17 March, 2016

President Iohannis attends EU refugee meeting, Romania imposes indoor smoking ban

Newsroom, 17.03.2016, 11:59

REFUGEES – EU leaders meet today for two days in Brussels to settle on an agreement with Turkey in the matter of the refugee crisis. Among other things, the agreement stipulates that all migrants be returned to Turkey from Greece unless they meet criteria set by European law. Recently, Ankara asked the EU for more money to deal with refugees, as well as asking for a visa waiver for travel to the EU for its citizens. Head of the European Council Donald Tusk pointed out that many issues between Turkey and the EU are unresolved, and said the agreement with Turkey would be temporary and extraordinary, according to Reuters. Romania is represented by President Klaus Iohannis, who said Turkey needed help to stem the tide of refugees.

SMOKING – An indoor smoking ban came into effect on Thursday, which prevents smoking in all indoor spaces, near playgrounds, in taxicabs and in company cars. Physicians say this law reduces the incidence of diseases that cause the most fatalities.

BRANCUSI – The Wisdom of the Earth, a 1907 sculpture by Constantin Brancusi, will be purchased by the Romanian state. The owners have accepted the 11 million Euro offer submitted by the negotiating committee on behalf of the government. The announcement was made on Wednesday by Minister of Culture Vlad Alexandrescu, who said that the government pays 5 million Euro, with the rest covered by a national public contribution.

PROSECUTION – Razvan Murgeanu, businessman and former adviser to President Traian Basescu, was placed under preventive arrest for 30 days by anti-corruption prosecutors. He is under investigation for influence peddling, bribery and conspiracy to commit money laundering. One other person was arrested in the same case. Previously to being presidential adviser, Murgeanu was deputy mayor of Bucharest, and undersecretary with the Ministry of Tourism and Regional Development.

TOURISM – Over 2.2 million foreign nationals have visited Romania last year for business or pleasure, spending over 1.1 billion Euro, according to the National Statistics Institute. Accommodation accounts for 53% of the figure, followed by food and drink expenses, 16%, and 12.7% in other purchases. Car rentals accounted for over 61% of the spending on transportation.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep was defeated on Thursday by Serena Williams in the quarter finals of the WTA competition in Indian Wells, with 6 million dollars in prize money. Simona Halep, currently fifth seeded, could not hold on to the title she won last year in Indian Wells, losing in two sets , 6-4, 6-3, against the WTA top player, who goes on to play against 3rd seeded Agnieszka Radwanska. Williams has won seven times against Halep, with the latter winning only one game against the American player.

BOMBING – A Kurdish militant group has claimed the bloody attack that occurred on Sunday in the Turkish capital Ankara, which left 37 dead, according to BBC News online. In a press release, the Kurdish group said the attack was in retaliation to Turkish military operations in southeast Turkey, where the population is majority Kurdish. The group is a PKK splinter, which also claimed the car bombing in February, which left 29 dead.