March 12, 2016 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 12.03.2016, 12:15

The Romanian Government has passed an emergency ordinance that allows the Prosecutor’s Office alone to conduct phone tapping during prosecutions. The law had been approved by the country’s Supreme Defense Council that was convened for an extraordinary meeting by President Klaus Iohannis. The ordinance was drafted after, on February 16, the Constitutional Court decided that the Romanian Intelligence Service- SRI was no longer allowed to conduct phone tapping as part of criminal cases. The Court transferred this duty to the prosecutor’s offices allowing the Romanian Intelligence Service to make phone tapping only in cases related to national security and terrorism. Prosecutor’s offices will be able to use the tapping equipment of the SRI but not the service’s staff for interceptions in criminal cases.

The Romanian minister delegate for the relation with the Diaspora, Dan Stoenescu has met in Kuala Lumpur with the Malaysian foreign minister and justice minister. Dan Stonescu went to Malaysia in his capacity of special envoy of President Klaus Iohannis and of the PM Dacian Cioloş. According to Romania TV station, he conveyed to the Malaysian authorities the official letters of the two Romanian dignitaries, in which they ask them for clemency in the case of a Romanian citizen, Ionut Gologan, now in prison, who has been sentenced to death for drug trafficking. Another 3 Romanian citizens are imprisoned in Malaysia. Efforts are being made at diplomatic level by the Romanian authorities to bring them back to Romania.

The speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Valeriu Zgonea, is participating on Sunday in Berlin in an international parliamentary conference on fighting anti-Semitism. He will preside over the plenary session entitled “Official and governmental answers to anti-Semitism.” The meeting will be attended by the first vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the president of the Bundestag, Norbert Lammert and the UNESCO director general, Irina Bokova. High on the agenda of the conference are the anti-Semitic discourse promoted by means of the Internet and examples and practices in fighting anti-Semitism in the Muslim communities.

The Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos has conveyed condolences to all those who have loved and admired the Romanian athlete, Iolanda Balas, who died on Friday at the age of 79. A legend of Romanians sports, Iolanda Balas set 14 world records and won 105 consecutive competitions, which is a unique performance in the world. Between 1988 — 2005 Iolanda Balas led the Romanian Athletics Federation.

North Korea has issued another threat of war over military exercises being conducted by the United States and South Korea. According to the BBC, the North Korean army announced it was ready to launch a preemptive strike in response to any sign of invasion. The North Korean authorities say this will lead to what they refer to as “the liberation of South Korea and to national reunification”.

The Romanian tennis players Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu have qualified for the 3rd round of the WTA Premier tournament in Indian Wells, California, which has prizes up for grabs worth 6.1 million dollars. Simona Halep, ranked 5th in the WTA classification, 5th seed and winner of the trophy defeated the American Vania King (ranked 202nd in the WTA classification) 6-1, 6-1. Monica Niculescu, 32nd seeded at the Californian tournament, defeated the British Heather Watson in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. In the next leg, Halep will play against the Russian Ekaterina Makarova (32 WTA) while Niculescu will be pitted against, the Polish Agnieszka Radwanska (3rd ranked in the WTA classification) and seed no.3.

Primaverii Palace (The Spring Palace) — the former residence of the Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu will be open to the public as of today. A permanent exhibition will be opened in the palace of the former dictator who was executed in December 1989. Primaverii Palace was built between 1964-1965, it has more than 80 rooms, a cinema hall and a swimming pool. The furniture, chandeliers, Murano mirrors and the luxury furnishings were the personal choice of the Ceausescus. The re-opening of the palace is part of the campaign “Your right to know” coordinated by the deputy prime minister Vasile Dincu with the support of the Government’s General Secretariat and the State Protocol Authority.

The Association of European Journalists is following with concern the actions that might put in danger the future of the public radio and television stations in Romania. According to them, the Romanian public television- TVR has accumulated huge debts and has not managed to balance its financial situation for a long period of time. The Association writes in a communiqué that it is important that any changes that may occur in the law on the functioning of the two public stations should not affect the public radio station. The Association also criticizes the lack of open, large-scale public debates ahead of trying to amend the law in an election year. It recalled that the public radio and television broadcasters had the responsibility to provide the population with correct and balanced news and information during the elections period and in moments of political uncertainty. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)