Hungarian Deputy PM suspected of plagiarizing thesisDecember 7, 2012 - 20:46 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen plagiarized much of his sociology thesis, a university said on Friday, Dec 7, according to Reuters. It is the second plagiarism scandal involving Hungarian politicians this year. In April President Pal Schmitt resigned after a university stripped him of his sports doctorate for copying chunks of his thesis without proper acknowledgement. Budapest's Eotvos Lorand University, which examined Semjen's thesis after a local media report, said the deputy premier committed a severe ethical offence. But it ruled out any sanctions against him and he will keep his qualification. Semjen is the head of the Christian Democratic Peoples' Party, which is in an alliance with Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz. The inquiry was launched after business website HVG.hu -- which uncovered a similar controversy earlier this year that brought down Hungary's president -- raised doubts last month about Semjen's 1992 thesis on a religious subject. On Friday the prime minister's office said Semjen acknowledged that the university would not initiate a procedure against him and "considered the matter closed". But in the statement, the government - which had previously called the HVG.hu report a "political provocation" - did not question the university's findings. Katalin Tausz, dean of the Social Sciences Faculty at the university, told a news conference that scholars examined Semjen's thesis showed to see if there were any similarities with writings by his supervisor, Attila Karoly Molnar. "The conclusion is that (Semjen's thesis) contains, to a significant degree, verbatim texts without quotation from writings by Attila Karoly Molnar," the dean said, according to a video of the news conference posted by news website index.hu. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. |