December 21, 2016
Sevil Shhaideh is the PSD proposal for prime minister.
Newsroom, 21.12.2016, 12:00
PM NOMINATION — The Social Democrat Sevil Shhaideh, a former minister of Regional Development and Public Administration is the Social Democrats’ proposal for prime minister. The leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Liviu Dragnea, has made the announcement after consultations with President Klaus Iohannis. Dragnea has pointed out that, for the time being, he couldn’t be a PM himself, because of a suspended prison sentence that he deemed “unfair” and of a law which he saw as “unconstitutional”. President Iohannis had made it clear ever since the election campaign that he was not going to appoint a PM that had problems with the law. Dragnea has received a 2-year suspended prison sentence for electoral fraud at the 2012 referendum for the impeachment of the then president, Traian Basescu. At the same time, a law from 2001 prevents politicians with a criminal record from taking over the PM seat. The representatives of the Social Democrats and of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) went together to the consultations with President Iohannis. The two parties signed a governing protocol and together they hold 54% of the mandates. Consultations end on Thursday, when President Iohannis will announce the new Prime Minister.
ROMANIAN REVOLUTION — In Romania, the commemoration of the heroes killed in the December 1989 Revolution continues. December 21st marked the end of Ceausescu’s dictatorship, when the protests in Timisoara spread to Bucharest and many other cities. Ceausescu convened a big gathering in the capital Bucharest, in trying to win people’s support, but what he got was huge protests against the regime. At the dictator’s order, the army, the police and the Securitate started firing at protesters, killing 50 people and injuring several hundreads. Military and religious ceremonies are held today in Bucharest, to honour their memory.
EXPLOSION — An explosion that took place in a popular fireworks market near Mexico City left at least 31 people dead, with another 100 being injured or reported missing. In 2005, a fire engulfed the same market, touching off a chain of explosions that levelled hundreds of stalls just ahead of Mexicos Independence Day. Many people in Mexico traditionally celebrate holidays by setting off noisy firecrackers.
MIGRANTS — The border police in Timisoara, in western Romania, has captured five Iraqi citizens who wanted to cross the Serbian-Romanian border illegally, on foot. The Iraqis, who had no ID papers, said they were planning to get to Western Europe. The Romanian border police have captured numerous illegal migrants lately, who attempted to cross its southern and eastern borders.
BERLIN ATTACK — The German Police is further looking for the perpetrator of the horrible attack on Monday in a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 people and injured almost 50. The Pakistani suspect detained on the same night has been released, for lack of evidence. ISIS has claimed the attack. This is the third such attack claimed by ISIS in the past few months. In November, an ISIS sympathiser ran his truck into a group of people at the University of Ohio, the US, injuring 11 people while in July a terrorist killed 86 people with a truck in the French city of Nice.
PARLIAMENT — Romania’s Chamber of Deputies and Senate are today convening in separate meetings to validate the new parliament members. Also today, they will be sworn in and will choose the leadership of the two chambers. The first meeting of the new Parliament after the December 11 elections was held on Tuesday.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
