January 17, 2015
For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.
Mihai Pelin, 17.01.2015, 12:00
CYBER CRIME — The frequency of cyber attacks in Romania has gone up in the second half of December, the same as everywhere else in the world, the Romanian Intelligence Service reports. Overall, the purpose of these attacks was to promote Islamist or anti-Semitic propaganda. In Romania, several websites of universities, public administration institutions but also corporations have been targeted by cyber attacks. Hackers have also attacked the websites of the Romanian Patriarchy, replacing its content with pro-Muslim messages and attacks on the French state. According to the Romanian Intelligence Service, the attacks are more often than not afterthoughts of conflicts and events worldwide, while the beginning of 2015 has been marked by a surge of terrorism in Europe.
SWISS FRANC — Romanian Finance Minister Darius Valcov and Governor of the National Bank of Romania Mugur Isarescu are looking for solutions to the Swiss franc crisis, after the exchange rate against the Leu reached a new historic high on Friday, standing at 4.42 lei. A potential solution refers to the rescheduling of loan payments for people with low incomes, so that they may be allowed to pay a lower rate for two years. After this period expires, the state would then step in to cover part of the costs by means of tax breaks. Another solution would be that banks should lower interest rates for loans in the Swiss franc. Some 75,000 Romanians have loans in Swiss francs. Six banks own some 90% of the total number of loans. The recent decision of the National Bank of Switzerland to lift the 1.20-per-euro cap on the Swiss currency has resulted in massive losses for banks all around the world.
ICC — The United States has condemned the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open a preliminary investigation into the alleged war crimes committed in 2014 in the Palestinian territories. The US State Department sees as ironic the fact that Israel should be held accountable, given that thousands of missiles were fired at the time targeting its territory. In turn, Israel finds the ruling ‘outrageous’. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says Israel will not cooperate with this investigation. In July 2014, the Israeli army has unleashed a large-scale military offensive on the Gaza Strip in response to the missile attacks of the Palestinian group Hamas. At the end of August, Israel and Hamas signed an indefinite ceasefire agreement, thus putting an end to over 50 days of war, which left 2,000 Palestinians and 71 Israeli dead, mostly military.
THREAT — Belgian authorities are on high alert, with hundreds of military deployed on the streets, after thwarting a terrorist plot to police officers. Five people are facing terrorism charges following a shoot-out in Verviers, eastern Belgium on Thursday. France is also seeing a massive deployment of military and police officers in an attempt to cope with the high number of terrorist threats. On Friday, the French police withheld several people suspected of having helped the perpetrators of last week’s terrorist attacks in the French capital. Investigators in both countries continue to look for suspects who might be linked with the attacks in Paris or with the attempted assassination of Belgian police officers. Authorities in Brussels claim there is no direct connection between the attacks in France and the terrorist plot in Belgium.
CVM – Romanian Justice Minister Robert Cazanciuc claims Romania will have a positive report from the European Commission under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for the second year in a row. According to Cazanciuc, the soon-to-be-released report proves that Romania has an independent judiciary and institutions that enforce the law. Romania is also a good example of best practices in the field, Cazanciuc also said. The Romanian official said he would discuss with Commission officials about the report on Monday and Tuesday during his visit to Brussels. Efforts to combat corruption and the reform of the judiciary have been monitored under the CVM since 2006.
UN — The UN Security Council is due to convene on January 21, at the initiative of Lithuania. The meeting will be devoted to the crisis in Ukraine, which has took a turn for the worse in the conflict area. New violence was reported on Friday in the pro-Russian east, when 11 people were killed. US president Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron both argued for ‘the need to maintain firm sanctions on Russia’, a country they accuse of supplying armed forces to separatist militias, an allegation Moscow has dismissed. Since April 2014, over 4,800 people, civilians and military, have been killed in the conflicts between Ukrainian security forces and pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine.
BANKING — Two Greek banks have request access to the emergency facility of the Central Bank of Greece in Athens, due to massive capital withdrawals from the population. Over the recent period, more and more Greeks have been withdrawing their savings for fear they might lose it, in the context that the snap elections of January 25 might result in the radical left-wing coming to power. Over the last months, loans have soared dramatically, reaching several 45 billion euros. According to economic pundits, the emergency financing line of the Central Bank is due to be accessed by other local banks as well.
COMPENSATION — A US Muslim detained for two weeks without being charged for the 9/11 attacks will receive a compensation of 385,000 dollars from the US Government and a federal agent, a human rights association has announced. Abdullah al-Kidd was withheld in 2003 as ‘a key witness’, a term the US Government uses to secure the willingness of suspects in order to testify in terrorism court cases. The US Muslim was detained for 16 days in harsh circumstances, then placed under judicial control for 15 months. Over this period he wasn’t accused of any crime or deposed in court.
