November 17, 2015

The tecnocratic government headed by Dacian Ciolos was endorsed by Parliament.

Newsroom, 17.11.2015, 12:00

GOVERNMENT – The government of technocrats named by Romanian prime minister designate, Dacian Ciolos received Parliament’s vote of confidence on Tuesday. Former European Commissioner for Agriculture, Dacian Ciolos nominated experienced people from diplomacy, the private sector, European institutions and civil society. The government programme provides among other things for the revision of big investment projects, education and healthcare reforms, the consolidation of the rule of law and the organization of next year’s parliamentary and local elections in conditions that should not give rise to suspicions, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has designated Ciolos as prime minister after in early November, Social Democrat prime minister Victor Ponta handed in his resignation against the backdrop of large-scale protest rallies.

COLECTIV – 52 people, 12 of whom are in a critical condition, are still hospitalized and some 40 patients undergo treatment abroad in the wake of the tragedy at a Bucharest nightclub in late October. On Monday, the authorities reported the 56th dead person at a hospital in Bucharest. We recall that the tragedy occurred during a rock concert attended by a few hundred people. Scores of people had severe burns caused by the fire sparked by a pyrotechnical show, but the large number of dead is due to the mix of toxic substances people had inhaled.

MOLDOVA – Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said that when the neighbouring ex-Soviet Republic of Moldova with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population had a new government with a guaranteed pro-European orientation, the talks on the loan to be granted by Romania to that country would be resumed. The Romanian president explained that submitting again the law on granting a reimbursable loan of 150 million euros to Chisinau to Parliament was the most adequate solution for negotiations to be held by the next Romanian and Moldovan governments. Consultations on designating a prime minister continue in Chisinau. The former cabinet of Liberal Democrat Valeriu Strelet was dismissed following the no-confidence motion filed by the socialist and communist opposition, also voted by the Democratic Party.

PARIS ATTACKS – US Secretary of State, John Kerry, who had arrived in Paris on Monday evening to prove the powerful relationship between the USA and France, said that the USA would stand “shoulder- to- shoulder” with France in determination to defeat the Islamic State, that had claimed responsibility for Friday’s attacks in Paris. In turn, NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO and the EU must cooperate more closely to prevent such attacks as those perpetrated in France. The investigations made so far reveal that a Moroccan-born Belgian citizen is the mastermind of the terrorist attacks. Lots of people have been arrested and dozens of guns have been seized following the searches made on French soil. The latest toll indicates that Friday’s attacks left 129 dead and over 350 wounded.

CRASH – The crash of the Russian passenger jet over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt on October 31st was a terrorist bomb attack without a shadow of a doubt, Russian president Vladimir Putin said today. Moscow has announced a reward of 50 million dollars for information about the authors of the attack, claimed by the Islamic State. The hypothesis of a bomb attack advanced by US president, Barack Obama and British Prime Minister, David Camerron had so far been rejected by Russia. 224 people died in the crash of the jet bound from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, the biggest air disaster in the history of Russia.

FOOTBALL – In Bologna, Romania’s national football squad are tonight taking on the Italian team in a training match. Described by the media in Bucharest as a friendly match to be played by the Romanian team with a strong team that was world champion four times, the match is prior to the two teams’ participation in the European Championship due in France in 2016. Romania won five matches and ended five matches in a draw, ranking second in Group F, thus qualifying to the European Championship, along with the group leader, Northern Ireland.

TENNIS – The pair made up of Romanian Florin Mergea and Indian Rohan Bopanna is today taking on the British-Australian pair Jamie Murray-John Peers in the second match in the ATP World Tour Finals in London. On Sunday, in their first match, Mergea and Bopanna beat the American pair Bob and Mike Bryan 6-4, 6-3. On Monday, the pair made up of Romanian Horia Tecau and Dutch Jean Julien Rojer defeated the pair made up of Polish Marcin Matkowski and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic. Romania for the first time has two representatives in that tournament with prize money of seven million dollars.