January 6, 2015
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 06.01.2015, 00:00
ROMANIAN JUDICIARY – Institutions are not owned by their leaders, and this is the only way to avoid slips, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis said at a meeting of the Higher Council of Magistrates. The head of state mentioned the need to strengthen the prosecution institutions and said the Higher Council of Magistrates, the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the General Prosecutor’s Office should be able to propose legislation, because they are the institutions in charge with enforcing the law and managing the judiciary. The President has also said it is time Romania were objectively evaluated, and one of the key objectives of the judicial system in 2015 should be the lifting of the European Commission’s Cooperation and Verification Mechanism. The Higher Council of Magistrates is today electing its new leaders.
RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY – Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania celebrate today the Epiphany, or Baptism of Jesus. The Baptism of the Lord and St. John the Baptist’s Feast Day, celebrated on Wednesday, mark the end of the winter and Nativity holidays. In churches and monasteries water blessing ceremonies are held, known as The Great Blessing of Waters. On the other hand, for Old Calendarists, mostly ethnic Russians, Armenians and Serbians, today is Christmas Eve.
UKRAINE – The European Commission does not support a proposal from the French President François Hollande, to lift the sanctions against the Russian Federation. Paris’s view is not shared by the EU, said Commission spokesperson Catherine Ray. On January the 15th, in Astana, the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France will meet again to discuss the situation in Donbass. The European Parliament will also hold a session on January the 13th to analyse the situation in Ukraine, while the UN Security Council is to convene this month for the same reason. The situation in the field remains tense. On Monday, 12 Ukrainian National Guard troops died in a car crash in the eastern Ukraine area where military operations are underway.
ICC — PALESTINE – The National Palestinian Authority recognises the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over the presumed war crimes perpetrated since June the 13th, 2014, when Israel launched a large-scale campaign in Gaza, the Court in The Hague announced. Emmanuel Nahshon, spokesman for the Romanian Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, told Radio Romania that Israel opposes the Palestinians’ move to join the Court in The Hague. He added that such Palestinian actions would make peace negotiations harder or even impossible.
EBOLA – Ebola has killed at least 8.153 people in western Africa, out of over 20,600 cases reported in the three worst affected countries, according to a report released today by the World Health Organisation. Liberia, with more than 3,400 deaths, is reporting a slow-down in the spreading of the virus. Sierra Leone remains the worst hit, with over 2,900 deaths, while in Guinea, where the epidemic broke out a year ago, more than 1,700 people died.
BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING TRIAL – One suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, viewed as the worst terrorist attack on US territory since 9/11, was brought to court yesterday. The trial is to begin on January the 26th and last for 4 months at most. The suspect, the ethnic Chechen Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is accused of having carried out the twin bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 near the finish line of the race on April 15, 2013, together with his brother, who was killed by police after the attack. Tsarnaev faces the death sentence if found guilty.
