The year 2016 will bring tax cuts in Romania. As of January 1st the VAT
\nwill drop from 24% to 20% and the tax on dividends from 16% to 5%. Also,
\nemployers who have more employees will pay income taxes of 1% while those who
\ndon’t have employees will pay income taxes of 3%. All these measures account
\nfor almost 2.2 billion euros from the budget, which the Government hopes to
\npartly recover from the economic growth expected in 2016. In another
\ndevelopment, the Government has decided to raise the minimum salary as of May
\n1st 2016. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
More than 37 thousand policemen, firefighters and gendarmes have been
\nmobilized to enforce public order at the events organized on New Year’s Eve
\nacross Romania. According to a communiqu\u00e9 of the Romanian Police, 162
\nlarge-scale public events were planned for New Year’s Eve, in 40 counties and
\nthe capital Bucharest. Until January 3rd the troops of the Special Intervention
\nand Action Service will be on duty in the crowded areas of Bucharest and other
\nbig cities of Romania, as well as in airports and marketplaces.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Concern over threats of terrorist attacks has led to the implementation
\nof enhanced security measures all over the world on the occasion of the
\nfestivities marking the start of the new year 2016. The fireworks shows on the
\nNew Year’s Eve in Paris and Brussels have been canceled for security reasons.
\nIn Brussels all public festivities have been cancelled after two people
\nsuspected of masterminding a terrorist attack were arrested. In Turkey two
\npeople who were planning attacks in Ankara have been arrested. Security
\nmeasures have also been tightened in Vienna, Dhaka and Bangladesh. Authorities
\nin the American cities of New York, Los Angeles and Washington enhanced
\nsecurity ahead of the New Year’s Eve
\nfestivities. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The victims of the fire at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest were
\ncommemorated two months after the tragedy. Around 300 people brought flowers
\nand lit candles in front of the club. The fire killed 63 people and wounded
\nmore than 150. According to data provided by the Healthcare Ministry, 23 people
\nare still in hospitals in Bucharest and abroad. In another development, the
\nthree owners of the Colectiv club have been placed under home arrest.
\nProsecutors with the General Prosecutor’s Office seized the assets of the three
\nowners, who were accused of manslaughter and serious bodily injury alongside
\nanother three people who were in charge of the fireworks show on the night of
\nOctober 30 at the Colectiv Club.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The German chancellor Angela Merkel used her New Year’s speech to urge
\nGermans to see the record influx of refugees to Germany as an opportunity for
\nthe future, drawing attention to those ‘full of hatred’ who want to exclude the
\nothers. I am convinced that, handled properly, today’s great task presented by the influx and the integration of so many people is an opportunity for tomorrow, she said. The German chancellor has been contested both in
\nEurope and in Germany, by her own Conservative party, for her refugee policy.
\nAccording to the daily Saechsische Zeitung, in 2015 Germany received around 1.1
\nmillion migrants, 5 times more than in 2014. The Government will publish the
\nofficial statistics in early January. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Romanian tennis players Irina Begu,
\nMonica Niculescu, Andreea Mitu and Patricia Tig will participate in the
\nShenzhen tournament, China, scheduled to take place between January 3rd and
\n9th. The tournament has prizes up for grabs worth more than 400 thousand
\ndollars. According to the organizers, Begu and Niculescu will be among the
\ntournament’s top seeds, Andreea Mitu will also be on the main table while
\nPatricia Tig will play in the qualifiers. The best known Romanian tennis
\nplayer, Simona Halep, who won the Shenzhen tournament in 2015, will be top
\nseeded in the Brisbane tournament (Australia) which will be unfolding in the
\nsame period. The Brisbane tournament has prizes worth almost 900 thousand
\ndollars. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":100004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-100745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n