## Far-right candidate takes shock lead in Romania presidential election

Authored by bbc.com

Far-right candidate takes shock lead in Romania presidential election.

Preliminary results from Romania's presidential election put the far-right nationalist, Calin Georgescu, in surprise first place (file photo).

The strong showing of Georgescu, who has no party of his own and campaigned largely on the social media platform TikTok, came as the biggest surprise of the election.

A far-right, pro-Russia candidate has taken a surprise lead in the first round of Romania's presidential election.

He previously condemned the Nato ballistic missile defence shield based at the Deveselu military base in southern Romania as "a disgrace".

Campaigning in this election focused largely on the soaring cost of living, with Romania having the EU's biggest share of people at risk of poverty.

The president in Romania has a largely symbolic role but considerable influence on areas such as foreign policy. »

### Trump reportedly plans to kick trans troops out of the military within days of inauguration

Authored by independent.co.uk

The president-elect is reportedly preparing to issue an order following his inauguration on January 20 that would effectively ban trans people serving in the military — and then medically discharge the thousands of currently serving trans service members in the armed forces.

Now, Trump is expected to immediately rescind Biden’s order and go further by ejecting currently-serving trans troops, according to The Times, citing sources familiar with the president-elect’s plans.

open image in gallery Donald Trump reportedly plans to remove thousands of transgender service members from the US mlilitary shortly after taking office ( AP ). »

### Texas State Board of Education approves school curriculum with Biblical references

Authored by foxla.com

The Texas State Board of Education has approved a set of lesson plans for elementary students that include stories from the Bible.

The state board chose to add the Bluebonnet Learning curriculum to a list of approved learned materials on Friday afternoon.

While there are references to other faiths, opponents on the board see a Christian bias in the curriculum. »

### 'Disgusting and completely unacceptable' head kick after pickleball tournament loss goes viral

Authored by abc.net.au

A pickleball tournament in Mexico has gone viral after a vicious kick to the head soured the end of a championship game.

A video circulating the internet shows the moment a beaten finalist lands a brutal kick to the head of his victorious, and exuberant opponent.

The incident came following championship point, according to US-based pickleball news source, The Kitchen Pickleball. »

### Romania election results: Ultranationalist candidate scores stunning first round win

Authored by politico.eu

He called the result “an amazing awakening” of the Romanian people.

Georgescu, extremely religious and nationalistic, campaigned on reducing Romania’s reliance on imports, supporting farmers and increasing the domestic production of food and energy.

He said at the time that he had no support from Russia but felt close to its culture. »

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