October 30, 2017 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 30.10.2017, 19:39

COLECTIV– It’s been two years since the devastating fire
at the Colectiv club in Bucharest, which killed 64 people. Of them, 27 died on
the night of the tragedy while the other 37 died later in hospitals in
Bucharest and abroad. Hundreds of people participated on Friday evening in a
march in Romania’s capital, commemorating the victims. Many people hoped that
the ones responsible for this tragedy would be punished, but two years on
nobody has been found guilty and the flaws in the system are still present.

ACCIDENT– One miner was killed and another three were
injured in an accident that took place at the Uricani mine on the Jiu Valley.
The victims were doing some final works on the mine that is to be shut down
soon. This is the second such accident on the Jiu Valley this month, after the
one at the Lupeni mine that killed two miners and injured one. The Lupeni mine
will be operational for another five years, according to a memorandum that
Romania submitted to the European Commission.

CATALONIA– The Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont might be
arrested for rebellion, alongside other officials who helped Catalonia declare
its independence from Spain. Hundreds of thousand of Spanish loyalists
demonstrated in Barcelona on Sunday in support of Madrid’s decision to impose
direct rule on Catalonia. The protest took place after Catalan MPs voted in
favour of declaring independence from Spain, prompting Mariano Rajoy, the
Spanish prime minister, to sack the separatist Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont
and his government, dissolve the Catalan parliament and call regional elections
for December 21.

MINISTRY– The Ministry
for the Romanians Abroad is closely monitoring the situation of the over 130
thousand Romanians in Catalonia, in the context of the recent events in that Spanish region, the Ministry says in a release. The Ministry recommends
Romanian citizens in the region to get in touch with the Romanian authorities,
in case their security is threatened. Also, Romanian citizens are urged to
inform the Romanian diplomatic missions of any situation that might affect
their work and their relation with local institutions and authorities. The
Ministry reiterates the fact that Bucharest firmly and irrevocably
rejects Catalonia’s unilateral declaration of independence and voices full
support for Spain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the hope
that the situation in the Spanish region will soon revert to constitutional
order.

CONFERENCE– All EU states must collaborate closely
to achieve solid cyber security, the European Commissioner for Digital Economy and
Society Mariya Gabriel said on Monday in Bucharest, at the 7th annual
international conference titled The New Global Challenges in Cyber Security.
During her 2-day visit to Romania, Commissioner Mariya Gabriel will hold talks with Romanian authorities on issues
such as illegal online content and digital investment.

US INVESTIGATION – The former campaign manager of the US President Donald Trump,
Paul Manafort, was indicted on Monday, following an investigation into Russia’s involvement in
the November 2016 presidential elections. One of Manafort’s associates, Rick
Gates, is also facing charges. Among other things, Paul Manafort is accused of
conspiracy against the US, money laundering, false statements to the federal
authorities and failure to declare some foreign accounts. Aged 68, he managed
Trump’s campaign until August 2016, when he was forced to resign, following
disclosures about his ties with pro-Russia Ukrainian oligarchs. The US
President has denied any alleged
connections with Russia, and the Kremlin has also denied such ties.
According to the US Secret Service, the Russian President Vladimir Putin commissioned
a campaign to influence the outcome of the presidential elections in the US for
the benefit of Donald Trump, also with the aim of undermining the western
liberal-democratic system.

TENNIS– Romanian tennis player Simona Halep continues
to be world number one for the fourth week in a row. Halep, who has just
received the year-end WTA World No. 1 Trophy, has an advance of 40 points as to
world no. two, Garbine Muguruza and is 160 points ahead of the third place,
Caroline Wozniacki. Another three Romanians who are part of the WTA top 100
maintain their current position – Sorana Cirstea no. 37, Irina Begu No. 44 and
Monica Niculescu, nr. 100. Mihaela Buzarnescu went up 17 places and is now no.
72 WTA.