Calin Georgescu, the fringe nationalist politician leading the presidential race in Romania, has told the BBC that he would end all support for Ukraine if elected. He is facing a second-round run-off in the elections on Sunday, where he will run against Elena Lasconi, a former TV presenter who is campaigning on a firmly pro-EU platform.Georgescu, whose only election campaigning has been on social media, said he would make “the Romanian people” his priority. But he denied that his surprise success so far was the result of a Russian-backed influence operation, saying he did not care about the “lies” of his country’s intelligence agencies as he was working with God and the people.

On Wednesday, in a highly unusual move, Romania’s outgoing president published declassified documents that detailed what was called a massive and “highly organised” campaign for Georgescu on TikTok co-ordinated by a “state actor”. The papers included an intelligence assessment that Russia was carrying out hybrid attacks on Romania, which it sees as an “enemy state”.The constitutional court is now being flooded with requests to look into the allegations of meddling with a view to possibly cancelling the election.Prosecutors today announced they were opening a criminal investigation but there is no timeline on when that might conclude.They are afraid,” is how Georgescu brushed away evidence that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent pushing campaign content for him, breaking both Romanian election law and TikTok’s own rules.

He denied that he was “Moscow’s man”, referring derisively to Romania’s “un-intelligence agencies They can’t accept that the Romanian people finally said, ‘we want our life back, our country, our dignity’,” he said, portraying himself as battling against an unyielding establishment. In a sometimes tetchy interview in which he praised Donald Trump and the Hungarian populist leader Viktor Orban, Georgescu referred to Vladimir Putin as a “patriot and a leader”. But when questioned about Russia’s war on Ukraine, he first asked, “Are you sure of that appearing to deny the war’s very existence. He then said Romania was interested only in pushing for peace on its border but refused to say that this should be on Kyiv’s terms. When asked whether he agreed with standing by Ukraine, as the EU puts it, “for as long as it takes”, Georgescu said “No.” He said things would change. I agree just that I have to take care of my people. I don’t want to involve my people,” he replied, clarifying that Romania an EU and Nato member – would provide no more military or political support for its neighbour. It would be a dramatic change in position for Bucharest, and one that would be music to Russian ears. The president in Romania has considerable power, including influence on areas such as foreign policy. He is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and appoints the prime minister. Romania shares a long border with Ukraine and has been a staunch supporter of Kyiv since the full-scale invasion in 2022.It’s provided a Patriot missile defence system as well as financial support. It’s also become a key export route for Ukrainian grain, as Russian bombardments have crippled the work of ports there.

Under a Georgescu presidency, Romania would join Hungary and Slovakia as Russia-sympathisers on the eastern flank of Nato. It would also be a serious dent to EU solidarity on Ukraine, just as it faces the prospect of assuming more responsibility for aiding Kyiv with Donald Trump back in the White House. Georgescu underlined that he would keep Romania inside the EU and Nato, but that everything from now on would be “negotiated” and focus on his country’s interests.His endorsement of conspiracy theories has also sparked concerns, including denying the Covid pandemic and doubting that anyone ever landed on the Moon.Romania is home to a giant Nato military base, close to the Black Sea, as well as a US missile defence facility.Georgescu now describes himself as a university teacher, but has previously worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the UN.He clearly does have supporters his clean-living, Romania-first message has popular appeal, especially outside Bucharest.  (BBC)

BRAZIL – SAO PAULO, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — South Brazil’s Santa Catarina state remains on alert for heavy storms, which have triggered flooding, landslides, and evacuations in 22 cities, according to the country’s civil defense authority. Joinville, the largest city in the state, has been suffering flooding since Thursday, with the weather service forecasting rain to persist until Tuesday morning, it said. According to the agency, the municipality of Dionisio Cerqueira has recorded the highest rainfall of 186.4 mm over the past 48 hours, raising serious landslide risks. The agency warned of potential meteorological events with “moderate to high risk.” A cloud front moving from central South America toward the Atlantic caused the storms in Santa Catarina. In May and June, storms triggered flooding in the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Sul, resulting in 183 deaths and affecting over 90 percent of the region. (Xinhua)

NETHERLANDS – The Netherlands has on Monday begun its implementation of additional border controls. The controls are set to last six months, and will take place in border regions and “at airports in relation to specific flights where there is a risk of irregular migration or cross-border crime.” The measures were proposed by the right-wing coalition led by Geert Wilders’ anti-Muslim nationalist PVV party. The PVV’s Marjolein Faber, Dutch Minister of Asylum and Migration, visited a border checkpoint at the Dutch-German border in the province of Limburg. She said that the controls aim to bring down “the illegal influx of migrants in the Netherlands.” (Euronews)

JAMAICA – LOCAL non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the forefront of the fight against HIV/AIDS are now battling for their own survival as funding from international donors decrease. In 2023, US$19.8 billion was available for HIV programmes in low- and middle-income countries from international donors — nearly US$10 billion shy of the HIV funding target for 2025 — a 7.9 per cent decline since 2020.

The NGOs, which receive little or no support from the Jamaican Government, are seemingly victims of their own success as international donors look elsewhere while the Caribbean, and in particular Jamaica, wage a partially successful battle against HIV/AIDS even though the threat remains. According to UNAIDS, the number of new HIV infections in the Caribbean decreased by 15 per cent between 2010 and 2022, with declines stronger among men (18 per cent) than women (10 per cent). Similarly, AIDS-related deaths dropped by 53 per cent during this period, with a higher rate of decline among women (56 per cent) compared to men (51 per cent).

The Planning Institute of Jamaica’s 2023 Economic and Social Survey reports the country’s HIV treatment cascade (90-90-90) showed that 91.0 per cent of people with HIV were aware of their status; 53.0 per cent of people with HIV who knew their status were retained on HIV treatment; and 79.0 per cent of individuals with HIV who were on treatment were reported as being virally suppressed. This represents a sharp improvement over the past decade during which Jamaica also eliminated the mother-to-child transmission of HIV. (Jamaicaobserver)

Photo: Kandasi Walton-Levermore (centre), executive director of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL), flanked by Machel Stewart (right), chairman of the JASL board, and Gervaise McLeod, board member, during the organisation’s annual candlelight vigil held on World AIDS Day, December 1 at St Andrew Parish Church Hall. (Photo: JASL)