Latest News
Romania reruns controversial election after earlier vote annulled
Romanians will try again to elect a new president today, six months after the first attempt ended in scandal and confusion.
A radical outsider with mystical leanings, Calin Georgescu, came first on 24 November, but that result was annulled over allegations of campaign fraud and Russian interference.
In February, US Vice President JD Vance sharply criticised Romania for that decision, sending shockwaves through a Romanian political establishment which leans heavily on its special relationship with the US. Georgescu was nevertheless barred from taking part in today’s rerun.
This election pits a nationalist, George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), against three centrists: the popular mayor of Bucharest Nicusor Dan; Crin Antonescu, a liberal who represents the governing Social-Democrat and National Liberal coalition; and Elena Lasconi, an independent.
Seven other candidates are on the ballot paper. If no candidate wins over 50% of the vote, a run-off between the first two candidates will be held on 18 May.
“This election is not about one candidate or another, but about every Romanian who has been lied to, ignored, humiliated, and still has the strength to believe and defend our identity and rights,” Simion posted on X on Friday.
Opinion polls – notoriously unreliable in Romania – suggest that he will come first today, then will face a tough contest with either Nicusor Dan or Crin Antonescu in the run-off.
The result is awaited nervously in European capitals, Washington, Kyiv and Moscow. Romania is an important transit route for weapon systems and ammunition to Ukraine. The country has a US missile defence shield at Deveselu, and three major airbases from which Nato flies air policing missions up to the border of Ukraine and Moldova, and out over the Black Sea.
Ukraine exports 70% of its grain down the Black Sea coast, through Romanian territorial waters, towards Istanbul. The Romanian navy demines those waters, and the Romanian air force trains Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s. The Trump administration is reassessing its commitment to Romania. A visa-waiver agreement was abruptly cancelled on the eve of the election.
“Forget about any more help to Ukraine if Simion becomes president,” says George Scutaru, a security expert at the New Strategy Center in Bucharest. As head of the National Security Council, the president can veto any decision, and has a strong influence on security policy. But Scutaru expresses “prudent optimism” that one of the centrists will win the run-off.
Public resentment at Romanian financial support for Ukrainian refugees has been a central plank in Simion’s campaign, though he denies he is pro-Russian.
On a baking May afternoon, crowds of sightseers throng the gardens of the Cotroceni Palace, the presidential residence in the west of Bucharest. The decision by interim President Ilie Bolojan to open the buildings and gardens to the public is very popular among the visitors.
White and purple irises line the paths beneath ancient horse chestnuts in full flower. A military band marches among flowerbeds of pansies and violets. The palace is a former monastery, converted in the 17th century, which became home to the Romanian royal family in the 19th century.
“I can’t really imagine Simion in here…” Ionut, a satirical writer, tells me beside an ornate waterfall, looking up at the palace walls. He voted for Simion in the first round of the election last November, out of anger at the constant delays to Romania’s full membership of the Schengen free-travel zone. And frustration with Romania’s outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis.
But Romania finally joined the Schengen land-borders on 1 January, and Iohannis stepped aside the same month. “Romanians are less angry now,” he believes. He told his daughter he will vote for Nicusor Dan in this election, but hasn’t quite made up his mind.
Ana, a management consultant, walking with her family through the palace gardens, also supports Nicusor Dan. “I want to vote for both continuity and change,” she says. “Continuity in Romania’s relationship with Europe, but change as far as corruption is concerned. We young people don’t relate to the old parties any more,” – something Nicusor Dan has in common with Simion.
Many in Romania’s large diaspora – a million are registered to vote – have already cast their ballots, especially in Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK. They are invisible in opinion polls, and could easily sway the final result.
[BBC]
The Sri Lanka Cricket selection panel has handed the white-ball captaincy to Kusal Mendis for the upcoming all-format tour of the West Indies next month. Dhananjay de Silva will continue to lead the side in the two Tests.
Kusal Mendis takes over the ODI captaincy from Charith Asalanka, who was named in the 16-man squad, while Kamindu Mendis was named vice-captain. In T20Is, Kusal Mendis takes over the leadership from Dasun Shanaka, who led the side until the recent T20 World Cup, where Sri Lanka failed to make the knockouts. While Shanaka retained his place in the 16-man T20I squad, Asalanka did not.
Wanidu Hasaranga is set to return to action – named in the ODI and T20I squads – after his injury during the T20 World Cup has kept him off the field since early February. He tore his left hamstring at the time and missed the ongoing IPL after that for Lucknow Super Giants.
The tour starts with three ODIs from June 3 to 8 followed by the three T20Is on June 11, 13 and 14. The two Tests will be played at the Viv Richards Stadium in North Sound from June 25 to 29 and July 3 to 7.
Sri Lanka Test squad:
Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Kusal Mendis, Milan Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Isitha Wijesundara, Kasun Rajitha
Sri Lanka ODI squad:
Kusal Mendis (capt), Kamindu Mendis (vice-capt), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Janith Liyanage, Charith Asalanka, Milan Rathnayake, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan
Sri Lanka T20I squad:
Kusal Mendis (capt), Kamindu Mendis (vice-capt), Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Pavan Rathnayake, Lasith Croospulle, Dasun Shanaka, Milan Rathnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara
(Cricinfo)
Cambodia’s former opposition leader Kem Sokha, who was serving a 27-year sentence for treason, has been pardoned, the country’s former prime minister said.
Hun Sen, who is currently Cambodia’s acting head of state, said he signed a decree pardoning Sokha on behalf of King Norodom Sihamoni.
Sokha, the former leader of the now-dissolved Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), was first arrested in 2017 over a video where he said he had received support from US pro-democracy groups.
He has been held under house arrest since he was found guilty of treason in 2023. The charges have been widely derided as politically motivated by human rights groups.
Hun Sen posted on Facebook that Sokha had been “pardoned”, alongside a photo of the royal decree signed by him.
The pardon came after an appeal against Sokha’s sentence was rejected last month. But it did not include overturning a ban on the politician leaving Cambodia for five years.
Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for nearly four decades, has been accused of weaponising the country’s courts to target his opponents. He stepped down as prime minister in 2023 and handed power to his eldest son, Hun Manet.
However, Hun Sen still wields immense power in Cambodia and is acting head of state while King Norodom Sihamoni receives medical treatment abroad.
Sokha’s CNRP party came close to securing a shock victory in the 2013 general election victory over Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).
The opposition leader was arrested in 2017, less than a year ahead of the next general election, which the CNRP was banned from contesting.
[BBC]
A consignment of 134 single cabs gifted by the Government of India under the Indo–Sri Lanka Friendship Programme for the use of the Sri Lanka Police was officially handed over to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday (25) morning at the Presidential Secretariat.
The Government of India has incurred an expenditure of approximately LKR.300 million for this initiative and the vehicles are scheduled to be distributed among police stations in the Northern Province.
Speaking at the occasion, Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha stated that similar assistance would continue to be extended to Sri Lanka in the future.
In appreciation of this gift by the Government of India, Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasooriya presented a commemorative memento to Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha.
Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Ananda Wijepala, Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Sunil Watagala, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security Ravi Seneviratne, General Manager of DIMO Rajeev Pandithage, officials of the Indian High Commission and senior officers of the Sri Lanka Police were also present at the occasion.
(PMD)
Sri Lanka name Kusal Mendis as ODI and T20I captain for West Indies tour
Cambodia’s former opposition leader receives royal pardon for 27-year sentence
Death toll rises to four in Philippines building collapse; 17 missing
India gifts 134 cabs to Sri Lanka Police
Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura extended till 1600 hrs on Tuesday [26]
Attacks on Ebola centres intensify in eastern DRC amid outbreak fears
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Features6 days agoOctopus, Leech, and Snake: How Sri Lanka’s banks feast while the nation starves
-
Sports6 days agoSri Lanka women’s volleyball team ready for Central Asian challenge
-
Opinion5 days agoMurder of Ehelepola family, Bogambara Wewa and Sightings of Wangediya
-
News5 days agoSteps underway to safeguard Sri Lanka’s maritime heritage
-
Features2 days agoThe NPP’s pivot to the past
-
Editorial5 days agoA play without its protagonist
-
Business4 days agoHistoric launch of CCWE Fashion Week & International Summit 2026
-
Opinion4 days agoThe need to reform Buddhist ecclesiastical order