The World That Was

Adrian Olivier,

Sunday 9 March – Sunday 16 March:

On Sunday evening, chaos erupted in Bucharest as supporters of Calin Georgescu protested the rejection of his candidacy for the Romanian presidential election. Georgescu, 62, had filed his candidacy on Friday, but the Central Election Bureau (BEC) rejected it, citing a Constitutional Court ruling that disqualified him for failing to comply with electoral regulations. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside BEC’s headquarters, waving Romanian flags and chanting, “The last resort is another revolution!” Some threw objects at riot police, overturned a news vehicle, and set a bush on fire. Georgescu condemned the decision as “a direct blow to democracy” and declared that “Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny.”

On Monday, Elon Musk’s X experienced multiple outages, which he attributed to a “cyberattack” that he speculated may have originated in Ukraine. Musk claimed the attack was highly resourced and possibly involved a large group or a nation. In a Fox Business interview, he mentioned that the computer systems used had IP addresses in Ukraine but provided no evidence. Cybersecurity experts cautioned that IP addresses alone do not confirm the attack’s origin. Shortly after Musk’s statement, the hacking group “Dark Storm Team” claimed responsibility for a DDoS attack on X via Telegram. They shared a screenshot showing failed connection attempts worldwide.

On Tuesday, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow and other regions, just hours before U.S. and Ukrainian officials met to discuss ending the war after more than three years of fighting. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported downing over 300 drones, including 91 targeting Moscow and 126 over the Kursk region. Ukrainian officials remained silent on the attack, which Moscow authorities said killed at least three people and injured 18. The strike coincided with a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian officials—the first high-level talks since a tense Oval Office meeting between President Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. After more than eight hours of discussions, Zelensky announced that Ukraine had accepted a 30-day U.S.-proposed ceasefire covering the entire front line with Russia, not just air and sea. He called the proposal “positive” and stated that Ukraine was ready to proceed, urging the U.S. to persuade Russia to agree. The ceasefire would take effect as soon as Moscow accepts the terms.

On Tuesday, Greenland held parliamentary elections, with Jens-Frederik Nielsen’s pro-business Demokraatit Party winning a surprise victory over the two left-leaning parties of the previous government. The campaign focused on healthcare and education rather than geopolitics, as most Greenlanders opposed U.S. President Donald Trump’s attempt to take control of the island. On Wednesday, Nielsen, 33, firmly rejected Trump’s recent statement to Congress that the U.S. needed Greenland for national security. He emphasized Greenland’s right to determine its own future, saying that Greenlanders don’t want to be Americans or Danes and want to build their country themselves.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he did not support an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, arguing that further discussions were needed for a lasting peace. As Russian forces advanced in the Kursk region, Putin stated that a pause in fighting would favor Ukraine and that the “root causes” of the conflict must be addressed before any truce. Donald Trump said he planned to speak with Putin soon and was pushing for a swift end to the war. He called Putin’s statement “promising but incomplete” and emphasized the urgency of resolving the conflict while sitting alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Trump described ongoing talks with Russia as “very serious” and hoped for a positive outcome.

On Friday, Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s prime minister, succeeding Justin Trudeau. A former central banker with no prior elected experience, Carney now faces the challenge of leading the Liberal Party into an upcoming election. In his first press conference, Carney firmly rejected U.S. territorial ambitions, stating, “We will never, ever, in any way, shape, or form, be part of the United States.” He outlined his top priorities: protecting Canadian workers from unfair foreign trade actions and strengthening the economy by reducing government spending and investing in housing.

On Saturday, President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen, vowing to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Iran-backed rebels stop attacking shipping in a key maritime corridor. The Houthis reported at least 31 deaths, and Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, said the strikes successfully targeted multiple Houthi leaders. Trump emphasized the attacks were to protect U.S. shipping and restore navigational freedom, warning Iran to stop supporting the Houthis or face full accountability. The strikes came two weeks after Trump offered Iran a path to renewed nuclear talks, insisting he would not allow its program to become operational. Explosions were reported in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, Saada, Hodeida, Bayda, and Marib, with images showing smoke over Sanaa’s airport complex. A U.S. official indicated the airstrikes were the start of a broader campaign against Houthi targets.

On Sunday, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) at 12:04 a.m. EST while orbiting 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. The mission brought NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to the ISS. After docking at the station’s Harmony module, the crew conducted standard leak checks before opening the hatch around 1:45 a.m. Crew-10 joined the Expedition 72 team, temporarily increasing the station’s crew to 11 before Crew-9 members Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Aleksandr Gorbunov return to Earth following a handover period.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool 72 hours to leave the country after referring to Rasool as a ‘race-baiting politician’. Rasool recently went on the record referring to the Trump administration as ‘supremacist’ alluding to the fact there is a racial agenda in play. The South African government has given no indication that it will engage in any retaliatory action.