August 2, 2019
A roundup of local and international news
Newsroom, 02.08.2019, 13:46
INVESTIGATION The suspect in the case involving the 2 missing girls from Caracal, southern Romania, was questioned for nearly 9 hours last night at the head office of the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism in Bucharest. He confirmed his initial statement that he murdered the 2 teenagers. The authorities announced that suspect Gheorghe Dincă would be present at the searches conducted on Friday at his home in Caracal. The case has been taken over from the local office in Craiova by the central structure of the Directorate and is coordinated by chief prosecutor Felix Bănilă. He explained that this is due to the complexity of the case, the extensive media coverage and the technical and human resources needed in order to find the truth. Also on Friday, the results of forensic tests on the bone fragments found at the suspects residence are expected to come in. Meanwhile, the prosecutor who originally handled the Caracal case has been suspended. A week ago, he did not authorise the police to search the suspects home before 6 AM. He is now investigated for gross negligence by judicial inspectors, who say they will also look at how he conducted investigations over the past year. However, peoples discontent with how the authorities handled the case is growing. They blame the Special Telecommunications Service, in charge with operating the emergency number 112, as well as the police and prosecutors. The unacceptable succession of missteps in this regard has already caused several dismissals and resignations. Gheorghe Dincă, a 60-year old mechanic, confessed to having murdered 2 girls, aged 15 and 18, after he abducted them for sexual exploitation purposes, detained and raped them. The bodies have not been found yet.
HOLOCAUST The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis sent a message on Friday, the Roma Genocide Remembrance Day, emphasising the need for constant awareness of the importance of fighting racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. On this day we pay tribute to the nearly half a million Roma children, women and men who were victims of genocide during World War II, reads the Presidents message. Romania faced some of the most gruesome forms of hatred and intolerance, when 25,000 Roma people, whose parents had fought in the Great War for the national unity of the country, were forcibly sent to Transdniester as “dangerous and undesirable. The Government of Romania also honours the memory of the victims of the Romani Holocaust. It is important for the generations of today and tomorrow to know the truth about the Holocaust, as well as about the progress Romania has made in terms of preserving this truth and in terms of promoting coherent legislation to fight discrimination, anti-Semitism and xenophobia against the Roma people, the Government says in a news release.
BOOK FAIR The resort of Mamaia on the Romanian Black Sea coast is hosting, as of Thursday, the 11th edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania. More than 30 publishers are taking part. According to the president of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation Georgică Severin, Gaudeamus is a large-scale event designed to promote one of the most important Romanian mass media brands, Radio Romania. The 2019 Gaudeamus Seaside Book Fair is scheduled to end on August 5.
INF Russia and the USA Friday announced the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). Washington announced pulling out of the INF as of February 2, and Moscow responded immediately with a similar move. The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Russia of being “in material breach of the treaty, although Moscow has repeatedly denied the accusations. The INF pact, signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987, banned missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km.
FOOTBALL Romanian football vice-champions FCSB (former Steaua Bucharest), Thursday qualified into the 3rd preliminary round of Europa League, although it lost at home against the Armenian side Alashkert FC, 3-2. FCSB won the first leg of the round in Yerevan, 3-0. Also on Thursday night, CSU Craiova advanced into the Europa League 3rd preliminary round, after defeating Honved Budapest 3-1 in the shootouts. Romanian Cup holders Viitorul Constanta on the other hand were left out of the European competition, in spite of its 2-1 win against Belgiums KAA Gent.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
