November 16, 2015 UPDATE

An update on domestic and international news

Warning: Trying to access array offset on null in /home/web/rri.ro/public/wp-content/themes/rri/template-parts/content.php on line 98
Newsroom, 16.11.2015, 12:15

France is not engaged in a war of civilizations because those assassins don’t represent any civilization- said Monday the French President François Hollande before the joint chambers of Parliament. President Hollande has called on the French people to show unity after Friday’s attacks that killed about 130 people, among whom two Romanian citizens, and wounded 350. Previously, the prime minister Manuel Valls warned that France had to be prepared for further attacks, that could take place in other European countries as well, in the coming days and weeks. The investigations undertaken in the wake of the attacks show that a Belgian citizen of Moroccan origin is the mastermind of the terrorist attack. Investigators say the suspect, Abdulhamid Abaaoud, aged 27, is now in Syria, with the Islamic state group. Many people have been arrested and tens of firearms confiscated following searches made across France. Another operation took place in Belgium, Brussels, where explosions and gunfire could be heard in a district with a majority Muslim population.

European countries and EU officials on Monday launched in Brussels an appeal to unity in order to fight terrorism after Friday’s attacks in Paris. Attending a meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Brussels, the EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini called on Europeans to join forces in front of the terrorist threat. The European officials also talked about plans to set up, by the end of 2015, along the so-called refugee route through the Western Balkans, in Macedonia and Serbia, 50 thousand camps to temporarily accommodate the immigrants. An equal number of camps is supposed to be set up in Greece.

The Romanian Parliament will vote on Tuesday for the new government formed by the prime minister designate Dacian Ciolos and for his governing program. A former European Commissioner for Agriculture, Ciolos formed a government team dominated by technocrats, with no political affiliation, who have experience in the private sector, the European institutions and civil society. His governing program includes the revision of investment programs and reforms in the education and healthcare systems. The designation of Dacian Ciolos by President Klaus Iohannis to form a new government follows the resignation, early this month, of the government led by Social Democrat Victor Ponta.

The former Social-Democrat minister of finance, Darius Vâlcov, on Monday was subject to legal restrictions pending trial for 60 days, in a corruption case in which the National Anti-Corruption Directorate prosecutors accuse him of bribe taking and influence peddling. Vâlcov is supposed to have committed the illegal acts when he was mayor of Slatina (a town in the south) and also afterwards. Between 2012- 2014 he allegedly received almost 1 million euros accounting for 10-15% of the value of some public services contracts. Vâlcov is also being investigated by the anti-corruption prosecutors in another 2 cases on similar charges. Also on Monday the state secretary with the Health Ministry Alin Tucmeanu was heard by the anti-corruption prosecutors in a corruption case. According to judicial sources he is supposed to have taken bribe in exchange for granting certain contracts. In this case prosecutors have searched both the Health Ministry headquarters and the state secretary’s house.

Another patient injured in the October 30th fire in the “Colectiv” nightclub in Bucharest died Monday in a Bucharest hospital, raising the death toll to 56. The Health Ministry announced 55 people injured in the fire are still in hospital in the capital Bucharest. 12 of them are in a critical and serious condition. Another 28 wounded are being treated in hospitals from abroad. We recall that the fire broke out during a rock concert attended by hundreds of people. The fire started from the fireworks used during the concert. Many of the people in the concert hall sustained burns but most of them died of poisoning with toxic fumes.

The Romanian –Dutch pair Horia Tecău/ Jean-Julien Rojer on Monday won their opening match of the 2015 London ATP World Tour Finals defeating 6-2, 6-4 the pair Marcin Matkowski (Poland)/Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia). On Sunday in the other group of the tournament the duo made up of Romanian Florin Mergea and Indian Rohan Bopanna won 6-4, 6-3 the match against the American pair Bob and Mike Bryan. On Tuesday Mergea and Bopanna will play against the British-Australian pair Jamie Murray/ John Peers. The World Tour Finals, which has prizes up for grabs worth 7 million dollars, lines up the best 8 players of the 2015 season, as well as the best 8 men’s pairs in the doubles competition.

Romania’s national football team will take on the Italian eleven on Tuesday evening, in Bologna, in an away training match. The friendly match is part of a series of matches played before the two teams’ participation in the finals of the European Championships, scheduled for the summer of 2016 in France. With 5 victories and 5 draws in 10 matches Romania’s team ended 2^nd, last month, in the preliminary group F and directly qualified to the Euro 2016 alongside Northern Ireland. The group also included Hungary, Finland, the Faeroe Islands and Greece.