October 27, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 27.10.2014, 12:15
The Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Monday took note of the resignation from Parliament of the Social Democratic MP Viorel Hrebenciuc, who is prosecuted for corruption. Previously, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate had asked the Chamber of Deputies to approve the preventive arrest of Hrebenciuc and of another Social Democratic deputy, Ioan Adam, investigated for the illegal retrocession of tens of thousands of hectares of forestland, causing damages to the state of 300 million euros. The National Anti-Corruption Directorate has continued investigations in the so-called Microsoft file, which involves the unlawful granting of IT licenses by officials from several different governments and parties. Also on Monday, The High Court of Cassation and Justice rejected the request of Klaus Iohannis, the mayor of Sibiu, representing the Christian Liberal Alliance in the presidential elections, who asked for an early ruling on his case of incompatibility.
Romanian President Traian Basescu hailed the result of the parliamentary elections held on Sunday in the neighbouring Ukraine. He also said Romania would be a loyal partner of Ukraine on the country’s path towards the EU, which is, according to President Basescu, a very difficult one but at the same time the only right option. In its turn, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said the elections’ result is a clear sign that the Ukrainain people remain united in their wish for peace, democracy and national unity. At Sunday’s legislative elections in Ukraine, two thirds of the voters strongly and irreversibly supported the orientation of the pro-Western government in Kiev. Preliminary results show that first came the Porosenko block and Prime Minister Arseni Iatieniuk’s popular front, with over 20%, followed by the Radical party and the Opposition Block. For the first time since 1991 the Communist Party did not manage to get over the election threshold and will not be represented in Kiev’s Parliament. The turnover on Sunday was approximately 40%.
The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Teofil III of Jerusalem on Monday performed the holy mass of Saint Dimitri the New Basarabov, known as the protector of Romania’s capital Bucharest. Also on Monday, the two church officials met with Prime Minister Victor Ponta. On Saturday, they had been received by President Traian Basescu, who awarded the Patriarch of Jerusalem, on his first formal visit to Romania, the Star of Romania” National Order in recognition for his contribution to the protection of Orthodox values.
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep is back on the third position in the WTA classification, after losing on Sunday the final of the Singapore Champions Tournament. The American player Serena Williams, the winner of the competion, continues to rank first, followed by Russian Maria Sarapova. Irina Begu is the second Romanian in top 100, holding the 42nd position, followed by Monica Niculescu, ranked 47th and Sorana Carstea, on the 95th place in the WTA classfication.
The Romanian Football Federation announced on Monday that Anghel Iordanescu is the new head coach of Romania’s national football side. Iordanescu has led the national team on two previous occasions. The former Romania striker guided them to the 1994 World Cup quarter-finals, the Euro 1996 tournament and the 1998 World Cup during his five-year spell in the 1990s. Romanias memorable 3-2 World Cup win over Argentina in the round of 16 in 1994 was once hailed as the greatest day in Romanian sports.
