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  • Washington (AFP) - 04/09/2018 - 04:46

    US 'not conducting air strikes in Syria': Pentagon

  • Damascus (AFP) - 04/09/2018 - 04:15

    Several dead, wounded in strike on Syria air base: state media

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/09/2018 - 03:52

    Trump, Macron vow 'strong, joint response' to Syria

  • Damascus (AFP) - 04/09/2018 - 03:47

    Syria state media says strikes hit army airport

  • Paris (AFP) - 04/09/2018 - 01:56

    Macron condemns Syria 'chemical attacks': Elysee

  • Budapest (AFP) - 04/09/2018 - 00:16

    Hungary PM Orban hails 'historic victory' in election

  • Berlin (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 23:50

    Deutsche Bank replaces CEO John Cryan with German Christian Sewing

  • Budapest (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 23:01

    Orban's party leading in Hungary's vote: partial results

  • Damascus (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 23:01

    Syria rebels begin leaving last Ghouta town under deal: state media

  • United Nations (United States) (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 19:29

    Paris seeks urgent UN Security Council meet on Syria

  • Paris (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 18:23

    France will 'do its duty' over alleged Syria chemical attack: minister

  • Damascus (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 18:02

    Syria says toxic gas accusations 'unconvincing broken record'

  • Tehran (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 17:20

    Iran condemns Syria chemical charges as 'conspiracy'

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 15:20

    'Big price to pay,' after 'mindless' Syria attack: Trump

  • Ankara (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 14:59

    Turkey says 'strong suspicion' Syrian regime behind Douma chemical attack

  • Damascus (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 14:38

    Syria regime reaches deal for rebels to quit Douma: SANA

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 14:27

    Trump sees China trade deal

  • Vatican City (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 13:02

    Pope Francis condemns the use of chemical weapons in Syria

  • Moscow (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 10:16

    Moscow denies claims Syrian regime used chemical weapons in Douma: agencies

  • Beirut (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 09:28

    New air strikes hit rebel-held areas of Syria's Ghouta: monitor

  • Budapest (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 06:18

    Polling stations open for key Hungary vote

  • Curitiba (Brazil) (AFP) - 04/08/2018 - 03:38

    Brazil's Lula arrives at Curitiba prison

  • São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil) (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 23:54

    Brazil's Lula surrenders to police: Globo TV

  • São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil) (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 22:16

    Supporters prevent Brazil's Lula from surrendering

  • Beirut (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 22:16

    Air strikes kill 30 civilians in Syria's rebel Douma: monitor

  • Aden (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 21:27

    Rebels kill dozens of Sudanese troops in Yemen: military sources

  • Berlin (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 20:43

    'No indication' of Islamist attack in deadly German vehicle incident: state minister

  • Berlin (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 19:24

    Driver who smashed van into German crowd 'psychologically disturbed': reports

  • Berlin (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 18:04

    Four dead including driver after vehicle hits crowd in Germany: ministry

  • São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil) (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 17:49

    Brazil's Lula says to "comply" with arrest

  • São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil) (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 17:36

    Lula says he is innocent in first speech since arrest order

  • Berlin (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 17:22

    Driver of vehicle that drove into German crowd has killed himself: police

  • Berlin (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 16:56

    Several dead as car drives into crowd in Germany's Munster: media 

  • Jodhpur (India) (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 11:46

    Indian court grants bail to Bollywood star Salman Khan

  • Beirut (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 11:22

    New strikes on Syria's rebel Douma kill 8 civilians: monitor

  • Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - 04/07/2018 - 07:32

    Palestinian journalist shot by Israeli troops dies from wounds: ministry

  • Moscow (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 22:26

    Russia promises 'tough response' to US sanctions

  • São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 22:05

    Deadline for Brazil's Lula to surrender for prison expires

  • New York (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 22:04

    Dow ends bruising session 2.4% lower on trade war fears

  • Bamako (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 21:54

    14 'terrorism' suspects killed in Mali escape attempt: army

  • Brasília (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 21:29

    Brazilian court turns down Lula's new appeal against arrest

  • New York (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 21:07

    US stocks fall further on trade worries; Dow -3.0%

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 20:50

    Facebook to require verified identities for political ads

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 20:28

    White House warns China tariffs not a negotiating ploy

  • Moscow (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 20:27

    New US sanctions 'aimed at the Russian people': Russian embassy

  • New York (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 19:58

    US stocks' losses deepen on trade war fears; Dow -2.0%

  • London (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 18:13

    Britain refuses visa for Russian ex-spy's niece: official

  • Beirut (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 17:50

    27 civilians dead in air strikes on Syria's Douma: monitor

  • Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 17:07

    16-year-old Palestinian killed by Israeli forces in Gaza clashes: ministry

  • Paris (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 16:50

    $11 bn pledged at Lebanon donor conference: Macron

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 16:49

    Trump says WTO is unfair to US

  • Beirut (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 15:46

    Two civilians dead in air raids on Syria's rebel Douma: monitor

  • New York (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 15:39

    US stocks open lower on US-China trade spat, Dow -0.9%

  • Beirut (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 15:31

    Air strikes hit Syria's rebel-held Douma, first in 10 days: monitor

  • London (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 14:58

    Ex-spy Skripal 'improving rapidly' after poisoning: hospital

  • Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 14:43

    Palestinian killed by Israeli forces in Gaza clashes: ministry

  • Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 14:42

    15 killed in Nigeria bank robbery, attack on police station

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 14:37

    US imposes sanctions on Putin's oligarch allies

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 14:36

    US job creation tumbles in March; unemployment steady at 4.1%

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 14:35

    Trump won't attend White House correspondents' dinner

  • Neumünster (Germany) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 14:12

    Puigdemont urges Madrid to 'start dialogue' in Catalonia row

  • Neumünster (Germany) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 14:00

    Catalonia's Puigdemont leaves German jail on bail

  • Paris (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 13:31

    S.Arabia renews $1bn line of credit for Beirut: Lebanese govt

  • Brussels (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 13:18

    China, EU 'must act together' against US protectionism: Chinese envoy

  • Brussels (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 12:52

    Up to 2.7 million Europeans affected by Facebook data scandal: EU

  • Durban (South Africa) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 11:20

    S.Africa's Zuma says charges against him 'politically motivated'

  • Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 11:19

    Clashes erupt along Gaza-Israel border as protests begin

  • Moscow (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 10:08

    Russian regulator requests Telegram messaging app be blocked: statement

  • Durban (South Africa) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 09:55

    Graft case against S.Africa's Zuma adjourned to June 8

  • Paris (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 09:29

    France announces loans, aid worth 550 mln euros for Lebanon

  • Durban (South Africa) (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 09:01

    S.Africa's Zuma arrives at court for graft hearing: AFP

  • Seoul (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 09:00

    S. Korea ex-president Park jailed for 24 years over corruption scandal bur/amz/sm

  • Seoul (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 08:30

    S. Korea ex-president Park guilty of abuse of power, bribery: court

  • Beijing (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 07:14

    China ready to pay "any cost" in trade war: Ministry of Commerce

  • Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 06:21

    Malaysian PM announces dissolution of parliament for election

  • Caracas (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 03:10

    Venezuela suspends flights by Panama's Copa for three months

  • Tokyo (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 03:02

    Japanese studio confirms death of anime master Isao Takahata

  • Panama City (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 02:01

    Panama orders Venezuela ambassador out, recalls own envoy from Caracas

  • Seoul (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 01:52

    Samsung Electronics flags record $14.7 billion Q1 operating profit

  • Bamako (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 01:45

    Two peacekeepers dead, 10 wounded in Mali attack: UN

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 01:21

    White House calls on Gaza demos to avoid border

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 01:00

    Trump eyes $100 billion of additional tariffs on China: White House

  • Caracas (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 00:25

    Venezuela risks deeper isolation by suspending ties with Panama airline

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/06/2018 - 00:23

    Trump to host Qatari Emir in bid to end Gulf crisis: WH

  • Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 23:23

    Brazil judge issues warrant to imprison ex-president Lula

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 23:13

    Trump says he did not know about payment to porn star

  • Mexico City (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 23:07

    'Threats, lack of respect' unjustified, Mexican president tells Trump

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 22:57

    Trump vows to send 2,000 to 4,000 troops to Mexican border

  • Berlin (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 19:24

    German court refuses to extradite Catalonia's Puigdemont: official

  • Geneva (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 18:16

    China launches WTO challenge against US intellectual property tariffs

  • Rome (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 17:54

    Italy president says no govt accord, new talks next week

  • Istanbul (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 17:01

    Major fire at Istanbul hospital, patients evacuated: TV

  • Ottawa (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 16:09

    Trudeau sees high chance of NAFTA deal with US, Mexico

  • Petrozavodsk (Russia) (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 16:07

    Russian historian cleared of child porn charges

  • London (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 15:13

    Poisoned Russian spy's daughter says growing stronger 'daily': statement

  • Madrid (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 14:40

    Spain judge frees HSBC leaker Falciani on bail: judicial source

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 14:39

    US trade deficit rises despite record American exports

  • Istanbul (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 14:35

    Four staff dead in Turkish university shooting: reports

  • Jerusalem (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 12:07

    Israel says open-fire rules for Gaza unchanged for new protests

  • Paris (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 12:07

    French, Malian troops kill 30 jihadists: French military

  • Freetown (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 11:46

    Challenger Bio wins S. Leone presidential vote: election watchdog

  • Paris (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 10:54

    Saudi crown prince on official visit to France next week: French presidency

  • Jodhpur (India) (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 10:53

    Court jails Bollywood star Khan for five years

  • Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 10:30

    Palestinian killed by Israeli air strike on Gaza border: ministry

  • Moscow (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 09:24

    UK can't ignore 'legitimate questions' over spy poisoning: Moscow

  • Jodhpur (India) (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 08:49

    Bollywood superstar Salman Khan convicted of killing rare antelopes

  • Moscow (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 05:43

    Expelled diplomats leave US embassy in Moscow: AFP

  • Brasília (AFP) - 04/05/2018 - 05:31

    Brazil Supreme Court rejects Lula's bid to delay prison

  • San Francisco (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 23:15

    Zuckerberg says he is right person to lead Facebook despite 'mistakes'

  • New York (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 22:06

    US stocks jump as investors reassess trade war risk, Dow +1.0%

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 21:28

    Trump orders National Guard to Mexican border: official

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 20:56

    Data on 'up to 87 million' Facebook users shared with UK firm

  • The Hague (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 19:48

    Russia says OPCW voted down joint poisoning probe bid

  • Madrid (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 19:27

    HSBC leaker Herve Falciani detained in Spain: police

  • Brasília (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 19:12

    Brazil Supreme Court opens session on Lula bid to delay prison

  • United Nations (United States) (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 18:46

    Russia requests Security Council meeting on spy poisoning

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 17:32

    Syria mission coming to 'rapid end' but not over yet: WHouse 

  • Matías Romero (Mexico) (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 17:22

    Migrant caravan abandons plan to travel to US border

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 15:53

    One year on, West vows Assad will pay for sarin attack

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 15:39

    Decision made on Syria pullout, announcement soon: US intel chief

  • New York (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 15:36

    US stocks open sharply lower on trade war fears

  • Ankara (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 15:32

    Putin urges 'common sense' to prevail in row over poisoned spy

  • Ankara (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 15:13

    Turkey, Russia and Iran urge 'lasting ceasefire' in Syria

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 14:47

    Facebook CEO Zuckerberg to testify before Congress April 11: panel

  • Brussels (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 13:26

    France to extend internal EU border checks: EU Commission

  • Manama (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 13:21

    Bahrain announces discovery of 80 bn barrels of oil

  • Ankara (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 12:34

    Iran, Russia, Turkey leaders begin summit on Syria

  • The Hague (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 11:49

    Britain slams 'perverse' Russian plan for joint poisoning probe

  • Douala (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 11:20

    12 European hostages freed in troubled anglophone Cameroon

  • Brussels (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 11:07

    Eurozone unemployment falls to 8.5% in February

  • Beijing (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 10:10

    China to hit US soybeans, cars, planes with retaliatory tariffs

  • Moscow (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 09:52

    Russia says spy poisoning 'grotesque provocation' by UK, US

  • Moscow (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 09:52

    Russia intel chief warns against 'new' Cuban Missile Crisis

  • Beijing (AFP) - 04/04/2018 - 01:23

    China says ready to retaliate to US tariff plan: Xinhua

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 23:20

    US identifies $50 bn in Chinese imports facing tariffs

  • San Francisco (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 22:44

    Police confirm 'active shooter' at YouTube offices

  • San Francisco (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 22:32

    Police probe possible shooting at YouTube's California offices

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 20:20

    Trump says he wants US troops 'out' of Syria

  • Ankara (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 20:13

    Russia, Turkey agree to speed up delivery of S-400s: Putin

  • Ankara (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 20:06

    Putin hopes arms watchdog meeting to put 'full stop' on spy case

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 19:07

    Trump claims 'nobody's been tougher' on Russia than him

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 19:01

    Trump vows to deploy military to Mexican border

  • New York (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 18:56

    Spotify valued at $29.5 billion in stock debut

  • United Nations (United States) (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 18:27

    One peacekeeper killed, 11 wounded in C. Africa attack: UN

  • London (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 18:15

    UK accuses Russia of using arms watchdog meeting as 'diversionary tactic'

  • London (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 17:27

    UK scientists unable to prove nerve agent was Russian-made: reports

  • Paris (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 17:22

    France's SNCF warns of major rail strike disruption on Wednesday 

  • London (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 17:16

    Britain's Prince Philip, 96, admitted to hospital for hip surgery: official

  • Brussels (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 16:31

    Half of European flights face delays after computer failure: Eurocontrol

  • Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 16:15

    Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces on Gaza border: ministry

  • Ankara (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 16:05

    Putin, Erdogan launch construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant

  • The Hague (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 15:59

    Malian jihadist in court for war crimes on Wednesday

  • The Hague (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 14:14

    OPCW to meet over Britain-Russia spy poisoning case

  • Geneva (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 12:44

    UN urges Israel to 'reconsider' cancellation of African migrant deal

  • Jerusalem (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 11:58

    Israel cancelling deal with UN on African migrants: Netanyahu

  • Berlin (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 10:36

    German prosecutor requests Puigdemont extradition to Spain

  • Kunduz (Afghanistan) (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 10:18

    UN probes reports of 'serious harm to civilians' in Afghan airstrike

  • Beijing (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 10:08

    N.Korea foreign minister visits Beijing to meet counterpart

  • Washington (AFP) - 04/03/2018 - 05:51

    Powerful 6.8 quake strikes Bolivia: USGS

  • Jerusalem (AFP) - 04/02/2018 - 22:22

    Netanyahu suspends deal for African migrants

  • New York (AFP) - 04/02/2018 - 22:04

    US stocks end sharply lower on tech, trade worries; Nasdaq: -2.7%

  • New York (AFP) - 04/02/2018 - 20:10

    US stock selloff deepens, Dow -3.0%; Nasdaq -3.4%

  • Berlin (AFP) - 04/02/2018 - 19:15

    Four Russian envoys expelled from Germany back in Moscow: Russian embassy

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    Ramaphosa remembers Winnie Mandela as 'voice of defiance'

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    US keen to work with Egypt's re-elected Sisi: official

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    Tutu says Winnie Mandela was 'a defining symbol' of anti-apartheid struggle

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    Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Mandela dies at 81

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    Migrants in Israel to resettle in Canada, Germany, Italy: Netanyahu

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    Sisi wins Egypt election with 97 percent of valid votes: official

  • Kunduz (Afghanistan) (AFP) - 04/02/2018 - 15:19

    Civilian casualties in Afghan airstrike on madrassa: witnesses

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    Trump proposed White House summit last month to Putin: Kremlin

  • Baghdad (AFP) - 04/02/2018 - 14:40

    Iraq condemns 6 Turkish women to death for IS membership: judiciary

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    Trump, Japan's Abe to meet in US April on North Korea: White House

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    Lavrov says spy poisoning could be 'in interests' of UK govt

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Hungary's Viktor Orban: populist, patriot and set to be PM again

AFP / ATTILA KISBENEDEK Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban calls it a "historic victory" in Sunday's parlimentary election which will give him a third consecutive term in office

Hungary's all-powerful premier Viktor Orban, his party victorious in elections Sunday, is the self-styled defender of Christian Europe against the "poison" of immigration, an admirer of "illiberal democracy" and a thorn in the European Union's side.

Preliminary results from the elections put Orban's Fidesz party on course to win a thumping 49 percent of the vote, likely giving him a commanding two-thirds majority in parliament once again.

With his disdain for the "globalist elite", Orban's fiery, nationalist populism has made him a poster boy for "patriots" everywhere. Steve Bannon, US President Donald Trump's former strategist, calls him a "hero".

But to detractors Orban, 54, is a xenophobic demagogue aping Russian President Vladimir Putin by eroding democracy in the EU member state, allowing corruption to flourish and public services to rot.

- Soviets go home -

At 26 as a law student in Budapest in 1989, the country boy became a household name in Hungary in the dying days of communism with a stirring speech demanding democracy and that Soviet troops go home.

Co-founding the Alliance of Young Democrats party (Fidesz), Orban was one of "new" Europe's brightest stars, becoming an MP in newly democratic and optimistic Hungary in 1990.

Soon, however, he shed his image as a radical youth and began moulding Fidesz into a new force of the centre-right keen on family and Christian values.

It paid off in spades, and with Orban developing a rare knack for connecting with ordinary voters, he duly became prime minister in 1998 at just 35.

- Tearing it up -

His first period in office was rocky, however, and Orban lost to the Socialists in 2002 and again in 2006 before bouncing back, older and wiser, in 2010 -- and with a vengeance.

This time, armed with a two-thirds majority in parliament, Orban implemented a root-and-branch reform of Hungarian state institutions and introduced a new constitution steeped in conservative values.

Critics at home and abroad, including in Brussels and Washington, worried that the sweeping changes undermined the independence of the judiciary, muzzled the press and rigged the electoral system.

Orban maintains that he was repairing years of left-wing mess, while his unorthodox economic policies like special "crisis" taxes on foreign companies helped Hungary balance the books.

He was re-elected in 2014, again with a super-majority, and Europe's migrant crisis the following year saw Orban morph into a lightning rod for opposition to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "open-door" refugee policy.

- Border fence -

As hundreds of thousands of people streamed through Hungary bound for western Europe, and with Budapest train stations resembling squalid refugee camps, Orban erected a fence on Hungary's border with Serbia.

Illegal immigration -- a "Trojan horse for terrorism" -- was made punishable by lengthy jail terms. It was Hungary's duty to defend the outer frontier of Europe, just like against the Ottomans in the 17th century.

Orban's strident stance has turned Hungary, along with Poland's like-minded government which has also raised concerns with its own reforms, into a headache for Brussels and the rest of the EU.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of Poland's governing party, said the Hungarian election was a decision "about the road to freedom, not only in Hungary but also in Europe and the world.”

But Orban is now the darling of nationalists, from Bannon to France's Marine Le Pen to Geert Wilders of the Netherlands. White supremacists have wanted to settle in "racially pure" Hungary.

- Soros in his sights -

Orban's latest target meanwhile is George Soros, the Hungarian-born US financier and philanthropist who helped Fidesz get off the ground and whose scholarship funded Orban's time at Oxford in 1989.

Orban has plastered Hungary with billboards urging resistance to the alleged "Soros plan" of destroying Europe with immigration and the civil society groups that the 87-year-old funds.

For critics, the imagery and language used in this campaign against the Jewish Soros have more than a whiff of anti-Semitism.

Hungary’s enemies, Orban said in a recent speech "are not national, but international. They do not believe in work, but speculate with money. They have no homeland, but feel that the whole world is theirs."

Whether Orban is an opportunist or a visionary is unclear, Andras Schweitzer, senior lecturer at Eotvos Lorand University, told AFP.

"It's the million dollar question," Schweitzer said. "Either way lots of people who have met him, including if they don't support him, notice his ability to understand things very quickly."

"Orban is a blessing for this country, and also I think for the whole of Europe," retired voter Karin, 65, told AFP on Sunday.

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