In London & Bucharest

Far-right populist Calin Georgescu, who came from nowhere to win the first round of last yearโs presidential election, has been detained by police and is facing criminal proceedings on a series of charges.
Georgescu was stopped in traffic in the capital, Bucharest, on his way to register as a candidate for new elections in May, after last Decemberโs second-round run-off was annulled by the constitutional court.
Prosecutors said one of the charges involved attempted โincitement to actions against the constitutional orderโ.
Two right-wing populist parties said they were mobilising their supporters to head for the prosecutorโs office, where Georgescu was taken for questioning.
Police were seen erecting barriers around the building and hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest.
Prosecutors said Georgescu was also being investigated for giving โfalse information, false statementsโ and for setting up an organisation with โfascist, racist or xenophobic characteristicsโ as well as forming an antisemitic organisation.
The severity of the indictment could jeopardise Georgescuโs bid to run in the presidential election on 4 and 18 May.
He has been placed under judicial control and told not to leave Romania, according to reports. As he left the prosecutorโs office, Georgescu told supporters he would continue to fight and that there was โno difference between the communist mentality and system [that collapsed in 1989] and nowโ.
The original presidential vote was cancelled before the second round last December, after the then president, Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence documents that suggested that hundreds of TikTok accounts had been activated backing Georgescu.
Romanian foreign intelligence said Russia had been behind the move, as well as thousands of cyber-attacks and other sabotage.
Iohannis had decided to stay in office until a successor was elected, but he resigned earlier this month ahead of an impeachment vote.
Opposition politicians had at the time accused Iohannis of an undemocratic move, and Georgescuโs communications team repeated the claim against prosecutors.
โWhere is democracy now?โ they posted on X on Wednesday, tagging President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and US Vice-President JD Vance.
Earlier this month, the US vice-president accused Romania of annulling the elections based on โflimsy suspicionsโ of Romanian intelligence and pressure from its neighbours.
Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu accused Elon Musk of a โform of interferenceโ in Romaniaโs elections, after the billionaire posted several messages of support for Georgescu.
Georgescuโs hopes of running for the presidency may end up at the constitutional court, which barred another far-right, pro-Russian candidate from running last year.
The decision to turn down Diana Sosoacaโs candidacy because of her views was widely criticised in Romania.

Romania is a vital part of Natoโs eastern flank as well as being a member of the European Union.
Calin Georgescu has been accused of being pro-Russian and he has praised Romaniaโs fascist and nationalist leaders from the last century as heroes.
He denied he was โMoscowโs manโ, in a BBC interview last year, but referred to Vladimir Putin as a โpatriot and a leaderโ while pointing out โI am not a fanโ.
Meanwhile, Romanian police said they had carried out raids in several counties around the country, targeting 27 individuals as part of a criminal case relating to the creation of an organisation โwith a fascist, racist or xenophobic natureโ.
Investigations were also being conducted into false statements regarding the sources of election campaign funding, police said.
The statement made no mention of Georgescu himself and it was not clear if the raids were linked, however he said he was fighting a security system โthat wants us in slaveryโ.