Government cost cuts to curb Romania's chronic budget deficit and avert a ratings downgrade are causing a social backlash that risks boosting support for the far-right pro-Moscow candidate in May's presidential rerun.

Government cost cuts to curb Romania's chronic budget deficit and avert a ratings downgrade are causing a social backlash that risks boosting support for the far-right pro-Moscow candidate in May's presidential rerun.

More than 90 percent of churchgoers in Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, adhere to the Orthodox Church. The invasion, backed enthusiastically by Russia's Orthodox Church, has accelerated a move by parishes from Moldova's majority Moscow-linked Moldova Metropolis to the smaller Romania-linked church,

Romanian prosecutors have launched criminal proceedings against the pro-Russian candidate who won the first round of last year’s presidential election that was later cancelled due to alleged meddling by Moscow.

(Reuters) - A Romanian court upheld preventative measures against Calin Georgescu, the far-right frontrunner of Romania's cancelled presidential election, on Thursday pending a criminal investigation on charges that include promoting antisemitism.

In Romania, employees of the Directorate for the Investigation of Crimes related to Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), today, March 6, detained six people on suspicion of treason.

Romania on Wednesday ordered two senior Russian diplomats expelled, the foreign ministry said, a day after accusing Moscow of "interference" and slamming Russian secret services' criticism of the indictment of far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu.

Romanian prosecutors at the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) detained six individuals, including a retired general aged 100, accusing them of organized crime and treason.

Romanian prosecutors opened a criminal probe Wednesday into far-right populist Calin Georgescu, whose surprise first-round win in December presidential elections prompted authorities to take the