November 5, 2018 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 05.11.2018, 20:25

VISIT During the official visit she is currently
paying to the Sultanate of Oman, Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica Dancila attended
a business forum in Muscat on Monday. The Romanian official has said that as an
EU-member, Romania is interested in building solid bridges between the European
Union and the Gulf countries laying firm foundations for extended bilateral
relations. Also on Monday, Viorica Dancila participated in the ceremony of
inaugurating the Romanian embassy in Muscat. The Romanian Prime Minister was earlier
received by His Royal Highness Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud al-Said, Prime Deputy
Prime Minister of the Ministers Council in Oman. The two officials have
analyzed concrete cooperation opportunities in several fields such as
agriculture, tourism, infrastructure health and education. Dancila has
encouraged investment in Romania, underlying that the country has an attractive
business environment, which is supported by amendments to the legislation over
public-private partnership. From Muscat, the Romanian delegation is to arrive
in Qatar on Tuesday.

MEDAL Romanian weightlifter Loredana
Toma on Monday won a silver medal in the 64 kilogram category of the jerk event
of the World Weightlifting Championships in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. On
Saturday, another Romanian athlete, Cristina Iovu reaped bronze in the snatch
event of the 55 kilogram category of the same competition. Nicolae Onica, Elena
Ramona Andries, Cristina Iovu and Loredana Toma are representing Romania in this
competition counting towards qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

DEFENCE Romania’s Chief of Staff,
General Nicolae Ciuca is paying a working visit to Greece on Tuesday and
Wednesday. The agenda of the talks the Romanian official is going to have with
his Greek counterpart includes issues such as the way in which Romania and
Greece may contribute to strengthening security in the Alliance’s eastern
flank. Concrete ways of cooperation between the armies of the two NATO allies are
also to be discussed at both bilateral and regional levels.

DEATH Romanian communist torturer
Alexandru Visinescu died in the Rahova Prison close to Bucharest at the age of
93. Visinescu was serving a 20 year prison sentence for crimes against humanity
committed during the time he was commander of the R. Sarat Penitentiary between
1956 and 1963. Visinescu’s sentencing in February 2016 was a first for Romania’s
legal system. The torturer had appealed for release on medical grounds but his
appeal was turned down by the court. Another communist torturer, Ion Ficior,
former commander of the Periprava labour camp, who was also serving a 20 year prison
sentence, died in September this year.

(translated by bill)