November 17, 2013 UPDATE

For an update on domestic and international news, click here.

România Internațional, 17.11.2013, 19:21

Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean reconfirmed his country’s support for Georgia’s bid to the EU and NATO. Corlatean participated on Sunday in Tibilisi in the swearing in ceremony of the new Georgian President Giorgi Margvelasvili, whom he congratulated, during a bilateral meeting, on his election. In his turn, President Margvelasvili thanked Romania for supporting Georgian efforts to getting closer to NATO and the EU. On Saturday, Corlatean met with his Georgian counterpart Maia Panjikidze and talked with members of the Romanian contingent with the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia.

Romania will resume the exports of pork to the EU countries as of January 1st, 2014, from all production centers licensed to make exports to the EU, head of the Romanian sanitary-Veterinary Authority, Vladimir Manastireanu, announced. Exports of pork to EU countries have been so far been allowed from only 4 counties in western Romania, with the other production centers being banned from exporting meat because of suspicion of contamination with swine fever. Once exports resumed completely as of January, Manastireanu says, Romanian producers can cash in over 1 billion euros.

The eight Romanian citizens, supporters of the Romanian national football team, detained on Friday by the Greek police for trying to introduce forbidden materials into the stadium will be sent back to Romania, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. The five men received a suspended sentence to five months in prison.

At least 44 people were reported dead on Sunday after a passenger plane crashed near the town of Kazan, in central Russia. The Boeing 737 had taken off from Moscow. The plane crashed just before landing on the airport in Kazan, the Russian ministry for emergency situations announced, quoted by the Radio Romania correspondent.

The British writer Doris Lessing, a Nobel laureate for literature and the author of over 50 novels died on Sunday at the age of 94. Lessing explored topics ranging from colonial Africa to Britain, from the mystery of being a woman to the unknown world of science fiction. She won the Nobel Literature prize in 2007. The Swedish Academy praised Lessing for her “scepticism, fire and visionary power.” Drawn in her early years by the communist ideology, Doris Lessing completely dissociated herself from it in mid-1950, when she denounced the abuse of Stalin’s regime.