January 18, 2015
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 18.01.2015, 13:54
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta believes that the solution for the proper organisation of voting outside the borders, in the future, would be for this process to be organised by the Permanent Election Authority, not the Government. He has admitted that the Executive made mistakes in organising the voting process for the Diaspora in November 2014, but not intentionally. It was just a matter of wrong calculation, the Prime Minister has said. He has also stated that changing the rules between the two ballots was not legally possible and that the number of voters abroad for the second ballot doubled as compared to the previous one, when some 160,000 people went to the polls.
The over 75 thousand Romanians who took loans in Swiss francs could overcome the shock caused by the steep depreciation of the national currency against the Swiss one. Authorities recommend that people with low incomes resort to a redistribution of instalments, for them to pay lower rates for two years and then, when the rate grows, the state to cover part of the costs, through income tax exemptions. Another solution would be for the banks to reduce the interest rates on such loans. Finance Minister Darius Valcov has stated that talks will be held in the following days with banks and fiscal authority representatives. The Swiss central Bank’s recent decision to abandon the 1.20 franc per Euro cap has affected banks all across the world.
Most French believe that after the attack on ‘Charlie Hebdo’, authorities should take firmer measures, in the country, against people suspected of promoting Jihadist ideology. They do not, however, support a French military intervention in the countries that help or harbour terrorist organisations, such as Syria, Yemen or Libya, shows an opinion poll carried by the weekly ‘Journal du Dimanche’. The French say that authorities should ban co-nationals who went to fight in countries or regions under the control of terrorist groups from re-entering the country. The poll has also revealed a massive support for the withdrawal of French citizenship of those who have been sentenced for terrorism, and half of the interviewees have said they would support the limitation of freedom of expression on the internet, especially on social networks. They believe that such a measure would reduce Jihadist propaganda, because of which many young people, not only in France but in other European countries as well, have joined the Islamic State.
Militants for peace are today participating in Kiev in a protest march, following the attack early this weak in eastern Ukraine, when 12 civilians died. They bus they were travelling by was hit by a rocket aiming towards a Ukrainian blockade. At Lithuania’s initiative, the UN Security Council will convene on January 21st to discuss the situation in Ukraine. The US President, Barack Obama and the British Prime Minister David Cameron say that tough sanctions should be maintained against Russia, which they accuse of sending armed individuals to support the separatist rebels, though Moscow denies such allegations. Since April 2014 over 4 thousand 8 hundred people have died in clashes between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia separatists.
Israel rejects the preliminary investigation conducted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague into alleged war crimes committed in the Palestinians territories in the summer of 2014. Washington , which is on of Israel’s traditional allies, has condemned the decision too, while leaders in Ramalah and Hamas have hailed it. The court prosecutors have announced they will analyse independently and impartially the potential crimes committed starting June 13th last year. The investigation will allow the Court to get involved in the conflict between Israel and the Hamas militants deployed in Gaza in July — August 2014, which claimed 2 thousand 100 Palestinian and 70 Israeli victims. The decision was made following the request of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to join the IC, on April 1st, despite Israel’s strong opposition.
Romanian products are on high demand at the traditional Green Week in Berlin, where Romania is represented by over 30 producers. With a bigger stand than last year, Romania has brought to the fair a wide range of foodstuffs, from honey, jams and natural juices, to cheese and meat products. The Green Week is the largest event in the food, agriculture and horticulture field in Europe, and is due to end at the end of next week. Partiticapting in this year’s edition are producers from 70 countries.
