International
Romanian electoral authorities reject presidential candidacy of pro-Russian Georgescu
The Central Electoral Office of Romania rejected this Sunday the candidacy of the pro-Russian ultranationalist Călin Georgescu for the presidential elections of May 4 and in which he started as the favorite.
After this decision, a period of 24 hours is opened to file appeals with the Constitutional Court, which has an additional 48 hours to issue a ruling. This means that the final decision could be known on Wednesday night.
Georgescu won against all odds the first round of the Romanian presidential elections on November 24, subsequently annulled by the Constitutional Court for indications of illegal financing and Russian interference.
Georgescu’s supporters gathered in front of the Central Electoral Office and reacted violently, breaking the fences installed by the Police to cordon off the building.
“A direct blow to the heart of world democracy!”, said Georgescu on the social network X when he learned of the decision and added: “Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!”
The leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), George Simion, whose ultra-nationalist and Eurosceptic party is currently the main opposition force in the country, described the rejection of Georgescu’s candidacy as an undemocratic act.
“It is a continuation of the coup d’état of December 6,” he wrote on Facebook in reference to the date on which the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential elections.
Georgescu, relatively little known in Romania until a few months ago, won in the first round thanks to a campaign on social networks, especially TikTok, in which he claimed not to have invested anything.
His message against traditional parties attracted above all young voters and voters from rural areas, disenchanted with corruption and the low standard of living in the country of 19 million inhabitants bordering Ukraine.
The leader of the ultra-nationalist party POT, Anamaria Gavrilă, also denounced the decision, said that Romania is “a dictatorship” and questioned the vote of the 14 members of the Central Electoral Office.
According to sources cited by the Romanian newspaper G4Media, the candidacy was rejected for both formal and substantive reasons.
One of the determining factors was the declaration of property presented by Georgescu, which presented inconsistencies compared to the one he had delivered in the November elections.
The ultra-nationalist candidate, who has defended an approach to Russia and has questioned that Ukraine was a state, defends a reactionary ideology and in the past praised Romanian fascist leaders responsible for the Holocaust in the country during World War II.
In the latest polls, Georgescu was the favorite for the elections, monopolizing more than 35% of the vote, which guaranteed him to reach the second round.
At the end of February, the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office accused him of six crimes, including committing actions against the constitutional order and creating a fascist and anti-Semitic organization.
The Prosecutor’s Office announced the charges after interrogating him for more than four hours and in addition to the aforementioned crimes he was suspected of continued falsehood about his assets and the financing of his campaign.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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