September 28, UPDATE

Romania on Wednesday officially took over, from the Monte Real Portuguese base, the first six of a total of twelve F-16 jets that is has purchased/ The Co-President of the National Liberal Party, Vasile Blaga, stepped down

Roxana Vasile, 28.09.2016, 12:20

DEFENCE – Romania on Wednesday officially took over, from the Monte Real Portuguese base, the first six of the twelve F-16 jets which it purchased for 628 million Euros. The fighters have been upgraded and will interact, in the same conditions, with all other multi-role fighters owned by the NATO member states. At present, Romanias airspace is defended by Mig-21 LancerR jets, made in the former USSR, and upgraded by an Israeli firm as of 1995. The Romanian Air Forces also own subsonic training jets made in Romania, as well as cargo planes made in Italy and the US. The Romanian Army is also equipped with Puma and Alouette helicopters made in Romania under French licence. The Romanian Air Forces also operate AN-30 planes, made in the former USSR, and used for capturing aerial views and mapping.

RESIGNATION – The co-president of the National Liberal Party, the second largest party in Romanias Parliament, Vasile Blaga, on Wednesday announced he would step down from this position and would no longer coordinate the partys campaign for the parliamentary elections scheduled for December. He will not run in the party elections due in winter, either. The decision was made after the anti-corruption prosecutors announced that Vasile Blaga is subject to legal restrictions and investigated in a corruption case. The acts of corruption were reportedly carried out between 2009 and 2012, when Blaga, who was interior minister and then Senate Speaker, allegedly intervened to favour the granting of some contracts. In exchange for his peddling in influence, Blaga allegedly received commissions worth 10%, with an overall value of 700,000 Euros, from the former mayor of Piatra Neamt (in the northeast), Gheorghe Stefan, and another businessman.

MH17 PLANE CRASH – The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday hailed the publication by an international commission of the results of an investigation meant to cast light into the circumstances in which the civil Malaysian airlines flight MH17 crashed in Ukraines eastern separatist region, in 2014. According to the results, the Malaysian plane downed in 2014, was hit by a missile launched from a conflict area controlled by pro-Russian fighters. The minutely and independently conducted investigation is meant to clarify the circumstances in which the flight MH17 crashed and to lead to conclusions so that an act of justice be done, a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry writes. It calls on all countries able to support the investigation to fully cooperate in an effort to identify, establish and bring to justice those responsible. We recall that in July 2014, Malaysia Airlines plane operating Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people onboard died in the crash.

MOURNING – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, and the Senate Speaker, Calin Popescu Tariceanu, on Friday will attend the funeral of former Israeli PM and President, Shimon Peres, who passed away in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, at 93 years of age. In a message of condolences to his Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, President Klaus Iohannis says that Shimon Peres was a visionary leader and a relentless fighter for a sustainable solution to the Peace Process in the Middle East. The Romanian people-says president Iohannis – will always remember the real and deep friendship of Shimon Peres, the first Israeli President to visit Romania, in 2010. In turn, Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos, evoked in his message of condolences to his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, the emblematic personality of Shimon Peres, a promoter of peace, whose internationally recognised personality was also confirmed by a Nobel Peace Prize.

FEAST OF MUSIC – The most important musical event of this autumn, the RadiRo Festival continues in Bucharest. Wednesdays program included pieces by Richard Strauss, Gershwin and Tchaikovsky, performed by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the oldest radio orchestra in Germany and one of the most innovative in Europe. Organised by Radio Romania, the International Festival of Radio Orchestras, RadiRo, runs until Saturday, October 1. (Translated by D. Vijeu)