The judge, on trial for bribery in Iran and known as a notorious jailer of journalists, plunged six stories in what is being called an apparent suicide.

Stymied by borders closed by coronavirus restrictions, German farmers decided to fly thousands of seasonal workers into their fields.

Legions of seasonal workers from Eastern Europe who harvest crops from Spain to Sweden can’t get in, forcing a rapid rethink of how to secure food at Europe’s farms.

Weeks after more than 14,000 sheep died in the Black Sea near Romania, 180 lucky ones have been rescued by animal welfare groups, which pledged to protect them from slaughter.

Successive governments have failed to address the risks posed by aging buildings and shoddy construction, leaving millions vulnerable.

On Friday, officials ended a search-and-rescue operation off the coast of Romania. Crews are preparing to remove thousands of carcasses from the vessel.

A rescue operation was underway to save the animals in the Black Sea.

President Klaus Iohannis claimed victory as his challenger, Viorica Dancila, conceded.

Lucian Pintilie’s grimly ironic 1968 film is based on real events, in which delinquents are forced to act out their brawl in front of government camerasLucian Pintilie’s Romanian film from 1968 is a bizarre and wayward political satire that at first involves just a handful of people – and finally unveils a dreamlike crowd scene with hundreds of non-professionals swarming across the screen, their expressions of incomprehension and incredulity pressed into service for fiction. Yet the whole thing is stranger than fiction – more metaphorical, more metatextual than fiction – and, of course, taken from real life.Pintilie co-wrote the screenplay with Romanian author Horia Patrascu, based on Patrascu’s novel about an extraordinary event that took place in the early 1960s. Two drunken, hapless youths were caught brawling at a riverside cafe and were made to re-enact the event in detail for a solemn instructional film produced by the communist party authorities to be shown in schools, offices and clubs as a terrible warning against alcohol and anti-social bourgeois delinquency. The two stars of this strange film are moreover tacitly expected to redeem their offence, to expunge their sins moment-by-moment, by recreating their ...

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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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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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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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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A stunning comeback victory for the centrist mayor of Bucharest was also good news for Kyiv. But elsewhere in Europe, the far right continues to flourishAs Romanians voted on Sunday in arguably the most consequential election in the country’s post-communist history, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, will have been preparing to welcome a fellow disruptor to the European stage. The first round of a controversially re-run presidential contest had been handsomely won by George Simion, a Eurosceptic ultranationalist who views Donald Trump as a “natural ally” and opposes military aid to Ukraine. On the back of a 20-point lead, Mr Simion, a 38-year-old former football ultra with a taste for violent rhetoric, was so confident of winning that he made a confrontational visit to Brussels in the last days of his campaign.Those expectations were confounded in remarkable fashion at the weekend. In a dramatic reversal of fortunes, Nicușor Dan, the centrist mayor of Bucharest, benefited from the highest voter turnout in 30 years to triumph comfortably. One of the first foreign leaders to congratulate Mr Dan was a relieved Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who, in Hungary and Slovakia, already has to contend with two Putin-friendly ...

Bucharest’s crusading mayor appeals for ‘specialists, civil society, new people’ to help him deliver changeEurope elections live – latest updatesRomania’s new president, a modest but driven maths prodigy who made a name for himself fighting corrupt property developers in Bucharest before becoming the capital’s crusading mayor, is expected to keep his country firmly on its pro-European track.Nicușor Dan won Sunday’s rerun against the ultranationalist George Simion by a convincing seven-point margin – despite only entering it after the original vote, won by another far-right firebrand, was cancelled over fears of Russian meddling. Continue ...

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Ashifa Kassam and Jakub Krupa in Warsaw

The next two weeks will “decide the future of Poland”, its prime minister, Donald Tusk, has warned last night, as the country prepares for a presidential runoff vote on 1 June after a nail-bitingly close first round.

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China is actively seeking students from countries along its Belt and Road Initiative, including the Balkans, but experts say such countries must do more to build their own China expertise if they are to make the most of Beijing’s global outreach.

Distrust of Romania’s government is so high that the country risks being excluded from key decision while running the EU Council presidency in the first part of 2019, experts warn.

Moves to lure foreign investors with citizenship offers may bring in some extra cash – but risk further tarnishing Moldova’s already damaged credibility, experts say. 

As Europe grows more critical of Israel’s policies towards Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is busy wooing new allies in the Balkans and Eastern Europe in order to divide the EU.

Brussels says it suspects Moldova does not want to punish those behind an audacious $1 billion bank heist. Experts say that, for the ruling party, politics come first.

After disagreements with the EU, Moldova’s ruling Democratic Party has adopted a more populist-nationalist stance ahead of elections in February – and could even resort to a post-poll alliance with pro-Russian forces.

The deadlock over how to tax companies exploiting Romania’s Black Sea gas reserves is making investors nervous – and putting this hugely important energy project at risk.

Having done nothing to implement its new defence strategy, Moldova seems bent on turning a blind eye to growing threats to its security.

Experts say moves by the tax authority to oblige newlyweds to declare all their wedding suppliers may sound ridiculous – but form part of a justifiable clampdown on tax evasion and money laundering.

The Social Democrat-led government’s sudden push to legalize civil partnerships is putting the party’s alliance with the country’s powerful Church in jeopardy.

The Romanian Orthodox Church has lost some of its credibility by supporting the failed referendum against gay marriage – but even now, its power should not be underestimated.

The discovery of five unlicensed cigarette factories in a single month undercuts claims by the Bulgarian government that it is winning the war on contraband tobacco, experts say.

EU patience with Moldova is wearing thin four years after it signed an association deal designed to spur political and economic reform. 

Mobilizing the country against gay rights in a ‘family referendum’ has come as a very welcome diversion for an embattled political class facing accusations of corruption.

Romania's ruling Social Democrats removed several critics of strongman Liviu Dragnea from the party and from government posts on Monday. 

A Dutch writer who thought she had found a missing Picasso in Romania has now said she was the victim of a hoax.

Romanian police say raids have uncovered a scam under which crime gangs sold fake addresses in EU-member Romania to thousands of Moldovans.

Distrust of Romania’s government is so high that the country risks being excluded from key decision while running the EU Council presidency in the first part of 2019, experts warn.

While Bulgaria's government expresses pleasure over the latest annual progress report on its anti-corruption and judicial reforms, critics accuse Brussels of letting the government off far too easily.

Romania's government on Wednesday said it was considering whether to sue the European Commission over what it called a highly unjust report on the country's justice affairs – which the PM said had 'outraged' her.

The European Parliament and European Commission criticised Romania's backtracking on corruption and the rule of law, less than two months before the country takes over the EU Council presidency.

Bulgaria is the latest EU-member state to clarify that it will be not back the UN pact on migration, due to be signed next month in Marrakech, claiming it puts the national interest at risk.  

Romania's EU Affairs minister and coordinator of the EU Council presidency preparations resigned after a cabinet meeting, the country's government confirmed on Saturday. 

A Romanian investigative project has accused the ruling party of intimidation, after the state data protection agency threatened it with a large fine, for using personal data in articles.

Moves to lure foreign investors with citizenship offers may bring in some extra cash – but risk further tarnishing Moldova’s already damaged credibility, experts say. 

The Senate of Romania's parliament is set to decide on Speaker Calin Popescu Tariceanu's immunity after anti-graft prosecutors filed a request to investigate him for bribery.

As Europe grows more critical of Israel’s policies towards Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is busy wooing new allies in the Balkans and Eastern Europe in order to divide the EU.

Brussels says it suspects Moldova does not want to punish those behind an audacious $1 billion bank heist. Experts say that, for the ruling party, politics come first.

Controversial legislative changes in Bulgaria aimed at forcing media to reveal all their sources of funding have been criticised amid concerns that they could herald pressure on donors.

The growing demand for Romanian passports is likely to further complicate already troubled Romania-Ukraine relations, experts say, as Kiev does not allow double citizenship.

At a meeting with Moldova's pro-Russian President Igor Dodon, who was seeking his backing before elections, Vladimir Putin overestimated the amount of Moldovan exports to Russia.

Patriarch Kirill gave Moldova's pro-Russian President Igor Dodon an honour for his support for his country's Orthodox Church, which remains loyal to Moscow.

Over 2,000 people marched through the Romanian capital on Tuesday night to commemorate the third anniversary of a fire that killed 64 and wounded 147 at a rock concert in Bucharest in 2015.

After the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople agreed to recognise the Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s independence from Moscow, Russia is seeking to strengthen ties with canonically subordinate allies.