Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban replies to an oppositional MP during a question and answer session of the Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday, March 30, 2020. MTI via AP
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban replies to an oppositional MP during a question and answer session of the Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday, March 30, 2020. MTI via AP
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban replies to an oppositional MP during a question and answer session of the Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday, March 30, 2020. MTI via AP
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban replies to an oppositional MP during a question and answer session of the Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday, March 30, 2020. MTI via AP

Hungary's Orban gets sweeping new powers in coronavirus fight


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Hungary's Parliament on Monday endorsed a bill giving nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban sweeping new powers he says he needs to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Critics  have condemned the "anti-coronavirus defence law", saying it gives Mr Orban unnecessary and unlimited power, and is a way to cement his position rather than battle the virus.

After declaring a state of emergency on March 11, the law gives him the power to indefinitely rule by decree until the government decides the emergency is over.

It also removes the need for MPs to approve any extensions to decrees. Elections cannot be held during the emergency period.

The law introduces jail terms of up to five years for anyone spreading what the government determines are "falsehoods" about the virus or the measures taken against it, prompting worries about press freedom.

The measures come into effect as of midnight on Monday.

The Parliament, where Mr Orban's Fidesz party has a two-thirds majority, passed the bill by 137 votes to 53. It required a two-thirds majority to pass.

"At the end of the emergency, all powers will be fully restored" to Parliament, Mr Orban said after the vote, dismissing opposition fears of a long-running period of rule by decree.

He told Hungarian national Kossuth radio last week that he planned to do away with “lengthy legislative and law-making procedures” to “respond rapidly” and save lives.

The vote marked another controversial milestone in Mr Orban's decade in power.

Since the self-styled "illiberal" nationalist won power in 2010, he has changed Hungary's political, judicial and constitutional landscape.

Mr Orban, 56, has frequently clashed with European institutions, charities and rights groups.

The EU is suing Hungary for "breaching" the bloc's values, in charges fiercely denied by Budapest.

The EU's Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said on Monday that the European Commission "evaluates the emergency measures taken by member states with regard to fundamental rights".

This was "particularly the case for the law passed today", Mr Reynders said.

Among the international bodies expressing concern before the bill became law were the UN Human Rights office, the Council of Europe, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Mr Orban has accused his critics of alarmism and has told "European nit-pickers" to let Hungary defend itself against Covid-19.

Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga said last week that the Constitutional Court could provide oversight, while Parliament could revoke the decrees at any time.

The opposition was "fighting imaginary demons and not dealing with reality", Ms Varga said.

Last week, opposition MPs said they did not trust Mr Orban not to abuse indefinite special powers.

They refused to support fast-tracking the bill without time limits.

His opponents gave as an example the "state of crisis caused by mass migration", which Fidesz declared in 2016.

It is still in place, despite migration numbers to Hungary having fallen sharply since.

Akos Hadhazy, an independent MP, said Mr Orban did not need any extraordinary powers because his party already controlled parliament.

Mr Hadhazy said the ruling party had set a "trap for the opposition".

"The press and non-government organisations now have a particularly important role to play in controlling the government," the Hungarian Helsinki Committee refugee rights group said.

Mr Orban has primarily blamed migrants for taking the virus to Hungary.

The first two confirmed coronavirus cases in the EU member state of 10 million were Iranian students.

Hungary has since reported 447 cases with 15 deaths. More than 13,300 tests have been carried out, the government said on Monday.

Favourite book: ‘The Art of Learning’ by Josh Waitzkin

Favourite film: Marvel movies

Favourite parkour spot in Dubai: Residence towers in Jumeirah Beach Residence

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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

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L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
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About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

England World Cup squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Bombshell

Director: Jay Roach

Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie 

Four out of five stars 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES

Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)

FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm

Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm

Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm

Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm 

Thursday

Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm

Sevilla v Roma  (one leg only)  8.55pm

FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm 

Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm 

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  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap​​​​​​​
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal​​​​​​​
Rating: 3.5/5

Chinese Grand Prix schedule (in UAE time)

Friday: First practice - 6am; Second practice - 10am

Saturday: Final practice - 7am; Qualifying - 10am

Sunday: Chinese Grand Prix - 10.10am

Six large-scale objects on show
  • Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
  • The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
  • A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
  • A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
  • Torrijos Palace dome
While you're here