Radio România Internațional

Tag: Syrian conflict

  • August 22, 2016 UPDATE

    August 22, 2016 UPDATE

    CORRUPTION — Romania’s Supreme Court on Monday extended by 30 days the temporary detainment of the former deputy governor of Romania’s Central Bank, Bogdan Olteanu. The decision is not final and has already been appealed by Olteanu’s lawyers. On August 12, judges decided to place Olteanu under 16-day arrest. According to anti-corruption prosecutors, Olteanu received 1 million euros and other benefits from Sorin Ovidiu Vantu to use his influence and get the Government to name Liviu Mihaiu as governor of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve. This happened in 2008, when Olteanu was president of the Chamber of Deputies. The Parliament voted him into the Central Bank board in October 2009.




    CONFLICT – Iran says Russia has stopped using one of its airbases to bomb targets in Syria for the time being, according to the BBC. Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Deghan had earlier criticized Russia for publicizing the raids last week. Both Russia and Iran are key allies of Syrias President Bashar al-Assad, but Iran speaks little about its involvement in the conflict.




    VISIT – The Romanian PM Dacian Cioloş will pay an official visit to the Republic of Moldova on Thursday, after earlier this month the Romanian Government disbursed a first instalment worth 60 million euros of the non-repayable financial aid package for the Republic of Moldova of 150 million euros. The two sides have agreed on a number of obligations that the Republic of Moldova has to fulfil for this first instalment to be disbursed, such as the setting up of a roadmap for reaching an agreement with the IMF and the passing of laws meant to improve the business environment. The Republic of Moldova also has to present a plan for updating the reform strategy in the justice sector and a national anti-corruption strategy.




    STRIKE ACTION — On hunger strike since Thursday, Romanian farmers say they would not renounce their protest in front of the Government building until they get subsidies for their animals. The total amount demanded stands at 360 million euros. Protesters say the Agriculture Ministry must disburse the money by August 15. The Agency for Payments and Interventions in Agriculture claims that 61% of subsidies have been paid by mid-August, the equivalent of 193 million euros.




    TRANSPORTERS — Romanian carriers have called a work-in strike. They will run at 30 km/h for an hour every day across the country, until the civil liability premiums for car owners will be reduced to 1,100 euros per year. Employers in the field will also stage a large protest nationwide on September 15. Carriers say that unless immediate action is taken, they might opt for calling an all-out strike. They claim premiums for car owners doubled their cost from 2,000 to over 4,000 euros only in one year. Under these circumstances, carriers in Romania are reporting huge costs and can no longer be competitive at European level.




    OLYMPICS — The Olympic Games in Rio ended with a modest result for Romania, with only 5 medals. Romania ranks 47 in the medal standings, with one gold for the women’s epee team, the silver won by Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau in the men’s tennis doubles and three bronze medals, grabbed by weightlifter Gabriel Sincraian, the women’s coxed eight rowing crew and Albert Saritov in wrestling. Tokyo will host the Olympic Games of 2020.




    TENNIS — Tennis player Simona Halep went down one position in WTA standings to 5th place after losing 6-3, 6-4 to Angelique Kerber of Germany in the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Cincinnati, the US. In the doubles competition, Horia Tecau of Romania and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands lost to Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Mercelo Melo of Brazil in the finals, score 6-7, 7-6, 6-10.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)


  • February 27, 2016 UPDATE

    February 27, 2016 UPDATE

    CORRUPTION – The High Court of Cassation and Justice on Saturday greenlighted the pre-trial 30-day arrest of MP Nicolae Paun, representing the Roma community in Parliament. Paun was taken into custody on Thursday by anti-corruption prosecutors in a case where he is accused of embezzling European funds and money laundering. Prosecutors say that together with Social-Democratic MP Madalin Voicu, Nicolae Paun planned to embezzle 6 million euros worth of funds addressed to the Roma community. Voicu is investigated on bail, after deputies last week voted against the request to place him on pre-trial arrest. In another development, the High Court of Cassation and Justice on Friday greenlighted the pre-trial arrest of Liberal Senator Doina Tudor. In 2013 Doina Tudor allegedly helped her former husband, Daniel Tudor, at the time the vice-president of the Financial Surveillance Authority, receive 200,000 euros in bribes from an insurance company in exchange for helping it pass an audit. Daniel Tudor was placed on house arrest pending the investigation.



    SYRIA – The situation was quiet on Saturday in the main conflict areas in Syria after the Russian-American ceasefire has come into effect. The agreement applies only to a small part of Syrian territory, as jihadists, the Islamic State terrorist organization and the Al-Nusra Front are controlling more than half of the territory. Russia on Saturday announced it stopped all airstrikes in Syria as per the ceasefire agreement. The UN Security Council in a resolution on Friday called on all parties involved in the Syrian civil conflict to observe the terms of the agreement and to allow the quick and safe access of humanitarian organizations nationwide. The Council insisted that the Syrian Government and opposition resume talks under UN mediation. This is the first ceasefire of its scale since the Syrian conflict broke out in March 2011, killing over 270,000 people. Over half of the countrys population has fled Syria, the large number of immigrants destabilising the Middle East and Europe.



    VISIT – EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourova will pay a visit to Bucharest on Monday. The European official will meet with Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, Justice Minister Raluca Pruna, Labour Minister Claudia-Ana Costea, as well as other MPs. Talks will focus on various topics, including the progress Romania has reported in reforming its justice system, the judiciarys contribution to the European Commission priorities, such as the Single Digital Market and the European Security Agenda. Commissioner Jourova will attend a discussion panel attended by NGOs operating in the field of Roma integration, to discuss Romanias experience in terms of implementing the national strategy for the integration of the Roma.



    CONFERENCE – Minister Delegate for Romanians Abroad Dan Stoenescu on Friday attended the conference “Repatriot – Entrepreneurship through Repatriation, held in Munich. The purpose of the event was to raise the awareness of Romanians abroad regarding the need to develop entrepreneurial skills and to present business opportunities back home. Also on Friday Minister Stoenescu met with Herta Daneil, the head of the Federation of Transylvanian Saxons and with Peter-Dietmar Leber, the chairman of the Association of Banat Swabs in Germany. On this occasion, the Romanian official highlighted the importance of the Romanian community in Germany and of the German community in Romania for bilateral relations between the two countries.



    MISSILE – A missile on Friday hit the military base in Kandahar, Aghanistan, where Romanian military are also stationed. According to a press release of the Romanian Defence Ministry, no victims and material damage have been reported. The entire personel of the military base followed procedures and took shelter in special areas. Romania has over 600 military deployed in Afghanistan. The Ministry is carefully monitoring their mission and all safety measures and procedures.



    RUGBY – Romanias national rugby team trounced Russia 30-nil on Saturday at home in the European Nations Cup, the second most important European competition after the Six Nations Tournament. In the first two games, Romania defeated Portugal 39-14 on home turf and Spain 21-18 away from home. In March Romania will also play Germany and Georgia in the competitions highlight match. We recall at in autumn, the team coached by Lynn Howells of Wales took part in the World Cup in England, where it defeated Canada and lost to France, Ireland and Italy in the group phase.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)