July 24, 2018

Romanian President receives Irish PM; Candidates for head anti-corruption prosecutor have been vetted

Bogdan Matei, 24.07.2018, 13:24

ATHENS — The Romanian embassy in Athens is following closely the forest fires in Greece, attempting to find out if Romanians are among the victims. 60 victims have been tallied so far, with over 200 injured. Most of the victims were felled by fire in the resort of Mati, 40 km northeast of Athens. Greek PM Alexis Tsipras cut short a foreign visit to return to Greece. He dispatched emergency workers and firefighters to the scene, as well as military contingents. Athens activated its European civilian protection mechanism. The fires were caused by a heat wave that hit the country recently, with temperatures over 40 degrees centigrade.

BUCHAREST — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis received in Bucharest on Tuesday Irish PM Leo Varadkar. According to the Presidency, the two officials are discussing bilateral relations and topics on the European agenda, the Romanian presidency of the EU, scheduled for the first semester of 2019, the new EU budget, the Brexit, and managing migration. President Iohannis proposed expanding cooperation between the two states. The Irish PM will also meet his counterpart, Viorica Dancila, as well as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea.

BUCHAREST — The four candidates running for the position of head prosecutor of the Anti-Corruption Directorate in Romania meet the legal conditions, according to the Ministry of Justice. A decision is scheduled to be made on Friday, according to Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. The position has been vacant after former head prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi was revoked by presidential decree on July 9, as a result of a ruling made by the Constitional Court.

BUCHAREST — Romanian current soccer champions CFR Cluj are playing on Tuesday night at home against Swedish team Malmo FF in the first leg of the second preliminary round of the Champions League. The qualifying team will play against the winner of the contest between Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria and Vidi FC Szekesfehervar of Hungary. The loser will play against the winner of the match between Sutjeska Niksic of Montenegro and Alashkert of Armenia.

MADRID — Romanias mens water polo team play on Tuesday against Holland, in the European championships in Barcelona, Spain. The Romanians have missed the qualification to the quarter finals after they were defeated by Montenegro in the play-offs 5-15. The championship gathers together the best 16 national teams on the continent. In the previous edition two years ago, Romania got 10th place, and the best performance in the competition was getting 4th place in 1993 and 2006.

BUCHAREST — Romanian PM Viorica Dancila has announced that on Wednesday she will begin a visit to Montenegro and Macedonia. The political dialog will focus on enhancing bilateral relations, support for the two countries bid to join the EU, and ensuring regional stability and security. The PM specified that the main focus of the visit will be the European agenda of the two states, which Romania sees as a priority during its future presidency of the EU, in the first semester of next year.

FLOODING – Hundreds have died and are missing in Laos after the collapse of a hydroelectric dam under construction. After the collapse, which released five billion cubic meters of water, thousands of homes have been destroyed. Laos exports most of its dam generated electricity to neighboring countries, especially Thailand. Environmental organizations have expressed their concern regarding the state planned expansion of hydroelectric power generation, especially the dams on the Mekong river with its vast ecosystem.