adminordered Malev to repay various forms of state aid received from 2007 to 2010.
The sums involved amounted to 38 billion forints (130m euros; $171m; £108m), a sum equal to its entire 2010 revenue.
“Despite its best interests the owner can no longer provide financial resources for the operation of the airline in the wake of the condemning decision of the European Commission,” an airline statement said.
The European Consumer Organisation, which “defends the interests of all Europe’s consumers”, said the news came after Spanair’s collapse in the very same week.
“This development is yet more incontrovertible proof that the current update of European legislation on air travel must incorporate a mandatory guarantee against airline bankruptcies,” it said.
The carrier employs 2 600 people and is responsible for close to half of all air traffic at Budapest Liszt Ferenc airport.
Part of the Oneworld airline alliance, which also includes American Airlines and British Airways, Malev has a leased fleet of 22 passenger aircraft.
In 2010 it posted a loss of 24,6 billion forints, although an improved 2011 figure had been predicted.
Chief executive Lorant Limburger said the immediate reason for the collapse was the demand for upfront payments by its suppliers.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on state radio that two Malev planes were still overseas, one in Tel Aviv, the other in the Irish Republic.
The premier said those planes were not allowed to take off because of Malev’s debts.
He told radio station MR1-Kossuth that Malev may possibly be relaunched “if we manage to get rid of the inherited skeletons”.
On Thursday, Hungary’s government appointed a receiver to the airline to try to protect it from creditors’ claims.
Hungarian newswire MTI had said that 64 Malev flights were scheduled to fly from Budapest on Friday. – BBC.
Freezing Europe hit by gas shortage
Freezing weather sweeping across Europe has led to a shortage of vital Russian gas supplies to several countries, officials say.
An EU energy spokeswoman said eight countries had seen a reduction in gas due to increased demand in Russia.
She said the situation was not an emergency but was being monitored.
The cold snap is being blamed for scores of deaths in eastern Europe where temperatures have plunged to below -35C.
Freezing temperatures have spread to Italy and France, and the UK is also on alert for snowfall.
“I can confirm that there has been a decrease in gas deliveries in various member states – Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Italy,” EU spokeswoman Marlene Holzner said.
“It’s not a situation of emergency yet,” she added.
Correspondents say the sudden drop in Russian gas supplies – which pass through Ukraine – is raising fears of a repeat of a crisis in 2009 when tension between Moscow and Kiev cut supplies to parts of Europe for about two weeks.
Countries including Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia are almost completely dependent on supplies via Ukraine.
Gazprom, the Russian gas export monopoly, said on Friday it was supplying as much gas as it could spare.
“We are doing everything possible . . . all the systems are working in a stable manner,” spokesman Sergey Komlev said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine says more than 100 people have died from the freezing weather, most of them homeless.
Authorities have set up nearly 3 000 heating and food shelters across the country and instructed hospitals not to discharge homeless patients.
The Polish interior ministry said that eight people died from the cold on Friday and two others died of carbon monoxide poisoning from charcoal heaters. – BBC.
Science takes bull scarcity by the horns
Cape Town – Emerging farmers in South Africa have only around 32 000 bulls for their million cows. It would be a logistical nightmare to purchase the quantity required and it would simply be too expensive.
“We’ll now use science and technology to get more bulls,” said Professor Lucky Nedambale of the Animal Production Institute at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC). Artificial insemination and embryo-transfer techniques will be used.
“One of the major challenges for emerging farmers is that they do not have sufficient bulls of a high quality,” said Nedambale. “The consequence is that herds increase slowly while there is a lack of high-quality genetic material.”
It would appear that almost 40 percent of South Africa’s cattle are owned by emerging farmers, but their contribution to the country’s meat production is a mere five percent. The problem is aggravated by the death of half the calves born, compared with only two percent of those in the herds of commercial farmers.
It is estimated that there are more than one million cows in the emerging sector but apparently only 32 000 bulls available for breeding. That’s a ratio of one bull for around 31 cows. The acceptable ratio is one bull for every 25 cows.
The embryos are cultivated in the ARC’s Institute in Pretoria, frozen and then taken to the rural areas where cows are artificially inseminated.
The aim of the project is to produce 400 bull calves per province every year from 2 125 cows undergoing such treatment.
Nedambale said the advanced technology is being applied in the commercial sector. By taking it into the emerging sector, skills transfer takes place and this shows that science can be harnessed for socio-economic development. – Fin24.
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