Budapest opts to scale back Christmas lights

STORY: Budapest opts to scale back Christmas lights DATELINE: Nov. 26, 2022 LENGTH: 0:03:04 LOCATION: Budapest CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of lights decorated on Christmas trams in Budapest in December 2021 2. various of lights decorated on Christmas electric bus in Budapest in December 2021 3. various of Christmas tram of 2022 without light decorations running in downtown Budapest STORYLINE: Holiday lighting will be used sparingly in the capital of Hungary this Christmas season in order to save energy. The city's iconic Christmas tram will also run without the tens of thousands of twinkling LED lights that have created mesmerizing sights since 2009. By switching off its Christmas lights, the city expects to reduce its energy bills by close to 30 million Hungarian forints (76,400 U.S. dollars). The streetcar known locally as the "Advent tram" reappeared on the city's streets on Friday, but this time with a more modest interior decoration designed to represent the Christmas spirit, the municip

Hungary marks national holiday with fireworks

STORY: Hungary marks national holiday with fireworks DATELINE: Aug. 28, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:35 LOCATION: Budapest CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the Hungarian national holiday fireworks STORYLINE: Hungary marked its national holiday Saturday with an airshow and grand fireworks over the Danube River with a delay of seven days, as the original celebration had been cancelled due to thunderstorm warning by the Hungarian Meteorological Service (OMSZ). Tens of thousands of people started to gather on the Danube bank and the Margit Bridge at around 7:30 p.m. when three Gripen fighter jets of the Hungarian Defense Forces passed over the city in tandem. According to the Hungarian Tourism Agency, the fireworks show was called the Game of Fire and Light to honor the the most important events of Hungarian history after the founding of the state and Saint Stephen, Hungary's first King. The 35-minute spectacular show cost 1.65 billion forints (4 million U.S. dollars), making it the most expensive f

Difficult days ahead for Hungarians as prices soar

STORY: Difficult days ahead for Hungarians as prices soar DATELINE: July 25, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:46 LOCATION: Budapest CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. SOUNDBITE 1 (Hungarian): MARA KISS, Bakery shop owner 2. SOUNDBITE 2 (Hungarian): IMRE FERENC, Customer 3. SOUNDBITE 3 (Hungarian): MARA KISS, Bakery shop owner 4. SOUNDBITE 4 (Hungarian): LACI KATONA, Food courier, Protester STORYLINE: Fueled by supply chain disruptions and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, soaring prices are making life increasingly difficult for Hungarians. Some chose to protest while others mull closing their businesses. SOUNDBITE 1 (Hungarian): MARA KISS, Bakery shop owner 0:00-0:03 "The price of the bakery products increased by 200 Hungarian forints (0.5 U.S. dollars) recently." 0:03-0:07 "What people buy the most is bread, the basic product." 0:07-0:21 "People eat less, there are fewer orders for bakery products and sweets. This is where people cut their budgets." SOUNDBITE 2 (Hungarian): IMRE FERENC, Customer 0:25-0:30 "As prices have in

Huawei takes leap into future with Hungarian supply center

STORY: Huawei takes leap into future with Hungarian supply center DATELINE: March 8, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:00 LOCATION: Budapest CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the Huawei's European Supply Center (ESC) plant in Paty STORYLINE: Hungary is moving closer to the forefront of 5G technology advances, with the completion of digitization at Huawei's European Supply Center (ESC) plant in Paty, 20 km west of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. This development will enable a number of 5G-based Industry 4.0 solutions to support the logistics and manufacturing center, the company said in Budapest on Monday. Hundreds of millions of forints have been invested in self-driving transport vehicles, and augmented reality artificial intelligence-controlled image processing. This will also help with logistics, manufacturing and quality control tasks, Huawei said. The private 5G network will also boost work and data security to a high level, the company added. Laszlo Gyorgy, State Secretary for Economic S