August 16, 2016 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 16.08.2016, 12:15
The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said in a message to participants in the Summer University in the central Romanian town of Izvoru Muresului that protecting the rights of the Romanian communities is vital for Romania. A consolidated democracy is based on mutual respect, tolerance, and inter-cultural and inter-ethnic dialog, and cultural diversity is a source of creativity. From this point of view, Romania is a model recognized as such in Europe, and beyond, as the rights of minorities are fully protected. The Summer University in Izvoru Muresului is attended by students from Romanian communities from countries neighboring Romania, as well as from mixed ethnic and religious communities from across the country, members of civil society who are debating the issues of Romanians living abroad, and those of Romanians living in the majority ethnic Hungarian regions of Harghita and Covasna. The theme this year is The Romanian State and Romanians on the Border of the EU and NATO.
The Romanian road transporters on Tuesday resumed protests against the increase in the price of the civil liability insurance policy. They announced that would initiate a month long campaign of sounding horns daily in front of the government headquarters and the Financial Supervision Authority. At the same time, they said that each beginning of the week, for two hours early in the morning, freight vehicles would run at slow speed on beltways across the country, but without blocking traffic completely. Protesters are also angry at the fact that the executive did not intervene to slow down the rise in insurance policy prices. They warned that the failure to meet their demands would trigger a national protest on September 14 and 15.
The autumn Baccalaureate exam session has started in Romania. More than 42 thousands high school students will be sitting for the Baccalaureate exams. The oral exams in the Romanian Language and the mother tongue of national minorities were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Linguistic competences in an international foreign language will be tested between August 17- 19 and digital competences will be assessed on August 18 and 19. Written examinations will start on August 22 with the Romanian language and literature exam and will end on August 26. The first results will be published on August 29 while the final results on September 1. Last year, after the resolution of exam appeals, the final Baccalaureate graduation rate in the autumn session was 25.67%. The minimum passing mark for each discipline is 5, while the final mean for passing the exams is minimum 6.
The Turkish prosecutors have asked for two life sentences and 1,900 years in prison for the Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gullen, accused of masterminding the attempted coup d’etat in Turkey on July 15. The Turkish presidency claims Fethullah Gulen coordinated the attempted coup in Turkey, but the cleric rejected the accusations. The issue of his extradition has caused tension between Ankara and Washington. The US vice-president, Joseph Biden, will pay an official visit to Turkey on August 24. Tens of thousands of people, including judges, soldiers and other civil servants have been arrested or dismissed after the attempted coup d’etat.
The US Vice-president Joe Biden on Tuesday met in Belgrade with Serb President Tomislav Nikolich and the PM Aleksandar Vuchich. The visit shows the willingness of the administration in Washington to maintain their influence in the Balkans, in the context in which Russia is trying to draw Serbia into its sphere of influence, according to news agencies. The visit shows Washingtons wish for reconciliation between Belgrade and Pristina, 17 years after the NATO military intervention that allowed the former Serb province of Kosovo to gain independence. Joe Biden also went to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, where he recommended the implementation of the 2015 agreement, mediated by the European Union, aimed at normalizing relations with Belgrade.
(news translated by Lacramioara Simion and Calin Cotoiu)
