LAW Romania’s
\npresident Klaus Iohannis Friday signed into law a bill banning convicted offenders
\nfrom running for public offices such as senators, deputies, mayors, chairs or
\nmembers of county councils and others. Under the said law, the ban does not
\napply in cases involving rehabilitation, amnesty or decriminalisation.<\/p>\n
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AIRCRAFT Romania has signed an agreement to purchase 32 F-16
\nfighters from Norway. According to the Defence Ministry, the first aircraft
\nwill be delivered towards the end of next year, and total costs amount to EUR 388
\nmln. The ministry also explains that the aircraft will be operational and fit
\nfor use for another at least 10 years. The agreement is supported by the US
\nGovernment and is a capability transfer between 2 NATO member states, aimed at
\nenhancing Romania’s defence capacity and at ensuring the country’s contribution
\nto the collective defence as part of the Alliance. At present the Romanian Air
\nForces operate 17 F-16 fighters.<\/p>\n
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TRADE The volume
\nof trade exchanges between Romania and Germany in the first 9 months of the
\nyear exceeded EUR 28 bln, 18% higher than in the same period last year, says
\nthe Federal Statistics Office quoted by the Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce.
\nAccording to the same sources, German exports to Romania stood at roughly EUR 15
\nbln, while imports exceeded EUR 13 bln, placing Romania on the 19th position in
\na ranking by exports and on the 21st position in terms of imports. Federal
\nauthorities have voiced hope that Romania will join the Schengen zone as soon
\nas possible in what is seen as a strong political signal acknowledging the
\ncountry’s positive achievements in terms of European integration.<\/p>\n
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EXTREMISM The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation condemns the
\nxenophobic statements made by a Hungarian politician on a visit to Sf\u00e2ntu
\nGheorghe (central Romania). Barna Bartha, a Deputy affiliated with the
\nextremist party Mi Haz\u00e1nk (Our Motherland) made racist statements concerning
\nRoma and Jewish people, and threatened Bor\u00f3ka Par\u00e1szka, a Hungarian ethnic
\nemployed as a journalist with Radio Rom\u00e2nia T\u00eergu Mure\u015f. The management of the
\nRadio Broadcasting Corporation sees these statements as unacceptable and a
\nserious attack against basic rules of democracy and against the rule of law. PM
\nNicolae Ciuca also described the threats against journalist Paraszka Boroka as
\na serious attack on democratic values and urged the relevant authorities to
\nuse their legal powers to protect the members of mass media. Mi Haz\u00e1nk is a
\nfar-right party in Hungary, set up 4 years ago by dissidents from Jobbik party
\nafter its leaders moved away from the organisation’s radical roots.<\/p>\n
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UKRAINE Some 4.5
\nmillion Ukrainians, accounting for one-tenth of the country’s population, were
\nleft without electricity on Thursday night, after Russian attacks on the
\ncountry’s energy network. Power went out both in the capital Kyiv and in 10
\nother regions. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russians
\ncannot beat Ukraine on the battlefield, so they try to break our people by
\nresorting to energy terrorism. Meanwhile, Ukraine firmly condemned the
\nmassive displacement of civilians in Russian-controlled Kherson region (south)
\nfor fear of a massive Ukrainian counteroffensive. Civilians were reportedly
\nalso moved in the neighbouring region of Zaporizhzhia and in Crimea, the
\npeninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as in the eastern provinces of Luhansk
\nand Donetsk, partly controlled by pro-Moscow secessionists. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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