April 30, 2015 UPDATE
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Roxana Vasile, 30.04.2015, 12:30
In the following period Romanian president Klaus Iohannis will establish meetings with all the players involved in key domains in Romania, such as economy, public administration, healthcare or education. Following discussions on Thursday with trade union leaders, the Romanian president said that Romanian society is in need of a real and consistent social dialogue. The president’s talks with trade union leaders coincided with a one-day all-out strike staged by employees of county councils, mayor offices and adjacent institutions disgruntled with low wages.
The PM of Romania, Victor Ponta, has begun in Saudi Arabia today a tour in the Gulf area aimed at improving the political and diplomatic dialogue and at deepening economic and trade relations. This is the first visit by a Prime Minister of Romania to Saudi Arabia since diplomatic ties were established with this country, 20 years ago. The tour also includes Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. During the visits the Romanian official will present business and investment opportunities, particularly in fields like constructions, infrastructure, agriculture, industry, energy, IT, tourism and healthcare. Bilateral cooperation protocols and agreements will also be signed, in areas such as foreign affairs, education and research, avoiding double taxation and protecting investments.
The last of the four Romanian mountain climbers on Mount Everest was taken by a helicopter on Thursday and transported to a safe location in the region, the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has announced. According to Foreign Ministry sources, in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that hit the region, 36 Romanian nationals have been identified in Nepal, out of whom four have already left the country. According to the latest death poll on Thursday, over 58 hundred people have lost their lives in the 7.8 magnitude quake that rocked the country on April 25th. Expeditions on Mount Everest could be resumed next week; we recall the tremor triggered an avalanche that killed 18 people on the world’s highest summit.
Social-Democrat Gheorghe Nichita mayor of the city of Iasi, the largest city in north-eastern Romania was brought to the Bucharest-based National Anticorruption Directorate for hearings on Thursday. Three high-ranking officials with Iasi city hall have been summoned for hearings, while searches were carried out at city hall offices, at the mayor’s house as well as at the local police precinct and the houses of several police chiefs. The operations were part of an investigation into alleged corruption deeds committed this year. In another development a court in Bucharest on Thursday ruled that an investigation be launched into the deeds committed by the mayor and deputy mayor of Miercurea Ciuc, a city in central Romania, Kalman Raduly and Domokos Szoke respectively, both with the opposition Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. The two are facing bribe-taking charges.
Four Romanian troops taking part in Mission “Resolute Support” in Afghanistan were wounded on Thursday, in a car bomb attack. They were on a patrol mission nearly 8 km from the military base in Kandahar, in the south of the country. The soldiers were given first aid at the site and were taken to the hospital in Kandahar, where they are in stable condition. Romania still has 625 troops deployed in Afghanistan, where 23 Romanians have lost their lives while taking part in international missions in the past few years.
