October 24, 2013 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Florentin Căpitănescu, 24.10.2013, 12:27
Ion Ficior, former chief guard of the political prisoners camp in Periprava, eastern Romania, between 1960 and 1963 has been indicted for genocide. According to the institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania, Ficior introduced an abusive regime of detention and reprisals against the political prisoners, which caused the death of over 100 people. Out of a list of 35 chief guards, who tortured political prisoners back in the communist time, Ficior is the second made public by the institute.
The fourth cinema festival “Les Film de Cannes a Bucarest” is to kick off in Romania’s capital on Friday. The three cinemas hosting the event will be screening over 60 productions, of which 20 ran in the famous Cannes Film Festival. Until October 31st, film lovers from Romania will be able to see many of the award-winning productions in Cannes, including winners of the Palme d’Or, the jury prize, the awards for best direction and acting. The event will open with Mexican Amat Escalante’s feature film Heli, which reaped the best director prize in Cannes. The festival has been staged jointly with the French Institute in Bucharest and with support from the Romanian Ministry of Culture.
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta will be meeting the joint mission of the IMF, the World Bank and the European Commission in Bucharest on Friday. High on the talks agenda will be fiscal measures and the state budget next year. Since Tuesday, when they arrived in Bucharest, the troika has been assessing the latest agreement concluded with Romania. The precautionary agreement, approved in September by the IMF board is of two billion euros, but Romania may also have access to another two billion euros from the European Commission. Until November 5th, the international finance experts will have talks with officials and representatives of the political parties in Romania, of trade unions, business associations, banks and various organizations of civil society.
Romania’s President Traian Basescu is attending in Brussels, for two days, the autumn proceedings of the European Council. According to the head of state, the agenda of talks is dominated by economic issues, digital economy in particular. The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso has stated that the EU needs a strong digital sector, which should favour the development of the other economic fields. The agenda of talks also includes social issues in the EU, focusing in particular on means of curbing youth unemployment and the functioning of the Banking Supervisory Authority.
According to official data made public by the National Statistics Institute based in Madrid, the unemployment rate in Spain dropped to 25.98% in the third quarter of 2013, when the fourth raking economy in the Eurozone managed to escape recession. Between June — August 2013, the number of the unemployed dropped by 72 thousand 8 hundred, reaching 5.9 million. In the third quarter Spain managed to get out of a 2-year recession, strengthening Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s efforts to fix public finances and reduce the record level of unemployment in that country.
Over 200 writers, translators, literary critics and journalists, librarians, fair promoters and heads of cultural institutions from 17 countries are attending in Iasi, northeastern Romania, the first International Literature and Translation Festival. The event will host public readings, meetings between writers and students, round tables and debates, exhibitions, concerts and a book fair. The opening gala will be held this evening, and the festival will close its gates on Sunday.
