- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- NBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst
- Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN
- Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Man Utd boss Amorim questions 'choices' of Rashford's entourage
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- Is he serious? Trump stirs unease with Panama, Greenland ploys
- England captain Stokes to miss three months with torn hamstring
- Support grows for Blake Lively over smear campaign claim
- Canada records 50,000 opioid overdose deaths since 2016
- Jordanian, Qatari envoys hold talks with Syria's new leader
- France's second woman premier makes surprise frontline return
- France's Macron announces fourth government of the year
- Netanyahu tells Israel parliament 'some progress' on Gaza hostage deal
- Guatemalan authorities recover minors taken by sect members
- Germany's far-right AfD holds march after Christmas market attack
- European, US markets wobble awaiting Santa rally
- Serie A basement club Monza fire coach Nesta
- Mozambique top court confirms ruling party disputed win
- Biden commutes almost all federal death sentences
- Syrian medics say were coerced into false chemical attack testimony
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- France's new government to be announced Monday evening: Elysee
- London toy 'shop' window where nothing is for sale
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Accused killer of US insurance CEO pleads not guilty to 'terrorist' murder
- Global stock markets mostly higher
- Not for sale. Greenland shrugs off Trump's new push
- Sweden says China blocked prosecutors' probe of ship linked to cut cables
- Acid complicates search after deadly Brazil bridge collapse
- Norwegian Haugan dazzles in men's World Cup slalom win
- Arsenal's Saka out for 'many weeks' with hamstring injury
- Mali singer Traore child custody case postponed
- France mourns Mayotte victims amid uncertainy over government
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- Sweden says China denied request for prosecutors to probe ship linked to cut undersea cables
- African players in Europe: Salah leads Golden Boot race after brace
- Global stock markets edge higher as US inflation eases rate fears
- German far-right AfD to march in city hit by Christmas market attack
- Ireland centre Henshaw signs IRFU contract extension
- Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina's family
Hungary's Orban jubilant at Trump victory as he hosts EU leaders
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will host dozens of European leaders in Budapest later this week boosted by his "dear friend" Donald Trump's US election victory, but with relations with other EU states increasingly strained.
The nationalist leader has faced a backlash for his country's norm-defying EU presidency, which saw him jetting to Moscow right after taking over the six-month stint in July. His frequent attacks on Brussels and fellow leaders have also left him isolated.
But Orban was jubilant Wednesday as Trump swept the key swing states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, calling his election win "perhaps the greatest comeback in Western political history.
"They threatened him with jail, have taken away his assets, tried to murder him, the entire media world in the US turned against him, and yet he won," he wrote on Facebook.
Hungary will host the European Political Community (EPC) summit on Thursday, followed by an informal EU leaders' meeting on Friday.
But the US presidential election is likely to overshadow the official agenda.
Trump's victory over Democratic vice-president Kamala Harris will give Orban a "clear advantage" at the upcoming meetings, said analyst Lukas Macek of Jacques Delors Institute, speaking before Americans voted.
He said Orban had taken a gamble on wholeheartedly supporting the man who he calls a "dear friend". Had Harris won, it could have risked "weakening him, even domestically", the expert had warned.
- 'Make Europe Great Again' -
Hungary has vowed to use its EU presidency to push for its "vision of Europe" under the motto "Make Europe Great Again", an echo of Trump's rallying cry.
Orban -- who opposes military aid to Kyiv -- had predicted that Trump's return to power will bring peace to Ukraine, hoping it will force the EU to re-examine its stance on the war.
"If the Americans are switching to peace, then we must also adapt," he told state radio over the weekend.
Orban -- the only EU leader to maintain close ties with the Kremlin after Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- has been banking on Trump to emerge victorious.
There is speculation that Orban will try to organise a video call with Trump, but diplomats are sceptical.
"Orban is known for pulling off things like this, but it's still difficult to arrange at a summit," an EU diplomat told AFP.
But another diplomat stressed that Hungary "usually sticks to the programme and the agenda" when chairing meetings.
- 'False good idea' -
Orban infuriated fellow leaders in July by conducting breakaway diplomacy with Moscow to explore a path to ending the war in Ukraine.
He stoked anger again last month by travelling to Tbilisi to show support for Georgia's ruling party after a disputed parliamentary election.
While international observers, the EU and the United States criticised electoral irregularities and demanded a full investigation, Orban declared the vote was "free and democratic".
Meanwhile, he has publicly accused Brussels of wanting to impose a "puppet government" in Hungary.
The European gatherings will take place in Budapest's Puskas arena -- a football stadium named after legendary Hungarian-Spanish player Ferenc Puskas -- reflecting Orban's avid passion for the sport.
Despite the brewing tensions, the summits are unlikely to be affected by an unofficial boycott of Hungary's presidency, which has seen multiple ministers and high-level officials skipping informal meetings.
Last week, European Council president Charles Michel cautioned against boycotting the meetings, calling the notion a "false good idea".
But according to analyst Macek "patience is wearing thin" with Hungary's premier and "at some point, the EU may have to step up pressure".
He anticipates a "cold atmosphere" at the Budapest summits "but at the same time, as always in these circumstances, appearances will be kept to a minimum."
"Many participants will find ways to make Orban understand their disagreements."
F.Pedersen--AMWN