November 9, 2013 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news.
Bogdan Matei, 09.11.2013, 12:29
PRIORITIES-The Social Democratic Party (a member of the center-leftist ruling coalition in Romania) will run on its own party lists in the European parliamentary elections, due in 2014. The announcement has been made by the party president, Prime Minister Victor Ponta, at the National Council of the Party. The Council is also due to set the main political and strategic objectives of the party for next year, as 2014 is the year when both European parliamentary elections and Romanian presidential elections are held. Another issue on the agenda of the Council is decentralization, a draft law which involves a vote of confidence in parliament. The vote is due in mid November.
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM- Romania wants to boost cooperation between the Romanian Foreign Ministry and the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean announced on Saturday. Historian Radu Ioanid, a researcher at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum says US researchers might find valuable information in the archives of the Romanian Foreign Ministry on Romanian nationals who saved Jews from death during WW II.
MOLDOVA’S EUROPEAN ASPIRATIONS–The relation with neighbouring Romania is crucial to the success of the pro-European aspirations of the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population), says Moldovan foreign minister, Natalia Gherman. She recalled that Romania, in its capacity as a EU member state, promotes an open policy of supporting Moldova’s European integration, not only at diplomatic level, but also under assistance programs in the development field. Chishinau will initial the association agreement with the EU, at the Vilnius Summit, due this month.
ARRESTS– Businessman Iustin Paraschiv, who is among the 100 richest people in Romania has been taken into custody for 30 days, in a tax evasion file. The total estimated prejudice brought to the state stands at 70 million Euros. Several persons, among whom a prosecutor from the General Prosecutor’s Office, have been arrested so far in this case, dubbed by the media “the meat network”. According to investigators, the suspects coordinated a network made up of Romanian and Arab business people, who created and implemented a tax evasion mechanism, enabling them not to pay taxes to the state budget for the money obtained from selling meat. In the same file, a Social Democrat Senator is being prosecuted for peddling in influence.
THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR FILE — Israel has announced that it completely rejects the agreement negotiated in Geneva by Iran and P5+1 (a group made up of the US, France, Great Britain, Russia, China plus Germany) on the Iranian nuclear program. News agencies quote an Israeli official as expressing perplexity at the information coming from Geneva. He has said that Iran would benefit from a significant easing of sanctions without making any real concession regarding its nuclear program. The international community suspects Teheran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon, a fact denied by Iran.
UNESCO– The United States and Israel have automatically lost their right to vote within UNESCO, two years after they ceased to pay their financial contribution to this organization, in response to Palestine’s admission. Washington has expressed regret over this situation and has reiterated its wish to further be involved in UNESCO. The US and Israel ceased to pay the contribution, after Palestine’s admission in October 2011, as the 195th UNESCO member.
PYROTECHNICS BLAST IN PARIS- One person died and 14 others got injured, among which 5 severely, when a pyrotechnical device exploded accidentally during rehearsals for a show at the Sports Palace in Paris. A concrete wall and a ceiling collapsed because of the blast. All shows scheduled for the weekend have been cancelled. The police has started an inquiry to establish the cause of the explosion.
TYPHOON HAIYAN- There are fears that typhoon Haiyan which smashed into the Philippines has taken a toll of hundreds of lives. Humanitarian agencies say hundreds of thousands might have been left destitute. Gale force wind exceeded 275 km/h. The typhoon has emerged into the South China Sea, being expected to hit Vietnam on Sunday. The Vietnamese authorities have started evacuating over 100,000 people.
HAZARDOUS WASTE-The “Flaminia” ship, with hazardous waste on board on Saturday left the Romanian port of Constanta, heading for Denmark. The ship, under German flag, was partially destroyed by an explosion in 2012. The ship reached Constanta in late March, after it had been denied access by several European countries, because of some 23,000 tons of toxic waste onboard. After the hazardous waste is downloaded in Denmark and decontamination operations are completed, the ship will return to Romania, to undergo repair works at the Mangalia shipyard.
FILM/NOMINATION-Romanian actress Luminita Gheorghiu has been nominated for the Prizes of the European Film Academy (EFA), in the “Best Leading Actress” category, for the role she played in Calin Netzer’s film “Child’s Pose”. The film has already grabbed the Golden Bear at the 2013 Berlinale and is an Oscar nominee for “Best Foreign Language Film”. The film deals with the trauma caused by over-loving parents who suffocate their children and on the impact parents leave on their children’s personalities. The film is equally an X-ray analysis of contemporary Romanian high-class, marred by peddling in influence and corruption. The EFA Prizes will be awarded in Berlin, on December the 7th.
