US-Iran talks fail to find deal but Gulf truce holds for now

Iran and the United States failed to strike a deal Sunday to end the war in the Middle East, but there was no immediate return to hostilities and the region clung to hope that a fragile truce would hold.   

US Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan after the talks -- the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution -- and warned that Washington had made Tehran its "final and best offer" for a deal.

"We leave here with a very simple proposal," he said. "We'll see if the Iranians accept it."

Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said his negotiating team "put forward constructive initiatives but ultimately the other side was unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations".

The failure of the talks will raise concerns that a return to fighting could drive world energy prices higher and further damage shipping and oil and gas facilities in the Gulf. 

But Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said Sunday its key east-west oil pipeline was back in service after it was damaged in earlier strikes, and Qatar's transport ministry said it was lifting some restrictions on Gulf shipping. 

Pakistan, which hosted the talks and whose leadership had ushered the rival sides to the table, said it would keep facilitating dialogue and urged both countries to continue respecting the temporary truce.

"It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire," Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said.

- Uranium stockpile -

US news website Axios quoted an unnamed source briefed on the negotiations as saying that disagreements included "Iran's demand to control the Strait of Hormuz and refusal to give up on its enriched uranium stockpile".

UK health minister Wes Streeting, speaking for the British government, told Sky News that the failure of the talks was disappointing but "that doesn't mean there isn't merit in continuing to try".  

The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, sparking retaliation from Tehran that has plunged the Middle East into conflict and shaken the global economy. 

Iran and the US had entered the talks mediated by Pakistan with maximalist positions, with Washington piling pressure by saying it had sent minesweeping ships through the vital Strait of Hormuz maritime route.

Signs of strain in the negotiations appeared when Iranian media accused the United States of making "excessive demands" over the strait, through which one-fifth of the world's oil transited before its effective closure by Iran during the war.

US President Donald Trump had also insisted several hours into the talks on Saturday that the United States had already triumphed on the battlefield by killing Iranian leaders and destroying key military infrastructure.

"Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. The reason is because we've won," Trump said.

- Leverage -

The high-stakes 21-hour meeting had unfolded in Islamabad with both sides exhibiting intense mistrust. 

Iran was in the middle of negotiations in February with Trump's real-estate friend Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner when the US and Israel attacked. 

Both Kushner and Witkoff were part of Vance's team in Pakistan.  

The first salvos of the war killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Iranian demands for any agreement to end the war include unfreezing sanctioned Iranian assets and ending Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The opening of the Strait of Hormuz has also presented a friction point.

Iran throughout the war exercised global economic leverage by asserting control of the maritime route, sending oil prices soaring and piling political pressure on Trump as US fuel costs rose.

The US military said Saturday that two Navy warships transited through the strait to begin clearing it of mines and ensure it is a "safe pathway" for tankers.

The Iranian military denied that any American warships had entered the waterway and threatened to respond if they do so.

The Revolutionary Guards' Naval Command said Iranian promises of safe passage during a two-week ceasefire applied only to "civilian vessels under specific conditions".

- Lebanon violence -

A complicating factor has been Israel's assertion that the ceasefire does not affect Lebanon, where the Israeli military has launched strikes and a ground invasion in response to rocket fire from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed movement. 

Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes on the country's south on Saturday killed 18 people, bringing the death toll from Israel's operations since the war broke out past 2,000.

Israel and Lebanon will hold their own talks next week in Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he wanted a peace deal with Lebanon that "will last for generations".

But Israel has ruled out a ceasefire with Hezbollah, signalling it will instead seek to pressure the historically weak central government in Beirut.

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Ukraine and Russia accused each other on Sunday of violating a truce in place for Orthodox Easter thousands of times, as the war dragged on into its fifth year.

Both sides had agreed to observe the ceasefire for the religious holiday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordering the truce more than a week after Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a halt to hostilities.

But as with a similar agreement last year, only relative calm reigned along the 1,200-kilometre (745-mile) front line.

"As of 7:00 a.m. on 12 April, 2,299 ceasefire violations were recorded. Specifically: 28 enemy assault actions, 479 enemy shellings, 747 strikes by attack drones... and 1,045 strikes by FPV drones," the Ukrainian military's general staff said in a post on Facebook.

In turn, Russia's defence ministry accused Kyiv of nearly 2,000 breaches of its own.

"A total of 1,971 ceasefire violations by units of the Ukrainian armed forces were recorded between 4:00 pm Moscow time on April 12 and 8:00 am on April 12," the ministry said on the state-pushed MAX application. 

The Russian ministry claimed Kyiv had fired 258 times using artillery or tanks, carried out 1,329 FPV drone strikes, and dropped "various types of munitions" on 375 occasions, notably via drones.

Moscow also accused the Ukrainian military of launching "three nighttime attacks" against Russian positions and also "four attempts to advance" along the front line, while claiming to have thwarted each.

- 'Holiday joy' -

However, in a sign that the truce had some effect, the Ukrainian army stressed that it had recorded no long-range Shahed drone attacks, guided aerial bombings or missile strikes.

Ukraine has had to deal with near-nightly barrages of hundreds of Russian drones, prompting retaliation from Kyiv. 

In northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Lieutenant Colonel Vasyl Kobziak told AFP on Sunday morning that things were "rather calm" in his sector.

While the 32-year-old officer said the truce had not been "fully" observed, the lull had allowed his soldiers of the 33rd Mechanised Brigade to attend an Easter Sunday mass outside in the freezing forest chill.

"Our comrades have the chance, as you can see, to have their Easter baskets blessed and to feel the warmth and joy of this holiday," he told AFP, referring to the religious tradition of priests blessing food and eggs.

The truce had been due to last for 32 hours, from 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Saturday until the end of the day on Sunday, according to the Kremlin.

In Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, Governor Alexander Khinshtein also accused Kyiv of breaking the ceasefire by attacking a gas station in the town of Lgov with a drone, injuring three people, including a baby.

In his evening address on Saturday, Zelensky called for a longer ceasefire, insisting the ball was in Moscow's court. 

A similar truce was announced in Ukraine for Orthodox Easter last year, only for both sides to accuse each other of numerous violations.

- Frontline freeze -

Recent months have seen several rounds of US-brokered negotiations fail to bring the warring parties closer to an agreement to stop the fighting, triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion.

The process has stalled further since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, with Washington's attention having shifted towards Iran.

But even before the Iran war, progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine had been slow, due to differences over the issue of territory.

Ukraine has proposed freezing the conflict along the current front lines. 

But Russia has rejected this, saying it wants the whole of the Donetsk region despite it being partly controlled by Ukraine -- a demand Kyiv says is unacceptable. 

The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes, making it Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Russia has paid a high price in manpower for its relatively small territorial gains. 

Kyiv recently managed to push back in the southeast and Russian advances have been slowing since late 2025, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Moscow occupies just over 19 percent of Ukraine, most of which was seized during the first weeks of the conflict.

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A stampede at an historical fortress in Haiti has killed at least 30 people, a government minister told AFP on Sunday, with the crush reportedly involving several young visitors.

"The Minister of Culture and Communication has confirmed the deaths of 30 people at the Citadelle Henri on Saturday, April 11, 2026," culture minister Emmanuel Menard told AFP in a written message.

"The injured are currently receiving the necessary medical care, and a rescue team is searching for any missing persons," Menard said, without giving an exact figure of those injured.

Citadelle Henri, also known as Citadelle Laferriere, is a 19th-century fortress and popular tourist spot.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site was closed to visitors "until further notice," Menard said.

Haiti's prime minister's office expressed "deep sadness" in a government statement posted on Facebook, adding that the crush occurred during "a tourist activity bringing together many young people."

Jean Henry Petit, head of the civil protection office in Northern Haiti, told local newspaper Le Nouvelliste that the toll could rise due to the large number of people reported missing.

Several dozen people were also injured and taken to hospital, the outlet reported.

Initial reports said visitors, mostly young people, were crammed against a single entrance and a scuffle broke out between those trying to leave and enter the site.

Other local media reports said the gathering took place after being advertised on TikTok.

AFP was not able to immediately confirm the reports.

The government urged citizens to "be calm and cautious" while it investigates.

"All competent authorities are fully mobilized and placed on maximum alert to provide, without delay, the necessary assistance, care and support," it added in its statement.

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© Agence France-Presse

Legendary Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle, whose voice defined Bollywood music through the 1970s and 80s, died Sunday in Mumbai aged 92, her family said.

Two-time Grammy nominee Bhosle breathed her last at the Breach Candy hospital where she was admitted with complaints of "extreme exhaustion" and chest infection.

"My mother passed away today (Sunday). Her last rites will be held tomorrow at Shivaji Park in Mumbai," her son Anand Bhosle told reporters.

Bhosle recorded more than 12,000 songs in multiple Indian languages over a seven‑decade career.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "deeply saddened" by her death.

"Her extraordinary musical journey, spanning decades, enriched our cultural heritage and touched countless hearts across the world," he said in a post on X.

"She will continue to inspire generations and her songs will forever echo in people's lives."

Born on September 8, 1933 to a musical family, Bhosle began singing as a child alongside her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, after their father's death. 

Often compared to Mangeshkar -- revered as "India's nightingale" who died in 2022 -- Bhosle forged her own path, embracing genres from pop to folk.

Her early life was marked by struggle, including a turbulent marriage at 16. 

She went on to become one of Indian cinema's most versatile and celebrated voices, receiving the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 and earning two Grammy nominations.

Bhosle continued collaborating with global artists well into her later years, including a recent feature on British virtual band Gorillaz's album The Mountain ("Parvat").

Beyond music, she nurtured her passion for food, launching her "Asha's" restaurant chain in Dubai and Britain.

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Benin was voting for a new president on Sunday, with Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni a shoo-in after overseeing a decade of economic growth in the west African country despite jihadist attacks in the north.

Nearly eight million voters are eligible to cast ballots to choose a successor to Patrice Talon, who is stepping down after two five-year terms and has endorsed Wadagni as his successor.

Turnout will be a crucial factor after a lacklustre campaign hit by voter apathy.

"We must vote to ensure a high turnout," said Yvan Glidja, a man in his 30s who turned up early at a school-turned-polling station in the commercial capital Cotonou to vote for Wadagni.

Backed by the two main ruling parties, Wadagni is being challenged by Paul Hounkpe, an opposition figure whose campaign has been very low-key and who needed help from majority lawmakers to secure the required parliamentary endorsements to get on the ballot. 

"There can't be any real enthusiasm; for that, you would need debate and each side would have to believe in its chances," said Rufin Godjo, a political analyst. 

The main opposition The Democrats party is not fielding a candidate as its leader, Renaud Agbodjo, failed to secure the required number of parliamentary endorsements needed to contest the vote.

"I won't go and vote, this election is not inclusive. You cannot talk about genuine democratic competition when some key political players are barred," said Arnold Dessouassi, a 39-year-old teacher. 

The ruling majority blames The Democrats' exclusion on internal divisions. Several senior figures in the party joined Wadagni's campaign.

"The disgruntled haven't disappeared. Tensions and frustration remain high; their electoral hopes have been slaughtered," said Godjo, speaking of voters. 

The European Union, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have all sent substantial delegations to monitor the vote.

"We hope a maximum of Beninese will come out to make their choice today", Nana Akufo-Addo, a former Ghanaian president heading the ECOWAS delegation, told AFP. 

- Golden decade -

Benin's next elections will only take place in 2033, as a constitutional reform passed last year has extended the presidential term from five to seven years and synchronised all elections to take place then. 

A key question for many is the next president's approach to civil liberties after the authoritarian turn taken by Talon, whose rule saw many opponents being handed heavy sentences for various crimes.

Hounkpe meanwhile has promised to release "political prisoners". 

The country has seen burgeoning growth during the Talon decade: GDP has doubled, growth has surpassed six percent each year, tourism has expanded and numerous infrastructure projects have been completed. 

As the architect of this development from his 10 years at the finance ministry, Wadagni embodies continuity. 

- Major challenges -

But major challenges remain, including a huge gap between the haves and the have-nots.

"The next phase of the country's development will be the eradication of extreme poverty. That is one of his priorities," said one of Wadagni's close associates. 

The poverty rate is estimated at more than 30 percent and many Beninese complain that the benefits of the economic growth over the past decade have not trickled down to them.

Benin's economic growth will also depend on ushering in security and stabilising the country.

Benin's north is plagued by increasingly deadly jihadist violence, carried out mainly by Al-Qaeda's Sahel branch, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).

Very active in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, JNIM has recruited and conducted deadly raids against the army in this less-developed part of Benin.

If he is elected on Sunday, Wadagni is expected to be able to count on the loyalty of the army, which played a decisive role in repelling an attempted coup against Talon in December. 

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The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Key Saudi pipeline back -

Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said that its key east-west oil pipeline and other facilities had been restored following attacks by Iran on infrastructure across the Gulf.

Citing an energy ministry statement, the official Saudi Press Agency reported that the attacks had led to a "loss of approximately 700,000 barrels per day of pumping capacity through the east-west pipeline" and work was under way to restore full production capacity at the kingdom's Khurais oil field.

- Tehran downplays no-deal finish -

Iran's foreign ministry said no one had held any expectation that talks with the United States could have reached an agreement within one session after the negotiations in Islamabad stalled. 

"Naturally, from the beginning we should not have expected to reach an agreement in a single session. No one had such an expectation," ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

- Talks' end 'disappointing' Australia -

"The priority now must be to continue the ceasefire and return to negotiations," Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement, adding it was "disappointing that the Islamabad talks between the United States and Iran have ended without agreement".

- Pakistan urges US, Iran -

Pakistan's foreign minister insisted that Washington and Tehran must uphold a ceasefire agreement, after marathon talks between the two sides to end the war in the Middle East ended without a deal.

"It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire," said Ishaq Dar, whose government hosted the talks and acted as a mediator. 

- Vance leaves without deal -

US Vice President JD Vance departed Pakistan aboard Air Force Two soon after saying that talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement after he put forward a "final and best offer".

"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," he told reporters in Islamabad, on the main sticking point for talks moving ahead. 

- Iran calls US 'unreasonable' -

"The Iranian delegation negotiated continuously and intensively for 21 hours in order to protect the national interests of the Iranian people; despite various initiatives from the Iranian delegation, the unreasonable demands of the American side prevented the progress of the negotiations. Thus the negotiations ended," Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said. 

- Iran says talks hinged on avoiding 'excessive demands' -

The success of peace talks between the United States and Iran depended on Washington avoiding "excessive" and "unlawful" demands, the Iranian foreign ministry's spokesman said early on Sunday after marathon talks in Islamabad.

"The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran's legitimate rights and interests," Esmaeil Baqaei wrote on X.

- Iran and US spar over strait -

Iran denied Washington's claims that two US Navy warships crossed the Strait of Hormuz to clear the strategic waterway of mines, with Tehran warning that military ships attempting the passage "will be dealt with severely".

US Central Command's claim that mine detection operations were already underway was echoed by President Donald Trump, who told reporters Saturday "we have mine sweepers out there. We're sweeping the strait".  

A fifth of the world's crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

- Trump says Iran deal 'makes no difference' -

Trump told reporters Saturday it "makes no difference" if a peace deal comes out of the trilateral US-Iran talks in Pakistan, insisting the United States has already won the war. 

The 79-year-old Republican's comments came as Vice President JD Vance was leading the US delegation in Islamabad, with discussions heading into a second day.

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A childhood dream of making video games is becoming a reality this week for Imagine Dragons' singer Dan Reynolds, as his company's debut title "Last Flag" is released Tuesday.

Games had been a passion of Reynolds and his brother and band manager Mac long before the group became a global name.

Now the pair have used some time away from music to build a team-based shooter inspired by the games of Capture the Flag they played in the woods as young Boy Scouts.

"Last Flag" is "not a passion project, (we've) been working on it now for five-plus years," Reynolds told journalists during a virtual news conference.

Their roughly 30-strong studio, Night Street Games, has been working on "Last Flag" since its 2020 founding.

The game sorts players into two teams of five who can battle online, competing to hide their own flag and snatch the opposing team's banner.

"I grew up in a family of eight boys and one girl, and we were all nerdy kids," 38-year-old Dan Reynolds remembered.

Creating their own game had been "this dream that we talked about all the time" as they learned skills such as programming and 3D modelling.

But when Imagine Dragons "just blew up" while they were at university, Dan, a fan of "Starcraft" and "League of Legends", went with the flow, enlisting Mac along the way as manager.

Tracks such as "Believer", "Thunder" and "Radioactive" have made the band one of the most popular pop rock groups worldwide.

It has sold 74 million albums and racked up 160 billion streams, according to record label Warner Music Group.

The band's ride has been "just incredible", Dan said.

"But we talked all the time during that about 'what if?'" the brothers had gone through with their gaming dream, he added.

When the time finally came, they devised a brightly coloured world filled with seventies stylings.

"Last Flag" bears visual similarities to the genre juggernaut "Fortnite", but the Reynolds say their title stands out from the pack with a focus on playing the objective -- not simply eliminating opponents.

Several high-value productions in the team shooter genre have fallen flat in recent years, with titles such as "Concord" or "Highguard" quickly taken offline after failing to win a loyal player base.

"Even though there's a ton of competition, I think we've seen even recently that a new game... can break through if it provides something different," Mac Reynolds said.

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China's long-term strategy of diversifying energy sources and building stockpiles is helping it weather disruptions from the Iran war, although some sectors still face major snags, analysts say.

China is a net importer of oil and more than half of its seaborne crude came from the Middle East last year, according to analytics firm Kpler.

The conflict triggered by Israel and the United States against Iran has halted almost all shipments from the Gulf area for six weeks now, with a shaky ceasefire deal struck this week extremely unlikely to lead to an immediate recovery. 

However, Beijing's long-running prioritisation of energy security has left it well-prepared for such shocks, analysts told AFP.

A "general concern about the geopolitical situation" in recent years has spurred Chinese leaders to ensure sufficient storage construction and stockpiling of strategic reserves, said Muyu Xu, senior oil analyst at Kpler.

Those efforts mean China now sits in a far better position than several of its Asian neighbours, such as Japan and the Philippines, she said.

But so far Beijing has not been "in a rush" to initiate releases from its substantial strategic reserves, said Xu.

- 'Vindicated' -

This is partly because China's decades-long mission to diminish its traditional reliance on coal and fossil fuels is beginning to flourish.

The large-scale efforts to transition to renewable energy mean "China is relatively well placed" to deal with the current situation, said Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Wind, solar and nuclear capacity has been added to China's populous coastal provinces, while improved grid infrastructure carries electricity to them from inland. 

"There would be much more oil and gas imports needed to power those provinces" otherwise, said Myllyvirta.

While dependencies still exist -- including in the vast manufacturing sector -- renewable energy is "helping a lot on the margin", he said.

Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society, told AFP that the current energy crisis "vindicates China's long-standing 'all-of-the-above' strategy".

President Xi Jinping is seeking to leverage the renewables build-out even further as geopolitical turmoil mounts.

State broadcaster CCTV aired a segment on Monday in which Xi was quoted as calling for accelerated construction of a "new energy system" to safeguard energy security, although it did not mention the Middle East war.

- 'Teapot' trouble brewing -

For Beijing, the "more serious risk" is not immediate energy shocks but a potential global economic downturn caused by the conflict, the Asia Society's Li said.

Some sectors will inevitably feel the pinch, presenting new hurdles for leaders struggling to jumpstart sluggish activity.

Among them are "teapot" oil refineries -- small, private outfits that have historically benefited from access to sanctioned Iranian and Venezuelan crude acquired at a discount.

The loss of Iranian crude could be a death knell for many of these operations, which are mainly concentrated in the eastern province of Shandong and are already reeling from Washington's military intervention in Venezuela this year.

Beijing likely has "mixed feelings" about that, Kpler's Xu told AFP.

On the one hand, teapots account for around one-fifth of China's refining capacity, also providing substantial employment, she said.

However, their lax environmental standards, less predictable tax generation and competition with state-owned giants means that their shutting down is "not entirely bad news for China", said Xu.

Chipmaking, which Xi has declared a strategic priority, is another sector likely to encounter challenges as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut.

Qatar is one of the world's few large-scale producers of helium -- vital for semiconductor manufacturing -- and supplies have ground to a halt since the war began.

The chemicals industry could also face "significant pressure" from the disruption, Michal Meidan from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies wrote in a recent report.

On a national level though, she said, "the impacts can be smoothed out".

"While the economy will not be immune to higher prices and reduced economic activity, stakeholders are already taking pre-emptive measures in case the disruption is protracted," she wrote. 

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Hungarians will vote on Sunday in closely watched parliamentary elections that could end nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban's 16-year stint in power as a self-described "thorn" in the EU's side.

US President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind the EU's current longest-serving leader, who maintains close ties to Russia. The vote is closely followed abroad, particularly across the rest of Europe.

Opinion polls suggest that the party of pro-European conservative Peter Magyar -- who has promised a "system change" -- is running well ahead of that of Orban.

Both camps have made allegations of foreign interference during the campaign in the central European country of 9.5 million people. US Vice President JD Vance visited Budapest earlier this week to rally with Orban.

Vance attacked the alleged interference in Hungary of "Brussels bureaucrats", and Trump has promised to bring US "economic might" to Hungary if the party of Orban, a "truly strong and powerful leader", secures victory.

Orban, 62, who is seeking a fifth straight term, has transformed his country into a model of illiberal democracy, following Trump in casting migration and "woke" values as a "civilisational" threat.

Former government insider Magyar, 45, burst into the scene just two years ago, amassing support against the backdrop of economic stagnation, despite an electoral system skewed in favour of Orban's Fidesz party.

- 'New era' -

"This is a pivotal election. If Fidesz wins now, that will clearly mean... a shift towards authoritarianism," Andrea Szabo, a senior research fellow at ELTE University's Centre for Social Sciences, told AFP. 

"This is the last moment in which this process can be halted, and the pendulum can swing back in a democratic direction," she added.

Orban has increasingly locked horns with Brussels, which accuses him of quashing dissent and eroding the rule of law, and has frozen billions of euros in funding.

"Most member states would be quite happy to be rid of Orban," one European diplomat told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The patience has worn very thin.

Criss-crossing the country since February, Magyar has called on Hungarians to "take our homeland back" to confirm its place in the EU and promised to crack down on corruption and offer better services.

Hungary is seen as the most corrupt in the EU, together with Bulgaria, according to Transparency International.

"I think it's important that there really be a new era, a new, liveable Hungary," Daniel Pasztor, a pensioner, 60, told AFP at a Magyar rally in Miskolc city in northeastern Hungary on Friday.

Orban, in turn, in his rallies has warned to "not put everything at risk" and to "protect what we have achieved".

"It would be really bad for Hungary if (Magyar's party) Tisza win," said Attila Szoke, a 55-year-old taxi driver, at an Orban rally in Hungary's second largest city Debrecen this week.

Orban has focused on making Ukraine the centre topic of his campaign, portraying the neighbouring country, which is fighting off a Russian invasion, as "hostile" to Hungary.

He has also vowed to continue his crackdown against "fake civil society organisations, bought journalists, judges (and) politicians".

"Fidesz decided to run a purely negative campaign... What they talked about was war, war, war" sociologist Szabo said.

- Interference -

Polls open at 6:00 am local time (0400 GMT) and will close at 7:00 pm.

Analysts expect a record turnout of around 75 percent, exceeding the previous record of just over 70 percent.

Only five parties will be listed -- the fewest since Hungary's democratisation in 1990 -- after several stood down to bolster Tisza's chances.

The first preliminary results are expected soon after polls close, but if the race is close the winner might not be declared until ballot counting is completely finished next Saturday, according to the National Election Office.

While the opposition fears Orban may not recognise the election results, the nationalist leader has accused the opposition of "an organised attempt to use chaos" and "colluding" with foreign intelligence.

In the lead up to the vote, a flurry of accusations, counter-accusations and leaks surfaced, including recorded phone conversations causing EU-wide alarm about Orban's and his foreign minister's close relations with Moscow.

Several whistleblowers from police, military and other state authorities have also come forward to publicly accuse Orban's government of incompetence and influencing state institutions for political gain.

Reports have claimed an ongoing covert Russian disinformation campaign to help Orban stay in power, while a documentary has alleged his ruling coalition is engaging in massive vote-buying efforts in rural districts.

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Filipinos like their "pares", a traditional beef stew, served hot -- but the soaring cost of liquefied petroleum gas has made that prospect increasingly difficult since war erupted in the Middle East.

To save a few pesos 20-year-old Eric Garcia delicately turned a knob to adjust the flame under his warming trays to the lowest setting as he grapples with fuel costs that have nearly doubled in price.

While sticker shock at petrol stations has garnered the biggest headlines since the war forced the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the rising price of LPG has hit the import-dependent archipelago's humble street food vendors.

A day before speaking to AFP, Garcia said he had been forced to raise the price of a bowl of pares to 65 pesos ($1.08) after fuel costs reduced his daily earnings by a quarter.

"I'm only earning 1,500 pesos (per day), because the rest is spent on LPG," he said.

Garcia, who begins cooking at 3 am every morning before hauling his stew to a middle-class neighbourhood on a converted motorbike, said an 11 kilo tank of fuel, which typically lasts four days, that once cost 870 pesos (about $14.50) now costs 1,600 pesos.

"It's the highest price of LPG that I've ever seen since I started here," said Carlo Manalad, a supervisor at a store selling tanks of the gas, 90 percent of which is imported.

"If (our suppliers') prices are high, we also raise our prices. Our profit is still the same," the 64-year-old told AFP.

Many of the capital's streetside food sellers, however, have no such luxury.

"If we raise our prices, our customers will buy from other stalls," said Ronilo Titom, who has run a curbside canteen that caters call centre workers and jeepney drivers, for two years.

Even while holding the line on prices, Titom said he had noticed his customer base slowly shrinking since the war erupted.

"Many of them have started to bring packed lunches instead (to save money)," said the 48-year-old who, like Garcia, is using his LPG ever more judiciously.

"Sometimes we let the soup get cold," he admitted, noting that the cost of ingredients for his dishes had also been on the uptick since the war broke out.  

- 'Very difficult for us' -

The Philippines revealed Tuesday war-driven inflation figures that showed food prices had increased nearly twice as fast in March as the month before.

French fry vendor John Mark Abella, 25, who has also upped his prices by five pesos to compensate for LPG costs, told AFP he believed inflation was putting the squeeze on his mostly student customers.

"I think we've got fewer customers … because they're limiting their expenses because of the high prices of fuel and food," he said.

Sam Natividad, a 25-year-old call centre worker, said that was no illusion.

"I'm limiting my expenses because... I also have to pay bills at home. I don't have a big budget for my meals here," she told AFP at a roadside canteen, adding it was "understandable" if street vendors had to raise their prices.

Near Garcia's pares stall, Allan Palong, a driver for a motorbike ride-hailing app, said he understood the vendor's need to charge five pesos more for a bowl of stew, even if his own earnings were being crippled by fuel price hikes.

"It's very difficult for us now, all prices have gone up … the five-pesos mean a lot," he said, while calling on the government to slash the excise tax on imported fuel.

"What they're doing is not enough... we can't feel it."

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