March 4, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 04.03.2014, 21:26
On Tuesday, the Romanian Parliament validated with 346 votes the new government, made up of representatives of the Social Democratic Party, the Conservative Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. 192 senators and deputies voted against. President Traian Basescu said he would sign the decrees for the appointment of the new ministers only when all constitutionals procedures are observed. The head of state talked to Prime Minister Victor Ponta and told him to adopt a governing program that reflected the new political alliances, and then ask for Parliament’s endorsement. In another move, the President talked about the possibility of waiting for a decision of the Constitutional Court after the Liberal Democratic Party and the Popular Movement Party, in the opposition, contested the legitimacy of the new Government. Previously, Prime Minister Victor Ponta had stated that the new Executive would carry on the governing program adopted in 2012. The leader of the National Liberal Party, Crin Antonescu, resigned from the office of Senate Speaker. More on this after the news.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that for the time being there’s no need for use of force in Ukraine, but warned that any decision to deploy Russian troops in that country would be legitimate. The announcement was made during his first press conference since the breakout of the crisis in Crimea. Previously, Putin had ordered the troops deployed last Wednesday to western and central Russia to return to their units. The moves, ordered against the political crisis in Ukraine, were seen by some international observers as a sign of a potential massive intervention. Tensions still linger between the Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Crimean Peninsula. On Tuesday in Kiev, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, condemned the Russian aggression towards Ukraine and said that Moscow only tried to find a pretext to invade the country even more. Kerry also announced an economic and technical aid package worth 1 billion dollars to support the new Ukrainian government.
The Bucharest Court of Appeal sentenced 8 agents, club managers and owners to prison, in a case involving the transfer of Romanian football players abroad. The decision is final. The former shareholder of Dinamo Club, Cristi Borcea, and former agent Ioan Becali got the biggest sentences, 6 years and 4 months in prison. Another agent, Victor Becali, got 4 years and 8 months. The former majority shareholder of FC Rapid, George Copos, was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months and the former shareholder of FC Dinamo and U Craiova, Gigi Netoiu got 3 years and 4 months, just like the former president of Gloria Bistrita Jean Padureanu. The former international player Gheorghe Popescu, who on Wednesday runs for president of the Romanian Football Federation, was sentenced to 3 years and one month in prison. The current manager of Steaua, Mihai Stoica, was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months. They were all charged with embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion, which cost the Romanian state 1.5 million dollars.
