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panalo999 com Trump's casting call as he builds out his administration: TV experience preferredNoneGAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Princely Umanmielen's return to the Swamp ended with a police escort . Umanmielen, who spent three years at Florida before transferring to Ole Miss, left the stadium with a number of officers surrounding him. And the defensive end still tried to get at heckling fans. It started when Umanmielen left the sideline in the waning seconds of a 24-17 loss to the Gators . He was walking toward the visiting locker room when at least one fan yelled at him from the stands. Umanmielen clearly didn't like what he heard and made his way toward the seats. Officers quickly stepped in and escorted Umanmielen back toward the locker room. They then walked him directly to the team's waiting busses, but more fans were in the path and shouted at him again. Umanmielen turned and started toward the fans before officers stepped in and stopped him. It was the latest bit of oddness for Umanmielen, who wore an orange Gators ski mask through Ole Miss' practice facility late in the week. He finished the game with seven tackles, including a sack. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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A Bourne Republican’s effort to quickly overturn a local election through the Massachusetts court system was largely shot down by a Boston judge, who said there was no evidence of fraud and voiding the contest would harm thousands of voters, according to court documents. Kari MacRae filed a lawsuit and emergency motion in Suffolk County Superior Court asking Judge Debra Squires-Lee to block Gov. Maura Healey from certifying the results of the Plymouth and Barnstable Senate race after alleging town clerks failed to follow state laws around signature comparison requirements for early mail-in ballots. But Squires-Lee denied the emergency motion in a ruling handed down Nov. 15 , writing the evidence MacRae submitted consisted “almost entirely of hearsay” rather than concrete proof like affidavits from any of the town clerks or assistant town clerks in the district. “Here, where there is no evidence of actual fraud, only observations of apparently mismatched or missing signatures on early voting ballot envelopes, MacRae is unlikely to succeed in her challenge given that it would necessarily result in the disenfranchisement of the 14,550 voters who voted in the primary election and the 110,00 voters who voted in the general election,” Squires-Lee wrote. Squires-Lee’s decision means that Healey is set to certify the results from the Senate election — and all other local contests — in early December, a move that will confirm Dylan Fernandes, a Falmouth Democrat, as the next senator for the Plymouth and Barnstable district starting in 2025. In the November general election, Fernandes beat Rep. Matt Muratore , a Plymouth Republican who himself bested MacRae in the Sept. 3 primary. In the lawsuit filed weeks after the primary election and following recounts in the Senate district, MacRae alleged that town clerks did not follow state law by comparing signatures on early mail-in ballot envelopes to signatures on their corresponding applications. MacRae relied on accounts of conversations with town clerks from herself, failed conservative gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl, John Paul McGrath, and Christopher Lyon. Squires-Lee said the declarations contained “little more than bald statements of noncompliance.” “Without additional context and detail related to the conversations during which the purported statements were made, I am unable to discern whether the averments accurately reflect those statements or whether they reflect an interpretation of the statements inconsistent with the speaker’s intent,” the judge wrote in a 10-page ruling. MacRae filed her first two lawsuits in Plymouth and Barnstable County courts on Oct. 10, more than a month after the primary election, and in Suffolk County Superior Court on Nov. 1, only days before the general election. Squires-Lee said the delay in filing the lawsuits was “unjustifiable” and undercut “her claim of irreparable harm.” “MacRae did not bring the issues she perceived with the early voting envelopes to election officials during the recount. After the Plymouth and Barnstable courts denied her motion for de novo review without prejudice, she did not move again on a non-ex parte basis, seek reconsideration, or file an appeal,” Squires-Lee wrote. “Rather, three weeks later and one business day before the general election, she filed the instant case.” Assistant Attorney General Anne Sterman, who represented Healey and Secretary of State William Galvin in the Boston case, had argued that blocking certification of the Senate election would have disenfranchised more than 110,000 voters on the South Shore and Cape Cod. Granting MacRae’s emergency motion would also “greatly undermine public confidence in the election and cause widespread voter confusion,” Sterman said in court documents filed ahead of Squires-Lee’s ruling. “Invalidating the primary and state election results for this district would require that all of these voters vote again, solely because of MacRae’s unjustified and inexcusable failure to raise the ‘irregularities’ she alleges in this case at any point before (Galvin) declared the final results and the state election was conducted,” Sterman said. But MacRae had argued that if a review of the early mail-in ballot envelopes and their corresponding applications found more than 39 — the margin by which she lost to Muratore in the primary election — were “invalid,” the results “must be invalidated.” MacRae, a Bourne School Committee member fired from Hanover High School after controversial social media videos surfaced in 2021, raised $13,400 as of Oct. 31 to fund her various legal challenges, mostly through a $10,000 donation from Thomas Wallace of Plymouth.After earning much-needed wins earlier this week, the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers hope to build on those performances Thursday when they face off in Pennsylvania. Detroit snapped a season-high five-game losing streak Monday with a 6-5 victory against the Buffalo Sabres. The Red Wings trailed 5-3 with under 10 minutes left in regulation before tying things up and eventually prevailing in a shootout. "It was a massive win for us," said Detroit's Dylan Larkin, who had two assists in regulation before netting the decisive goal in the shootout. "... It was good for our hockey team to score some goals, to be down and come back and win like that." Andrew Copp added two goals for the Red Wings, while Lucas Raymond scored once in regulation and again in the shootout. The headliner for Detroit, however, was Sebastian Cossa, who relieved Ville Husso in net after the first period and went on to earn the win in his NHL debut. It's been a grueling stretch for the Red Wings, who have played 11 straight games decided by two goals or fewer. During their five-game losing streak, each of those defeats came by a single goal, including twice in overtime. "We needed one to go our way," Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said, adding that his team was "a little sloppy tonight, but we produced some offense. Give a lot of credit to the guys (for hanging) in there." The Red Wings' story actually sounds similar to what the Flyers have gone through in November. Philadelphia had lost three in a row prior to authoring a solid performance in Tuesday's 5-3 road victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Travis Konecny had two goals and Owen Tippett tallied for the fifth time in as many games for the Flyers, who play eight of their next 10 games on the road after Thursday's contest. "We needed that win," Konecny said. "We've been going in the wrong direction for a few games, so it was good to turn it around." Philadelphia, like Detroit, has had a long stretch of games decided by two goals or fewer -- nine in a row. "I felt it was an important game for us to get back to playing with energy," Flyers coach John Tortorella said. The Flyers and Red Wings have one other commonality in that they have not reached the postseason in several years. Detroit has missed the playoffs in each of the last eight seasons (and has an uphill battle to reach the postseason in 2025). Philadelphia, meanwhile, has a decent shot to end its four-year playoff drought. That said, the Flyers players are aiming to take things one game at a time. "I think it's still a little early to look at standings and movement and stuff, but, obviously, you know when the big games are, when you play in your conference and division," Tippett said. "Those are the points that matter coming down to the end." This is the first meeting of the season between the teams, who will face off again next week in Detroit and then once again in Philadelphia on Jan. 21. --Field Level MediaNone

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This New York Democrat is targeting Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) in his latest rant against the state of his party. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) criticized President Joe Biden for his “malpractice” earlier this month that he argued helped President-elect Donald Trump win the White House. Now, he is sounding the alarm on Hochul, who is up for reelection in 2026. “Kathy Hochul is the new Joe Biden,” Torres wrote in a statement on social media platform X. “She may be in denial about the depth of her vulnerabilities as a Democratic nominee. A Democratic incumbent who is less popular in New York than Donald Trump is in grave danger of losing to a Republican in 2026–an outcome not seen in 30 years.“ Kathy Hochul is the new Joe Biden. She may be in denial about the depth of her vulnerabilities as a Democratic nominee. A Democratic incumbent who is less popular in New York than Donald Trump is in grave danger of losing to a Republican in 2026–an outcome not seen in 30... Torres suggested that Hochul should not run for reelection once her term is up, alluding to Biden’s late withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. Hochul already told reporters in July that she would run for reelection in 2026. But Torres suggested that nominating Hochul could hurt Democratic chances in the state— which saw a shift toward Trump in this month’s election. “Waiting until it’s too late gave us a Republican President in 2024 and could give us a Republican Governor in 2026,” he wrote. “Let’s avoid repeating history and avoid sleepwalking toward impending disaster and defeat. ‘Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’” His comments come after he said he would not rule a bid for governor, according to Spectrum News . “I’ve made no final decision as to where my future lies, but I’m concerned about the crisis of governance we have in New York State and New York City,” he told Spectrum News’s Kevin Frey. Biden and the Democrats have faced widespread criticism after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the White House to Trump earlier this month. Many Democrats have blamed Biden for part of loss, arguing that his late withdrawal from the race hurt Harris’s chances to win. Stories by Lauren Sforza Gaetz teases new role in Trump world after failed AG bid Which Trump cabinet pick steps aside next? GOP has one in its crosshairs After Trump win, TV star and famous wife reportedly leave country Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.comEversource Energy stock underperforms Wednesday when compared to competitors

You could call it a backlash, but perhaps the better term is cultural revenge. Following his resounding election victory, US President-elect Donald Trump wasted no time in showing Americans, and the world, that he was deadly serious about his plans. Given Trump’s volatility, and his tendency towards hyperbole, post-election political commentary had immediately focused on whether he would really do the things he promised during the campaign. Trump’s picks: Bobby Kennedy Jr for health and Elon Musk for government efficiency. Credit: Michael Howard Is Trump serious about military-assisted mass deportations of undocumented immigrants? About the imposition of trade tariffs and deep cuts to government budgets? Will he really “drain the swamp” and end “wokeness”? His highly publicised cabinet appointments – which have been rolling out over recent weeks like a series of jokes leading to a killer punchline – tell us that, yep, he’s for real. The United States – under the MAGAdministration – will do exactly what it promises on the tin. A brief tour through the collection of hacks, maddies, phoneys and sex pests Trump has picked to implement his agenda must begin with his nominee for attorney-general, Matt Gaetz, who late this week withdrew his bid for the job, following a torrid week of publicity over sexual misconduct allegations. Gaetz was the subject of a Justice Department investigation into his alleged relationship with a 17-year-old girl that might have violated federal sex-trafficking laws. The investigation was closed without charges, but meanwhile the US House of Representatives ethics committee conducted its own inquiry into his alleged misconduct. Matt Gaetz has denied allegations of sexual misconduct in a congressional investigation. Credit: AP US media reported that Gaetz pulled out because it looked like he wouldn’t get the votes required for his confirmation in the Senate. He was spectacularly underqualified for the job – he practised law for only about two years before he ran for Congress , handling small-time civil matters. Trump has nominated former Florida attorney-general Pam Bondi as his replacement pick. Next, we have Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host Trump has picked as his defence secretary. He paid a financial settlement to a woman who alleged he raped her at a Republican women’s event (if it wasn’t true you couldn’t make it up) in 2017. He denies the allegation and says the sex was consensual. Hegseth is a veteran but has no senior military or national security experience . He wants to fire some serving generals, end diversity programs in the military and get women out of combat roles. He would like to rename the Department of Defence – he thinks it should be called the Department of War. He was also one of a number of National Guard members ordered to stand down from the inauguration ceremony of President Joe Biden for opaque reasons. He said he was banned because he has a tattoo that was considered “extremist” – it is of a Jerusalem Cross, a Christian symbol which has become a favourite among white nationalists. Billionaire businessman Elon Musk, of course, has been appointed Trump’s efficiency tsar, although he has no experience in government and will be presiding over the same regulatory authorities that have purview over his business interests. Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a vaccine “sceptic” and pathological oddball, will preside over the Health Department, with a key advisory role on health matters. A former babysitter has alleged Kennedy sexually assaulted her in 1998. He told her he didn’t remember the incident but apologised to her “for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable”. This week The Lancet published an anxious editorial noting that Kennedy “has made many misleading or false health claims and says that several departments at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ‘have to go’.” It said Kennedy’s appointment risks weakening crucial public health institutions and further undermining public trust in science. “These are grave developments for one of the world’s scientific superpowers and can only harm US health and medicine,” it said. Trump rejects diversity picks, so we know he is not being tokenistic with his choice for education secretary – Linda McMahon, who co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) with her husband Vince McMahon. The couple are being sued by five unnamed men who allege Linda and Vince turned a blind eye to child sexual abuse (of “ring boys” as young as 13) by a former ringside announcer for their wrestling company. McMahon says the lawsuit is “baseless” and she will defend it. Separately, her husband is accused of sexual coercion – claims he denies. When it comes to qualifications in education, McMahon has what The New York Times calls “a short resume” . There are two threads that run through all these appointments. Firstly, almost all of them have been accused of sexual misconduct, just like their boss. Those who haven’t been accused personally, such as Musk and McMahon, are alleged to have presided over corporate cultures where sexual misconduct flourished. Far from being a liability, allegations of sexual assault seem of a piece with the central message of Trump’s campaign: the boys are back in charge now. The second thread is the utter lack of relevant experience among Trump’s picks. This deficiency is not a disqualification – on the contrary, it is a qualification for the job, which is to disrupt institutions and shun any notion of mutually agreed values. Tie these two threads together, and you have a revenge module that has been mandated by the 75 million Americans who voted for Trump. As Musk posted on X following the selection of Gaetz for attorney-general: “the Hammer of Justice is coming”. Justice is not supposed to be a hammer. It is conventionally represented by a set of scales and a sword, held by a blindfolded Lady Justice. But she is a woman, and the scales – well, there is less concern with balance now than rebalancing, a settling of scores that will begin with mass deportations (promised to commence on day one of Trump’s presidency) and will end in places unknown. Jacqueline Maley is a senior writer and columnist. Get a note direct from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here .

SNP's defence snub shame as ministers fail to attend key UK-funded national security projects for THREE YEARS Click here to visit the Scotland home page for the latest news and sport By GEORGIA EDKINS SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY Published: 18:08, 23 November 2024 | Updated: 18:08, 23 November 2024 e-mail View comments SNP Ministers have been accused of stoking constitutional division rather than prioritising national security as files show they have snubbed a number of key UK-funded defence projects. A probe shows Scottish Government Ministers have failed to meet Babcock, one of the UK’s largest engineering firms which works on the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought Class nuclear submarines and runs a Naval yard at Rosyth, Fife, for at least three years. Meanwhile, the devolved administration neglected to send a Minister to the steel-cutting ceremony for the new HMS Formidable frigate last month – despite it representing a significant milestone in the construction of the Type 31 warships, documents show. Invitations were sent to both John Swinney and Kate Forbes to celebrate the programme. However, official documents disclose there was ‘no Scottish Government representation at the event’. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes failed to attend a steel-cutting ceremony last month Babcock chief executive David Lockwood and Minister for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard MP at the Steel Cut ceremony for the Royal Navy Type 31 frigate, HMS Formidable, in October Ministers were also absent from the steel-cutting ceremony for HMS Birmingham at BAE Systems’ Govan yard in April last year, part of the £4.2 billion Type 26 frigate programme. Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and then-Finance Secretary Kate Forbes were invited but declined due to ‘other commitments’. Last night Labour MP for Dunfermline and Dollar, Graeme Downie, slammed the SNP for failing to meet one of Scotland’s biggest defence employers. He said: ‘It is disgraceful the SNP have not met the largest engineering employer in Scotland. Babcock employ 2,500 people in my constituency alone and are the largest employer in the area with well-paid high-skilled jobs. ‘The SNP need to start putting Scotland’s national defence, employment and jobs ahead of constitutional division.’ Documents released under freedom of information laws – and handed to this newspaper – show that since May 2021 not a single Scottish Government Minister has met a representative of Babcock International. The company is currently part of a team of defence contractors working on the Royal Navy’s new generation of nuclear submarines. It also owns the Naval yard in Rosyth, Fife, where five additional Type 31 warships are being built. Construction work underway on the Type 31 frigates at Babcock's yard in Rosyth, Fife When the steel-cutting ceremony for HMS Formidable took place, Babcock’s chief executive officer David Lockwood said it was a ‘real demonstration of UK sovereign shipbuilding capability’. Yet FOI documents supplied to the UK Defence Journal show that First Minister Mr Swinney and Deputy First Minister Ms Forbes failed to attend. An industry insider told the trade publication: ‘It’s really disappointing not to see senior government figures at these key milestones. ‘It makes you wonder if they truly value the role this sector plays in the economy and in supporting communities.’ The Scottish Government said it ‘recognises the role of the sector in the Scottish economy and regularly engages with the industry body ADS Scotland on key areas such as skills’. SNP Kate Forbes Share or comment on this article: SNP's defence snub shame as ministers fail to attend key UK-funded national security projects for THREE YEARS e-mail Add commentThree Horrifying Consequences Of AI That You Might Not Have Thought AboutRed Wings look to build on ‘massive win’ in facing FlyersNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes got back to climbing on Wednesday after the latest update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the economy from the Federal Reserve . The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to break its first two-day losing streak in nearly a month and finished just short of its all-time high. Big Tech stocks led the way, which drove the Nasdaq composite up 1.8% to top the 20,000 level for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, lagged the market with a dip of 99 points, or 0.2%. Stocks got a boost as expectations built that Wednesday’s inflation data will allow the Fed to deliver another cut to interest rates at its meeting next week. Traders are betting on a nearly 99% probability of that, according to data from CME Group, up from 89% a day before. If they’re correct, it would be a third straight cut by the Fed after it began lowering rates in September from a two-decade high. It’s hoping to support a slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower rates would give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation. “The data have given the Fed the ‘all clear’ for next week, and today’s inflation data keep a January cut in active discussion,” according to Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Expectations for a series of cuts to rates by the Fed have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times this year , with the latest coming last week. The biggest boosts for the index on Wednesday came from Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks. Their massive growth has made them Wall Street’s biggest stars for years, though other kinds of stocks have recently been catching up somewhat amid hopes for the broader U.S. economy. Tesla jumped 5.9% to finish above $420 at $424.77. It’s a level that Elon Musk made famous in a 2018 tweet when he said he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share . Stitch Fix soared 44.3% after the company that sends clothes to your door reported a smaller loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave financial forecasts for the current quarter that were better than expected, including for revenue. GE Vernova rallied 5% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500. The energy company that spun out of General Electric said it would pay a 25 cent dividend every three months, and it approved a plan to send up to another $6 billion to its shareholders by buying back its own stock. On the losing end of Wall Street, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment tumbled 20.1% after reporting a worse loss for the latest quarter than expected. It also said CEO Chris Morris has resigned, and the board has been working with an executive-search firm for the last few months to find its next permanent leader. Albertsons fell 1.5% after filing a lawsuit against Kroger, saying it didn’t do enough for their proposed $24.6 billion merger agreement to win regulatory clearance. Albertsons said it’s seeking billions of dollars in damages from Kroger, whose stock rose 1%. A day earlier, judges in separate cases in Oregon and Washington nixed the supermarket giants’ merger. The grocers contended a combination could have helped them compete with big retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon, but critics said it would hurt competition. After terminating the merger agreement with Kroger, Albertsons said it plans to boost its dividend 25% and increased the size of its program to buy back its own stock. Macy’s slipped 0.8% after cutting some of its financial forecasts for the full year of 2024, including for how much profit it expects to make off each $1 of revenue. All told, the S&P 500 rose 49.28 points to 6,084.19. The Dow dipped 99.27 to 44,148.56, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 347.65 to 20,034.89. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.27% from 4.23% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, edged up to 4.15% from 4.14%. In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was an outlier and slipped 0.8% as Chinese leaders convened an annual planning meeting in Beijing that is expected to set economic policies and growth targets for the coming year. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1%, up for a second straight day as it climbs back following last week’s political turmoil where its president briefly declared martial law. AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Princely Umanmielen's return to the Swamp ended with a police escort . Umanmielen, who spent three years at Florida before transferring to Ole Miss, left the stadium with a number of officers surrounding him. And the defensive end still tried to get at heckling fans. It started when Umanmielen left the sideline in the waning seconds of a 24-17 loss to the Gators . He was walking toward the visiting locker room when at least one fan yelled at him from the stands. Umanmielen clearly didn't like what he heard and made his way toward the seats. Officers quickly stepped in and escorted Umanmielen back toward the locker room. They then walked him directly to the team's waiting busses, but more fans were in the path and shouted at him again. Umanmielen turned and started toward the fans before officers stepped in and stopped him. It was the latest bit of oddness for Umanmielen, who wore an orange Gators ski mask through Ole Miss' practice facility late in the week. He finished the game with seven tackles, including a sack. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Copy link Copied Copy link Copied Subscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Already a subscriber? Login The soft voice helped. So did the weak chin and gawky height. Throw in the medical training in London, as well as the marriage to an urbane local, and it is small wonder that people were disarmed. Bashar al-Assad was no one’s idea of a despot. And when he freed some of Syria’s political prisoners in 2000, the West had more to go on than “vibes”. France gave him the Legion of Honour soon after. Financial Times Copy link Copied Copy link Copied Subscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Already a subscriber? Login Introducing your Newsfeed Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you. Latest In Middle East Fetching latest articles Most Viewed In WorldBUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian lawmakers on Monday voted narrowly in favor of a new pro-European coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The move could usher in an end to a protracted political crisis in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election by a top court. Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in Romania's 466-seat legislature. The new coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party, or PSD, the center-right National Liberal Party, PNL, the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities. It caps a month-long period of turmoil in which far-right nationalists made significant gains in a Dec. 1 parliamentary election , a week after a first-round presidential race saw the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu emerge as the front-runner. “It will not be an easy mandate for the future government,” Ciolacu, whose PSD party topped the polls in the parliamentary election, said in a statement Monday. “We are aware that we are in the midst of a deep political crisis," he said. "It is also a crisis of trust, and this coalition aims to regain the trust of citizens, the trust of the people.” Romani's 16 ministerial positions will be shared among the parties, which will hold a slim majority in the legislature. It's widely seen as a tactical partnership to shut out far-right nationalists whose voices found fertile ground amid high living costs and a sluggish economy. Ciolacu, who came third in the first-round presidential ballot despite polls indicating he would win the most votes, has served as prime minister since June 2023. After parliament’s approval, President Klaus Iohannis swore in the new government and warned the new Cabinet that it's entering a “difficult new period” in which “for many Romanians, there are major concerns.” Romania was plunged into turmoil after Georgescu’s surprise success in the presidential race, after allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged. Days before the Dec. 8 runoff, the Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the presidential race . “We go through complicated times, but I think we all learned from mistakes of the past,” Ciolacu said. “I hope that together with my colleagues in the coalition, we’ll find the best solutions to get past the challenges we have in front of us.” Ciolacu said that the new government would aim to quickly organize the rerun of the presidential election in which the new coalition has agreed to put forward an agreed common pro-European candidate. Cristian Andrei, a political consultant based in Bucharest, said that the new government made up of the same political parties will likely embrace “soft populist” rhetoric such as economic patriotism, anti-austerity, and a peace solution in neighboring Ukraine to counter the rise of far-right populism. “This will be a way to answer the concerns of many Romanians who voted for populists ... but will not solve the fundamental problem of trust,” he said. “The only decisive factor now will be who and how convincing the pro-European candidates will be against this popular revolt.” George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, which came second in the parliamentary election, said that all lawmakers from his party on Monday would vote against the Ciolacu government. In 2021, the PSD and the PNL also formed an unlikely but increasingly strained coalition together with UDMR, which exited the Cabinet last year after a power-sharing dispute. Stephen McGrath reported from Warwick, England.

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Police in Georgia on Saturday fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse pro-EU protesters rallying for a ninth consecutive day against the prime minister's decision to shelve talks on joining the bloc. The Caucasus nation has been engulfed in turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party declared that it had won a disputed October 26 election. The party's critics have accused it of creeping authoritarianism and of steering the country back towards Russia. Thousands of defiant pro-EU protesters in Georgia rallied Friday after the prime minister claimed victory in a "battle" against the opposition. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets since the election to protest against alleged electoral fraud. Fresh rallies took place across the country after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced last week that Georgia would not hold talks on European Union membership until 2028. Police have fired tear gas and water cannon against pro-EU protests in Tbilisi and hundreds of arrests have been made, triggering outrage at home and mounting international condemnation. France, Germany and Poland condemned what they called the government's "disproportionate" use of force against protesters and opposition leaders in a joint statement Friday. On Saturday, riot police moved in with water cannon to disperse the rally outside the parliament building, making arrests as the crowd retreated a few metres (yards), an AFP reporter witnessed. Tear gas was later deployed and groups of protesters reportedly spread across the city, blocking traffic along the capital's key thoroughfare. Georgia's rights ombudsman, Levan Ioseliani, said police "had no legal grounds for the dispersal of peaceful rally." He called on the interior ministry "to immediately halt the dispersal of the protest, cease the detention of participants, and refrain from using special measures, ensuring that protesters can continue their demonstration peacefully." Thousands blocked the street outside parliament on Friday, with some blowing whistles and others setting off firecrackers. "People will continue the protest," said one demonstrator, 23-year-old Giorgi, wearing a Georgian flag and a back scarf pulled over his nose. "They're patient, I will be here for the rest of my life if it is necessary to save my country." Separate protests were held outside Georgia's public broadcaster -- accused of being a government propaganda tool -- as well as the education ministry and the country's tourism administration offices. Thousands have also staged anti-government rallies in the second city of Batumi on the Black Sea coast. On Friday, a court in Tbilisi put a 19-year-old youth activist in pre-trial detention on charges of "organising, leading, and participating in group violence". Zviad Tsetskhladze told the judge "the rule of law has been crushed. "Our actions are a form of resistance, aimed at preserving the rule of law, defending democracy, and protecting the rights of every individual." The prime minister on Friday praised his security forces for "successfully neutralising the protesters' capacity for violence". "We have won an important battle against liberal fascism in our country," he told a news conference, using language reminiscent of how the Kremlin in Russia targets its political opponents. "But the fight is not over. Liberal fascism in Georgia must be defeated entirely," Kobakhidze said. With both sides ruling out a compromise, there appeared to be no clear route out of the crisis. The leader of the opposition Lelo party, Mamuka Khazaradze, said the government "has resorted to arresting young activists and political opponents out of fear of relentless public protests and growing civil disobedience by public servants." Masked officers have raided several opposition party offices and arrested opposition leaders earlier this week, while around 300 people have been detained at rallies. On Friday Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition Akhali party, was sentenced to 12 days in prison. Alexandre Elisashvili, leader of the Strong Georgia opposition group, was remanded in custody for two months of pretrial detention. More trouble is expected after December 14, when Georgian Dream lawmakers elect a loyalist to succeed pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili. She has vowed not to step down until the parliamentary polls are re-run. Local media has also reported protests across the country, including in the cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Rustavi and Telavi. Critics of Georgian Dream are enraged by what they call its betrayal of Tbilisi's bid for EU membership, enshrined in the constitution and supported by around 80 percent of the population. Several ambassadors, a deputy foreign minister, and other officials have resigned over the suspension of EU talks. Georgian Dream, in power for more than a decade, has advanced controversial legislation in recent years, targeting civil society and independent media and curbing LGBTQ rights. Brussels warned such policies were incompatible with EU membership, while domestic critics accuse the government of copying Russia's playbook. Rights ombudsman Ioseliani has accused the police of "torture" against those arrested. ub-im/rsc