October 14, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 14.10.2014, 00:15
Two of the candidates to Romania’s presidency, Klaus Iohannis, the representative of the Christian Liberal Alliance in opposition and Elena Udrea, from the pro-presidential People’s Movement Party, asked for the resignation of the Social Democrat prime Minister Victor Ponta, and for his withdrawal from the presidential race. The request comes after President Traian Basescu has revealed that between 1997 and 2001, while a prosecutor, Victor Ponta was also an undercover officer of the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service. Moreover, Traian Basescu claims that in 2013 Victor Ponta’s Cabinet passed an ordinance, without the approval of the country’s Superior Defence Council, stipulating that the identity and activity of former intelligence officers would also become object of a non-disclosure provision. The president believes the ordinance was specifically meant to protect Ponta and that the Government passed it with the complicity of former Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service chief, Teodor Melescanu, who is also a presidential candidate in November’s elections. Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Tuesday dismissed the allegations, while Teodor Melescanu argued that the government ordinance was necessary to prevent former agents from being exposed.
Around 150 thousand Orthodox believers went on one of Romania’s most important pilgrimages to pray to Saint Parascheva’s relics of Iasi. Saint Parascheva was born at the beginning of the 11th century, near Constantinople, today’s Istanbul, in a family of Christian believers. By the age of 15, she dedicated herself to church life. Saint Parascheva’s relics were brought to Iasi in 1641. She is seen as protector of the city of Iasi and of the whole of Moldavia.
Clashes in Eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian security forces left at least 7 Ukrainian soldiers dead, Kiev authorities have announced. On Friday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Milan, Italy. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Parliament has appointed Stepan Poltorak as the country’s new Defence Minister, the fourth in the last nine months.
Romanian fullback Cristian Manea has been included by the British daily The Guardian among the world’s Top 40 most talented junior footballers. Cristian Manea made his debut for the national side when he was just 16, playing the whole game in the 1-0 win over Albania in May 2014. Used as a right-back for both Viitorul and Romania, Manea is equally good as a central defender and can also play as a defensive midfielder, the Guardian reports.
Romanian businessman Marian Iancu, former owner of the football side Poli Timisoara, received a definitive sentence from the Bucharest Court of Appeal, of 12 years in prison, on grounds of fiscal evasion, criminal conspiracy and money laundering.
