Romania’s former
\nsovereign King Mihai I was discharged on Tuesday from a hospital in Lausanne,
\nSwitzerland, where he underwent cancer surgery. According to a royal family
\nrelease, he is now at his private residence in Switzerland, where he will
\nremain under medical supervision. The release also says the King’s general
\ncondition is stable, but his recovery will be slow, given the gravity of his
\ndiagnosis. Earlier this month, the royal family announced the King would
\nwithdraw from public life because of health reasons, while his public duties
\nwere handed over to his oldest daughter, Princess Margareta. <\/p>\n
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A smoking ban comes into effect in Romania
\non Thursday. Smoking will be prohibited in all enclosed public spaces,
\nincluding spaces with a roof and two walls. Smoking will still be permitted in
\nmaximum-security prisons and in enclosed environments in the transit areas of
\ninternational airports. Smoking is banned in workplaces and all children
\nplayground areas, both outdoor and indoor. Electronic cigarettes will be
\nallowed, with the exception of public transport. Penalties for breaking the
\nsmoking ban include fines and even the closing down of the venues in question.
\nSmoking is one of the most expensive habits. Last year alone, the state cashed
\nin 2.7 billion euros from taxes and duties on cigarette trade. <\/p>\n
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Romania’s top ten exporters account hold a 17% share in
\ntotal exports, accounting for almost 10 billion euros, according to a report by
\nthe National Institute for Statistics commissioned by the Ziarul Financial
\nnewspaper. Romania’s biggest exports come from the car industry. The top 500
\nexporters cover 74% of Romania’s exports, which amounted to almost 55 billion
\neuros in 2015. Last year, only six out of the 500 companies retained their
\npositions, while 68 companies entered the top 500. <\/p>\n
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Razvan
\nMurgeanu, a businessman and former state advisor while Traian Basescu was
\npresident of Romania, has been detained by anticorruption prosecutors for 24
\nhours. He is suspected of influence peddling, bribe giving and incitement to
\nmoney laundering. Two other persons have also been detained as part of the same
\ncase. Murgeanu also served as deputy mayor of Bucharest and a state secretary
\nin the ministry for regional development and tourism. <\/p>\n
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Police
\nraids continued on Tuesday in Brussels after three Belgian and one French
\npolice officers were slightly wounded in an operation carried out on Monday. A
\nsuspect armed with a Kalashnikov was killed. Two more suspects are on the run.
\nThe operation was linked to last November’s terrorist attacks in Paris in which
\n130 people were killed. Salah Abdeslam, the most wanted man in connection with these attacks,
\nhas not been located. 11 persons have so far been charged in Belgium in
\nconnection with November’s attacks, which are believed to have been planned and
\ncoordinated from Brussels. <\/p>\n
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Republican and Democratic front-runners
\nDonald Trump and Hillary Clinton, respectively, have extended their leads in
\nthe race for presidential nomination with wins in Tuesday’s primaries. Donald
\nTrump won in North Carolina, Illinois and Florida, while Hilllary Clinton won
\nin four states, including the industry-rich Ohio. <\/p>\n
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966 people were put to death in Iran in
\n2015, the highest number in the last 20 years, according to a United Nations report.
\nBetween 2005 and 2015, Iran carried out at least 73 executions of child
\noffenders, including 16 in the last two years. 160 young Iranians are currently
\nawaiting execution. Also, 47 journalists and bloggers are known to be
\nimprisoned in Iran. <\/p>\n
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Romania’s number one tennis player Simona Halep has
\nreached the quartefinals of the Indian Wells tournament worth 6 million dollars
\nin prize money. The winner of last year’s title in Indian Wells, Halep is
\ncurrently in the fifth place in the world rankings. In her next match, she
\nfaces world number one Serena Williams, who leads 6-1 in head-to-head clashes.
\nHalep’s only win against Williams dates back to 2014 at the WTA Finals in
\nSingapore. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Radio Romania’s Charming Flute<\/em> project featuring flautist Ion Bogdan Stefanescu and pianist Horia
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n (Translated by: C. Mateescu)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Romanias former sovereign King Mihai I leaves hospital after cancer surgery. Smoking ban to come into effect in Romania on Thursday. Romanias Simona Halep to face Serena Williams in Indian Wells tennis tournament.<\/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":[30061,30060,28900,29651],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-100896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-charming-flute","tag-king-mihai-i","tag-simona-halep","tag-smoking-ban"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nMihail travels to the United States. The performances are scheduled for March
\n18, 6.30 pm, at the Romanian Embassy in Washington, DC and for March 20, 12 pm, at
\nthe Victor Borge Hall – Scandinavia House in New York (58 Park Ave.). The
\nall-Romanian programme includes works by Anton Pann, George Enescu, Tudor
\nCiortea, Paul Constantinescu, Petre Elinescu, Ciprian Porumbescu, Vasile Jianu,
\nIoan Dobrinescu and Tiberiu Brediceanu. <\/p>\n