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00:00A top Romanian court annulled the first round of the country's presidential election, with
00:05the entire process to be redone at a later date.
00:11The deal is done, but not dusted.
00:13EU and Mercosul conclude agreement.
00:16Now it's over to the countries.
00:21Iran claimed to have conducted a successful space launch in a programme criticised by
00:24the West as improving its ballistic missile capacity.
00:32A top Romanian court annulled the first round of the country's presidential election, days
00:38after allegations that Russia ran a coordinated online campaign to promote far-right candidate
00:44Kalin Djordjescu.
00:46The entire electoral process will be redone at a date yet to be set, despite being a huge
00:52outsider who declared zero campaign spending, Djordjescu came out on top of that first round.
00:58He was due to face off against centrist pro-EU candidate Elena Lascone this weekend.
01:07The constitutional court's unprecedented and final decision came after the Romanian president
01:13declassified intelligence that alleged Russia ran a sprawling campaign comprising thousands
01:19of social media accounts to promote Djordjescu.
01:23The news leaves the country in an unparalleled political situation with unforeseen consequences.
01:31The European Commission says it has sent TikTok an urgent request for information demanding
01:37more answers about a platform's controversial role in the first round of Romania's election.
01:43The EU Commission's request on Friday came hours before the Romanian constitutional court
01:48cancelled the presidential runoff scheduled for this Sunday.
01:52The latest developments followed serious concerns of foreign interference.
01:56The Commission has indeed sent to TikTok another request for information, this time asking
02:01the platform to provide comments to the issues raised in the intelligence documents that
02:07were declassified by the Romanian authorities, as well as information shared and actions
02:12undertaken by TikTok as a result of those issues.
02:16The EU Commission's request for TikTok is based on the Digital Services Act, DSA, and
02:22comes with a deadline of 24 hours.
02:25The first round of the election saw a previously unknown far-right nationalist candidate, Karine
02:30Djordjescu, top the polls in a shock result.
02:38After 25 years of negotiations, the EU and the Mercosur countries have concluded their
02:44free trade agreement.
02:46It will eliminate tariffs on most European products such as vehicles, clothing and machinery,
02:51which are sold in Latin America, and it will apply to imports from Argentina, Uruguay,
02:55Paraguay and Brazil.
02:58This agreement is not just an economic opportunity, it is a political necessity.
03:06We're like-minded partners.
03:08We have common roots.
03:11We have an intertwined history and culture.
03:16But the agreement will now have to be approved by the Mercosur countries and those of the
03:21European Union, as well as the European Parliament.
03:26The deal has been surrounded by controversy, not least because of stiff opposition from
03:45French and other European farmers.
03:48To them, Ursula von der Leyen has promised that the agreement includes strong safeguards
03:52to protect their livelihoods.
03:59Iran said it conducted a successful space launch, the latest for its programme the West
04:04alleges improves Tehran's ballistic missile programme.
04:09The announcement comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel's continued
04:14war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and as an uneasy ceasefire holds in Lebanon.
04:20The US has previously said Iran's satellite launches defy a UN security resolution and
04:26called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering
04:31nuclear weapons.
04:32UN sanctions related to Iran's ballistic missile programme expired in October 2023.