December 24, 2013 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 24.12.2013, 18:38
For Christmas, Romanian President Traian Basescu wishes all Romanians joy and good health. “May the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ make us thing more of people like us, people who are close to us or far away, in the Diaspora, and in particular of those who need our compassion and solidarity”, reads the president’s Christmas address.
Romania’s former king, Mihai I, spends these holidays, like every year, at his residence in Savarsin. The former sovereign and his wife Margaret gave holiday gifts to local families, in a long standing tradition, while children from all over the country gathered to sing carols at the royal residence.
Romania’s Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean, currently on a visit to Israel, is now in the Palestinian Territories, for talks with his counterpart Riad al Malki, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. Also, Corlatean will meet with Mohammed Shtayyeh, the Palestinian Minister of Reconstruction and Development. During his visit to the Palestinian Territories, the Romanian Minister will attend the ceremony of twinning between the municipality of Bethlehem and that of Bucharest’s first district. Also, Corlatean will attend the Christmas mass at the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, at the invitation of president Mahmoud Abbas.
Romania’s public education now is 11 years, instead of 10. The change has occurred with an emergency executive decision modifying the law of education. At the same time, admission to university will be based only on grades obtained in the high school graduation exam, while grades obtained during high school no longer count. Delegate Minister for Research Mihnea Cristoiu said that grades obtained at the graduation exam reflect knowledge accumulated by students during the four years of high school as the exam in the last few years has been free of cheating. In 2013, the rate of success in the graduation exam has been a mere 55% in the first seating and 20% in the second.
British magazine The Economist published a study according to which Romania is among countries with high social risks in 2014, in terms of economic and institutional stability. On the list there are countries such as Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Turkey and Ukraine. On the list of highest risk countries are Greece, Egypt, Lybia, Syria and Irak. The US and Germany are listed among the countries with a low risk, while the list of countries with the lowest risk includes Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland and Japan. The criteria for instability taken into account were income inequality, lack of social protection, ethnic tensions and low confidence in the authorities and in institutions.
The Republic of Moldova received 15 million Euros from the European Commission for implementing its strategy to reform the judicial system. This is the first installment of the financial aid package worth 60 million Euros promised by the European Union. Romania gave Moldova a grant of 20 million Euros for developing its education system.
The campaign for the promotion of Romanian tourism in 2014-2015 will include outdoor advertising, as well as media campaigns in the country and abroad and will cost over 25 million Euros, from European funds. The National Tourism Authority organizes tenders worth around 19 million Euros to promote Romanian tourism on television and in press in the US, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Romania. Adding to this are outdoor campaigns run in those countries and in other opportunity destinations such as Israel, Poland, Turkey, Russia, Austria and the Republic of Moldova. According to the National Statistics Institute some 1.6 million foreign tourists came to Romania, 9.1% more than in the previous year.
Syrian air forces bombarded again the areas controlled by rebels in the surroundings of Alep, in the north of the country, killing at least 15 people. The main target was the Sukkari neighborhood, a stronghold of the Syrian opposition. A non-governmental organization has announced that at least 33 people died in Tuesday’s air strikes, carried out by armed forces faithful to Syrian president Bashar al Assad. Over December 15th to 22nd, Syrian military aircraft killed 300 people, of whom 87 children.
Former NSA employee Edward Snowden said he considers his mission accomplished after sparking a widespread debate by revealing the breadth of American surveillance, according to an interview he gave to the Washington Post. He also added that he did not consider himself a traitor to the United States, an accusation that came in the wake of the scandal caused by the revelation that US intelligence intercepted communications all over the world, including allied countries in Europe.
