After a far-right pro-Russia candidate secured a surprise lead in Romania's presidential election Monday, the eastern European NATO member is bracing for a high-stakes parliamentary vote on Sunday, amid fears it could bring about a strategic shift in the country. Calin Georgescu was in pole position with almost 23 percent after the first round of voting, a political earthquake in the country of 19 million people that has so far resisted nationalist appeals that have gained traction in Hungary and Slovakia. His victory ahead of centre-right mayor Elena Lasconi -- who scored 19.18 percent -- ended the hopes of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to compete for the presidency in the December runoff. After coming third at 19.15, Ciolacu said his Social Democratic Party (PSD) won't challenge the narrow result, and announced his resignation as party leader. Experts say the far right's surprise success could affect the parliamentary elections later this week, and even influence the chances of forming a future government. In the runoff ballot on December 8, Lasconi will face Georgescu, a NATO critic who in the past expressed his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Georgescu's popularity surged ahead of the vote with a viral TikTok campaign calling for an end to aid for Ukraine, which shares a 650-kilometre (400-mile) border with Romania. In a first reaction on his YouTube channel, the 62-year-old independent candidate insisted "there is no East or West", stressing that neutrality was "absolutely necessary". "I am not an extremist, I am not a fascist -- I am a Romanian who loves his country," he said in reference to media reports that "tried to portray" him in a wrongful way. For his rival Lasconi, the upcoming runoff represents "an existential battle", "a historic confrontation" between those who wish to "preserve Romania's young democracy" and those who want to "return to the Russian sphere of influence". "We must not allow anger to throw us back into the past," she said to thunderous applause from her supporters, vowing to stand up for Europe and NATO. The political earthquake comes amid soaring inflation and mounting fears of Romania being potentially dragged into Russia's war in neighbouring Ukraine, as the country has emerged as a key player on the alliance's eastern flank. In Sunday's vote, another far-right contender, AUR party leader George Simion, secured nearly 14 percent. Already pounding the campaign trail for this week's parliamentary elections, Simion said Romania now has "the chance to have a sovereign government and a sovereign president". Overall, the far right won more than a third of all votes in Sunday's presidential ballot. "The far right is by far the big winner of this election," political scientist Cristian Pirvulescu told AFP, predicting a possible "contagion effect" in the parliamentary vote. Extremist forces and Lasconi's centre-right party now have "wind in their sails", sociologist Gelu Duminica said, though "it remains to be seen if they know how to capitalise" on it. The PSD, which has shaped the country's politics for more than three decades, has never before been eliminated in the first round of a presidential election. The National Liberal Party (PNL) party, with whom the PSD currently governs, also suffered a defeat. While many expressed their disbelief over the poll in the streets of the capital Bucharest, others were enthused. Maria Chis, 70, said she was surprised by Georgescu's lead in the first round but had been impressed after watching his TikTok videos. "He seems a man of integrity, serious and patriotic. He inspires seriousness. I think only someone like him can bring change," said the pensioner, who was planning to vote for him in the second round. Alex Tudose, the owner of a construction company, was gloomy. "There is sorrow, disappointment, that after so many years in Euro-Atlantic structures we voted for a pro-Russian by over 20 percent," the 42-year-old said. "There is clearly a strong fragmentation both in society and in the political class, and I think we saw that yesterday," he said. ani-anb-kym/sbkThe adoption of the most sacred document called the Constitution of India on November 26, 1949 binds together this diverse country and provides the guiding light for its governance. The Constitution of India guarantees rights to citizens and casts obligations on the State and provides for institutions of governance making them accountable to develop a vibrant democracy. Passage of seventy-five years is a good time for stock-taking of the ideals and vision of the founding fathers. The greatest ideal of any vibrant democracy is the oldest concept protected since 1215. Magna Carta provided that no free man shall be taken or imprisoned except by law of land. In India, liberty is freedom from arbitrary and unfair restraint upon an individual. No liberty can ever be absolute and nobody has liberty to disturb liberty of others. The framers of the Constitution gave little discretion to future lawmakers on life and liberty. The liberty under the Indian Constitution finds place in Article 21, which provides restrictions by ‘procedure established by law’. Life and Liberty has been given a broad meaning and interpretation to make life and democracy meaningful. The Indian Constitution was framed amidst the stress of the partition riots resulting from the greatest migration in world history. The pangs of partition had permitted preventive detention laws of the type of the infamous Rowlatt Act and the Second World War Law Defence of India Act 1939, which permitted detention on the basis of likelihood of a person commuting an offence. Democratic countries have no such laws during normal peace times. Arrest or detention is made because ‘he has committed an offence’, not because ‘he is likely to commit an offence’. The framers of the Constitution believed that in a democratic country like ours, the parliament will enact such laws only in extreme situations but that faith in the democratic legislations and the governments was belied as arrest and detention is used and misused till date. Arrest and detention under draconian laws has for political vengeance only increased in recent times. Critics of the government, public dissenters, independent political thinkers, critical journalists and in particular, those from minority community are facing the brunt of laws like Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA) and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) etc which may not be strictly preventive detention laws, but various penal laws are now weaponised to incarcerate citizens whose liberty is inconvenient to the government or for political reasons. A vibrant democracy can flower in a liberal atmosphere, where dissent is celebrated as flavour of democracy. The UAPA in particular has been invoked by the government to silence its critics and PMLA is misused to silence the political opponents, so that they can no longer act inconveniently. That has struck at the very foundations of liberty and has threatened electoral democracy itself. The apex court has, of late, sharpened ‘bail, not jail’ principle giving some relief to opposition leaders and other dissenters of the establishment, but the courts have not been able to check down the sliding of liberty at the hands of a powerful executive. The Supreme Court declared the remand order of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha illegal and a blatant attempt to circumvent the due process of law, but by that time Purkayastha spent many months in jail. Umar Khalid, a former JNU student arrested under UAPA on 13/9/2000, is still unable to see the light of freedom till date. Arwind Kejriwal remained in jail for six months in a PMLA case. Sidheeq Kappan, a journalist, remained in prison for nearly two years. These are just few examples of high-profile critics. A few days back our Home Minister announced that prisoners who have completed a third of their sentence would be released to get justice before this year’s Constitution Day. That is certainly a welcome step but it would be great if the political dissenters get relief, to give our democracy a new meaning. The country did not require new criminal laws but certainly required a new ‘arrest and jail code’ which could provide guidance to all the courts over the great principle of ‘jail not bail’. When provision of liberty was being discussed, a member of the constituent assembly said, “I am well aware myself how the police arrest people for reasons wholly unconnected with security or order and sometimes merely with a view to paying off old scores or wreaking private vengeance.” There has been significant democratic backsliding due to declining liberties. Earlier, it was the Emergency period and the present times when democratic institutions are formally in place with democratic ideals and liberty itself becoming a casualty, which is bringing down the quality of our democracy, entitling international rating agencies to dub us as ‘electoral autocracy’ or ‘flawed democracy’. On September 15, 1949, H V Kamat said, “Has anybody considered how some other persons, possibly totally opposed to our ideals, to our conceptions of democracy, coming into power, might use this very Constitution against us and suppress our rights and liberties? This Constitution, which we are framing here, may act as boomerang, may recoil upon us and it would be then too late for us to rue the day when we made such provisions in the Constitution.” He was so prophetic! (Cleofato Almeida Coutinho is a senior advocate, who taught constitutional laws for over three decades.)
MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.DEPRIVING most old folk of their winter fuel allowance was the meanest, and daftest, thing Labour has done. The decision within days of taking office was wrong in principle, ill-timed and amateurishly presented. It provoked widespread anger. And the absence of an impact assessment was unforgivable. Ministers should have known – or, at least, tried to find out – what the consequences would be. Now we know, they did, in secret. Four months later, we are finding out from their own statistics. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall reveals that her officials made an internal assessment that 100,000 more pensioners would be pushed into poverty. So they knew what would happen, but still carried on. They decided not to tell millions of pensioners affected by their “tough decision”. And this is a Labour government? as former leader Neil Kinnock might have said. The shameful truth emerges from Whitehall as freezing temperatures grip the country and inflation rises sharply again because of soaring fuel prices. It’s not too late for a U-turn on this deeply-unpopular hit. Scottish Labour have promised to bring back the winter fuel allowance there if they gain power north of the border. Many Labour MPs are unhappy with what is being done in their name. They should listen to the voters, not the government Whips ordering them to follow the government like sheep. They should remember the sheep with the bell round its neck in the abattoir survives, and the rest perish. Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum! But not, perhaps, the new hooch on sale at Highgrove, the King’s Gloucestershire retreat. Not, me hearties, at £44.95 a bottle, even if it is infused with honey from the royal hives. I’m partial to dark rum, usually at the end of a session when I should know better. Thankfully, I can’t stand whisky. The King’s limited edition costs an eye-watering £250. Limits not specified.What Trump's presidency means for the future of AI
Gophers football players are preparing to play Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Friday, but three key pieces peered beyond the blinders to shore up their commitment to Minnesota on Monday. Quarterback Max Brosmer and offensive lineman Quinn Carroll — two sixth-year seniors — said they will play in the Gophers’ to-be-determined bowl game, bucking a growing trend of players skipping postseason games to prepare for shots in the NFL. ADVERTISEMENT Brosmer, a transfer from FCS-level New Hampshire, said he will “definitely” suit up. “It’s another opportunity for us to play as a team,” said Brosmer, who threw for 2,426 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions in 11 games this season. “It’s a compilation of what you have worked on all season.” Carroll said he respects higher-level prospects who might opt out and protect their draft stock, but he wants to get back to a “standard” of players not skipping the games. “My goal ever since I came here was to be the leader, be the standard all the time, and I don’t want it to become a standard that we don’t play in the bowl game if we have NFL aspirations,” said Carroll, who has played three seasons at Minnesota after three years at Notre Dame. “Obviously it’s different for guys who are maybe touted a little bit higher or think it will be better off for them to start working on the next step, whether that is combine training or what have you. But that is one opportunity that I’m blessed with to play with the guys and I’m going to take full advantage of it.” Left tackle Aireontae Ersery is a prime candidate of a Gophers player who might want to safeguard a higher draft stock and limit injury exposure by sitting out the bowl game. The possible first- or second-round pick has not said what he might do. For example, former U center, John Michael Schmitz opted out of the Pinstripe Bowl in 2022; he was drafted in the second round by the New York Giants. Meanwhile, Gophers fifth-year defensive lineman Jalen Logan-Redding said he will return to Minnesota for 2025, instead of trying his luck in the NFL. “Coming back next year is definitely going to be the best for me and being able to maximize all my opportunities and exhaust eligibility,” Logan-Redding said. Logan-Redding said he talked with fellow D-lineman Deven Eastern, who has one more year remaining, about pairing up in 2025. ADVERTISEMENT “We talk a lot about it,” Logan-Redding said. “... We are excited for it, honestly. Not only continuing to build the D-line, but just continuing to build on the experience that we already have. We’ve seen the amount of destruction that we can create when we are focused. Me, Dev and, of course, (Anthony Smith). He would be pissed if I didn’t shout him out.” Smith, who has two more years of eligibility, has been one of the U’s best players in the last month. He has 23 total pressures and five sacks, including one sack in each of the last three weeks. ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .
Mintra Celebrates Winning HR Network Scotland’s Leading with Kindness Award
North Dakota State's stunning 29-28 loss to the University of South Dakota cost the Bison the top seed in the FCS Playoff and a solo Missouri Valley Football Conference title, but that seemed to be all they lost. The Bison received the number two seed for the upcoming playoffs, meaning NDSU will host games at the Fargodome if they keep on winning. ADVERTISEMENT NDSU will face the winner of Abilene Christian and Northern Arizona next Saturday, Dec. 7. That doesn't mean there's a lack of topics to discuss surrounding Bison football as they head for a bye week. NDSU will practice the next three days before dispersing for the Thanksgiving holiday. WDAY's Dom Izzo and The Forum's Jeff Kolpack discuss the loss to South Dakota and what happened and how it could affect the upcoming playoff run.None