U.S. and Iran fail to reach agreement after peace talks, JD Vance says - Sunday, 12 April
U.S. Vice-President JD Vance said that the U.S. and Iran were leaving peace talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad without an agreement early on ...
Hungarians vote in elections on Sunday that could see the end of hard right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s more than 15 year rule. Opinion polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing 45-year-old Péter Magyar’s centre-right opposition Tisza party.
Surveys indicate Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party is trailing the centre-right Tisza party led by Péter Magyar, a 45-year-old former ally who broke away from Fidesz in 2024 following a presidential pardon scandal.
The vote is being closely watched by officials in European Union institutions in Brussels, with whom Orbán has repeatedly clashed over concerns about democratic standards in the country of 9.6 million people.
Orbán, who has maintained close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has also been at odds with EU partners over his veto of €90bn ($105bn) in aid to Ukraine, linked to disputes over Russian energy supplies.
The 62-year-old has framed the election as a choice between "war and peace". During the campaign, government messaging has warned that Magyar would draw Hungary into Russia’s war in Ukraine, an accusation he strongly rejects.
Orbán has received public backing from allies of Donald Trump, including a recent visit to Budapest by Vice President JD Vance. He has also drawn support from the Kremlin and far-right leaders across Europe.
However, his campaign has been challenged by media reports alleging government links with Moscow. Orbán denies any wrongdoing, saying his priority is to protect Hungary’s national identity, traditional Christian values and security.
Meanwhile, Magyar has tapped into discontent over alleged state corruption and falling living standards.
Polling stations opened at 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT) and are due to close at 19:00 (17:00 GMT), with voters choosing representatives for the 199-seat parliament.
Hungarians vote in elections on Sunday that could see the end of hard right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s more than 15 year rule. Opinion polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing 45-year-old Péter Magyar’s centre-right opposition Tisza party.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators held their highest-level talks in half a century in Pakistan on Saturday in an effort to end their six-week war, as President Donald Trump said the U.S. military had begun the process of clearing the Strait of Hormuz.
Amid fragile calm, António Guterres urged constructive U.S.- Iran talks, while Pope Leo XIV warned violence is spreading. Lebanon's President said an Israeli strike killed 13 security personnel in Nabatieh.
Dubai has restricted foreign airlines to one daily flight to its airports until 31 May due to the Iran crisis, raising fears of significant revenue losses for Indian carriers, industry letters show.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Taiwan opposition leader Cheng Li-wun that “people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese” and that the future of cross-strait ties should be decided by “the Chinese people themselves”.
The U.S., EU and their allies are racing to secure supplies of rare earth elements - essential materials for electric vehicles, wind turbines and advanced technologies - as China maintains a dominant position in processing.
At least 30 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede at Haiti’s Laferrière Citadel World Heritage Site, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise.
Britain’s plan to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which host a strategic U.K.-U.S. military base, has been put on indefinite hold after the Trump administration withdrew its support.
Ismail Omar Guelleh has been re-elected for a sixth term with 97.8% of the vote, according to state media, extending his nearly three-decade hold on power in the small but strategically significant East African nation.
Australia and Singapore have agreed to deepen cooperation on energy security as global fuel markets come under strain from disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
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