- 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
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- 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
Hungary PM Orban on course for fourth term
Nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban seemed set for a fourth term Sunday as early results from a hard-fought general election gave his Fidesz party a lead after a campaign overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
The 58-year-old was challenged by six united opposition parties aiming to roll back the "illiberal" revolution Orban's Fidesz party has pursued during 12 consecutive years in office.
But with more than two-thirds of votes counted, Fidesz was on 54 percent compared to 33 percent for the opposition coalition, according to results from the national election office.
While stressing it was too early to draw definitive conclusions, Bulcsu Hunyadi, analyst with the independent Political Capital institute, told AFP that "based on the current results, the chance of a Fidesz victory is increasing and it may be bigger than expected".
Orban's administration has presided over repeated confrontations with the European Union, including over the neutering of the press and judiciary, and measures targeting the LGBTQ community.
Peter Marki-Zay, 49, the conservative leading the opposition list, had characterised the election as a battle against "unfair and impossible circumstances" after casting his vote earlier in the day.
The opposition has been all but absent from state media.
MEP Marton Gyongyosi from the right-wing Jobbik party which is part of the opposition coalition, told the 444.hu site that "abuses" had taken place on Sunday and added: "This will have to be considered when talking about how the results of the elections can be respected".
Orban has dismissed such complaints and insisted the vote was fair.
For the first time more than 200 international observers monitored the election in Hungary, an EU member, along with thousands of domestic volunteers from both camps.
Polls closed at 7:00 pm and turnout reached 68.69 percent, almost matching the record participation seen at the last national elections in 2018.
- 'Ruined the country' -
Budapest resident Agnes Kunyik, 56, told AFP she backed the opposition.
"They have ruined our country, destroyed it," she said of Fidesz, becoming visibly emotional.
While Marki-Zay had criss-crossed swing seats to reach voters directly, Orban preferred "closed events where he talked to his most loyal supporters", said Andras Pulai of the opposition leaning Publicus polling institute.
Retired engineer Lajos Rebay, 78, told AFP he was voting Fidesz because "lots of positive things have happened in the last 12 years," adding: "We must continue."
Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine cast a long shadow over the campaign.
Diplomatically, Orban fell into line with EU support for Kyiv despite his long-standing closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But at home, Orban has struck a neutral and even anti-Ukrainian tone at times, refusing to let weapons for Ukraine cross Hungarian territory.
He cast himself as the protector of stability and accuses the opposition of "warmongering," alleging that they would boycott vital Russian energy imports -- a charge that Marki-Zay denied.
Marki-Zay had tried to frame the vote as "a clear choice: Putin or Europe?"
Budapest resident Regina, 25 -- who refused to give her surname -- told AFP she had spoiled her ballot in the "twisted" referendum which she said had portrayed LGBTQ Hungarians as an "enemy".
Results of the referendum are expected later in the night.
Y.Nakamura--AMWN