10 December 2019, UPDATE

A roundup of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 10.12.2019, 20:15

Laser. The
high-power laser in Magurele, near Bucharest, is to become operational at the
end of next year, said prime minister Ludovic Orban on Tuesday. He also
promised that his cabinet would continue to support the activity of the National
Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering where the laser is being
developed. In March, the laser in Magurele, whose construction began in 2013,
achieved a power of 10 petawatts, becoming the most powerful laser in the world.
It is hoped that the laser will in the future help in the discovery of
radioactive isotopes that can treat cancer and contribute to identifying the
content of barrels containing radioactive waste without opening them. Work on
the laser is the result of a team effort involving researchers from all over
the world.

Shooting. Six people were killed in a
shooting at Ostrava City Hospital in the north-east of
the Czech Republic on Tuesday morning. Armed police found the suspect
dead from a self-inflicted gunshot in a nearby vehicle after the attack. Part
of the hospital was initially locked down. Prime Minister Andrej Babis
confirmed that six people had been killed and that the shootings occurred at
close range in a hospital waiting room.

Trump impeachment. The House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled two articles
of impeachment against the Republican president Donald Trump as part the
impeachment procedure, namely abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. If
the two articles are passed in the House of Representatives, where the
Democrats have a majority, in a vote taking place next week, Donald Trump could
become the third president in the history of the United States to be impeached.
The Senate’s vote is also required, however, where the trial will be held and
where the Republicans have a majority. The Democrats accuse Trump of putting
pressure on Ukraine, while pursuing his own personal interest, to resume an
investigation involving Hunter Biden, the son of the former vice-president Joe
Biden, who is vying to become the Democratic nominee in next year’s
presidential elections.

Magistrates. In the three decades since the fall of
communism, the Romanian justice system has made huge progress, not only in
terms of legislation and institutions, but also at the level of society, said Romanian
President Klaus Iohannis at a meeting of the Superior Council of Magistracy. He
went on to say that 2019 would remain in collective memory as the year when
citizens protected, through the vote given in the May referendum, the
independence of the judiciary against systematic attempts to weaken it. Apart
from an activity report for this year, the Superior Council of Magistracy was
also supposed to elect a new leadership in its Tuesday meeting, but failed to
do so because the vote was tied twice. They did, elect the prosecutor Tatiana
Toader as the new vice-president.

Eurobarometer. More than 52% of European citizens believe climate change
is the biggest environmental problem and 59% support their countries’
membership of the European Union, according to the Eurobarometer published on
Tuesday by the European Parliament. European citizens were asked what they
believe should be the priority political topics on the agenda of the European
Parliament. With regard to the European values, 48% of respondents say the
protection of human rights around the world is the main value underlying the
European Union, followed by freedom of expression 38%, gender equality 38%, and
solidarity among member states 33%. Support for the European Union remains high
for the third year in a row, the opinion poll also shows. 55% of Romanians
believe membership of the European Union is a good thing.

Handball.
The Romanian women’s handball side lost categorically to Sweden 34-22 on
Tuesday in Kumamoto, in the Main Round Group II of the World Championships under
way in Japan. Romania put on a very poor performance, full of mistakes, while
Sweden, despite not having a brilliant performance, took advantage of its many
chances. On Wednesday, Romania will be facing Japan. Russia are first in the
group, followed by Spain, Sweden, Montenegro, Japan and Romania. The two
best-ranked teams will qualify for the semifinals.