August 20, 2018 UPDATE

For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here

Newsroom, 20.08.2018, 19:03

INVESTIGATION
– Hearings will be as of Monday at the Prosecutor General’s Office in
connection with the anti-government meeting organised by the Romanians living
abroad, on August 10. We recall the military prosecutors have opened a criminal
case for such crimes as abusive conduct, abuse of office and professional
misconduct, regarding the way in which the gendarmes intervened during the
protest. The Interior Minister Carmen Dan has apologized to all those who
suffered because of violence. The opposition considers however that minister
Dan should have resigned. Also on Monday the Bucharest Police announced the gun
stolen from a gendarme on August 10 has been recovered.

FIGHTER JETS – Two F-22 Raptor US fighter jets and a KC-135
Stratotanker aircraft landed on Monday at the airbase in Campia Turzii, to join
a joint military exercise with F-16 fighter jets of the Romanian Air Force as
well as with F-15 aircraft temporarily stationed as part of the 2018 Dacian
Eagle military exercise. Visiting the airbase in Campia Turzii, Defense
Minister Mihai Fifor said Bucharest has proved it is a reliable and trusted
ally. In turn, US Ambassador Hans Klemm said Romania is the only NATO state in
the region to host such aircraft. The American official went on to say that the
United States is proud of the progress Romania has made in terms of military
advancement and interoperability.

DNA – The Romanian justice minister, Tudorel
Toader, has announced that no prosecutor has applied for the position of chief
prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. Candidacies can be
submitted by August 24, and the new procedure should be finalized by September
6. This is a new selection organised by the Justice Ministry, after Tudorel
Toader rejected all the four candidacies that had been submitted. The minister
is optimistic that there will be a candidate for this position until the
deadline expires. The position of chief prosecutor of the National
Anti-Corruption Directorate has become vacant after Laura Codruţa Kövesi was revoked
by a decree issued on July 9 by President Klaus Iohannis, who implemented a
decision by the Constitutional Court.

50 YEARS OF DACIA – The car-manufacturing plant in
Mioveni, southern Romania, on Monday celebrated 50 years since the first Dacia
car was made, during which time production has exceeded 6 million units. The
first car was produced on August 20, 1968 and was a Dacia 1100 make,
manufactured under the Renault R8 brand. A year later, the Dacia 1300 entered
production, which made history for the next 30 years. In 1999, Dacia and the
plant in Mioveni were taken over by Renault. At present, Dacia is the biggest
company in Romania with a turnover of 5 billion euros in 2017. Dacia cars are
exported to 44 countries on four continents. The top markets in the first half
of 2018 were France, Germany and Italy.

PEASANT CIVILIZATION – Săpânţa, in the northern Romanian
county of Maramureş, which has been designated the Peasant Cultural Capital of
the Romanians around the world, has been the venue for a cultural project titled The
United Villages of Romania. The project has been carried out jointly with
Radio Romania. This annual meeting of villages, this year devoted to the Great
Union Centennial, has been attended by 800 artists, singers and folk groups
from 30 county capitals, as well as from the Romanian communities around the
world. The initiator of the project is
an Irishman who has been living in Romania for 24 years, Peter Hurley. He says
he has been impressed by the fact that the old Romanian civilization is
surviving wherever there are Romanians.

OLYMPIAD – Romania’s computer science team won
four medals, of which two gold, at the 25th edition of the Computer
Science Olympiad in Central Europe, hosted over August 12-18 by Warsaw, Poland.
According to the Education Ministry, Romania ranked first in the unofficial
medal standings, the same number of medals as Poland. This year’s edition
brought together 55 contestants from 13 countries. The first edition of the
Olympiad was held in Cluj-Napoca, north-western Romania, in 1994. In another
development, Romania’s Olympic delegation at the International Earth Science
Olympiad in Thailand won four medals, one silver and three bronze. The 12th
edition of the Olympiad was held over August 8-17 and it brought together 154
contestants from 38 countries.

(Translated
by D. Vijeu and V. Palcu)