December 27, 2016

Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, has today refused the proposal for the position of prime minister made by the Social-Democrats, Sevil Shhaideh/The new Moldovan President Igor Dodon has signed the decree on the revocation of defence minister A. Salaru

România Internațional, 27.12.2016, 12:05

REFUSAL — Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, has today refused the proposal for the position of prime minister made by the Social-Democrats, in the person of Sevil Shhaideh, and called on the majority coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats to come up with a new proposal. Shhaideh, a former development minister, was proposed for the position of PM by the majority coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats ahead of the holiday season, during the consultations the Romanian President held on this issue with the political parties which made it to Parliament, following the parliamentary elections of December 11. The coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals holds 54% of the mandates and is also supported in Parliament by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (6%). The Social Democrats’ leader, Liviu Dragnea, said at the time of the announcement that Sevil Shhaideh is the only proposal made by the Social Democratic Party for the position of prime minister and they will not make another nomination.

REP. OF MOLDOVA — The new president of the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet state with a majority Romanian speaking population), the pro-Russian Socialist Igor Dodon, has today signed the decree on the revocation of defence minister, Anatol Şalaru. About this, Dodon has said, among others, that Anatol Şalaru pleaded for Moldova’s coming closer to NATO, in the context in which the Republic of Moldova is a neutral state, according to the Constitution, and Şalaru also militated for Moldova’s union with Romania. Dodon has also suggested to the leader of the Liberal Party, Mihai Ghimpu, to also request the replacement of other representatives of that party in the government.

HOLY DAY — Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers are today celebrating Saint Stephen, traditionally venerated as the Protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity. “He was according to the Acts of the Apostles a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy, at his trial he made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. His martyrdom was witnessed by Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who would later himself become a follower of Jesus.Traditionally, Stephen is invested with a crown of martyrdom; artistic representations often depict him with three stones and the martyrs palm frond. Eastern Christian iconography shows him as a young, beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacons vestments, and often holding a miniature church building or a censer”, according to Wikipedia. Over 400,000 Romanians bearing the name of Stephen or its derivatives are today celebrating their name day.

WEATHER — Romanian meteorologists have today issued a code yellow alert against snow and blizzard valid for the mountainous regions as of Tuesday evening until Thursday morning. It will snow heavily in the aforementioned regions, forming a thick snow layer on the ground, and gale-force wind will exceed 60-70 km per hour and even 80-90 km per hour in places. Gusty wind will also be reported in the rest of the territory, alongside mixed precipitations, particularly in the east and southeast. Meteorologists warn that as of December 29, the weather will become particularly cold and freezing overnight and in the morning, in the north and the centre of the country. Today, the highs of the day range from 0 to 11 degrees Celsius. The sky is overcast in the centre and the north. It is snowing in the mountains.

MOSCOW — The main flight recorder of the Russian military plane which crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday, with 92 people onboard, as been recovered. The TU154 plane was flying back to the Sochi airport. Most victims are members of the Russian Army Choir, considered to be a national symbol. The Russian transport minister, Maksim Sokolov, has said technical problems or pilot error are among the possible causes of the crash, mentioning that the hypothesis of a terror attack is not being among the prevailing working hypotheses.