November 9, 2014
An roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 09.11.2014, 12:15
The Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced it analyses the communique issued by the Central Election Bureau, saying that the responsibility for setting up new polling stations abroad falls on the Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry, however, says that the Election Bureau’s previous decisions did not lead to this conclusion. On Saturday, President Traian Basescu asked again for the Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean’ resignation, whom he accuses of having misinformed the public opinion on which institution has the right to set up additional polling stations outside the country. On November 2nd, during the first round of the presidential elections, hundreds of Romanians queued for hours outside several polling stations in Europe, but even so, many of them did not manage to cast their vote. Ahead of the second round of elections, due on November 16, authorities have taken measures to better organise elections abroad and have increased the number of polling booths and voting stamps. On Saturday, in Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara and several other cities protests were staged is support of the Romanians abroad. Protesters chanted slogans against the Government and the Foreign Ministry, seen as responsible for the improper manner in which voting unfolded at some of the 294 polling stations abroad. Similar protests have been announced for today. The first round of the presidential elections left only two candidates in the race for the highest office: Social Democrat Prime Minister Victor Ponta, and the leader of the Liberal Party Klaus Iohannis.
Germany marks today 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Mikhail Gorbachev is a guest of honour in Berlin, helping kick-start this weekend’s commemorations. The ex-Soviet leader’s “Perestroika” and “Glasnost” reforms triggered changes across communist eastern Europe that led to the demise of the most potent symbol of the Cold War. Berlin is celebrating but also honouring at least 136 people who died at the Wall, most of them trying to escape to West Berlin from the communist East. On Sunday night, in a culmination of this special weekend, thousands of illuminated white balloons lined up along a stretch of the former barrier will be released — symbolically making the Wall come down for a second time.
The people of Catalonia, a region with 7.5 million inhabitants in north-eastern Spain, are today voting in an informal poll on independence, BBC reports. Catalan leader Artur Mar warned against any attempt to disrupt it. Spains constitutional court suspended earlier plans for a referendum on secession. Voters will be asked whether they want a Catalan state and whether that state should be independent. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the vote would have no effect and urged the region to return to “sanity”.
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta went on Saturday to Kosovo to meet with Romanian military taking part in peacekeeping missions in the region. Previously, in Serbia, the Prime Minister reiterated Romania’s support for the neighbouring country’s bid for the EU. Romania is among the five EU countries which do not recognise the independence of the former Serbian region of Kosovo, with a majority Albanian population. Bucharest pleads, on the other hand, for the observance of the rights of ethnic minorities in Serbia, of the numerous Romanian community in Voivodina and Timoc Valley in particular.
London hosts as of Sunday a new edition of the ATP Champions Tour. Romania’s representative in the competition is Horia Tecau who will play in the men’s doubles alongside Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer. On Monday, Tecau and Rojer will be up against the team made up of Bruno Soares of Brazil and Alexander Peya of Austria. We remind you that Romanian Simona Halep came out second in this year’s WTA Champions Tour in Singapore.
