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January 9, 2015 UPDATE

DIPLOMACY – Romanias relationship with Germany is strategic, and the visit made to Berlin on Thursday by the Romanian delegation headed by PM Dacian Cioloş proves the importance and attention that Bucharest pays to this country, said the Foreign Minister Lazăr Comănescu in an interview to Radio Romania News and Current Affairs. The Romanian official added that next week he would once again travel to Berlin, for a bilateral visit. Lazar Comanescu highlighted the importance of Germany as the economic engine of Europe, and as a partner of Romania. According to the Foreign Minister, over 20% of Romanias foreign trade involves Germany. He also explained that more than 20,000 companies running on German capital operate in Romania and have created more than 300,000 jobs here.

Newsroom, 09.01.2016, 19:26

PROTESTS – In several cities in Romania, protests took place on Saturday to express support for the Bodnariu family, whose children were taken in November 2015 by child protection authorities in Norway. Solidarity marches were also organised in Italy, Netherlands, and Belgium. On Friday, Romanian and Norwegian officials discussed this topic in Bucharest, and agreed to work together to settle the issue. The Ambassador of Romania to Oslo will have a meeting on January 13 with representatives of Norways Ministry for Children, Equality and Social Inclusion. A parliamentary delegation made up of members of the Committee on Romanian communities abroad will make a visit to Norway between January 18 and 22, to discuss the case. The Norwegian social services took the 5 Bodnariu children from their parents, after the principal of the school attended by the older daughters reported that the children were subjected to physical punishment by their parents.

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced support, at the end of a political meeting on Saturday, for tougher legislation on deporting asylum seekers who commit crimes and receive sentences in German courts, France Presse reports. The move comes after the attacks on New Years Eve in the city of Cologne, which involved immigrants having applied for asylum in Germany. At present, under German law, asylum seekers can only be sent back if they are sentenced to at least three years in prison, but on condition that their life and health are not threatened in their country of origin. As many as 1.1 million asylum seekers reached Germany in 2015. The attacks on the New Year night sparked outrage in Germany and fuelled criticism against Chancellor Merkels open-door policy towards migrants, AFP also says. Several hundreds of supporters of the far-right Pegida movement Saturday staged a protest against the immigrants in Cologne, concurrently with a left-wing counter-demonstration.

WEATHER – The Romanian Meteorology Agency issued a notice warning of substantial rainfalls in the west, north and centre of the country, valid until Tuesday morning. In the mountains, rains will turn into sleet and snow. In the northern part of the country, rainfalls will amount to 25-30 litres per square metre.

SPORTS – The Romanian player Monica Niculescu Saturday won the first title for Romanian tennis in 2016. Jointly with the American Vania King, she won the doubles final of the tournament in Shenzhen (China), which has 430,000 US dollars in prize money. In the final, Niculescu/King won 6-1, 6-4, the match against the Chinese Yi-Fan Xu / Saisai Zheng, seeded no. 1. Monica Niculescu also won the doubles tournament in Shenzhen, in 2014, together with Klara Koukalova (the Czech Republic).