- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Kim Sei-young shoots 62 to take two-stroke lead at LPGA Shanghai
- The haircuts that help traumatised Ukrainian soldiers heal
- Sinner crushes Medvedev to set up potential Alcaraz Shanghai semi
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- England's Harry Brook blasts triple century against Pakistan
- Chinese electric car companies cope with European tariffs
- Zelensky in London for whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Record-breaking Root, Brook both pass 200 as England pile up 658-3
- Football mourns Greek defender George Baldock's shock death at 31
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Home is far away for Madagascar in AFCON qualifying
- Two months on, Donbas soldiers begin to question Kursk offensive
- Rugby Australia to counter-sue in dispute with Melbourne Rebels
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Mets advance on Lindor blast, Dodgers stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
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- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
Serbians vote in polls overshadowed by war in Ukraine
Serbians went to the polls on Sunday in elections that will likely see populist President Aleksandar Vucic extend his rule in the Balkan country, as he vows to provide stability amid war raging in Ukraine.
The country of around seven million will elect the president, deputies for the 250-seat parliament and cast votes in several municipal contests.
The latest opinion polls see Vucic's centre-right Serbian Progressive Party maintaining its control over the parliament, while the president is poised to win a second term.
"Personally, I see a stable progress and I voted in accordance with this opinion," Milovan Krstic, a 52-year-old government employee, told AFP after casting his vote in Belgrade.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has cast a long shadow over a contest that observers had earlier predicted would focus on environmental issues, corruption and rights.
Vucic has deftly used the return of war in Europe along with the coronavirus pandemic to his advantage, promising voters continued stability amid uncertain headwinds.
"We expect a huge victory. That's what we worked for in the past four or five years, and we believe that we will continue with the great efforts and the development of this country," the president said after casting his ballot early Sunday.
Only a few months ago, the opposition seemed to have gained momentum.
In January, Vucic axed a controversial lithium mine project following mass protests that saw tens of thousands take to the streets.
The move was a rare defeat for Vucic who has rotated through a range of positions, including prime minister, president and deputy premier along with a stint as the defence chief during a decade in power.
The polls predict that he will win again on Sunday even as the opposition hopes a high turnout could force a run-off.
Analysts, however, say the opposition has little chance of dethroning Vucic or eating away at his coalition in the parliament, which holds a lion's share of the seats.
The president has also carefully managed the country's response to the war in Ukraine by officially condemning Russia at the United Nations, but stopping short of sanctioning Moscow at home, where many Serbs hold a favourable view of the Kremlin.
The opposition in turn has largely refrained from attacking Vucic's position on the conflict, fearing any call for harsher measures against Russia would backfire at the ballot box.
Vucic also headed into elections with a plethora of other advantages.
Following a decade at the helm, he has increasingly tightened his grip over the various levers of power, including de facto control over much of the press and government services.
In the months leading up to the campaign, the president rolled out a range of financial aid offers to select groups, prompting critics to say he was trying to "buy" votes before the contest.
Polling stations opened from 0500 GMT and close at 1800 GMT, with unofficial results due later in the evening.
L.Miller--AMWN