April 2, 2015, UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Corina Cristea, 02.04.2015, 12:15
Security challenges and cooperation between the US army and the armies of the central European countries, both at regional and NATO level, were high on the agenda of the conference of the US European Command and defence ministers from central Europe. Other issues on the agenda of the conference, attended by the Romanian Defence Minister Mircea Dusa, were means of responding to regional and global threats, but also the action plan for strengthening NATO’s operational capability.
On Thursday, the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest ruled that the former Social Democrat Finance Minister Darius Valcov be taken in temporary police custody for 23 days for influence peddling. According to prosecutors with the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Darius Valcov carried out financial operations that were incompatible with his office. Also, investigators say that he hid in his friends’ and collaborators’ homes money, gold and dozens of valuable paintings. Darius Valcov was already under house arrest for corruption, for acts he committed while mayor of the town of Slatina. Also under a High Court ruling, the Social Democrat mayor of the port town of Constanta, Radu Mazare, was arrested for 30 days. He is accused of having taken 9 million Euros in bribes.
Some 2000 sheep and cattle farmers on Thursday protested in front of the Romanian government building in Bucharest and, as a result, they were assured by the Agriculture Ministry that they would get the due subsidies before Easter. The protesters, affiliated to the Agrostar federation, are discontent with the fact that Romania does not have a national strategy for small and medium dairy farmers, who, they say, will be removed from the market as a result of the abolition of milk quotas as of April 1st, 2015. They are also worried about the danger of double taxation under both the producer license and the producer certificate. Agrostar, the largest trade union federation in agriculture has 45 thousand members, both agricultural producers and other employees in the sector and adjacent services.
Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program between the six world powers Iran were resumed in Lausanne, after the 1st of April deadline to reach an agreement was exceeded, reads the international press. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that the parties agreed on all major issues, but western officials say there are still obvious disagreements. The US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany want to make sure Iran will not be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year. Tehran insists on having international sanctions lifted as a prerequisite for any agreement, claiming that its nuclear program is strictly civilian.
The unemployment rate across the EU in February registered an all-time low since September 2011. According to the Statistical Office of the European Union — Eurostat – the number of the unemployed dropped constantly, down to roughly 24 million people, that is 1.5 million less than in 2014. 21% of the unemployed are young people under 25. In February, the unemployment rate went down by 0.1 % as compared to January, standing at 9.8% across the European Union, and with a 11.3 % unemployment rate reported for the Euro zone. Among the EU member states, the highest unemployment rates were reported for Greece and Spain, while the lowest such figures were registered in Germany, Austria and Denmark. With a 6.5 % rate, Romania has maintained its position among the countries with a low unemployment rate. Fighting unemployment is a priority for the European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker. We recall the European Commission’s investment plan accounts for 300 billion Euros.
54 sailors are reported dead and 15 missing after a Russian fishing trawler sank off the Kamchatka peninsula. Over 60 people were rescued, many suffering from hypothermia after staying in freezing waters. The fishing trawler Dalniy Vostok had 132 people on board when it sank in the Sea of Okhotsk, without sending an SOS message. The ship’s crew were mainly Russian but there were also sailors from Latvia, Ukraine, Myanmar and Vanuatu. The cause of the accident is still unknown but, according to the BBC, drifting ice may have torn a hole in the vessel.
For the first time in her career, the world’s 3rd best tennis player, the Romanian Simona Halep has got through to the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Miami, with 5.4 million dollars prize money at stake. On Thursday Halep secured a laid-back win against the American Sloane Stephens, 6-1, 7-5. On Friday, in the semi-finals, the 23-year old Halep will be taking on WTA leader Serena Williams who defeated the world’s number 27 player according to the WTA rankings, Germany’s Sabine Lisicki. In the other semi-final, Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro will play against Andrea Petkovic of Germany. Head-to-heads so far point to Serena Williams’ 4-1 advantage over Simona Halep. In the ongoing WTA season, the Romanian has only one defeat on the record sheet, at the Australian Open. Halep’s run has since been made of 15 consecutive wins, among which the titles she won in the Dubai and Indian Wells tournaments.
