of its efforts to inoculate the population as quickly as possible. Dr. Marcela Nunez-Smith, the White House COVID-19 equity task force chair, says the administration is spending $150 million to broaden access to monoclonal antibodies. In contrast, Arizona and Montana are achieving equity in vaccine coverage, directing vaccines to counties with more economic and social disadvantages. AdThe CDC analyzed vaccine coverage through March 1 and included data representing 49.2 million people who had at least one dose.

But Hungarian Chamber of Doctors has warned that the number of ICU beds and ventilators are overshadowed by a lack of qualified doctors and nurses to treat ICU patients. Hungary has 2,000 specialists for ICU wards and a similar number of ICU nurses. The country of nearly 10 million people has seen 3,281 confirmed coronavirus deaths, half of them in the last three weeks. Hungary’s shortages of health care workers predates the coronavirus pandemic: doctors have emigrated in large numbers since the country joined the European Union in 2004. Despite recent pay raises to doctors and nurses, Hungary remains near the bottom in the EU on investments in its health care system relative to GDP.

Szijjarto tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. (Pool Photo via AP)PHNOM PENH – Cambodia on Wednesday banned all state-organized events in the capital and a neighboring province for two weeks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after a number of people connected to a Hungarian official's visit tested positive. Two Hungarian ambassadors, to Thailand and to Cambodia, are among those who have tested positive since Szijjarto's visit. Thai authorities said Tuesday that a Hungarian diplomat in Bangkok tested positive for the virus, the only local case in Thailand so far linked to Szijjarto. The 53-year-old Hungarian diplomat in Bangkok was sent to an infectious disease facility for treatment and isolation.

But glimmers of hope emerged from France, Belgium and elsewhere that tough restrictions might be starting to work. Health Minister Olivier Veran said early indications are that the measures may be starting to slow the latest virus surge and that it would “have flared up faster and stronger” without them. The drop follows a return to partial lockdown measures including the closure of nonessential businesses and extending a school vacation. In Germany, the health minister said increased infections seem to be leveling off but that it’s too early to talk of a trend. But Health Minister Jens Spahn said Monday “we are seeing that the momentum is flattening, that we have less strong increases."

Another 1,168 new cases were reported Saturday, bringing Malaysia's total tally to 39,357 — compared to just 13,993 a month ago. It said he tested positive for the disease when he applied Wednesday to have his work permit renewed. The country has confirmed a total of 3,830 coronavirus cases, including 60 deaths. Szijjarto tested positive upon arrival in Thailand on Tuesday after his Cambodia visit. Hun Sen and four Cabinet ministers are in quarantine after they met with Szijjarto the same day he tested positive.

With 8.3 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, India is the second worst-hit country behind the United States. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)NEW DELHI – India’s coronavirus outbreak increased by more than 50,000 cases Thursday amid a resurgence of infections in the capital. Nerves are frayed in New Delhi after it reported a record 6,842 new cases in the past 24 hours. With 8.3 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, India is the second worst-hit country behind the United States. Indonesia has reported more than 425,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the largest in Southeast Asia and second only to India’s 8.3 million in all of Asia.

(AP Photo/Andy Wong)BEIJING — China is suspending entry for most foreign passport holders who reside in Britain, reacting to a new surge of coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom. ___MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota hospitals are under pressure and ICU beds are nearing full capacity as coronavirus cases reach a new high and hospitalizations continue to surge. ___PHOENIX — Arizona’s total coronavirus cases surpassed 250,000 and state health officials reported more than 1,000 hospitalized patients for the first time since late August. Latvia, Estonia’s southern neighbor, says it had a record number of new coronavirus cases: 313 in the past 24 hours. Latvian health officials say the nation of nearly 2 million has recorded 6,752 confirmed cases and 85 deaths.

Szijjarto tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020. (Pool Photo via AP)BANGKOK – Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade tested positive for the coronavirus after arriving in Thailand for an official visit, Thai and Hungarian officials said Wednesday. The 42-year-old foreign minister will return on one plane and the other members of his party in a separate aircraft, Anutin said. The Hungarian news agency MTI, citing the chief press officer at Hungary’s foreign ministry, confirmed that Szijjarto tested positive for the coronavirus. During his visit, Szijjarto paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hun Sen and held separate meetings with Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and the ministers of commerce and agriculture.

BUDAPEST – BUDAPEST, HungaryHungary’s government on Monday published a new questionnaire with 13 topics centering on the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has carried out several similar propaganda campaigns since returning to power in 2010. Speaking Monday in parliament, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that all Hungarian citizens would receive the questionnaire in the mail, asking them to return it by Aug. 15. “We have a very serious need to create points of agreement based on which we can also win the upcoming phases of protection” against the pandemic, Szijjarto said. Hungary has registered 4,014 coronavirus cases and 548 deaths.

BUDAPEST Hungary's foreign minister says China's Huawei will take part in the construction of the country's next-generation 5G wireless network. Peter Szijjarto said Tuesday in Shanghai, China, that Huawei will be cooperating with Britain's Vodafone and Germany's Deutsche Telekom in the project. The United States has tried to persuade allies to shun Huawei, which it considers a security risk. It was a key issue during a February meeting in Budapest between Szijjarto and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In April, Szijjarto said that Hungary's good cooperation with Huawei, which has one of its largest European centers in Hungary, was in its economic and strategic interests.