March 25, 2016 UPDATE

Three suspects arrested in Brussels on Friday as advanced plot in France is foiled

Newsroom, 25.03.2016, 12:05

Belgian police have arrested several people in connection with Tuesdays attacks in Brussels, in which at least 31 people died and more than 270 were wounded. The authorities carry on counter-terrorism operations, and 3 suspects were arrested on Friday in one of these operations, which was linked to the foiling of a plot in France on Thursday. The French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that plot was at an advanced stage. Meanwhile, the US State Secretary John Kerry said in Brussels on Friday that “we will not be intimidated and (…) will not rest until we have eliminated the nihilistic beliefs of the Islamist groups. Also on Friday, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, called on states to step up security against “nuclear terrorism. According to Belgian authorities, originally the targets of the Brussels attacks were the nuclear facilities in that country.

The chief prosecutor of the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), Daniel Horodniceanu, said there were suspicions of terrorism financing in Romania. He announced that a Counter-Terrorism Office would be again established within the Directorate. The order concerning the resumption of the operations of the Counter-Terrorism Office has been submitted to the Justice Ministry and will then be forwarded to the Higher Council of Magistrates for approval. Meanwhile, Horodniceanu proposed the criminalisation of acts such as the repeated accessing of jihadist websites or the establishment of an organised criminal group specialising in acts of terrorism. The measures were proposed by DIICOT several days after the brutal attacks in Brussels.

The Mayor of Bucharests district 2, Neculai Onţanu, was arrested for 30 days under bribery charges, after on Friday the Bucharest Court of Appeals approved the request lodged by the prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. Ontanu is suspected of having received as bribe, in 2006 – 2007, a plot of land in Bucharest, in return for having helped the holder of disputed property rights to acquire several properties. Onţanu, currently at his fourth term in office as district mayor, is also the interim president of a parliamentary party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania.

Healthcare education should be a compulsory school subject, the Romanian Healthcare Minister Patriciu Achimaş-Cadariu said on Friday. After consultations with civil society and professional organisations, the Ministry will present a new bill concerning the introduction of health education as a school subject. The doctors and nurses working in education institutions may play a major role in teaching this subject, the Minister added.

The Romanian Ambassador to the US, George Maior, said the development of bilateral economic relations, particularly attracting American investments, is one of the priorities of his term in office. Together with the US Ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, he took part in a roundtable in Washington, organised by the American-Romanian Business Council. Among others, Maior emphasised the performances of the Romanian economy and its positive prospects, encouraging American investors to take advantage of the opportunities that Romania has to offer. In turn, the representatives of major US companies with operations in Romania appreciated the openness of public institutions, but warned that governmental policies are still needed in order to ensure fiscal stability and the investment climate.