Second round of presidential elections in Romania on May 18: Next steps in the electoral process

Under the calendar for the Romanian presidential elections, applications to annul the elections can be submitted to the Constitutional Court until May 6 if there are allegations of electoral fraud. On May 8, the Central Electoral Bureau will send the voting results and the centralization documents to the Constitutional Court. The official validation of the first round of elections will occur shortly thereafter.

Presidential elections in Romania // Voting in the Republic of Moldova

Independent candidate and general mayor of Bucharest Nicușor Dan came first in the Republic of Moldova in the first round of the Romanian presidential elections. According to the final results published by the Permanent Electoral Authority, he scored 52.63% of the votes. In all, 90,851 people voted at the 64 open polling stations.

Romanian presidential elections // George Simion and Nicușor Dan, in the second round

George Simion, the candidate and leader of the far-right party Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), and Nicușor Dan, an independent candidate and the general mayor of Bucharest, have qualified for the second round of the presidential elections in Romania, according to preliminary results published by the Permanent Electoral Authority.

Ukraine must not repeat WWII mistakes, says Kubilius

The European Commissioner for Defence, Andrius Kubilius, stated on Saturday that asking Ukraine to surrender part of its territory to Russia would repeat a historic mistake made at the beginning of World War II, according to Digi24, citing Agerpres and EFE.

Iran port blast injures 281 near Bandar Abbas

At least 281 people were injured in an explosion that rocked Iran's Shahid Rajai port near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, France 24 reports.

Vatican holds funeral for Pope Francis today

St. Peter's Square at the Vatican opened to the public this morning ahead of Pope Francis's funeral, which is expected to draw approximately 200,000 people and dozens of officials, EFE reports.

Zelenskyy rejects ceding Crimea as US peace plan emerges

Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced that "very important" meetings could take place in the coming days, aimed at bringing closer the end of the war in Ukraine and achieving peace.

Key Ukraine peace meeting in London postponed

The meeting scheduled for Wednesday in London between officials from the United States, Ukraine, and the European Union has been postponed, after several foreign ministers cancelled their participation, according to Reuters.

Ukraine eyes peace talks, holds firm on Crimea

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that his country is ready to start negotiations with the Russian Federation in "any format," immediately after a ceasefire.

Reports: Putin proposes Ukraine ceasefire along front lines

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed freezing the conflict in Ukraine along the current front line in a bid for peace, the Financial Times reports, citing informed sources.

Pope Francis: Funeral plans, will, conclave timeline

The Congregation of Cardinals has set Pope Francis's funeral for Saturday, April 26, starting at 10:00 AM (local time, 11:00 AM Moldova time), the French channel BFMTV reports.

Odessa hit by Russian drone attack, 3 injured

Three people were injured following a kamikaze drone attack launched by Russia on the city of Odessa on the morning of Tuesday, April 22.