Rome
AP
 — 

Marine salvage experts on Sunday began operations to recover from the seabed off Italy’s Sicilian coast the British-flagged superyacht “Bayesian,” which sank last summer, killing UK tech magnate Mike Lynch, his daughter and five others.

Operations will be conducted by two floating cranes: “Hebo Lift 2,” which has remotely operated underwater equipment and vehicles, and “Hebo Lift 10,” one of the most powerful maritime cranes in Europe, which docked Saturday in the Sicilian port of Termini Imerese after arriving from Rotterdam.

The Italian coast guard is supervising operations and patrolling the security perimeter to ensure the safety of personnel working on the recovery. It said that the overall operation to retrieve the Bayesian could take from 20 to 25 days. After the wreck is brought ashore, judicial authorities investigating the sinking will examine it.

Prosecutors are investigating the captain and two crew members for possible responsibility in connection with the August 19, 2024, sinking. The 56-meter (183-foot)-long, 473-ton yacht sank during what appears to have been a sudden downburst, or localized powerful wind from a thunderstorm that spreads rapidly after hitting the surface.

The yacht’s 75-meter (246-foot) aluminum mast – the second tallest in the world — will be cut to allow the hull, which lies 49 meters (160 feet) below the surface, to be brought to the surface more easily, said coast guard Capt. Nicola Silvestri.

In addition to Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and wife Judy, attorney Chris Morvillo and wife Neda, and ship’s cook Recaldo Thomas died in the shipwreck.

With the help of nearby vessels, 15 of the 22 people were rescued in the initial phase, one body was recovered, and six others reported missing. The bodies of the six missing people were found following long and complex search efforts, which continued until August 23.

Bucharest
Reuters
 — 

Romanians voted on Sunday in the first round of a presidential election that could propel hard-right eurosceptic George Simion to power in a ballot that will test the rise of Donald Trump-style nationalism in the European Union.

Simion, 38, opposes military aid to neighboring Ukraine, is critical of the EU leadership and says he is aligned with the US president’s Make America Great Again movement.

Five months after a first attempt to hold the election was canceled after the first round because of alleged Russian interference in favor of far-right frontrunner Calin Georgescu, since banned from standing again, his heir apparent Simion leads opinion polls, riding a wave of popular anger.

About 1.98 million Romanians, or 11% of registered voters, had cast ballots by 0710 GMT, data showed. Voting will end at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT) with exit polls to follow immediately and preliminary results expected later in the evening.

Simion voted alongside Georgescu, who called the election a “fraud” and urged people to take their country back. As dozens of people thronged outside the voting station chanting “Calin for president,” Simion said his vote was “to restore democracy.”

Simion is polling at around 30%, a comfortable lead but well short of the 50% he needs to avoid a run-off on May 18.

“George Simion equals Calin Georgescu, he gets my vote,” said Aurelia, 66, a pensioner who declined to give her last name. She said she felt “humiliated” by the cancellation of November’s first round.

“Everything is lacking here. My children are not here: Did they leave to work abroad because things were so good here?”

Political analysts said an ultimate victory for Simion could isolate the country, erode private investment and destabilize NATO’s eastern flank, where Ukraine is fighting a three-year-old Russian invasion.

Simion’s main rivals are two centrists – former senator Crin Antonescu, 65, backed by the three parties in the current pro-Western government, and Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, 55, running as an independent on an anti-corruption platform.

Both are pro-EU and pro-NATO and back Ukraine. Victor Ponta, a former leftist prime minister who has turned conservative nationalist, is ranked fourth but could prove a dark horse.

Simion is not the only MAGA-style politician seeking election in central Europe. Karol Nawrocki, the presidential candidate backed by Poland’s main nationalist opposition party in a presidential election on May 18, met Trump this week.

If elected, they would expand a cohort of eurosceptic leaders that already includes the Hungarian and Slovak prime ministers.

“Romania and Poland are two important countries for the United States,” Simion told Reuters on Friday.

“We represent partners and we represent allies, both military and politically, to the current (US administration. This is why it is important for MAGA presidents to be in charge in Bucharest and Warsaw.”

Romania’s president has a semi-executive role that includes commanding the armed forces and chairing the security council that decides on military aid.

To date, Romania has donated a Patriot air defense battery to Kyiv, is training Ukrainian fighter pilots and has enabled the export of some 30 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta since Russia’s invasion.

The country’s president can also veto important EU votes and appoints the prime minister, chief judges, prosecutors and secret service heads.

The Trump administration has accused Romania of suppressing political opposition and lacking democratic values after November’s election was canceled on what Vice President JD Vance called “flimsy evidence.”

A team of US observers were in Bucharest for Sunday’s vote alongside diplomats and monitors from dozens of countries.

“There is clear evidence that there was some sort of nefarious activity going on in the November election,” James E. Trainor III, Commissioner of the US Federal Election Commission, told Reuters in Bucharest.

“Time is going to prove that … it was a good decision (to cancel). I know it’s an extreme step, but … what we see is that Romanian democracy is actually stronger because (it) had this bump in the road, but yet was resilient enough of a democracy to make its way through it.”

Bucharest
Reuters
 — 

Eurosceptic George Simion won the first round of Romania’s presidential election rerun on Sunday, partial results showed, after a ballot seen as a test of the rise of Donald Trump-style nationalism in the European Union.

Ballots from nearly 98% of voting stations showed Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, 55, was in second place at around 21%, behind Simion’s 40%. They will meet in a runoff on May 18, if final results confirm the reading after diaspora votes are counted.

A Simion victory could isolate the country, erode private investment and destabilize NATO’s eastern flank, where Ukraine is fighting a three-year-old Russian invasion, political observers say.

It would also expand a cohort of eurosceptic leaders in the EU that already includes the Hungarian and Slovak prime ministers at a time when Europe is struggling to formulate its response to Trump.

“This is not just an electoral victory, it is a victory of Romanian dignity. It is the victory of those who have not lost hope, of those who still believe in Romania, a free, respected, sovereign country,” Simion said.

Benefiting from a wave of popular anger against mainstream leaders, Simion, 38, opposes military aid to neighboring Ukraine, is critical of the EU leadership and says he is aligned with the US president’s Make America Great Again movement.

An independent running on an anti-corruption platform, Dan, 55, overtook former senator Crin Antonescu, 65, a centrist candidate backed by the three parties in the pro-western coalition government for his spot in the runoff.

He won substantial support among Romanians abroad – who have favored anti-establishment candidates such him and Simion in recent years – votes from 80% of ballot boxes showed, winning 26%, to Simion’s 59% and Antonescu’s 7%.

Observers said he would struggle to beat Simion in the runoff more than Antonescu due to rivalries between him and mainstream parties that make it harder for voters to switch.

“Eyes on the West, I believe that this is what the campaign should be about, about keeping the Western direction in Romania,” Dan told reporters on Sunday evening.

“… (and) understandably explaining to the people at home the shortcomings we had in our relations with these institutions. They came rather from our own fault in not being active and prepared.”

Sunday’s vote came five months after a first attempt to hold the election was cancelled because of alleged Russian interference in favor of far-right frontrunner Calin Georgescu, since banned from standing again.

Simion who only scored 14% then appears to have ridden an upswell of support for the far-right drummed by Georgescu.

On Sunday, he voted alongside Georgescu, who called the election a “fraud” and urged people to take their country back. As dozens of people thronged outside the voting station chanting “Calin for president,” Simion said his vote was “to restore democracy”.

“It’s possible the diaspora vote will be enough to push Dan into the run-off,” said Sergiu Miscoiu, a political science professor at Babes-Bolyai University. “But Dan may have a harder time against Simion.”

Simion is not the only MAGA-style politician seeking election in central Europe. Karol Nawrocki, the presidential candidate backed by Poland’s main nationalist opposition party in a presidential election on May 18, met the US president this week.

“Romania and Poland are two important countries for the United States,” Simion told Reuters on Friday.

“We represent partners and we represent allies, both military and politically, to the current (US) administration. This is why it is important for MAGA presidents to be in charge in Bucharest and Warsaw.”

Romania’s president has a semi-executive role that includes commanding the armed forces and chairing the security council that decides on military aid. But Simion has said that, if elected, he could seek to elevate Georgescu to some kind of a leadership role.

Observers say the country’s leftist-led governing coalition might buckle if Simion becomes president.

To date, Romania has donated a Patriot air defense battery to Kyiv, is training Ukrainian fighter pilots and has enabled the export of 30 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain through its Black Sea port of Constanta since Russia’s invasion.

The country’s president can also veto important EU votes and appoints the prime minister, chief judges, prosecutors and secret service heads.

The Trump administration has accused Romania of suppressing political opposition and lacking democratic values after November’s election was canceled on what Vice President JD Vance called “flimsy evidence.”

This story has been updated with additional information.