- Stokes open to England white-ball return
- No peak oil demand 'on the horizon', phaseout a 'fantasy': OPEC
- Sri Lanka's new leftist leader dissolves parliament, calls snap polls
- England scrum-half Mitchell to see specialist on neck injury
- Under-pressure Masood to lead Pakistan in England Tests
- Storm Helene on track to hit Florida as major hurricane
- IOC should reinstate Russia as soon it obeys rules: Samaranch
- Dior unleashes arrows and Amazons at Paris Fashion Week
- San Siro loses 2027 Champions League final due to uncertain future
- Canada's Trudeau faces no-confidence vote
- AI research uncovers 300 ancient etchings in Peru's Nazca desert
- Brazil's Lula calls Security Council makeup 'unacceptable'
- Alarm grows as Israel launches new 'extensive' strikes on Lebanon
- Carey blasts Australia to 304-7 against England in 3rd ODI
- Biden warns against clinging to power in UN farewell
- Alarm grows as Israel launches new strikes on Lebanon
- Biden warns at UN against 'full-scale war' over Lebanon
- 'Monumental step' as Thai king signs same-sex marriage into law
- French lake still riddled with bombs 80 years after World War II
- Alberta Ferretti quits as creative director at brand she founded
- Two killed in Mexico as Hurricane John weakens to tropical storm
- Multiple arrests after US woman uses machine-assisted suicide in Switzerland
- Dubois will next fight Joshua or Usyk, 'whoever pays me the most'
- Stock markets surge on China stimulus
- Lopetegui ready to learn from mistakes as Liverpool loom in League Cup
- US Fed dissenter warns inflation risks remain 'prominent'
- UN chief warns Lebanon on 'brink' as world leaders gather
- Surprise start for Libbok as Etzebeth set for Springboks record
- Ten Hag says expanded schedules make injuries 'almost unavoidable'
- Liverpool boss Slot praises Alexander-Arnold's defensive work
- Barca coach backs Pena but will debate new goalkeeper signing
- UN says tens of thousands flee Lebanon strikes
- Asian stock markets lead rally on China stimulus
- Arteta stands by defensive tactics in fiery Man City clash
- Tropical Storm John hits Mexico's Pacific coast
- Sri Lanka's new leader appoints cabinet ahead of expected snap polls
- Singapore ex-minister convicted in rare graft trial
- UK town catches Subbuteo fever
- France facing 'one of worst deficits' in its history: minister
- China's Olympic champ Zheng embraces big home expectations
- Biden bids farewell to UN, in shadow of Trump
- All Blacks seek to end Wellington jinx, with Cane poised for 100th cap
- Postbank (Постбанк) анулює рахунки українців у Німеччині
- Meryl Streep says a 'squirrel has more rights' than an Afghan girl
- Postbank terminates accounts of Ukrainians in Germany
- Hong Kong, Shanghai lead markets rally after China stimulus
- Dutch paint giant Akzonobel slashes 2,000 jobs worldwide
- Sri Lanka's new leader to call snap parliamentary polls
- In Ukraine's Pokrovsk, some quietly waiting for Russian troops
- Singapore ex-minister pleads guilty in rare graft trial
Slovenians vote in divisive elections
Slovenians voted on Sunday in parliamentary elections expected to be a tight race between conservative Prime Minister Janez Jansa and a political newcomer in the polarised EU country.
Jansa, 63, an ally of nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and admirer of US ex-president Donald Trump, is polling head-to-head with Robert Golob, former chief of a leading power company.
Wearing a tie in the national colours of Ukraine, blue and yellow, Jansa cast his vote in his village of Arnace in the northwest, shortly after polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0500 GMT).
"Turnout will certainly be high and that is good.... I hope that we will continue along the path that was set," Jansa told reporters.
The three-time premier has campaigned on promises of stability, while analysts say concerns over the rule of law have boosted the opposition in the Alpine ex-Yugoslav state with a population of about two million.
"Elections will decide how will Slovenia develop not only in the next four years but also during the whole next decade since many projects have been set up," Jansa said.
- 'Breaking point' -
Tens of thousands of people have attended regular anti-government rallies, accusing Jansa of authoritarianism since he took power in March 2020.
Billing the elections as a "referendum on democracy", the opposition accuses Jansa of trying to undermine democratic institutions and press freedoms like his ally Orban in neighbouring Hungary.
"If this pace continues, we will be very close to that (tightening of state control like in Hungary and Poland) in four years," Uros Esih, a columnist at one of Slovenia's leading dailies Delo, told AFP.
He said the elections represented a "breaking point" with "liberal and illiberal political forces clashing" in Slovenia.
"I hope the situation will change... It is obvious that most of the people are not satisfied with this government and the way it's governing," Sara Rigler, a 21-year-old psychology student, told AFP at a polling station in the capital.
The ascendancy of 55-year-old Golob began when he took over a small Green party in January, renaming it Freedom Movement (GS).
The last poll from late Friday showed GS at more than 27 percent of the popular vote, slightly ahead of Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) with 24 percent, though analysts warn numerous voters may make last-minute decisions.
Golob also has the backing of several centre-left opposition parties, while Jansa, even with centre-right allies, looks unlikely to be able to secure a majority in the 90-seat parliament.
- 'Important' elections -
Analysts expect an increased turnout of 60 percent -- about 10 percentage points more than for the 2018 polls -- with voters turning against Jansa's style.
His image in the last two years has also been hurt by rows with Brussels over his moves to suspend funding to the national news agency and drag out the appointment of prosecutors to the bloc's new anti-graft body.
Though Jansa was among the first foreign leaders to travel to Kyiv, on March 15, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Moscow's assault has not taken centre stage in Slovenia's election campaign.
"These elections are absolutely important... I hope and wish that this government stays. It has been doing a great job," priest Andrej Mazej told AFP at the voting station in Jansa's village.
Polls close at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) with exit polls due shortly thereafter.
The polls would decide "between democracy and autocracy", wrote Igor Krsinar, a columnist for Reporter Magazine, a rare critical conservative voice.
M.Odermatt--BTB