Romania\u2019s president Traian Basescu has conveyed a message of congratulation to German chancellor, Angela Merkel, currently at her third term in office. Basescu said that for Romania, Germany is an ally and a friend. Conservative Merkel, who got a landslide victory on Tuesday will lead a big coalition made up of the Christian-Democratic Union, Christian-Social Union and Social Democrats. It\u2019s for the first time Merkel got reelected as head of the grand coalition after the 2005-2009 mandate. On Wednesday, the chancellor will pay a traditional visit to France for talks with president Francois Hollande.<\/p>\n
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Romania\u2019s new culture minister Liberal Gigel-Sorinel Stirbu was sworn in on Tuesday. A 42 year-old lawyer, Stirbu replaces Daniel Barbu, who stepped down last week amid inappropriate statements on the budget allotted for the prevention and treatment of HIV\/AIDS infections. Also on Tuesday, Social-Democrat Toni Grebla was sworn in as a judge at the Constitutional Court. Grebla was proposed by the Senate and will replace Iulia Motoc, who will join the European Court of Human Rights.<\/p>\n
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Russia will invest 15 billion dollars in bonds issued by Ukraine and will cut by a third the price of its gas exports to that country, Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday after the talks he had with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych. Putin said the talks agenda didn\u2019t include Ukraine\u2019s possible accession to the Eurasian Union. Yanukovych went to Russia amid large-scale protests by the pro-west opposition, who fear the country might sign an agreement to join the Eurasia Union led by Moscow. Ukraine has been scene to numerous protests since November 21st, when the incumbent government decided to suspend the process of associating with the EU.<\/p>\n
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A mourning day was observed in the western Romanian city of Timisoara on Tuesday to the memory of the victims of the December 1989 anti-Communist revolution. 24 years were commemorated since the army used live ammunition and tanks to repress the uprising of the people in Timisoara, who were brave enough to take to the streets against the former communist dictator Nicolae Ceusescu\u2019s regime. All flags on the city\u2019s main institutions were lowered down at half-mast. Commemoration masses and wreath-laying ceremonies were also held throughout the city. We recall the revolution sparked off in Timisoara and rapidly spread to other cities across the country. It gained momentum in Bucharest on December 22nd, the same day as Ceausescu\u2019s regime collapsed.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe Child\u2019s Pose\u201d a film directed by the Romanian Calin Peter Netzer has been included on the shortlist of the four feature films most likely to receive an Oscar 2014 nomination for the best foreign production, according to \u201cThe Hollywood Reporter\u201d publication\u2019s site. Also included on the list are the Danish production\u201d The Hunt\u201d, the Iranian film \u201c The Past\u201d and the Belgian production \u201cThe Broken Circle\u201d. The American Film Academy on December 20 will announce the shortlist including nine films, five of which will then be selected. \u201cThe Child\u2019s Pose\u201d was awarded the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2013.<\/p>\n
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