Category Archives: Romania

Nato scrambles jets as Russian drones make deepest incursion into Romania

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Fighter jets track two uncrewed aircraft in first daytime breach of Romanian airspace since full-scale Ukraine war

Nato jets were scrambled to track two Russian drones that crossed into Romania on Tuesday in the deepest and first daytime incursion into the country’s airspace since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

German Typhoon and Romanian F-16 fighter jets took off in pairs to follow the uncrewed aircraft. The first flew back into Ukrainian airspace, but the second was later found downed in Puieşti, about 70 miles from Ukraine.

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US military to reduce number of troops in Romania as start of European drawdown

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Army says 2nd Infantry Brigade combat team of 101st Airborne to redeploy to Kentucky ‘without replacement’

The US military is reducing the number of troops it has stationed in Romania, scaling back Nato’s deployment to countries along Europe’s eastern border with Ukraine, US and Romanian officials have announced.

In a statement on Wednesday, the US army said that the 2nd Infantry Brigade combat team of the 101st Airborne division would redeploy to its home-based unit in Kentucky “without replacement” as part of a plan to “ensure a balanced US military force posture”.

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RAF Typhoon jets ready to shoot down drones over Poland, UK says

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‘Nato is responding with unity and strength’ to Russian threats, says John Healey

RAF Typhoon jets will be deployed within days to shoot down drones over Poland and other Nato allies in eastern Europe if necessary, after last week’s incursion of 19 uncrewed Russian aircraft into Poland.

The British fighters, based at Coningsby in Lincolnshire, will join Nato’s new Eastern Sentry mission working alongside French, German and Danish counterparts who are acting as reinforcements for Dutch F-35s and Polish F-16s.

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Romania says Russian drone incursions pose ‘new challenge’ to Black Sea security

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Country’s defence ministry condemns ‘irresponsible actions’ after drone entered its airspace on Saturday

Romania has strongly condemned the entry of a Russian drone into its airspace during an attack on neighbouring Ukraine, saying Moscow’s actions pose a “new challenge” to Black Sea security.

Poland had already denounced the intrusion of Russian drones into its airspace last week, calling on Moscow to avoid further “provocations”. Polish fighter jets scrambled on Saturday in response to fresh Russian drone strikes just over the border in Ukraine.

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Politicians in at least 51 countries used anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric during elections, NGO finds

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Rights group also finds rise in openly gay, bisexual and transgender people running for office in 36 countries

Politicians in at least 51 countries used homophobic or transphobic rhetoric during elections last year, from depicting LGBTQ+ identity as a foreign threat to condemning “gender ideology”, according to a new study of 60 countries and the EU.

However, there were also gains for LGBTQ+ representation in some countries. Openly gay, bisexual and transgender people ran for office in at least 36 countries, including for the first time in Botswana, Namibia and Romania – albeit unsuccessfully – according to the report by Outright International. The number of LGBTQ+ elected officials doubled to at least 233 in Brazil.

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Andrew Tate to appear in court for allegedly driving 90mph over limit in Romania

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Self-styled ‘misogynist influencer’ claims police radar gun must have been ‘calibrated incorrectly’ and says he cannot afford £300 fine

The controversial British-American influencer Andrew Tate is due to appear in court in Romania on Monday after allegedly being caught at the weekend driving at 196km/h (122mph) in an area with a 50km/h speed limit.

Tate, a 38-year-old professional kickboxer and self-styled “misogynist influencer” who uses social media to share his love of supercars, expensive watches and private jets, lives in Romania with his younger brother, Tristan, where both face charges including trafficking minors and money laundering.

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Andrew Tate allegedly secured Vanuatu ‘golden passport’ in month of Romania arrest

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Influencer accused of rape and human trafficking alleged to have gained citizenship via £96,000 investment scheme

Andrew Tate allegedly secured a “golden passport” from the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu the month he was arrested in Romania on charges including rape and human trafficking, it has been reported.

The 38-year-old influencer allegedly received the passport through a citizenship-by-investment programme that allows foreign nationals to buy citizenship for $130,000 (£96,000), according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Intelligence Online.

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Romania’s top court rejects far-right candidate’s attempt to annul election

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George Simion, a pro-Trump ultranationalist, had alleged foreign interference in rerun vote won by Nicușor Dan

Romania’s top court has unanimously rejected an application by the defeated far-right candidate in Sunday’s presidential election rerun, George Simion, to annul the vote on the grounds of foreign interference.

“Following deliberations, the constitutional court unanimously rejected the request … as unfounded,” the court said in statement on Thursday, adding that its decision was final and it would publish its full reasoning at a later date.

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Defeated Romanian ultranationalist ‘will ask court to annul election’

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George Simion claims presidential election rerun was subject to foreign interference, like last year’s annulled ballot

The defeated ultranationalist candidate in Romania’s presidential election rerun has said he will ask the country’s top court to annul the vote on the same grounds – foreign interference – that led to the original ballot being cancelled last year.

George Simion, who was defeated in Sunday’s runoff by the liberal mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, said on Tuesday he would ask the constitutional court to void the ballot “for the same reasons they annulled the elections” last year.

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Centrist Nicuşor Dan defeats far-right rival in Romanian presidential election

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Results show Bucharest mayor taking 54.2% of vote in presidential race, with far-right rival George Simion on 45.8%

The centrist mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, is set to win Romania’s pivotal presidential election with 99% of votes counted, according to official figures showing the pro-EU independent eight points clear of his far-right rival, George Simion.

The figures from Romania’s central election authority showed Dan, who had cast the second round vote as a battle between “a pro-western and an anti-western Romania”, on 54.2%, while Simion, a self-professed Trump admirer, had 45.8%.

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Romania’s pro-EU prime minister resigns as Trump ally eyes presidency

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Marcel Ciolacu quits after coalition candidate fails to make it to run-off against nationalist George Simion

Romania’s pro-EU prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, has resigned after his ruling coalition’s candidate crashed out of a presidential election rerun decisively won by a far-right Trump admirer, dramatically deepening the country’s political turmoil.

“Rather than let the future president replace me, I decided to resign myself,” Ciolacu, told reporters after a meeting at the headquarters of his Social Democratic party (PSD). “The ruling coalition has no legitimacy, at least in this formula.”

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Far-right Trump ally secures decisive win in first round of Romania’s presidential election rerun

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George Simion will face centrist Bucharest mayor Nicușor Dan in runoff vote

An ultranationalist who opposes military aid to Ukraine, has vilified the EU’s leaders, and calls himself Donald Trump’s “natural ally” has won the first round of Romania’s rerun presidential vote and will face a centrist in the runoff, as vote counting nears its end.

With 99% of votes counted late on Sunday, George Simion, whose far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) began as an anti-vax movement during the pandemic, was comfortably in the lead on a projected 40.5% of the vote.

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Romanians vote in election that could propel ultranationalist Trump ally to power

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George Simion, 38, comfortably ahead in polls as first round of voting begins in presidential election

Romanians are voting in a presidential election rerun that could propel to power an ultranationalist who opposes military aid to Ukraine, has fiercely criticised the EU’s leadership and describes himself as a “natural ally” of Donald Trump.

George Simion, 38, is comfortably ahead in the opinion polls before the first-round vote in the EU and Nato member state, nearly six months after the original ballot was cancelled amid evidence of an alleged “massive” Russian influence campaign.

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Romania bans second far-right hopeful from presidential election rerun

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Diana Șoșoacă’s exclusion follows expulsion of front-runner Călin Georgescu from race amid rising tension around poll

Romania’s electoral commission on Saturday excluded a second far-right hopeful, Diana Șoșoacă, from May’s presidential election, amid rising tension in the run-up to the May rerun of the poll.

Earlier in March, the electoral bureau barred Călin Georgescu, an independent who was polling at about 40% before the rerun election.

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Romania’s pro-Russia presidential candidate to fight election ban

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Cǎlin Georgescu to contest decision to bar him from election rerun in May after claims of Russian meddling

Romania’s far-right presidential frontrunner, Cǎlin Georgescu, has said he will appeal against a decision to bar him from standing in a rerun of the presidential election, calling it “a direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide”.

Georgescu, a Moscow-friendly populist, surged from almost nowhere to win the first round of the country’s presidential election last year, but the result was annulled by Romania’s top court because of evidence of suspected Russian interference.

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Florida attorney general opens criminal investigation into Andrew Tate and brother

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Inquiry launched after pair was able to fly into state despite facing trial in Romania on rape and trafficking charges

The attorney general of Florida has opened a criminal investigation of Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan after the pair were able to fly into the state last week despite facing trial in Romania on charges of rape, sex with a minor, people trafficking and money laundering.

James Uthmeier, appointed to be the state attorney general by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, said on Tuesday he had begun an “active criminal investigation” of the brothers and was prepared to use the “full force of law” in his examination of their conduct.

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French fugitive whose escape left two officers dead extradited from Romania

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Mohamed Amra’s arrest ends nine-month manhunt when armed assailants ambushed prison convoy in Normandy

A notorious French fugitive who staged a deadly escape that killed two guards last year has been extradited from Romania to France, days after his arrest in Bucharest ended a nine-month international manhunt.

Mohamed Amra, nicknamed “The Fly”, was arrested near a shopping centre in Bucharest on Saturday after being identified by Romanian police, despite having dyed his hair red, possibly to evade detection. The Bucharest court of appeal approved his extradition request on Sunday.

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Anger in Romania over theft of national treasures in heist at Dutch museum

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Revered Helmet of Coțofenești among items from ancient Dacian civilisation stolen while on loan at Drents Museum

Hours before the sun rose over the Netherlands, the group crowded around the large external door, appearing to pry it open. Seconds later, the grainy security video appeared to show a powerful explosion, sending plumes of smoke and sparks into the air, and the thieves rush into the museum in the north-eastern city of Assen.

Minutes later they were gone. But the mystery of what exactly took place during their few minutes in the Drents Museum – and what came afterwards – has left officials in the Netherlands scrambling for answers, and prompted a row that has stretched to the other side of Europe.

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Romania’s Social Democrats on course to win parliamentary majority despite far-right surge

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Centre-left PSD looks to have held off far-right challenge, with 70% of Romanians voting for mainstream parties

Romania’s ruling Social Democrat party (PSD) was on course to win the most votes in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, holding off a strong far-right surge that could yet deliver the country’s presidency to a Moscow-friendly ultranationalist.

Amid uncertainty as to whether the constitutional court would on Monday order the first round of the presidential ballot to be rerun, officials said that with 99.5% of votes counted, the centre-left PSD was credited with 22.6% of the vote.

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Romanian elections: ruling Social Democrats on course for most votes

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Exit poll suggests leftwing PSD poised to defeat resurgent far-right movement in parliamentary election

Romania’s main centre-left party was on track to finish first in parliamentary elections, according to early exit polls, seemingly beating an advancing far right boosted by the shock victory of an ultranationalist in last week’s presidential first-round ballot.

The ruling Social Democratic party (PSD) was forecast to receive 26% of the vote, ahead of the far-right nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) on 19%, while the National Liberal party (PNL) and centre-right Save Romania Union (USR) were vying for third on 15-16%.

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