January 10, 2014 UPDATE
A look at some of the top stories in Romania today
România Internațional, 10.01.2015, 12:05
Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will be taking part on Sunday in a solidarity march held in Paris to commemorate the victims of the terror attacks in the French capital, the president’s office has announced. Other officials joining the march are the president of the European Council Donald Tusk, the German chancellor Angela Merkel, the prime ministers of Britain, David Cameron, Spain, Mariano Rajoy and Italy, Matteo Renzi, as well as Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko. On Saturday in Bucharest, around 200 people took part in a rally staged by the Association of French Expatriates in front of the French Embassy to condemn the Paris attack and pay tribute to the victims. The French ambassador to Bucharest, Francois Saint Paul, thanked all those present, both French and Romanian nationals, for their solidarity with France, thus showing they share common values such as freedom and tolerance. 17 people were killed in the three days of attacks in France, including journalists from the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, police forces and civilians taken hostage in a supermarket. The anti-terror operation ended on Friday, when the French security forces killed the three gunmen.
The terrorist threat in the Paris region, which was raised to its highest level on Wednesday, will be maintained for the next few weeks and consolidated following this week’s attacks, said the French interior minister Bernard Cazaneuve, who attended a crisis meeting at the president’s office on Saturday. President Francois Holland warned that the threat facing France is not over yet and called on the French people to stay vigilant and united. Prime minister Manuel Valls admitted that the death toll showed there had been flaws in the way intelligence services tracked people likely to commit acts of terrorism. In another development, an Al Qaida leader, Harith al-Nadhari threatened with more attacks in Europe and praised the perpetrators of the deadly attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices.
The authorities in Bucharest are planning to rediscuss the so-called Big Brother law on the retention of data generated by the providers of public electronic communications networks and services. The decision comes in the wake of the recent terror attacks in France and the threats against EU member states. The Romanian authorities say they need a legal framework in their fight against terrorism to allow rapid response, prevention and counteraction of anything that might place citizens in danger. The law, which was rejected by the Constitutional Court last September, also allows tracking of users of prepay phone cards and Wi Fi networks. The law was criticised by human rights organisations, who were worried about the insistence with which state institutions were pushing for the adoption, as quickly as possible, of a set of generalised surveillance measures. Other non-governmental organisations were in favour of the law.
A Liberal Party senator and former justice minister, Tudor Chiuariu is under criminal investigation for peddling in influence in a case related to the illegal return of forested land. The announcement was made on Saturday by judicial sources according to which Chiuariu allegedly requested 2 million euros to convince the prefect of Bacau county in the east to return 43,000 hectares of forested land. Also in this case, a number of other officials have been arrested, including the former Social Democrat MP Viorel Hrebenciuc and MP Ioan Adam, also from the Democratic Party. The senators Dan Sova and Ilie sarbu, as well as the director general of the Romsilva Forestry Authority, Adam Craciunescu, are also under investigation. The damage caused in the case exceeds 300 million euros.
Croatian voters will elect their president on Sunday in the second round of voting. In the first round, held on the 28th of December, the acting Social Democrat president, Ivo Josipovic won 38.46% of the votes, while his rival, Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic, won 37.22%. Josipovic’s Social Democratic Party has been the target of harsh criticism against the background of prolonged economic crisis. Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic has criticised her opponent for failing in his attempt to convince his government to adopt an ambitious economic reform programme. Croatia has been in recession since 2008 and its public debt has reached 80% of the GDP. Unemployment rate stands at 20% and mostly affects the younger population.
Romania’s top tennis player and world no. 3 Simona Halep has won the WTA tournament in Shenzen, China worth 500,000 dollars. She defeated the Swiss player Timea Bacsinszky in the final in straight sets. This is Halep’s 9th title in her professional career and the first this year. Next week, she will take part in the WTA tournament in Sydney, where she is the no. one seed and where she goes straight into the quarterfinals.
