Radio România Internațional

Tag: pardon

  • December 2, 2024

    December 2, 2024

     

    ELECTIONS Romania’s new Parliament will be comprised of 7 political parties. In Sunday’s general elections, the Social Democratic Party in power won the largest number of votes, around 22%, followed by the sovereigntist AUR party with roughly 18%, double their figure in the last election 4 years ago. Third comes the National Liberal Party, another member of the ruling coalition for the past 4 years, which won some 14% of the votes, and 4th is the right-of-centre USR party, with around 12%. The 5% parliamentary threshold was also made by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, the extremist party S.O.S. Romania led by the controversial MEP Diana Șoșoacă, and the newly founded sovereigntist Young People’s Party (POT). The turnout was over 52%, the highest in the last 20 years. Outside Romania, some 800,000 Romanian nationals voted, 3 times more than in the previous parliamentary election.

     

    COURT The Constitutional Court of Romania is expected to decide today whether to validate or cancel the first round of the presidential election of November 24. On Thursday, the Constitutional Court judges requested the recount of all ballots, after receiving a complaint that votes obtained by a candidate who had withdrawn from the race at the last minute had been transferred to another contender. The recount decision was criticized by most of the candidates in the race, who warned that a possible cancellation of the November 24 election would generate tensions and instability. If the Constitutional Court validates the first round, the second round will take place on Sunday, December 8 between the top two candidates – Călin Georgescu, running independently and widely seen as a pro-Russian extremist, and the president of the USR party (opposition), Elena Lasconi.

     

    NATIONAL DAY Romania’s National Day, marked on December 1, was celebrated on Sunday throughout the country with parades, military and religious ceremonies, shows, artistic events, and fireworks. The traditional parade took place in the capital city, attended by over 2,500 Romanian and foreign military personnel. President Klaus Iohannis, who hosted his last National Day reception as head of state, sent a message of unity and solidarity to overcome crises and move forward with dignity.

     

    GAUDEAMUS The Gaudeamus Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania, takes place between December 4 and 8. This year’s edition has the writer Mircea Cărtărescu as honorary president. The official opening of the 31st edition takes place on Wednesday, December 4, at Radio Romania’s stand at the fair. The 200 participants have prepared hundreds of events on this occasion.

     

    PARDON The outgoing US President Joe Biden has announced that he has pardoned his 54-year-old son Hunter, who was found guilty of illegal possession of a firearm, of lying to prosecutors, and who pleaded guilty to tax fraud. When he took office, Biden promised not to interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making. Now, the president, who leaves office on January 25, says Hunter Biden was selectively and unfairly prosecuted simply because he is his son. President-elect Donald Trump, a Republican, has described the move as an abuse.

     

    AID The UK will increase by GBP 19 mln its humanitarian aid to Gaza, where the situation is “catastrophic”, the British international development minister, Anneliese Dodds said ahead of traveling to Cairo for a conference on the subject, AFP reports. Dodds says that the people of Gaza are in vital need of food and shelter during the winter and that the Cairo event will be an opportunity to come up with concrete solutions to the humanitarian crisis. Dodds insists that Israel must act immediately to guarantee unhindered access for humanitarian aid to Gaza, while international aid organisations accuse the Israeli authorities of not allowing aid trucks to enter the besieged Palestinian territory in sufficient numbers. The UK has committed to a total of GBP 99 mln in humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territories this year, the British government said. (AMP)

  • August 28, 2019

    August 28, 2019

    UK The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis had a telephone conversation with the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at the request of the latter, the Romanian Presidency announced. The 2 officials mainly discussed the relations between Romania and the UK, and aspects related to Britains withdrawal from the EU. With respect to Brexit, the Romanian President emphasised that an orderly exit is in the interest of both the UK, and the European bloc. Iohannis also told PM Boris Johnson that Bucharests top priority is to protect the rights of the Romanian citizens living in Britain. PM Boris Johnson assured the President of Romania that protecting the rights of the Romanians in the UK after Brexit was very important to London, and the British authorities would keep this goal in mind.




    LAW Romanias Ombudsperson Renate Weber challenged the new Administrative Code at the Constitutional Court. She put forth 3 reasons for the action: the emergency order endorsing the Code comes against the rules on delegated legislation, against constitutional requirements on the powers of MPs, and affects the regime of fundamental public institutions. The Administrative Code has been introduced through a government emergency order, which triggered criticism from the Opposition and civil society.




    PARLIAMENT The Chamber of Deputies, convening in special session at the request of the Opposition, Wednesday dismissed a bill on amnesty and pardons for certain offences. The document, initiated in 2017 by former justice minister Florin Iordache, from the Social Democratic Party, was passed by Senate that same year, and provides pardons for prison sentences of up to 5 years. The agenda of the Chamber of Deputies also includes a bill on repealing the Law on compensatory appeals and a bill endorsing Government Emergency Order no 114, which introduces fiscal and budgetary measures and measures concerning public investments.




    OIL Romania is among the EU countries that rely the least on oil imports, with net imports accounting for 61% of the national consumption, according to data for the year 2017 made public by Eurostat. Smaller dependency rates are reported for the UK (35%) and Denmark (negative 4%). At the opposite pole, the EU member states with the highest oil import dependency rates are Estonia (115%), Malta (104%), Slovenia (103%) and Bulgaria (102%).




    WILDFIRE Wildfires continue to ravage the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, in spite of the authorities sending the army to fight the flames with planes and ground troops. Apart from the air forces, scores of fire-fighting units have been mobilised to contain the fire. So far 7 Brazilian states have resorted to the Army, including to the 43,000 troops stationed in Amazonia, but the number of troops deployed for this operation and their intervention methods remain unclear, France Presse reports. According to governmental sources the number of wildfires in the Amazon rainforest went up 83% this year, destroying vast parts of an eco-system that is vital to combating global climate change.




    TENNIS Three Romanian players have qualified into the second round of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Simona Halep, number 4 in the world, defeated the American Nicole Gibbs, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Sorana Cîrstea beat the Czech Katerina Siniakova, 7-5, 6-2, and Ana Bogdan won against Britains Harriet Dart, 6-3, 6-1. The only Romanian in the mens competition, Marius Copil, also moved into the US Open second round, for the first time in his career, after defeating Ugo Humbert of France, in a match that lasted more than 4 hours.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • July 18, 2019 UPDATE

    July 18, 2019 UPDATE

    CONSTITUTION The Constitutional Court of Romania Thursday dismissed the legislative initiatives of the National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union, in opposition, and of the Social Democrats and ALDE in power, concerning proposals to revise the Constitution. The Court found that forbidding amnesty and pardons for corruption offences is outside the scope of Constitution revision initiatives, and that lawmakers must be allowed to decide the individuals and categories of offenders that may benefit from amnesty and pardon. On July 1, opposition parties presented Parliament with a bill transposing into legislation the outcomes of the May 26 referendum. Under the bill, amnesty and pardon are prohibited for individuals sentenced for corruption offences, the President may no longer pardon such offences, and integrity is included under the Constitution among the prerequisites for holding public offices. Individuals serving final sentences for crimes committed knowingly and wilfully were thus banned from running in parliamentary, local, presidential and European elections. The same bill made all emergency orders issued by the government subject to constitutionality checks. Also in early July, the ruling coalition tabled its own bill to revise the Constitution, prohibiting individuals sentenced to prison from holding public office and extending the right to notify the Constitutional Court with respect to government emergency orders. The bill also denied the presidents right to pardon corruption-related offences.



    MEDAL Tennis player Simona Halep was awarded on Thursday the highest distinction of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Patriarchal Cross, for her performances in womens tennis. On Wednesday, tens of thousands attended a ceremony on the National Arena in Bucharest, where Simona Halep presented the trophy she won at the Wimbledon tournament. Halep was the first Romanian to win a singles title in Wimbledon, after defeating the American Serena Williams in the final. Attending the ceremony were also several Romanian sports personalities. The athlete will also be granted by President Klaus Iohannis the National Order of the Star of Romania, the highest distinction offered by the Romanian state. This was Simona Haleps second Grand Slam title, after she won the Roland Garros trophy last year.



    FESTIVAL Electric Castle music festival continues until Sunday on the Banffy estate in Bonţida, Cluj County, (north-western Romania). Banffy castle is a heritage monument dating back to the 15th century. The music festival here is the first in Romania accessible to the hearing impaired. Amber Galloway Galgow, the best known sign language interpreter specialising in concert interpretation, will translate all the songs performed on the main stage of the festival. Thousands of music fans attended on Wednesday the opening of this 7th edition of the festival, which tries to cover as diverse music genres as possible The festival area covers 300 thousand sq m, including 10 stages for musicians, a food area and a camping site for thousands of people. Performing at the Electric Castle 2019 are also Florence and The Machine, one of the most creative indie bands of the past decade, fronted and founded by singer and songwriter Florence Welch. Other bands performing in the festival are the rock band Limp Bizkit, with 3 Grammy nominations and more than 40 million albums sold, Jared Leto, Bring Me The Horizon, Chvrches, Giggs, Lemaitre, Mono, Tommy Cash, Handsome Furs and Viagra Boys.



    COURT Judge Corina Corbu was validated on Thursday as president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice by the Judges Division of the Higher Council of Magistracy. The outgoing president of the supreme court, Cristina Tarcea, whose term in office ends on September 14th, claimed the procedure breached the law on the organisation of courts. Corina Corbu was the only candidate for the post, after Cristina Tarcea announced she would not run for a new term in office. In 2014, Corina Corbu was indicted by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, alongside other supreme court judges, for criminal facilitation, but the charges against all the defendants were dropped in 2018.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 23, 2017

    January 23, 2017

    BUDGET – The main opposition party in Parliament in Bucharest, the National Liberal Party, said they were considering a no confidence motion against the governing coalition between the Social Democrats and the Liberal-Democrat Alliance. Interim Liberal chairman Raluca Turcan said that the proposed blanket pardon of inmates and changes to the Penal Code are simply a cover for getting out of prison political clientele, and not solving issues with prison overcrowding, as claimed. The Save Romania Party said they support the Liberal initiative, and would introduce a censure motion against Justice Minister Florin Iordache. At the same time, the Romanian Intelligence Service categorically rejected serious allegations regarding its involvement in Sunday’s protests against the executive orders, telling the public that it remains non-partisan and focused on carrying out its mission strictly within the bounds of the law.



    BUCHAREST – Romania’s 2017 budget bill relies on a 5.2% economic growth this year, and a projection of over 5% for the 2018-2020 interval. The deficit relied on is 2.96% of the GDP, according to the report on the macroeconomic situation for this year and the upcoming 3, published by the Finance Ministry on its website. For the 2017 budget bill, the macroeconomic indicators considered were an expected average annual rate of inflation of 1.4%, net wages around 2,274 lei (around 505 Euro), and an average exchange rate of 4.46 lei against the Euro. Employment is expected to go up by 4.3% by the end of 2017.



    UNION – Bucharest and other Romanian cities are holding events dedicated to celebrating 158 years since the union of the Romanian Principalities. On January 24th, 1859, the Principality of Wallachia’s Election Assembly in Bucharest elected as a ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza. He had been elected ruler of the Principality of Moldavia a week before. This constituted the de facto union of the two Romanian territories. Three years later, on January 24th, 1862, the union was internationally recognized. Radical reforms were instituted during Cuza’s reign, which lasted until 1866, laying the basis for modern Romania.



    CLUB FIRE – 4 people injured in Saturday’s fire in a popular Bucharest club are still in hospital in the Romanian capital. According to the Ministry of Health, 44 people were treated for smoke inhalation, hypothermia, and bone fractures. None of the patrons suffered burns. The investigation into the causes of the fire is ongoing. We recall that the fire in the Colectiv club in October 2015 during a concert left 64 dead and injured over 100. This latest fire led to the authorities running inspections all over the country in places open to the public, uncovering irregularities and issuing fines.



    TENNIS – In tennis, the Romanian pair Irina Begu and Horia Tecau missed on Monday the qualification to the quarter finals of the mixed doubles in the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year. The two lost against the US-Colombia pair Abigail Spears- Juan Sebastian Cabal, 0-2. Romania has no representative left in the Australian Open, after Sorana Carstea lost on Sunday in the singles the game against Garbine Muguruza of Spain in the eighth finals.



    MALTA – Ministers of foreign affairs from EU states start their two day informal meeting in Malta. They are debating the priorities of the Maltese presidency of the EU, such as migration, the single market, security, social inclusion, neighborhood policy, as well as economic issues. Malta took over the rotating EU presidency from Slovakia on January 1st, 2017. This presidency will oversee, among other things, the ongoing candidacy for EU membership of Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey.


  • January 22, 2017

    January 22, 2017

    FIRE INVESTIGATION – The Romanian authorities have initiated criminal investigations, involving charges of wanton destruction of property, in relation to the fire that Friday night destroyed one of the best known nightclubs in Bucharest, Bamboo. According to the Healthcare Ministry, 44 people received assistance for smoke inhalation injuries, hypothermia, and fractures, but none of the patients reported burns. Only one person is currently in a serious condition. The victims include foreign citizens, most of them from Israel. The causes of the fire that destroyed the building are yet unknown. The owners of the nightclub had not yet obtained the premises license and the fire safety permit for the nightclub. Several witnesses have been heard and fresh inspections have been initiated in all buildings that host activities involving large attendance. We remind you that in October 2015, a fire taking place during a rock concert at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest killed 64 people. The tragedy sparked large-scale protests to denounce corruption in the public administration.



    PROTESTS – Fresh protests against the Romanian Governments plans to table a pardons and amnesty law are announced for later today in the capital city Bucharest and other cities in Romania. Rallies are also planned abroad, such as in front of the Romanian Embassy in Paris, the Romanian Embassy in Copenhagen and in Haugesund Square in Norway. On Wednesday night, thousands took to the streets in Bucharest and other Romanian cities, to protest the Governments intention to pass an emergency order granting collective pardon and amending the provisions of the Criminal Code. The protesters fear that the amendments are designed to help influential politicians or public administration officers get away with corruption. Similar accusations were made by the Opposition parties, civil society organisations and magistrate associations. In turn, the Government claims the changes are necessary in order to solve the problem of penitentiary overcrowding and to bring the relevant legislation in line with rulings passed by the Constitutional Court.



    MOURNING – Hungary has announced a day of national mourning on Monday, to commemorate the victims of the crash that took place in Italy on Friday night and which killed 16 people and injured another 26. The coach was taking students and teachers from a Budapest high school back home from a ski holiday in France, and near Verona it crashed into a bridge pillar and burst into flames. The causes of the accident are still to be determined.



    TRUMP ADMINISTRATION – The US President, Donald Trump, is to receive the British Prime Minister Theresa May at the White House on Friday, the presidential spokesman Sean Spicer announced on Saturday. This is the first foreign leader to visit Trump after he has taken office. Sean Spicer also announced that the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, will be received by the new President of the USA on January 31. Meanwhile, millions took part on Saturday in anti-Trump protests organised by women organisations around the world. Trump is criticised, among other things, for his anti-immigration rhetoric and sexist statements. In Los Angeles, organisers estimate 750,000 people took part, including dozens of Hollywood stars. 400,000 people took to the streets in New York, 200,000 in Boston, 150,000 in Chicago, and rallies were also held in New Zealand, Japan, Australia and major European cities. The largest protest took place in Washington, where nearly a million people attended the anti-Trump rally, including, among others, the former Secretary of State John Kerry.



    AUSTRALIAN OPEN – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (78 WTA) has been outperformed today by Spains Garbine Muguruza Blanco (7 WTA), in two sets, in the eighth-finals of the Australian Open. Also today, the Romanians Horia Tecău and Florin Mergea, playing with separate partners, were eliminated from the eighth-finals of the mens doubles competition in Melbourne. Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer, seeded 11, were defeated in 2 sets by the Australians Marc Polmans/Andrew Whittington. In turn, Florin Mergea and Britains Dominic Inglot, seeded 16, lost in 3 sets to the top seeds of the doubles event, the French Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)