George Simion, the leader of the far-right AUR party, won a dramatic first-round victory earlier this month, riding a wave of anger from Romanians who had seen the presidential race annulled late last year because of claims of Russian interference.

But it was the softly spoken Nicusor Dan who swept to victory with 53.6% of the vote, even though Simion was more successful in the diaspora.

“We need to build Romania together irrespective of who you voted for,” said Dan, once his victory was secure.

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Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crk2xxzxkzxo

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Romania has set a date to rerun its presidential election after concerns of Russia’s “aggressive hybrid action” first time round, but there’s still a risk the result may be similar at the second attempt and see ultranationalist Călin Georgescu triumph.

The new vote will take place on May 4, with a runoff planned two weeks later, on May 18.

The first round of Romania’s election on Nov. 24 last year triggered international shockwaves thanks to the victory of Georgescu, who was propelled from obscurity by a wildly successful TikTok campaign. The contest was annulled before the second round could take place.

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Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/romania-election-2025-hungary-national-liberals-social-democrats-law-court/

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The court said in a statement that its decision two days before the run-off was to occur “annuls the entire electoral process regarding the election of the president of Romania.”

Declassified Romanian intelligence documents contained a security services warning that Russia had attacked the election system with an “aggressive hybrid action” to elevate a far-right previously politically unknown candidate.

The declassified intelligence documents said Georgescu’s victory was “not a natural outcome” and a “state actor” elevated him with an artificial coordinated social media campaign.

Continue reading HERE

Source: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/12/06/ROmania-Constitutional-Court-annuls-election/5001733500324/

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Relief work in frontline states – Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and Moldova – has mainly been shouldered by ordinary citizens volunteering to drive, cook or house refugees, with the help of non-governmental organisations and local authorities.

But with the war now in its third week and the number of refugees swelling, it is becoming difficult to provide sufficient help.

In Krakow, Poland’s second-largest city, one NGO described the situation at the train station as “tragic”.

“There is nowhere to direct the refugees. They are stressed and confused, all kinds of help is needed, and above all, premises,” tweeted Fundacja Brata Alberta, an NGO that in normal times helps individuals with mental disabilities.

In Hrubieszow, a Polish town on the Ukrainian border, Mayor Marta Majewska said she had spent all the town’s crisis reserve of 100,000 zlotys ($22,889), as well as 170,000 zlotys from the local province, to run a refugee reception centre.

“I am most worried about electricity bills,” she told Radio Zet. “The city cannot bear it at all.”

FILLING UP FAST

In Warsaw, the biggest temporary reception centre was about 70% full by Thursday. Refugees now make up over 10% of the Polish capital’s population, Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said.

Close to 4,000 Ukrainian children are now attending school in Warsaw, he added, with city authorities setting up 76 “preparatory classes” in which they learn Polish.

Trzaskowski separately called for other nations to step in, urging airlifts and a global system to manage the influx.

“We’re getting overwhelmed… We cannot improvise anymore,” he told U.S. television network MSNBC. “We need relocation in Europe and we need relocation in the world.”

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday the United States would welcome those fleeing the conflict.

“We’re going to welcome Ukraine refugees with open arms if in fact they come all the way here,” he told a group of U.S. lawmakers. He gave no details.

In Przemysl, near Poland’s busiest border crossing and a transit hub for refugees, Vice-Mayor Boguslaw Swiezy said he was seeing a decline in the number of volunteers, some of whom are students, others people taking time off work.

The Polish government will start reimbursing local governments’ costs for handling refugees from next week, once a new law comes into force, the interior ministry said.

Romania’s capital Bucharest was turning a convention centre and indoor arena, Romexpo, into its biggest refugee shelter yet, while Hungary was studying whether to turn museums, sports arenas and public buildings in Budapest into shelters.

The Hungarian government is also providing subsidies to employers who take on refugees to help cover accommodation and travel costs. In the Czech Republic, Prague mayor Zdenek Hrib called for more government funds to help accommodate refugees.

‘I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT’

And the refugees just keep arriving.

Dasha, a 31-year-old psychotherapist from Kyiv, arrived on Friday at Medyka, Poland’s busiest border crossing with Ukraine, where temperatures overnight dropped to -9 degrees Celsius (15.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

She left Kyiv on the first day of the invasion and stayed in the western city of Lviv but has now left Ukraine on the advice of her husband, who is in the army reserve.

“It’s tough in Kyiv, they are encircling the city,” she told Reuters, with two little dogs on their leashes.

“I’m going to Wroclaw (in southwest Poland), I have some friends there,” she said before bursting into tears. “I don’t know what to do next.”

Inna, a 55-year old woman fleeing Dnipropetrovsk, said she had travelled 24 hours to reach Medyka.

“My town was bombed this morning… I just can’t talk, I am so overwhelmed,” she sobbed.

She did not know where she would spend Friday night.

The United Nations bases its relief plans on 4 million people fleeing abroad, but has said it may need to revise the number higher.

The Polish Border Guard said 1.5 million people had entered Poland from Ukraine since Russia began its invasion on Feb. 24.

Nearly 365,000 people have so far fled into Romania, 219,000 to Hungary and 176,000 to Slovakia, officials said. Nearly 200,000 have reached the Czech Republic, which does not share a border with Ukraine.

Others are reaching or are seen getting to German, Sweden and other countries in Western Europe.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a special military operation to disarm its neighbour and dislodge its “neo-Nazi” leaders. Kyiv and its Western allies say this is a baseless pretext to invade a country of 44 million people.

(Additional reporting by Mari Saito in Medyka, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk in Warsaw, Luiza Ilie in Bucharest, Robert Muller in Prague, Anita Komuves and Krisztina Than in Budapest, Jeff Mason in Washington; Writing by Gwladys Fouche, additional writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Gareth Jones and Angus MacSwan),

Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-03-11/eastern-europes-aid-effort-under-strain-as-ukraine-refugees-keep-arriving

The post Eastern Europe Under Strain as Ukraine Refugees Keep Coming first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

An increasing number of migrants from India, Romania, Haiti, and Cuba are attempting to enter the U.S. through the southern border, Axios reported Wednesday.

Migrants are reportedly flying to Central America since U.S. courts are backlogged with asylum cases preventing them from living or working in the country as their case is processed, according to Axios. Border officials encountered over 33,000 migrants from countries other than Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador attempting to enter the U.S. in April, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Some smugglers and migrants are waiting until border officials are overwhelmed to attempt to cross the border, Migration Policy Institute Associate Policy Analyst Jessica Bolter told Axios.

“The Biden administration has made it clear that our borders are not open and individuals and families are subject to border restrictions, including expulsion,” a Department of Homeland Security said, Axios reported.

A migrant family waits to be processed after being apprehended near the border between Mexico and the United States in Del Rio, Texas on May 16, 2021. (Photo by SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)

CBP officials encountered 35% more migrants attempting to enter the U.S. from countries other than Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador in April than in March, according to the agency. Around 30% of the families encountered in April came from countries other than Central America or Mexico.

While most of the migrants are single adults or families, Border officials have encountered several unaccompanied minors from Bangladesh, India, and Armenia, including a 1-year-old from Ecuador, Axios reported. (RELATED: Migrants Who Thought They Could Stay In The US ‘If We Came With Our Children’ Filling Up Mexico’s Shelters)

“Immigration from Central America is important,” independent research consultant and migration analyst Cris Ramón, told Axios. “But we can no longer assume that that’s going to be the only source of immigrants coming to the U.S.-Mexico border, because of the fact that immigrants are far more mobile, with being able to fly to countries like Mexico.”

Source: https://dailycaller.com/2021/05/27/central-america-romania-customs-and-border-protection/

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Romania has announced on Sunday that it will be moving its embassy to Jerusalem.

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Romania’s president has stepped into a row over the location of the country’s embassy in Israel.

The leader of Romania’s ruling Social Democrats said the government had approved a memorandum to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, one of the first countries to do so after the United States.

The decision would have been at odds with the position of the rest of the European Union.

However, the country’s president President Klaus Iohannis issued a stiff rebuttal hours insisting that relocating the embassy would be in breach of international law and it would damage Romania’s interests in the region..

Under the Romanian constitution, Iohannis has the final say.

It was not immediately clear what the Romanian government would do next after the president’s rebuttal.

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “at least half a dozen” countries were considering moving their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The U.S. Embassy is due to relocate on May 14.

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Source: http://www.euronews.com/2018/04/20/romania-to-move-its-embassy-in-israel-to-jerusalem

[Disclaimer]

The post Romania split over Israel embassy first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Modern Slavery Index 2017, compiled by risk analytics company Verisk Maplecroft, pinpointed five EU countries — Romania, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Bulgaria — as posing the highest risk. It identified these countries as key entry points for migrants who are extremely vulnerable to exploitation.

Defining modern slavery as an “umbrella term for slavery, servitude, trafficking in persons and forced or compulsory labor,” the index measures the strength of laws, the effectiveness of law enforcement and the severity of violations in 198 countries.

The report found 60% of countries ranked in the “high” or “extreme risk” category.

The idea is that businesses will use the annual index to identify where the risk of modern slavery is greatest across their business operations and supply chains, so they can better target their resources and efforts to prevent exploitation.

Migrants at EU ‘entry points’ most at risk
Verisk Maplecroft Human Rights Analyst Alexandra Channer believes the influx of undocumented migrants entering the EU has resulted in increased risks of modern slavery.

“Migrants are already vulnerable when they begin their journey — they’re generally fleeing countries of violence and extreme poverty,” she told CNN. “Generally they’re going into the hands of people smugglers and then very quickly being trapped in the hands of trafficking gangs.

“The chances are that before they even enter the workplace they’re already in conditions of modern slavery.”

In response to the report, the European Commission highlighted the steps it is taking to fight human trafficking.

“We are aware the migration crisis has been exploited by criminals who target the most vulnerable — women and children,” a spokesperson for the European Commission, Tove Ernst, told CNN in an email.

“The EU has a strong legal framework to fight human trafficking and, together with the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, we work to improve coordination between EU institutions, agencies and States as well as non-EU countries and international actors to prevent and fight trafficking,” she said.

The Commission said it is tackling the issue through its “hotspot approach” to assist member states –namely Greece and Italy — that are facing migratory pressures at the EU’s external borders.

“The Commission and EU Agencies support national authorities to better manage the migration flows and ensure that all persons arriving are identified, registered and channeled through the right procedures, with particular attention being paid to the most vulnerable migrants,” Ernst said.

Romania and Italy worst reported violations
Romania saw the sharpest rise in risk globally compared to the 2016 Modern Slavery Index. The country moved 56 places down in the ranking toward the “extreme risk” end of the spectrum to 66th most at risk. The report found both Romania and Italy (which fell from 149th to 133rd in the rankings) to have the most damaging reported cases of modern slavery in the EU.

The Romanian National Agency against Human Trafficking in Persons (ANITP) outlined its anti-trafficking efforts in an email.

“We are constantly concerned, not only in order to ensure the functioning of the national anti-trafficking system, but also to improve the situation,” ANITP spokesperson Ciprian Ghituleasa told CNN.

There were 252 convictions for human trafficking in 2015 and 333 convictions in 2016, according to ANITP. Of these, at least 70% were sentences by imprisonment.

ANITP said that the high number of convictions reflects Romania’s institutional capacity to investigate crimes of trafficking in persons as well as the capacity of criminal constitution bodies.

“The increased demand for sexual services and cheap labor, the interest of business environment in obtaining big profit with low investments, represents factors that directly influence the development of criminal networks’ activity in the field of human trafficking,” Ghituleasa said.

“The phenomenon is transnational, so we need broad vision between Origin-Transit-Destination countries.”

CNN contacted Italian officials but did not receive a response prior to publication.

Panos Kakaviatos, a spokesperson from the Council of Europe, a human rights organization consisting of 47 member states signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, concurred with many of the findings of the index.

“We welcome this kind of reporting because it dovetails with our concerns,” he told CNN. “Persons who escape persecution and conflict in search of protection are definitely vulnerable.”

Measuring the risk
The Modern Slavery Index is constructed using independently researched and scored data categorized into three pillars: a country’s commitment to eliminate modern slavery, its ongoing efforts to eradicate it through enforcement, as well as the prevalence of reported violations.

It uses open-source data and information obtained from third party sources such as the U.S. State Department, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Freedom House to determine the rankings, explained Channer.

However, Channer admits that finding evidence for some countries can be extremely difficult.

“A huge problem for anyone trying to assess the risk of modern slavery is that this is a criminal activity, it’s hidden, even though it’s a billion dollar business,” she said.

The riskiest places in the world
Outside of the EU, Turkey slipped into the “high risk” category of the index, indicating the second largest increase in risk (from 110th to 58th) in the world. This, according to Verisk Maplecroft, is owing to the flood of migrants from the Syrian war entering the informal workforce, coupled with Turkey’s restrictive work permit system.

Turkish officials from the Social Security Institution declined to comment on the report.

Turkey ratified the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in May 2016, Kakaviatos confirmed.

In Asia countries with large manufacturing industries including Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand — continue to feature in the “extreme” or “high risk” or categories of the index.

However, the report found there to be “green shoots of progress” in India (moving from 15th to 49th) and Thailand (from 27th to 48th) on account of better efforts from governments to enforce slavery.

“There has been some evidence that the governments [in India and Thailand] have been more effective at prosecuting trafficking cases, investigating and identifying victims, so better enforcing laws they have on the books,” explains Channer.

“The trouble is that modern slavery is so endemic in both India and Thailand … so there’s a long way to go.”

Cambodia showed slight progress in the 2017 index, moving up 19 places from 61st to 80th.

The ten highest risk countries in the world as rated on the index include: North Korea, Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Iran, Libya, Eritrea and Turkmenistan.

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/11/world/modern-slavery-risk-index/index.html

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