December 6, 2013 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news.

Roxana Vasile, 06.12.2013, 19:33

NELSON MANDELA- Romania has joined the international community, who sent a message of condolence for the death, on Thursday evening, of the hero of the anti-apartheid movement, Nelson Mandela. Romanian President Traian Basescu has evoked the exceptional personality who had a major contribution in the global effort to create a new vision of human dignity. In turn, Prime Minister Victor Ponta sent a message of compassion with the South-African people, at this moment. The Romanian diplomacy has underlined the exceptional example of the fight against racism and intolerance set by Nelson Mandela. The hero of the anti-apartheid movement died at his residence in Johannesburg, aged 95. A Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1993, Nelson Mandela was the first black president in the history of South Africa, after 30 years spent in prison, as a political detainee. National funeral will be organised in South Africa for Nelson Mandela.

KIEV- The Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe calls on Ukraine to start an investigation into the incidents which occurred in Kiev some days ago, when the riot police had a forceful intervention to disperse pro-European protesters. The guilty ones should be held accountable, said Janez Lenarcic, a director with the OSCE, at the end of the ministerial meeting of the organisation, which was venued by the Ukrainian capital city. On Thursday, the first day of the summit, the Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean voiced Bucharest’s worries regarding the use of force against protesters in Ukraine. He stated that Romania encouraged a political solution, based on dialogue. Almost all foreign ministers attending the summit supported Ukraine’s European integration and condemned violence against protesters. The protests in Kiev were triggered by Kiev authorities’ decision to suspend the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU, in favour of re-boosting relations with Moscow.

MIDDLE EAST- The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, said on Friday that the Israelis and the Palestinians had never been closer to making peace. At the end of a new mission to the Middle East, Kerry said that both the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, were determined to follow the path towards solving the conflict and explored all possibilities to that end. However, the US official warned that neither peace nor prosperity are possible in the absence of security.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS-Three million Christmas lights which are decorating Bucharest during the winter holidays, covering a 23 km long route, were turned on by mayor Sorin Oprescu, on Friday evening. For the second year in a row, the City Hall lays out in the city centre the “Bucharest Christmas Market”, which will close its doors on January the 5th. Covered in 12 tons of fir tree needles, the market boasts a special atmosphere, bringing together no less than 65 Christmas huts. Visitors are welcomed with mulled wine and are invited to enjoy winter decorations, exhibitions of traditional objects, icons painted on glass and wood, cloths, wooden and ceramics decorations as well as traditional Romanian foodstuffs. Shows specific to the winter celebrations will be given on a stage mounted in the Christmas market. Bucharest has been included in the international network of the most important Christmas fairs in Europe.

SAINT NICHOLAS– Some 800,000 Romanians celebrated their name day on Friday. Every year, on December 6, Orthodox, Catholic and Greek Catholic believers in Romania celebrate St. Nicholas, also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker. He had a reputation for his philanthropic spirit, for being kind and for secret gift-giving. Nowadays, well-behaving children wait for St. Nicholas to put sweets in their boots.

EDUCATION-In the 2012- 2013 school year, the number of Romanian pupils learning in western schools increased on average by 25% according to the World Education NGO. The organization has announced that 30 private schools and colleges in Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada and Austria will participate in Bucharest, on December 7th and 8th, in the secondary education fair. In another move, World Education has presented the results of the well-known test PISA, which is an evaluation of the knowledge by students in national education programs. Romania ranks 45th in a total of 65 participating countries.

EU FUNDS ABSORBTION– In October Romania registered a significant increase in the absorption of European funds due to the fact that the European Commission unblocked funds under the Increase of Economic Competitiveness Operational Program. The measure triggered reimbursements that raised the absorption rate to 14%. The biggest amount of money has been brought to Romania under the Human Resources Development Program, where the rate of absorption reached 25% in late October. As regards the total of European funds absorbed, Romania has reached a rate of 27%.

LAND MARKET-Starting January 1st 2014, when the land market in Romania is liberalized, foreigners will be allowed to buy farmland in this country. They will have the right to buy more than 100 hectares and will no longer have to prove knowledge of or experience in agriculture. Currently, the Romanian Government is drafting a law whose role is to protect Romanian citizens from being discriminated against with regard to buying farmland, the Romanian Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin has announced.

ARREST– Romanian Adrian Procop, involved in the stealing of 7 paintings from the Kunsthal Museum in Rotterdam, in 2012, was arrested in Manchester, Great Britain, the Romanian Police have announced. A European warrant had been issued on Procop’s name. On November 26th, Romanian judges sentenced Radu Dogaru and Eugen Darie to 6 years and 8 months in prison each, for their involvement in the same case. The decision was not final and it can be appealed. The two were tried separately from the other 4 defendants, after they pleaded guilty and will thus benefit from a one third reduction of their sentences, as provided by the Romanian Criminal Code. The thieves stole from the Dutch museum paintings by Henry Matisse, Paul Gaugain and Claude Monet. The damage is estimated at around 17 million Euros.

HANDBALL– Between December the 6th and 22nd, Serbia is playing host to the World Women’s Handball Championships. The Romanian team will first play in the competition on Saturday, in Novi Sad, against Tunisia, in group D, which also includes Hungary, Germany, the Check Republic and Australia. The declared objective of the Romanian handball players is to finish the championship among the top eight. Romania is the only country to have participated in all final legs of the World Championships, starting 1957. The latest significant performance though was registered in 2005, when it was vice-champion.