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Romania's new Ungureanu government passes Parliament vote as opposition MPs skip procedure
Thu, 02/09/2012 - 07:43Romania's designated prime minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu and his proposed team of ministers passed Parliament vote on Thursday. As the opposition had announced it would skip the vote, Ungureanu's government received the vote of 237 members of the Parliament, four more than the needed threshold. As a whole, the parliamentary groups of the governing coalition have 244 senators and deputies.
PM designate Mihai Razvan Ungureanu presented full list of new government, which has to pass Parliament
Wed, 02/08/2012 - 06:13Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, the head of Romania's foreign intelligence service who was designated to replace Emil Boc at the head of the Government, presented the full list of new ministers on Wednesday. They are due to face parliamentary commissions before the government stands up to a vote of approval in the Parliament.
Ex-ForMin, current Foreign Intelligence chief Mihai Razvan Ungureanu designated new Romania prime-minister
Mon, 02/06/2012 - 13:45Former Foreign minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, who's been serving as chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service, has been designated new prime minister of Romania following Emil Boc's withdrawal on Monday. Ungureanu said today that his key objective for the moment was the quick formation of a new government and pointed out his ideological options "were always Right-leaning".
UPDATE PM Emil Boc announces Government steps down to ease social tension in Romania. President Basescu names Justice minister Catalin Predoiu interim PM
Mon, 02/06/2012 - 04:12Romanian PM Emil Boc announced on Monday he and his government would step down in an attempt to "ease the social tension" and avoid interfering with the "economic stability of the country". He urged politicians to help a new Government go through Parliament approval as fast as possible and recalled that both the European Commission and the IMF expect Romania to have a higher economic growth than the Euro zone this year.
UPDATE President Traian Basescu has named incumbent Justice minister Catalin Predoiu as interim prime minister following Emil Boc's resignation. Predoiu will serve as PM until a new government is formed.
Romania census: Population stands at 1966 level of 19 million people, down 2.6 million as compared to 2002 census
Thu, 02/02/2012 - 12:01Romania has a stable population of 19.042 million people forming 7.1 million households, preliminary results of a census which took place in autumn 2011 show. According to National Statistics Institute data presented on Thursday, there are some 8.5 million homes and 5.1 million buildings in Romania.
Romanian High Court sentences ex-PM Adrian Nastase to two years in corruption case
Mon, 01/30/2012 - 08:53Romanian High Court of Justice magistrates gave former prime minister Adrian Nastase on Monday a 2-year sentence and stripped him of certain rights in a corruption case known locally as the "Quality Trophy" file. In this case, Nastase, who served as head of the Romanian government between 2000 and 2004, was charged of supporting his electoral campaign through funds collected in a "Quality Trophy" event organized by the a public institution. The sentence can be appealed.
UPDATE Adrian Nastase said on Monday he would appeal the verdict and that he was sure "things will be corrected on appeal". He called the verdict a "political decision, a dirty decision" and referred to "rumors" that head judge Ionut Matei "had meetings with representatives of the National Anti-corruption Department", the body which launched the corruption investigation against him.
New Foreign minister Cristian Diaconescu signed into office
Tue, 01/24/2012 - 12:30Romanian President Traian Basescu signed on Tuesday the decree by which Foreign minister Teodor Baconschi is dismissed from office and the decree by which Cristian Diaconescu is named head of the Romanian diplomacy, the presidential administration has announced. The new minister was sworn in on Tuesday evening.
Opposition Liberals say they consider resignation from Parliament unless their call for early elections is rejected
Mon, 01/23/2012 - 14:18Several Liberal MPs wrote their resignation from the Romanian Parliament and handed them to opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) leader Crin Antonescu to have them at the ready should PNL decide to withdraw from the Parliament en-masse, Antonescu said on Monday. But he said a decision has not yet been made whether USL - the opposition union of liberals and Social Democrats - would withdraw from the Legislative. Antonescu said talks will be held with their Social Democrats (PSD) and Conservatives (PC) on the issue.
VIDEO French citizen caught stealing from old woman's purse in downtown Bucharest
Mon, 01/23/2012 - 11:19A French citizen has been arrested after he was caught on camera when stealing from an old Romanian woman's purse in a supermarket in Unirii Square, downtown Bucharest. The incident took place late afternoon on Saturday, January 21 and was filmed by the supermarket cameras.
Romanian PM Emil Boc dismisses Foreign minister Teodor Baconschi
Mon, 01/23/2012 - 07:41Romanian prime minister Emil Boc announced before the Parliament on Monday that he dismisses Foreign minister Teodor Baconschi. He made the announcement shortly after apologizing before the joint chambers of the Parliament for communication failures of some members of the Government regarding the protests that have been taking place in Bucharest. By Monday afternoon, an announcement on the Foreign Ministry website said Baconschi was in Brussels for the Foreign Affairs Council.
UPDATE PM Emil Boc later said that he dismissed minister Baconschi because dignitaries should not be "encouraged to insult people who are rightfully discontent". For his part, Teodor Baconschi said for news station Realitatea TV that PM Boc informed him by phone about the decision and said it was a political decision as the prime minister had nothing to complain about when it came to government affairs. One possible replacement for Baconschi, according to some sources, might be Cristian Diaconescu, head of the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR).
VIDEO PHOTO Thousands join anti-presidential, anti-government protests in Bucharest. UPDATE Violent outbursts as demonstrations came to an end
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 13:14Thousands of people were protesting against current president Traian Basescu and his Democratic-Liberal government in central Bucharest on Thursday evening. Two protests started in the afternoon - one organized by the opposition Social Democrats and Liberals (the USL union) at the Arcul de Triumf square, and another, popular protest in Universitate Square. While the political protest ended at 7 p.m., many of its estimated 7,000 participants moved to Universitate, where HotNews.ro reporters estimated some 2,000 people were present by 8 p.m..
UPDATE The protests concluded about midnight, shortly after a series of confrontations between police and violent protesters took place. The incidents started at about 11.00 p.m., when gendarmes responded with a strong push after several young men, apparently football supporters, provoked them. The gendarmes eventually cleared the Universitate Square of protesters. Meanwhile, a US government official quoted by the AFP urged Romanian authorities and protesters to show restraint from violence.
No word from Traian Basescu on Bucharest street protests, at his first speech since demonstrations started. President tells Ambassadors Romania is interested in strengthening pragmatic dialogue with Russia
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 06:52Romanian President Traian Basescu met the heads of diplomatic missions to Bucharest on Thursday. In his first speech since demonstrations against him and the government started in Romania last week, he said nothing about the protests but focused on the country's international affairs priorities. "2011 was a difficult year in which the economic, financial, humanitarian and sometimes political crises challenged governments and the people", he said.
Bucharest braces for Opposition protest as demonstrations continue
Thu, 01/19/2012 - 05:42Hundreds of people from several cities across Romania were on their way to Bucharest on Thursday for demonstrations to be organized by the Opposition parties later in the day. It is the first official political meeting after popular protests erupted last weekend, peaking with major street violence on Sunday.
VIDEO Bucharest witnesses most violent street protests since the nineties
Mon, 01/16/2012 - 04:16Romania enters a fourth day of anti-government and anti-presidential demonstrations after a weekend marked by the most intense street violence the country has seen since the miners protests in Bucharest in the nineties. Peaceful protests took place in many cities across Romania these days, but only the capital city saw a wave of violence, with HotNews.ro recorded videos showing dozens of violent football fans coming to confront the special police forces deployed in the city centre.
Romanian PM Emil Boc: 2011 macroeconomic targets reached. Growth stood at almost 2%, budget deficit at 4.4%
Wed, 01/04/2012 - 08:41Romanian PM Emil Boc announced on Wednesday that the Government reached the macroeconomic targets for 2011 "without troubles". The economic growth, he said, stood at "almost 2%", as compared to the targeted 1.5%, while the budget deficit target of 4.4% was reached.
Security improved at Romanian zoo following tiger escape. As tiger was shot dead, mayor says he is pleased with actions taken in the case
Thu, 12/15/2011 - 09:59The mayor of Romanian city of Sibiu, where a tiger escaped from zoo earlier this week, was quoted by the media on Thursday as saying that he was please with the actions taken to solve the situation despite describing them as chaotic. Mayor Klaus Johannis ordered measures to improve security at the zoo following the escape of the tiger - which was eventually shot in a forest near the city.
Romania Parliament passes 2012 budget with 239 votes against 168
Thu, 12/15/2011 - 06:25Romanian MPs adopted on Thursday the 2012 state budget law with 239 votes in favor and 168 against. While prime minister Emil Boc welcomed the vote noting that it was "the first time in the past 20 years when a budget with no electoral connotations is voted, the opposition protested saying the budget would not meet key objectives and maintains the gap between Romania and other European countries.
Romanian High Court acquits ex-PM Adrian Nastase in major corruption case
Thu, 12/15/2011 - 06:04Romania's High Court of Justice acquitted ex-PM Adrian Nastase in a major case in which he, a former aide and a former head of the national body dealing with money laundering were charged with acts of corruption. The decision is not final and can be appealed. Anti-graft prosecutors have demanded a 3-year suspended term sentence for Adrian Nastase in the case, commonly known in Romania as the "Aunt Tamara" case.
Romanian President Basescu's harsh statements on Netherlands: It wasn't us who legalized prostitution and drugs because we couldn't fight them. Their decision to oppose our joining Schengen is an abuse
Fri, 12/09/2011 - 09:53Romanian President Traian Basescu said on Friday that a Dutch decision to oppose Romania' and Bulgaria's Schengen accession was an "abuse". "Romania has Albita [Eastern border point], they have Rotterdam. The gate for trafficked cigarettes, alcohol and drugs is not Albita", the Romanian head of state said in Brussels, where he attends the European Council.
Cuba report: Popular Revolution - Theory without Practice
Thu, 12/08/2011 - 13:04The most important thing in Cuba is still the necessity to find ways to survive, mostly by taking part in illegal activities ranging from corruption through sex trafficking to various kinds of illicit deeds not thought of by even the most experienced observers.