Tens of thousands of people have been protesting in Budapest over Hungary's controversial new constitution, a day after it came into force.

The country's governing Fidesz party pushed the law through parliament in April after winning a two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections.

Opponents say it threatens democracy by removing checks and balances set up in 1989 when Communism fell.

The EU and US had also asked for the law to be withdrawn.

The dispute has cast doubt over talks on a new financing agreement with the EU and IMF, seen as vital for market confidence in the central European country.

But the economic crisis facing Hungary overshadows both the government's policies and the opposition protests, says the BBC's Nick Thorpe in Budapest.

Fidesz won the elections promising to create a million workplaces - but there has been no growth so far.

And as the public mood worsens, so do the country's ratings, and the chances of attracting foreign investment, and creating more jobs, our correspondent says.

bbc.com