Latest news with #CentralEurope
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hungary Pride to go ahead, defying Orban threat of 'legal consequences'
A Budapest Pride march is expected to go ahead on Saturday, defying Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's legal threats against LGBTQ rights activists. The march organisers hope for a record attendance this year, despite mounting pressure from nationalist conservative politicians and police to stop any display of pro-LGBTQ material. Police have issued a ban, in line with a new "child protection" law that restricts gatherings considered to be promoting homosexuality. A day before the Pride, Orban downplayed the possibility of violent clashes between the police and participants - but warned those who go to face the possible legal repercussions. "Of course, the police could break up such events, because they have the authority to do so, but Hungary is a civilised country, a civic society. We don't hurt each other," Orban told state radio on Friday. "There will be legal consequences, but it cannot reach the level of physical abuse." Attendees risk a fine of up to €500 (£427; $586), with police empowered to use facial recognition technology to identify them. Organisers could face a one-year prison sentence. EU equalities commissioner Hadja Lahbib, a former Belgian foreign minister, is in Budapest and expected to join the march, along with dozens of MEPs. On Friday, Lahbib posted a picture showing her standing with the liberal Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony in front of a rainbow flag symbolising gay rights. The Pride march "will be a powerful symbol of the strength of the civil society," she wrote on X. Ahead of the Pride, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asked the Orban government not to block the march. Orban was unfazed, asking her "to refrain from interfering in the law enforcement affairs" of EU member countries.
Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
How Czechs quit Russian oil without getting a black eye
NELAHOZEVES, June 28 — Holding a black belt in karate, Jaroslav Pantucek, the man in charge of Czech oil pipelines, is not afraid of tough battles. Like the ones he had to fight to wean the central European country off Russian oil in March, after more than 60 years of reliance and under EU pressure following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 'I have completed my mission,' Pantucek, the chief executive and board chairman of the state-run Mero firm, told AFP in an interview. Until March, the EU and Nato member of 10.9 million people relied largely on the Druzhba pipeline taking Russian oil to Europe via Ukraine. When the EU moved to end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Druzhba was exempted because the Czechs had few other options — though they had been working on alternatives for decades. Across the EU, Russian oil imports have shrunk from 27 per cent at the beginning of 2022 to three per cent now, European Commission data showed. 'Blackmail potential' Former Czechoslovakia — comprising today's Czech Republic and Slovakia — got connected to Druzhba in the 1960s when it was part of the Soviet bloc. But faltering supplies following the fall of the communist government in 1989 and the split of the country four years later led Prague to rethink the source. 'The first government after the (1989) revolution was already aware of the blackmail potential of Russian oil,' said Pantucek, who is 65. He joined Mero in 1997, a year after the launch of the IKL pipeline, an alternative route bringing in oil via Germany. 'I came to the job interview with a very decent black eye' from karate, chuckled Pantucek. He was already the chief executive when Druzhba suddenly curbed supplies to the Czech Republic in 2008. 'Moscow insists it was a coincidence,' Pantucek said, but he drew a link between the move and US plans to build a radar south of Prague, a thorn in Moscow's side that never materialised. The drop in supplies led Mero to consider joining a consortium running the Transalpine Pipeline (TAL) connecting the Italian port of Trieste with the IKL pipeline. 'We bought a 5-per cent stake after three years of tough talks in December 2012. It was a great success,' said Pantucek. But Prague wanted more and started planning a capacity boost that would make it even less dependent on Druzhba. Pantucek was dismissed from Mero in 2015, but he returned shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, resuming work on the TAL expansion at once. 'I felt there was no time to waste, that the moment when oil stops flowing may be near,' he said. 'Historic moment' The Czechs needed the 60-year-old TAL pipeline to run at maximum capacity for the first time ever to ensure they got the annual eight million tonnes they need. They had to persuade partners in the consortium to change the capacity-sharing rules, unchanged for decades, and adjust the regime for tankers bringing oil to Trieste. 'That was a massive mental clash,' Pantucek said. Mero offered cutting-edge pumps that reduced power consumption and maintenance costs, and got a go-ahead to draft a contract — a process that took seven months as the consortium members kept tweaking it. Czech refineries meanwhile had to adapt to non-Russian oil mixtures with lower sulphur content, currently comprising oil from Azerbaijan, the North Sea, Saudi Arabia or Iraq. The expansion swallowed 42 million euros-worth of Mero's money. 'We were pushing to have everything ready by the end of 2024,' Pantucek added. 'Druzhba never worked 24/7, in fact it was off pretty often. But I had a gut feeling that it may stop completely. And somebody up there helped us I guess.' On March 3 this year, Pantucek had a call from TAL confirming operation readiness after thorough tests. 'On March 4, I came to work and my colleagues told me Druzhba was off. And I said, look, this is a historic moment.' Pantucek is leaving his future at Mero open as he has reached retirement age and the political situation may change after October's general election. 'I can take it easy now,' he said. 'I've done my job.' — AFP
Reuters
2 days ago
- Health
- Reuters
Czechs drop surgery requirement for gender change
PRAGUE, June 26 (Reuters) - Czech transgender people will no longer be required to undergo a surgery but will need to be diagnosed as transsexual by specialist doctors and complete observation lasting usually six to 12 months to complete their transition, according to the Health Ministry's new guidelines. The guidelines issued on Thursday put in practice a Constitutional Court ruling, which last year struck down the surgery requirement. The ruling, which said the practice violated transgender people's rights for physical integrity and human dignity, moved the central European country in line with most European Union members and was welcomed by human rights activists. The decision struck down affected parts of the relevant law but did not replace it. The methodology issued on Thursday seeks to clarify the situation and give guidelines to medical professionals, the ministry said.
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Orban Touts Anti-Ukraine Survey to Boost His Flagging Campaign
Prime Minister Viktor Orban hailed the result of a government survey that showed Hungarians overwhelmingly against Ukraine's European Union accession, and which critics derided as propaganda aimed at reversing his fading popularity. Orban said 95% of Hungarians backed his opposition to Ukraine joining the EU in the government's 'national consultation.' The result followed a months-long information campaign vilifying President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, including on billboards put up across Hungary.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Karlovy Vary Film Fest Rejigs Industry Days With Launch of KVIFF Central Stage, Series Incubator
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) is expanding its Industry Days program by a day, refocusing and adding some new offerings this year, including a series incubator. Running Sunday, July 6-Wednesday, July 9, the Eastern Promises industry section and market will have 'a sharpened focus on Central European co-production opportunities in an updated showcase format.' The extended program also broadens its scope with new presentations and events dedicated to the small screen and series development. More from The Hollywood Reporter Canadian Industry Rebuffs Trump's DEI Rollback Sony Music Publishing Acquires Hipgnosis Songs Group Trump's Trade War Will Loom Large Over the Banff World Media Fest In one significant change, the fest is launching a new format dedicated to showcasing film projects in the making. As a result, the previous Works in Progress pitches will be replaced by a KVIFF Central Stage showcase, thanks to a cooperation with the national film institutes of eight Central European countries, namely Austria, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. The showcase, taking place on July 8, will feature 13 fiction films, to be unveiled later, by established filmmakers from these countries that are in late stages of development, in production or post-production. 'Instead of traditional pitches, the projects will be introduced through interactive talks, focusing on the filmmakers and co-production landscape in each of the participating countries,' KVIFF. 'We chose this new format because it addresses a real gap in the Central European film landscape,' explained Hugo Rosák, the head of the KVIFF Industry Office. 'There is significant support for emerging filmmakers across Eastern Europe, but mid-career filmmakers often lack the necessary spotlight and resources to secure financing, even though their projects are equally compelling.' Participating projects will be eligible for post-production benefits, thanks to a generous partnership with studios UPP and Soundsquare, which will also offer discounts to productions qualifying for the Czech Audiovisual Fund's 35 percent incentive for digital production. 'The most promising films in development, selected by an international jury, will also be eligible' for the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award. Also, via a partnership with broadcaster and entertainment giant Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME), the festival will introduce a Pop-Up Series Incubator featuring five original European series. 'The aim is to establish Karlovy Vary as a hub for co-productions and creative collaborations across diverse narrative forms,' organizers said. 'This collaboration aims at transforming Karlovy Vary into a comprehensive hub for television and streaming series development.' In line with this new 'Small Screen, Big Ambitions' push, KVIFF will feature showcases, panels, workshops, and talks by small-screen players and experts on July 8 and July 9. 'Television and streaming production in our region is undergoing a massive transformation – not only in content quality but also in creative ambitions. Partnering with KVIFF is a natural step for us,' said Daniel Grunt, CEO of CME's Czech unit Nova Group. 'We believe that the connection between the film and television worlds can bring crucial momentum to the entire Central and Eastern European region.' The Pop Up Series Incubator, presented and organized by Tatino Films, co-financed by the European Union and supported and hosted by La Région Grand Est, the city of Reims, and KVIFF, the eight-month-long program will in Karlovy Vary get a pitching session where the creative teams will present their series concepts to industry professionals and decision makers, followed by curated match-making sessions with professionals that look to finance or produce series. 'Most of the upcoming shows of streamers are adaptations of existing IPs – literary, audiovisual works or even true stories. The reason for that is simple: building an audience or generating attention from scratch is seen as way too risky and unlikely considering the financial implications of drama series production,' said Matthieu Darras, CEO of Tatino Films. 'This 'IP Adaptation Game' is mostly reserved to big players, but Pop Up Series wants to create opportunities for audiovisual talents that are not necessarily in the orbit of international behemoths, such as Banijay, Fremantle, or Mediawan, to adapt their own IPs into compelling series projects.' The five selected series projects that will be showcased in Karlovy Vary are Angelmaker (Romania), based on a true story of The Angel Makers of Nagyrév, a group of people in Hungary who were suspected of poisoning, Erotic Lives of the Superheroes (France), based on Italian novel La Vita Erotica Dei Superuomini by Marco Mancassola, The Night of the Beguines (France), based on French novel La Nuit des Béguines by Aline Kiner, The Three Burials of Irma (Greece), based on Greek novel Alfatride (O iatrodikastis) by Vassilis Vassilikos, and Therapies (Lithuania) vased on a play by Birutė Kapustinskaitė. Returning this year is a KVIFF Eastern Promises staple, the Midpoint Institute's Works in Development international script development program, which will showcase nine feature-length projects that are currently in development, as featured in more detail here, plus five projects, details for which are here, developed within Midpoint's Focus Queer, a program supporting filmmakers exploring queer narratives. Also returning, for its third edition, will be KVIFF Talents, a year-long program supporting talented Czech and Slovak filmmakers and their innovative projects. Its Creative Pool, focusing on identifying innovative ideas for audiovisual works of any genre or format — from short films and series to podcasts or game concepts, this year features as selected projects Mould, an animated series for children and adults, anime series Lost Boys, and live-action musical series Remake. The Feature Pool, dedicated to supporting the development of original auteur-driven feature-length fiction films, this year features Nameless, a feature debut combining live-action and stop-motion animation, thriller feature Spirit Moose, and Burnout, a feature debut based on a novel by Petr Šesták. 'We believe that we have a unique opportunity to strengthen our position as the leading industry event dedicated to Central Europe, a region that also includes creative powerhouses like Poland, Germany or Austria, and deserves focused international attention,' said Kryštof Mucha, the executive director of KVIFF. 'Our aim is to serve as a central hub for producers, filmmakers, broadcasters, and platforms from Central Europe, alongside global industry professionals who wish to engage closely with this vibrant region. Recognizing the growing crossover of storytelling across various mediums, our expanded Industry Days now have the capacity and vision to fully embrace this evolution.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
