Saudi oasis town adjusts to life in the firing line

Israeli firefighters were searching for two missing people in the rubble of a residential building in the northern city of Haifa after it was struck by an Iranian missile that killed two others, authorities said Monday.

The direct hit on a seven-storey building tore through sections of the structure which has partially collapsed, the military and rescue services said.

AFP footage showed rescuers using flashlights to search through rubble and scattered concrete blocks.

The strike took place minutes after the military warned it had detected a new round of missiles fired from Iran at around 1500 GMT.

Elad Edri, chief of staff of Israel's Home Front Command, said that four people were missing.

"We have a major destruction site," he said in a video statement.

Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said later that two of the four people trapped under the rubble had been found dead.

The building was hit by a "direct impact of a missile", a military spokesperson told AFP, confirming it was fired from Iran.

- Eldery man, baby wounded -

Israel's emergency service, Magen David Adom, said four people were wounded in the strike, including a 10-month-old baby who suffered a head injury.

An 82-year-old man was also in a "serious condition", MDA said. A hospital later said he was stable.

He was "wounded by a heavy object and the blast", the MDA said, adding that the other three suffered shrapnel and blast injuries.

Dozens of Israeli security and members of rescue forces were deployed at the site of the strike, an AFP correspondent reported.

Images and footage published by MDA show smoke rising from the remains of a flattened building in a densely populated area, and stretchers laid on the road by rescuers for casualties.

MDA paramedic Shevach Rothenshtrych quoted residents saying that there were casualties trapped under the rubble on the lower floors, and the 82-year-old was rescued after first responders "managed to move large pieces of concrete with our hands".

His colleague Tal Shustak said that when emergency calls were received, "we were dispatched in large forces to the scene and saw extensive destruction, including glass, smoke and concrete scattered across the ground".

On Monday, the military detected fresh waves of missiles fired from Iran, and each time it said its "defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat".

Iran has fired missiles daily at Israel since February 28, in retaliation to joint US-Israeli attacks on the country that has killed several top Iranian leaders, including supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Since the start of the conflict, Israeli and US airstrikes have attacked a number of Iran's missile production sites and also nuclear facilities.

jd/dc/cms/fox

For generations, a Saudi oasis town has been a favoured spot for stressed visitors from the nearby capital Riyadh to come and decompress. 

But the serenity in Saudi Arabia's Al-Kharj has been rattled after it found itself in the line of fire from Iranian attacks.

Renowned for its dates and palm-lined streets, the town also lies on the edge of the sprawling Prince Sultan Air Base.

Last month, US media outlets said at least a dozen American soldiers were injured by an Iranian attack on the base. Iranian officials later boasted of hitting an advanced surveillance aircraft that costs hundreds of millions of dollars.

Several aerial refuelling planes also suffered damage in the attack, the reports said.

Tehran has unleashed punishing waves of attacks targeting its Gulf neighbours, accusing them of serving as a launchpad for American strikes, following the US and Israeli attack on Iran that began on February 28.

The residents of Al-Kharj, however, have remained largely stoic in the face of regular barrages that now fly overhead.

"We hear the loud sounds of interceptions, but we rarely see anything in the sky," Abdullah, a resident in his 60s, told AFP. He asked that only his first name be used because of sensitivities around security issues in the kingdom.

- First civilian deaths -

Al-Kharj was the scene of the first civilian deaths in Saudi Arabia after the war erupted, when two migrants working in the city were killed on March 8 after a projectile hit a residential area.

And just last week, two people were injured after debris from a drone interception crashed down on three homes.

Six more homes were also damaged in another similar incident, according to Saudi authorities.  

"This is unusual in Al-Kharj," Abdullah told AFP after afternoon prayers at a local mosque.

"Life is normal and continues as usual without any change or panic." 

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have accused Saudi Arabia of hosting advanced American fighter aircraft on its territory, including "F-35 and F-16 fighter jets", along with facilities for storing and refuelling aircraft.

US forces returned to Saudi Arabia in 2019, following an agreement between Washington and Riyadh, with media reports at the time suggesting that hundreds would be hosted at Prince Sultan Air Base.

The base was a command centre during the first Gulf war and later briefly during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 before all American troops were pulled out of the kingdom. 

The presence of US forces in Saudi Arabia has been a point of contention with more conservative elements of Saudi society in the past, who see the presence of foreign troops in the land of Islam's two holiest sites as an affront to their religion. 

The issue was later cited as one of Osama Bin Laden's reasons for launching the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.

- Checking war updates -

But at first glance, much of Al-Kharj's tranquil environment offers few hints of its martial history.  

The area has long been a centre of agricultural production, with its green fields and bountiful orchards offering a striking contrast to the vast tracts of desert that cover most of the kingdom.

At a local restaurant visited by AFP recently, customers during the lunch rush could be seen checking on the latest war updates on their phones in between bites of rice and meat.  

"Al-Kharj is now in the news, and friends call to check on us with almost every update," said government employee Turki, who also gave just his first name.

Even as Iran fires regular salvos at the base, AFP did not see any signs of a heavy security presence there.

However, residents said worries about the next barrage are ever present, and phones buzz regularly with messages warning of incoming attacks.

"I would be lying if I said I'm not afraid when I hear the explosions or when I learned about the deaths of the foreign workers," Batool, a 21-year-old student wearing a black niqab, told AFP while sipping coffee at a local cafe.

Despite the new danger, Batool said she will not give in to fear.

"As you can see, I'm studying outside," she added.

"My routine has not changed at all because of the war."

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Mikel Arteta has urged shell-shocked Arsenal to embrace a major test of their character as they seek to recover from a pair of devastating defeats in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final at Sporting Lisbon.

Arteta's side suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at second tier Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, a fortnight after losing 2-0 to Manchester City in the League Cup final.

The Gunners had been chasing an unprecedented quadruple until their domestic cup dreams were demolished in painful fashion.

The chastening loss to Southampton was only Arsenal's fifth defeat this season and marked the first time they have been beaten in successive games in this campaign.

Arsenal's slump has plunged the club's long-suffering fans into a bout of soul-searching.

The north Londoners haven't won a trophy since the 2020 FA Cup and three consecutive runners-up finishes in the Premier League have raised doubts about their ability to finally land silverware.

Arteta is convinced Arsenal can handle the mounting pressure of bidding to win the Champions League for the first time, while aiming to finally lift the Premier League trophy after a 22-year wait.

"In the season, you always have moments, normally two or three. This is the first moment that we have with a certain level of difficulty," Arteta said.

"We're going to say difficulty when we're going to play the Champions League quarter-finals and the run-up for the league.

"If this is a difficult period, I believe there are many other ones that are much more difficult, so let's stand up, make yourself comfortable and deliver like we've been doing all season."

- 'Beautiful period' -

Arteta knows Arsenal are in a strong position in both competitions, travelling to Lisbon as favourites to dispatch Sporting and holding a nine-point lead over second-placed Manchester City in the Premier League.

"I love my players. What they have done for nine months, I'm not going to criticise them because we lost a game in the manner that they are putting their bodies through everything," Arteta said.

"I'm going to defend them more than ever. Someone has to take responsibility. That's me and we have the most beautiful period of the season ahead of us."

Arsenal will also take heart from their 5-1 rout of Sporting in the Champions League group stage last season, when their Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres was playing for the Portuguese club.

Gyokeres endured a difficult start to his first season with Arsenal following his move to the Emirates Stadium last year.

But he has emerged as an influential presence in recent weeks, scoring their equaliser against Southampton and netting twice in the north London derby win at Tottenham.

Gyokeres also bagged Sweden's late play-off winner against Poland to book their place at the World Cup.

But Arsenal's double bid is in danger of being derailed by injuries, with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka is a race to be fit to face Sporting after missing the Southampton game and England's recent friendlies.

Gabriel Magalhaes is also a doubt after the centre-back was forced off with a knee injury against Southampton.

Arsenal midfielder Christian Norgaard struck an upbeat note in the face of adversity.

"The message is to have a positive body language, to talk with your team-mates, with the coaching staff. Now is not the time to go with our heads down for too long," Norgaard said.

"It's fine to be frustrated and also to analyse what went wrong, but then we also have to look forward because there are so many big games coming up for this club."

smg/pb

Like many of her fellow volunteers, Hungarian beautician Krisztina Menczel sat idle in the past elections that kept nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban in power.

But opposition leader Peter Magyar's hopes of ending the longstanding premier's 16-year reign in Hungary rest in no small part on first-time campaigners like Menczel.

"Canvassing has a big impact," the 41-year-old told AFP in Jaszfenyszaru, a central Hungarian town long considered a stronghold of Orban's Fidesz party. "Even those who wouldn't dare reveal their political preferences come over and chat with us."

Magyar, a former government insider turned critic, is offering voters a radical break from Orban's self-described "illiberal" system, vowing to crack down on corruption and improve public services.

Thanks to his party's on-the-ground network, Orban's grip on small towns like Jaszfenyszaru, population 6,000, appears to be weakening ahead of the April 12 vote.

Orban, who has criticised neighbouring Ukraine and acted as a spoiler at many European Union summits, has long counted on his media dominance to promote his platform.

Instead, Magyar's TISZA party has had to rely on grassroots word-of-mouth to promote its message. 

While the ruling party puts up billboards, TISZA has asked its supporters to hang party signs on homes and shopfronts.

Menczel said she decided to help the party after Magyar visited the town last August on his nearly non-stop nationwide tour.

She now spends up to three hours a day campaigning, on top of managing TISZA's local social media pages.

- 'Revolution of the entrepreneurs' -

When he shot into prominence in 2024, Magyar had no party apparatus behind him.

But his rise came in the wake of a child abuse pardon scandal which shook Orban's tight grip on power.

With many Hungarians already dissatisfied with the economy, the scandal proved a "tipping point", when many voters "realised they had enough of Orban's system", according to Zoltan Lakner, the editor-in-chief of the Jelen weekly newspaper.

After tirelessly criss-crossing the country and a prominent social media campaign, Magyar led a previously dormant TISZA to second place behind Fidesz at the 2024 European elections.

A month after the vote, he called supporters to set up loosely connected associations to handle on-the-ground organising, dubbed "TISZA islands", a nod to the party sharing its name with the country's longest river.

According to the party, around 4,000 "islands" have since been established, including in rural areas which the old opposition parties had effectively abandoned.

These groups organised local community events, such as charity drives, cookouts and political discussions, before switching to full-time campaigning.

Key to these events' success was the involvement of small and medium-sized businesses, according to Lakner, who describes the movement as a "revolution of entrepreneurs".

"This also affects the islands' attitude towards politics: They approach it pragmatically instead of ideologically, simply wanting the country to function well," the analyst explained.

- Breaking the 'spiral of silence' -

Dozens of "islanders" ended up being chosen as party candidates during November's primaries. 

Many of them are locally respected professionals, such as doctors, who are completely new to politics.

"This lends them credibility, given the widespread disillusionment with professional politicians," Bulcsu Zsiga, a researcher at the Centre for Fair Political Analysis, told AFP.

But their political inexperience carries a "danger" which TISZA is "clearly trying to mitigate", the expert noted, pointing to the party's much criticised policy of restricting media access to candidates.

Even so, drawing in local figures has helped to break the "spiral of silence" some Fidesz-dominated rural communities, where opposition supporters previously felt isolated or reluctant to express their views, Zsiga added.

In the Hungarian countryside, activism often comes at a price, some dearer than others, as campaigners in Jaszfenyszaru can attest.

Menczel, the beautician, said that a close relative of the local Fidesz lawmaker stopped frequenting her salon after she posted a picture with TISZA's candidate on social media.

Others have suffered more serious consequences. 

Forty-eight-year-old retailer Eszter Somfai had her home address shared online, after an internal party database with some 200,000 supporters' personal details was leaked last November.

"But we will not let them deter us, we proudly campaign for Tisza," Menczel said.

"I feel people here are increasingly opening up… If everything is conducted fairly, then we will be victorious."

ros/sbk

At a roadside cafe in downtown Cairo, Abu Ali was mid domino throw when the lights snapped off under new early-closing orders enacted to curb Egypt's soaring energy bill due to the US-Israel war on Iran.

"I used to stay here until 2:00 am," the 63-year-old told AFP, tapping his tiles as the street went dark. 

"Now I'm home by 11 at most, just watching the news. This is not the Cairo we know."

The month-long order instituted last week shutters shops at 9:00 pm on weekdays and 10:00 pm on weekends, with a brief extension to 11:00 pm expected for the Coptic Easter holidays.

It's a jarring shift for nocturnal Cairenes.

Thursday nights usually buzz with families strolling between storefronts, teenagers lingering over ice cream and music spilling out of cafes, well into the early hours of the morning.

Now each evening collapses into a final frantic hour of last-minute shopping before fluorescent lights flicker out and shutters rattle down.

Police patrols ensure compliance and soon only delivery scooters remain, zig-zagging through the dark.

"This is usually when work starts," shopworker Ali Haggag said, standing outside his suddenly quiet clothing store.

The city once famed for never sleeping now "feels like COVID again", he added, recalling the 2020 lockdowns that emptied its streets.

- Cutting incomes -

Well-to-do Cairenes have flocked to Nileside restaurants and international hotels, exempt from the order as tourism establishments.

But small businesses are already feeling the squeeze. Haggag estimates his shop has lost more than half its revenue in a matter of days.

Officials say the decision was unavoidable, given the country's heavy reliance on imported fuel.

Global energy prices have surged since the US and Israeli war on Iran began in late February.

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly has said Egypt's monthly energy import bill more than doubled between January and March to $2.5 billion. 

Around 60 percent of the country's $20 billion annual oil budget goes toward powering the grid.

In recent weeks, the government has introduced what it calls "exceptional" measures, including hiking fuel prices, slowing state projects, enacting remote work on Sundays and dimming streetlights.

Critics say early closures are disproportionately affecting the informal economy, which accounts for some two-thirds of all jobs. 

"Millions of small businesses depend on evening foot traffic," economist Wael el-Nahas told AFP. "Cutting those hours means cutting incomes."

Already the pound has shed some 15 percent of its value since the war began, soaring to a record high of 54.3 to the dollar, while inflation hit 13.6 percent in March.

At another downtown cafe, an owner said staff now rotate shifts. "Half the workers work one day and stay home the next," he said.

Still, some shopkeepers remain optimistic. Essam Farid, 67, shrugged: "People will adapt."

Some coffe shops have already implemented an old COVID-era tactic: turn down the lights, pull the shutters halfway, then keep admitting customers while a kid on the corner keeps watch for the police.

- 'Vibe disappears' -

But the shake-up has already rocked two major industries: cinema and tourism.

Film producer Gaby Khoury said cinemas are losing more than 60 percent of their revenues.

"Most box-office income comes from 9:00 pm and midnight screenings," he told AFP. "This is catastrophic."

Several film releases have been postponed, while some productions have been delayed indefinitely, he added.

Tourism, a crucial source of foreign currency, also fears a heavy setback.

While resort hubs like Luxor and Aswan are exempted, historic attractions in Cairo such as the centuries-old Khan el‑Khalili bazaar are not.

By 9:00 pm, shop owners stack their goods, turn off display lights and pull down metal shutters, even as tourists continue to wander the alleyways.

"It's almost 8:00 pm now and tourists are still arriving," Ahmed Ali, a shopkeeper, told AFP. "How can you expect me to close at nine? Will tourists be able to leave in just one hour? It's unreasonable."

"Tourists, especially Arabs, feed off the city's energy," a tourism official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"When Egyptians go home early, the vibe disappears and tourists will start looking elsewhere."

maf/bha/dc/fox

Oil opened higher on Monday as the war in the Middle East squeezes energy supplies, with fresh threats from both sides quashing any hope of de-escalation for now.

Many Asian markets were closed for public holidays, but stocks in Tokyo and Seoul rose, while movements on other open exchanges were mixed.

"Geopolitical risks remain the dominant driver of market sentiment," MUFG's Lloyd Chan said in a note on Monday.

US President Donald Trump had made an expletive-laced threat Sunday to destroy Iran's civilian infrastructure, demanding Tehran bow to his demands for a deal to reopen the Gulf to shipping.

Hours later, Iran's central military command warned of "much more devastating" retaliation if its adversaries hit civilian targets.

Chan said "it remains to be seen whether this escalatory rhetoric ultimately proves to be another 'TACO' moment" -- a jokey acronym for "Trump always chickens out". 

But "the persistence of threats to critical Iranian infrastructure keeps escalation risks elevated, with no credible de-escalation path in sight", Chan said.

"As a result, oil prices are likely to remain elevated."

Crude oil prices spiked at the week's market opening but pared gains in morning trade. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was flat at $111.61 a barrel and North Sea Brent crude gained 1.2 percent to $110.35.

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, later telling Fox News there was a "good chance" Iran would agree to a deal.

The tumultuous developments are keeping Asian currencies under pressure while "reinforcing a bias toward USD strength", Chan wrote. Gold prices also fell Monday.

Tokyo was up 1.6 percent and Seoul gained 2.2 percent. Singapore was also up 0.4 percent, but Jakarta shed 0.6 percent.

Chinese markets were closed for the Qingming Festival while others, including Sydney and Wellington, took a break for Easter Monday.

The war, entering its sixth week since the US and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28, has engulfed the Middle East in conflict and upended the global economy.

Iran has virtually blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world's oil and gas transits, sending petroleum prices skyrocketing.

- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.6 percent at 54,001.64 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: CLOSED for holiday

Shanghai - Composite: CLOSED for holiday

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1522 from $1.1535 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3214 from $1.3224

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.57 from 159.63

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.19 pence from 87.22 pence

West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $111.61 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.2 percent at $110.35 per barrel

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 46,504.67 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 10,436.29 (close) 

bur-kaf/fox

The Artemis astronauts on Sunday were approaching a key milestone in their journey to slingshot around the Moon, a historic NASA mission that will see the first woman and first person of color perform a lunar flyby.  

The crew of three Americans and one Canadian will soon hit a tipping point of sorts when the Moon's gravity takes over the spacecraft's trajectory, whipping the Orion capsule on the first lunar loop in more than half-a-century. 

The astronauts are set to travel farther from Earth than any human before. 

That historic occasion comes alongside a constellation of firsts: Victor Glover will go down in the books as the first person of color to ever fly around the Moon, while Christina Koch will be the first woman. 

Canadian Jeremy Hansen will meanwhile become the first non-American to accomplish the feat. 

Those three along with mission commander Reid Wiseman will spend much of their lunar flyby that's expected Monday documenting the Moon.

- 'The far side of the Moon' -

The astronauts have already started seeing features of the celestial body never before viewed with a naked human eye. 

In the wee hours of Sunday, NASA published an image taken by the Artemis crew that showed a distant Moon with the Orientale basin visible. 

"This mission marks the first time the entire basin has been seen with human eyes," the US space agency said. 

The massive crater, which resembles a bullseye, had been photographed before by orbiting cameras. 

Koch, speaking to Canadian children live from space, said the crew was most excited to see the basin -- sometimes known as the Moon's "Grand Canyon." 

"It's very distinctive and no human eyes previously had seen this crater until today, really, when we were privileged enough to see it," Koch said during the question-and-answer session hosted by the Canadian Space Agency. 

Near the end of their flyby, the astronauts will have the privilege of witnessing a solar eclipse, when the Sun will be behind the Moon and hidden from view aside from its outermost atmosphere, the solar corona.

The four astronauts will also spend some time testing their "Orion crew survival system" spacesuits. 

The orange suits protect the crewmembers during launch and reentry, but are also available for emergency use -- they can provide up to six days of breathable air. 

The astronauts are the first to ever wear the OCSS suits in space, and will test their functions, including how quickly they can put them on and pressurize them. 

While the four astronauts will not touch down on the lunar surface, they are expected to break the record for the farthest distance from Earth during their pass around the Moon.

Over the next day, "they will be on the far side of the Moon, they will eclipse that record, and we're going to learn an awful lot about the spacecraft," said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman Sunday during a televised interview with CNN. 

The information will be "pretty paramount to set up for subsequent missions like Artemis 3 in 2027 and, of course, the lunar landing itself on Artemis 4 in 2028." 

NASA said the Artemis crew has completed a manual piloting demonstration and reviewed their lunar flyby plan, including reviewing the surface features they must analyze and photograph during their time circling the Moon. 

"We're focusing very much on the ecosystem, the life support system of the spacecraft," NASA chief Jared Isaacman said Sunday in a televised interview with CNN. 

"This is the first time astronauts have ever flown on this spacecraft before," he said. "That's what we're most interested in getting data from." 

mdo/jgc

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret to Pyongyang Monday over drones sent into North Korea earlier this year, actions he called "irresponsible".

Seoul initially denied any official role in the January drone incursion -- with authorities suggesting it was the work of civilians -- but Lee said a probe had revealed government officials had been involved.

The North warned in February of a "terrible response" if it detects more drones crossing the border from the South, prompting Seoul to investigate the claims.

Pyongyang said it downed a drone carrying "surveillance equipment" in early January. 

Photos released by state media showed the wreckage of a winged craft scattered across the ground alongside grey and blue components that allegedly included cameras.

"It has been confirmed that a National Intelligence Service official and an active-duty soldier were involved," Lee told a cabinet meeting.

"We express regret to the North over the unnecessary military tensions caused by the irresponsible and reckless actions of some individuals."

Lee has sought to repair ties with North Korea since taking office last year, criticising his predecessor for allegedly sending drones to scatter propaganda over Pyongyang.

kjk/fox

Hungarian leader Viktor Orban's officially declared wealth is fairly modest: some savings and a jointly owned villa in Budapest.

But voters in what Transparency International deems the EU's most corrupt country believe otherwise.

And they may make Orban pay in a general election on April 12 that could spell an end to his 16-year rule.

The wealth amassed by Orban's inner circle is fuelling the increasingly palpable frustration of a population grappling with sluggish growth, high inflation and worsening public services.

"The government's communication machine worked well as long as our economic situation remained relatively good," Zoltan Ranschburg, a political analyst at the Republikon think tank, told AFP.

But it has not been good for years, he added.

"It's our money, not theirs. But they are spending it as if they were the sole owners," Gabor Szebenyi, an 81‑year‑old retired history teacher told AFP at an opposition rally.

He denounced what he called "feudalism" that has taken root in the Central European country of nearly 10 million people.

Independent lawmaker Akos Hadhazy, one of Hungary's leading anti‑corruption crusaders, said graft has drained the equivalent of 2.84 billion euros ($3.27 billion) from state coffers every year since 2016.

- 'The frontman' -

"These are not isolated cases -- this is simply the way the system is functioning," Hadhazy told AFP.

While Orban claims to live modestly, several members of his family have grown spectacularly rich since his return to power in 2010.

His father Gyozo Orban, who is 85, owns several building material companies as well as the historic Hatvanpuszta estate he had rebuilt into a luxurious manor worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Protected by high walls, the sprawling domain close to the premier's home village has two swimming pools and its own wildlife park, as well as extensive outbuildings, according to drone footage published by independent media.

"In reality, the father is merely Viktor Orban's frontman," Hadhazy said.

Orban's son-in-law Istvan Tiborcz has become one of Hungary's most influential entrepreneurs through public lighting contracts won by his former company Elios. The deals were partly financed by the EU -- until the EU anti-fraud office OLAF found serious irregularities.

Tiborcz has since switched to real estate and tourism.

Orban's childhood friend Lorinc Meszaros, a former plumber, has become Hungary's wealthiest man worth $4.8 billion according to Forbes magazine, with an empire of construction, energy, banking and media firms thriving on public contracts.

– Frozen EU funds –

"On paper there is competition (for public contracts), but in fact the winner is always known in advance," a construction contractor told AFP on condition of anonymity at a site near Budapest.

Working in the sector for three decades, the man said public tenders are often decided in advance.

"Those at the bottom of the chain do the work and get paid last -- sometimes months later," he said, adding he was ready to throw in the towel and sell his machinery.

"I'm so angry," he said, adding that while those in power lead "luxurious lives" and travel by private jets, small businesses "are struggling to survive".

The anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has labelled Hungary as the EU's most corrupt country alongside Bulgaria in its Corruption Perceptions Index.

It highlighted systemic risks in public procurement and limited competition for the largest contracts which make up five percent of Hungary's GDP.

The government rejected the ranking and insists Hungarian procurement rules comply with EU standards.

But the EU has frozen 19 billion euros ($22 billion) in funds destined for Hungary over persistent concerns about corruption and respect for the rule of law.

Opposition leader Peter Magyar, Orban's top rival in the upcoming vote, has pledged to recover the funds if elected and to investigate how the current leaders and their families have grown so rich.

bur-oaa-frj/fg/ach 

For the first time in more than half a century, astronauts will fly around the Moon on Monday, marking the high point of the Artemis 2's lunar mission. 

Here's what you need to know about the event: 

- Live broadcast -

The flyby will last around seven hours, starting Monday around 2:45 p.m. eastern US time (1845 GMT) and ending around 9:20 p.m. (0120 GMT). 

NASA will broadcast the flyby live on its website, as well as on YouTube, Amazon and Netflix, with commentary from both the astronauts aboard the mission and experts at the Mission Control center in Houston, Texas. 

Given the lengthy distance -- further than any humans have ever traveled from Earth -- NASA has cautioned that the livestream video quality may be poor at times.

- Radio silence - 

There will be a period of around 40 minutes during the flyby where all communication with Artemis 2 will be cut off as the astronauts pass behind the Moon. 

"It'll be exciting, you know, in a slightly scary way, when they go behind the moon," Derek Buzasi, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago, told AFP. 

The academic recalled during the Apollo missions to the Moon, "we all held our breaths a little bit."

- History-making milestones -

The Artemis 2 mission represents several first, as it will be the first time a woman, Christina Koch, a Black person, Victor Glover, and a non-American, Jeremy Hansen, will reach the Moon. 

Until now, only the Apollo-era astronauts, all of whom were white American men, reached the Moon, between 1968 and 1972. 

Shortly before the start of the flyby, the Artemis 2 crew will also reach the furthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. 

The spacecraft is expected to surpass the Apollo 13 distance record by 4,102 miles (6,600 kilometers) and will reach a maximum distance from the planet of 252,757 miles (406,772 kilometers).

- Moon the size of a basketball -

Apollo flights flew some 70 miles (110 kilometers) above the lunar surface, but the Artemis 2 crew will be over 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers) away at their closest approach. 

The spaceship will actually swing around the Moon without entering its orbit by following a carefully planned trajectory. 

The distance from the Moon will allow astronauts on board to see the complete, circular surface of the Moon, including regions near both poles.  

The Moon will appear to the astronauts "about the size of a basketball held at arm's length," Noah Petro, head of NASA's planetary geology lab, told AFP.

- Far side of the Moon -

The flyby will see the Artemis 2 crew pass behind the far side of the Moon, which is not visible to Earth. 

The astronauts of the Apollo mission also flew behind the Moon, but they were too close to witness it in entirety. 

The Artemis 2 crew will therefore be able to see regions of the Moon that had previously only been captured by robotic imagers. 

The four astronauts have gone through years of training to observe and describe the geological formations they observe as accurately as possible. 

NASA scientists hope the observations recorded by the crew will provide information about the composition of the Moon and its history, as well as the wider solar system by extension.

- Solar eclipse -

Toward the end of the flyby, the astronauts will experience a rare phenomenon: a solar eclipse. 

For about 53 minutes, their spacecraft will perfectly align with the Moon and the Sun, causing the star to disappear from view. 

The astronauts will then have the chance to study the solar corona, the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere, which will become visible as a sort of glowing halo. 

They will also be on the lookout for possible flashes of light caused by meteorites crashing into the surface of the Moon.

- 'Earthrise' redux -

The Artemis 2 astronauts will also see the Earth disappear and reappear behind the Moon. 

Their position will potentially allow them to recreate the famous "Earthrise" photograph from the Apollo 8 mission in 1968.

The iconic photograph taken by astronaut William Anders captured the bright blue Earth against the vast darkness of space, with the Moon's cratered surface in the foreground. 

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