25 September, 2017

Social Democrats in Bucharest decide fate of colleagues suspected of corruption; Merkel's party wins legislative elections in Germany

Ştefan Stoica, 25.09.2017, 13:49

CORRUPTION – The Social Democratic party, the top ruling coalition partner in Romania, rules today on the fate of two of its cabinet members. Rovana Plumb, managing European funds, and Deputy Prime Minister Sevil Shhaideh, Minister of Development, are accused of corruption in the so-called Belina case. Head of the Anti-Corruption Directorate Laura Kovesi asked Parliament to greenlight a criminal investigation into Rovana Plumb’s case. The case hails back to the time when she was head of environmental protection, and she is suspected of conspiracy to commit abuse of office. Sevil Shhaideh’s case involves land deals that date back to the time when she was an undersecretary in the Ministry of Regional Development. The opposition called for the two ministers to resign, for the sake of Romania’s image abroad and the credibility of the government. The chairman of the Social Democratic Party said for television that the prosecutors’ move was fiction, an attack on the government, and that the real target were the party and the chairman himself.

BERLIN – Angela Merkel’s Conservatives, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian arm, the Christian-Social Union (CSU), have won the parliamentary election on Sunday in Germany, with 33% of the ballot. The Christian-Democrats are followed by their coalition partners, the Social Democrats, which won 20% of the vote, and the nationalist right wing Alternative for Germany, which for the first time went over the threshold that places them in the Bundestag, 12.6% of the vote.

ENESCU – On Sunday, the George Enescu International Festival came to a close in Bucharest with a concerto held by violinist Liviu Prunaru and the Royal Amsterdam Orchestra. This year’s edition brought to the public dozens of recitals and concerts in Bucharest and several cities across the country. The event was covered in detail by Radio Romania’s domestic channels.

BREXIT – A new round of negotiations for the Brexit starts today in Brussels. AFP snnounced that the EU expect concrete proposals from the UK, after three rounds of negotiations with no notable results. One of the main objects of contention regards the rights of citizens directly affected by the UK leaving the union. Prime Minister Theresa May, while on a visit to Italy on Friday, pleaded in favor of a so-called soft Brexit, with a two year transition period, in an attempt to relaunch negotiations. She promised she would live up her country’s financial commitments towards the European Union, without advancing precise figures.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis star Monica Niculescu, 65th seeded, plays today in the WTA tournament in Wuhan, China, with 2.3 million dollars in prize money. Another Romanian, Simona Halep, currently second in the world, plays in the second round against Russian Daria Kasatkina, who, in turn, defeated American Alison Riske. On Sunday, the third Romanian in the tournament, Sorana Carstea, 46th seeded, qualified to the second round.

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