Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban vowed on Monday to oppose an EU plan aimed at bolstering the bloc’s external borders, accusing Brussels of wanting to take away Hungary’s control of its own frontiers.
According to the fiercely anti-immigration premier, the plan to reinforce border defences on the bloc’s margins would “strip Hungary of its right to protect its own borders”.
"We will not give up our right to defend a border, no one can take an iota of that away from us," he said during a speech in parliament in Budapest.
Hungary “understands border defence better than anyone in Brussels or an international organisation,” he said.
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The European Commission unveiled a proposal in July to hike staff numbers at the EU’s border-guard and coastguard agency Frontex.
The Warsaw-based agency only has 600 staff, with EU members assigning extra support through hundreds of police for operations in Italy and Greece, which along with Spain have continued to bear the brunt of the arrivals.
An extra 10,000 agents would be deployed at EU borders from 2020 under the plan, and would be able to patrol and intervene when needed.
Last week Mr Orban described the EU plan as a “pro-immigration” effort led by German chancellor Angela Merkel to remove border control from peripheral countries and give “the keys to the gate” to Brussels.
“They will send mercenaries here from Brussels, from where they will be told how the Hungarian border should be protected,” Mr Orban said on state radio on Friday.
“We should be under no illusions: if they control Hungarian border defences, they will let in the migrants,” he said.
Mr Orban said he would oppose the plan at an informal meeting of EU heads of state in Salzburg, Austria, later this week where the topics of migration and border security are expected to dominate.
In a statement on Monday, the European Commission’s representative office in Budapest denied Mr Orban’s accusations.
“The EU does not want to take over border defence from member states, but rather help them to protect the external borders,” it said.
The 55-year-old premier suffered a rare setback last week when the European Parliament voted to launch a sanctions procedure against Hungary over rule-of-law concerns.
Mr Orban said the vote in Strasbourg was a bid to weaken Hungary which has become a “symbol of resistance against migration”.
Hungary will file a case at the European Court of Justice, said Mr Orban’s chief-of-staff Monday, as the vote did not include abstentions in the calculation of the two-thirds majority necessary for its adoption, and hence broke EU rules according to Budapest.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
RoboCop%3A%20Rogue%20City
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETeyon%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENacon%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%205%2C%20Xbox%20Series%20X%2FS%20and%20PC%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani