live Iran warns of confrontation if U.S. blockade persists - Thursday, 30 April
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader warned the U.S. port blockade would fail, saying Tehran has ways to bypass it and could turn to con...
Nasry Asfura, the conservative candidate for Honduran president backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, was declared the winner on Wednesday more than three weeks after the 30 November election.
The Honduras electoral authority, known as the CNE, said Asfura won 40.3% of the vote, edging out center-right Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla who garnered 39.5%.
The candidate of the ruling LIBRE party, Rixi Moncada, came in a distant third.
Asfura ran on a broad pro-business platform saying private investment was necessary to move the country forward, while his political agenda focused on jobs, education and security.
The results were so close and the ballot processing system so chaotic that around 15% of the tally sheets, comprising hundreds of thousands of ballots, had to be counted by hand to determine the winner.
In the weeks following the vote, LIBRE repeatedly called for protests against what they denounced as an "electoral coup."
The protests interrupted the manual count, blocking officials from accessing the building where tally sheets were being stored.
The results were approved by two electoral council members and one deputy, as disputes continued over the razor-thin vote. The third council member, Marlon Ochoa, was not present in the video declaring the winner.
"Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down," Asfura said in a post on X following the confirmation of the results.
He is due to take office on 27 January for the 2026‑2030 term.
Nasralla rejected the CNE's declaration, saying it had excluded ballots that should have been counted, but urged his supporters to remain calm and refrain from any acts of disruption or violence.
"I will not accept a result based on omissions. Democracy does not shut down because of exhaustion, nor because today is the 24th — this is the saddest Christmas for the Honduran people," Nasralla said at a press conference.
The head of the Honduran Congress also rejected the results.
A Pentagon official provided the first official estimate of the cost of the U.S. war in Iran on Wednesday (29 April), telling lawmakers that $25 billion had so far been spent on the conflict, most of it on munitions. Earlier, Donald Trump said that the U.S. had "militarily defeated" Tehran.
Tensions between the United States and Iran remain high after a U.S. official said President Donald Trump was unhappy with a proposal from Tehran that does not deal with its nuclear programme. Washington is insisting that any talks must address Iran’s nuclear activities.
The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave OPEC+ on 1 May has put renewed focus on one of the most influential groups in global energy - and how its decisions can shape oil prices worldwide.
Mexican special forces arrested Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero”, a senior commander of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), during an operation in the western state of Nayarit, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said on Monday (27 April).
The United Arab Emirates has said it's quitting OPEC from 1 May, dealing a major blow to the oil producers’ group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, amid disruption caused by the Iran war.
An initial inquiry into last year’s mass shooting at Bondi Beach has called for a series of counter-terrorism reforms, alongside increased security at Jewish public events and further gun control measures.
Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla commemorated victims of the 11 September, 2001, an al Qaeda attack on New York City on Wednesday, laying a floral bouquet at the memorial where the World Trade Centre's twin towers once stood.
Two Jewish men have been stabbed in London in an incident that British police are treating as a terrorist attack.
Reversing a decade of restrictions, New South Wales has opened new areas for gas exploration in its remote west. The move reflects growing concern over future energy supply across Australia’s east coast.
Travel demand across China is expected to remain robust during the upcoming five-day Labour Day holiday starting 1 May.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment