The survey on high HIV/AIDS risk adolescents in Bucharest, Iasi, Constanta and Timisoara shows heroine is the most widely used drug, with 75 per cent of respondents stating they have used heroine on a daily basis.

Sociologists agree under-18 year olds practicing commercial sex are more vulnerable than those aged over 18, the fact being confirmed by HIV infection risk studies. The findings show that 22.2 per cent of the female respondents have used intravenous drugs, the percentage varying according to age. ‘A quarter of young women aged between 18 and 24 have used intravenous drugs as compared to 8.9 per cent of the over 18-year olds. Six of the 64 female respondents who admitted to having injected themselves drugs started using drugs before the age of 15 and 79.7 per cent starting using drugs before the age of 18,’ the study shows.

Over 90 per cent of the polled users said they had used sterile injecting devices for the first shot and 29 per cent had shared the...

Although the plan had been to have several hundreds of thousands of people in the street, in a desperate attempt to convince the government to give up cutting pensions and wages, unions were only able to gather some 500. Approximately 500 union members rallied at the Palace of Parliament yesterday, to protest wage and pension cuts and to urge MPs not to pass the austerity plan on which the government is assuming responsibility and represent the interests of their voters. The 500 trade union members protested at the five entrances to the palace, in the following way: the ‘Cartel Alfa’ Confederation and CSDR – the entrance to the Senate, CNSLR Fratia and BNS - the entrance to the Chamber of Deputies and CNS Meridian the front entrance from the Constitutiei Square.

The protesters chanted ‘MPs, we have voted for you, now you vote for us’, urging them to endorse the no-confidence vote for the benefit of their voters. The magistrates sitting at the Bucharest Court of Appeal...

A complaint against the former Social-Democrat Labour minister, currently the president of the newly-formed National Union for Romanian Progress (UNPR), alongside a former head of Labour Inspection and other 13 former subordinates in the Labour Ministry, was filed at the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), by one of their colleagues, named Danut Gheorghe Radu. The latter revealed before the prosecutors that Marian Sarbu supposedly committed abuse in office, defying public interests, negligence in office, assisted criminals and failed to notify the judiciary, in the context of purchasing offices for institutions under the Ministry’s command, at prices above the market price.

Prosecutors notified by Danut Gheorghe Radu decided, however, against initiating a criminal investigation against Sarbu and the other 14 individuals who were his former subordinates in the ministry in June 2009, during Sarbu’s second term as Minister of Labour. Danut Gheorghe Radu appealed against...

The vote of Romanians abroad can heavily influence poll results, but the main problem about outside voting remains that of the level of information the expat community actually has on the country’s political situation, was the conclusion of a seminar organized yesterday in Bucharest by the United Nations’ Voting Assistance Organization.

According to Octavian Opris, head of the Permanent Election Authority (AEP), quoted by Agerpres, there are several dimensions to outside polls: there is one political, fundamental right to free expression of a citizen’s election rights and the second dimension is a technical, organizational one.

“The electronic vote was very much discussed lately, the vote by correspondence, but not all know this is a type of voting that implies a lot of practical and technical difficulties,” Opris said in the opening of the seminar. According to him, voting by correspondence would pose a lot of difficulties regarding its secrecy and its real- time...

The Ministry of Health (MS) yesterday approved the report by the commission that conducted an inquiry at the Slatina Emergency Hospital into the case of a 9-year-old boy who died after he broke his forearm. The commission recommended that the orthopaedist on duty and the head of the Surgery and Orthopaedics Department should have their work contracts terminated on grounds of breach of duty. The inquiry commission examined both the administrative and medical handling of the case. It concluded the child received appropriate care before hospitalization and at the Emergency Reception Unit. Nonetheless, he was not examined properly upon his admission to the Orthopaedics and Paediatric Surgery Department or during hospitalization, May 23-26, 2010. According to the report, ‘the patient was discharged under improper circumstances, on the basis of a misread X-ray and without being examined upon discharge.’ The document also shows that, although the patient was operated upon when his general...

Almost 70 visually-impaired people in Dambovita County hold driving licenses. This came to light following an inspection by the Prefecture, which asked the Police to come up with an explanation. “67 individuals in Dambovita County, who are registered as visually-impaired, hold driving licenses. 18 of these, however, do bear mentions from doctors stating that the owner has sight deficiencies but is able to drive a car. The information has been remitted to the authorities, to be solved accordingly,” the spokesperson for Dambovita Prefecture, Andreea Ionescu, stated on Monday. Police officers would withdraw the driving licenses of those found wanting, and the case has also drawn the attention of the Scam Investigation Service within the Dambovita County Police.

In Botosani, as well, the Prefecture found that 486 persons suffering from severe disorders, which impair driving abilities, hold driving licenses, HotNews informs. The persons in question include 33 1st degree...

Holiday bonuses of almost RON 4,000, at ANI

A department head at the National Integrity Agency (ANI) and a higher integrity inspector received, in April, holiday bonuses of almost RON 4,000, according to statistics of incomes made by employees of the institution in April. The highest portion of the four holiday bonuses granted by the institution was claimed by a higher integrity inspector, who took home RON 3,936, while the department head received RON 3,888. The highest income at ANI in April went to the president, Catalin Macovei, who earned RON 8,415. The salary of the secretary general, Horia Georgescu, amounted, in April, to RON 5,117, below that of a general director, a director and even below the wages of some department heads. The wages of integrity inspectors range from approximately RON 1,700, earned by the lower employees, to approximately RON 4,000.

Hrebenciuc complains that cell phones are jammed at PSD

Social-Democrat Party (PSD)...

Turkish ship sinks near Constanta

A Turkish flag ship loaded with scrap iron sank near the Port of Constanta yesterday, Mediafax reports. Wednesday morning at about 4:30, the ship started to lurch. Two other vessels were sent to the area to rescue the ship, but failed. The 17 sailors onboard were rescued. No one knows for sure what caused the distress, but two options are being considered: adverse weather conditions or the wrong loading of the vessel. The port authorities opened an investigation to determine the cause of the shipwreck.

First autumn day brings first snow in the Retezat Mountain

The first autumn day of the year has also brought along the first snowfall of the season. It snowed in the Retezat Mountain (Hunedoara County) on Wednesday, with air temperatures dropping massively below what it is considered as normal for this time of the year, Agerpres informs. “The coat of snow was 7 to 10 cm thick at 2,000 metre altitude. But this...

During talks with European Commissioners Viviane Reding (Justice and Fundamental Rights) and Cecilia Malmstrom (Internal Affairs) in Brussels on Tuesday, French ministers defended their controversial crackdown on the Roma minority, insisting that repatriations fully comply with European law.

France has been facing mounting criticism for its decision to demolish illegal nomad camps and repatriate Roma to their countries of origin, mostly Romania and Bulgaria, with left-wing opposition, international human rights groups, EU officials and the UN human rights body voicing concern about the measures.

“I explained the principles on which we acted,” said French Immigration Minister Eric Besson in Brussels after meeting Reding and Malmstrom. “Everything is in total conformity with European law, the 2004 [freedom of movement EU] directive, French law and the republican principles of France,” he said, quoted by ‘The Guardian.’ He added that no collective expulsions were...

Having assembled the fossilised skeleton of what they believed to be a velociraptor, scientists were surprised to discover in Romania a new species of carnivore dinosaur that lived in Europe 70-80 million years ago, according to a study published Monday, cited by AFP. This biped dinosaur dubbed the ‘Balaurul bondoc’ (stocky dragon) was ‘stocky built’ and had a pair of claws attached to its rear limbs, with which it caught the prey. The animal was 1.80 to 2.10 metre-long, including the tail. “The dinosaur is a new species of predator dinosaur different from what we knew,” Stephen Brusatte, a researcher at the University of Colombia, said. “The dragon could have been one of the largest predators in the European ecosystem at the time, given palaeontologists discovered not a single large dinosaur tooth in over one century of research,” Zoltan Csiki of the University of Bucharest, who co-authored the study, said in his turn. “The fossilised remains of the dragon have been known for more...

Romanian researchers discovered a type of cells which, together with stem cells, may encourage the regeneration of the heart muscle, after an infarction, Mediafax reports. Specialists at the Victor Babes Institute found serendipitously, while studying cells in the intestine, tiny cells which contribute to organ regeneration.

According to Laurentiu Popescu, the head of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the “telocite” cells were discovered by Romanian scientists, and their existence was confirmed by independent teams in Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom and China. Alongside stem cells, telocites may contribute to the regeneration of vital organs, such as the heart and brain. “If we manage to isolate them, to multiply them together with the stem cells, we may use them efficiently in treating myocardial infarct,” Popescu added.

Telocites are small bodied cells, but with extremely long extensions (akin to the neuronal extensions), present in most body organs. They have...

Despite international criticism over its crackdown on Roma minorities, France will move ahead with repatriations and demolition of illegal nomad camps, with Immigration Minister Eric Besson pledging on Monday to increase expulsions of foreign thieves and beggars, according to Mediafax.

In a joint press conference with Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux and Secretary of State for European Affairs Pierre Lellouche, Besson said French authorities had no intention of rowing back on the crackdown, which has provoked concern from the UN, the EU and many leading figures of French society.

Besson’s comments came just hours after the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe joined the global outcry and denounced the Roma expulsions. But despite criticism, France insists that repatriations are fully in line with EU legislation and that the action is the result of keeping to the law – that the EU’s freedom of movement should not be abused, that the “insalubrities”...

Two people were killed after being infected with the West Nile virus from mosquito bites, from a total of seven cases of infection confirmed in Romania so far, Health Minister Cseke Atilla told a press conference on Monday, quoted by Agerpres. Three more cases are awaiting confirmation, he said. The two people who died from the virus came from Bucharest and Constanta, were both elderly people. The deaths were reported on August 19 and 22 and were caused by health complications, given the patients’ advanced age and the fact they were suffering from other health problems as well, the minister explained.

“The Health Ministry demanded stepped up actions to prevent the spread of the virus,” Cseke also said. He added that from the total number of infection cases, a small portion, about 15 per cent, risk developing meningitis, which is the most severe effect of West Nile, while the death risk is of one per cent. Health Ministry officials say children and elderly people are most...

Over 2,200 children under one year old died in Romania in 2009

Over 2,000 children under one year old died in Romania last year, when the registered mortality rate was concerning. The head of Elias Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Prof. Dr. Radu Vladareanu, told a press conference yesterday that a total of 2,230 children under 1 year of age had died in Romania in 2009, accounting for a concerning mortality rate of 10.1 per cent, the highest in Europe. The hospital official noted that 30 per cent of the infants under one year old had died from pneumonia and viral respiratory infections, an unacceptable situation in any other civilised country. According to the doctor, another cause of newborn death is represented by congenital malformations.

Almost 200 foreigners in Romanian prisons

Almost 200 foreign citizens - 42 from Turkey, 27 from R. Moldova and 19 from Bulgaria – are serving time in Romanian prisons, according to...

Meteorologists issued a rain watch which comes in force today in 30 counties, between 2:00 and 20:00. In the aforementioned interval, rain will fall in Banat, Crisana, Maramures, Transylvania, Moldavia and in all mountain areas, and the quantity of water may surpass, on wider areas, 20-25 l/sq m, and, on patches, 40-50 l/ sq m. There will be showers, possibly in torrents, complete with lighting and hail. Wind speed will intensify in all regions, particularly in the mountains. These phenomena will appear more frequently in Western and central regions, for now, and, tomorrow, will move eastwards. In other regions, such phenomena will cover a more limited ground. Later yesterday, hydrologists also issued a flood watch valid for today, between 4 a.m. and midnight, in 12 counties, mostly in the centre and eastern part of the country, according to Realitatea TV....

The Coalition of Chronic Patients’ Organisations (COPAC) accused the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) of recently modifying the price of medicine that they benefited from free of charge and demanded that the change be reverted because it was not previously discussed with patients, Mediafax reported.

CNAS rejects such a possibility, saying that the change is aimed at helping provide wider coverage for free-of-charge treatment.

The row began when CNAS earlier this year published a new list of compensated medicine, which provides that only the costs of cheaper medicine will be partially or totally supported by the health insurance house. As of tomorrow, an additional list of medicine only for chronic patients will come in effect, but working on the same principle – only cheaper drugs will be 100 per cent covered by the CNAS. This gave birth to fears among patients that they would no longer benefit from free treatment. However, CNAS president Lucian Duta insists...

The Civic Alliance of Roma in Romania yesterday launched a call for a wide-scale protest against a summit on immigration issues that Paris is planning to host next Monday. According to a press release sent to Agerpres, the protest would be organised simultaneously in several locations, on September 6, starting from 11:30 a.m.

The protest is initiated and supported by the Civic Alliance of Roma and by Roma community leaders in several Romanian counties. “This infamous summit is directed against Roma everywhere. This summit proposes stigmatising the entire Roma people. We are protesting against the French government’s ethnic cleansing policy against Romanian and Bulgarian citizens of Roma origin, against mass expulsions and repressive measures against this entire ethnic group,” the release reads. The Alliance also called for a boycott of all French products and services, so that French leaders are reminded of the fact “fundamental rights are non-negotiable.”

Recently,...

The Bucharest Court decided, yesterday, that the nurse Florentina Cirstea, charged with manslaughter and causing severe injuries, should remain in custody until the 29 days’ preventive arrest warrant expires. The court debated the nurse’s contestation of the Bucharest Sector 6 Court’s preventive arrest decision in the case of the maternity fire. The nurse, who was to keep watch of the infants on the night of August 16, when the fire started at the intensive care ward at the Giulesti Maternity Hospital, was arrested on August 24 for 29 days. Her lawyer petitioned the court yesterday to allow her investigation out of custody, on the grounds that she couldn’t possibly foresee, as a medical cadre, the occurrence of a fire or of any other unexpected event. At the same time, the lawyer stated that, according to the nurse’s job description, there was no obligation for her to remain, at all times, in the ward. According to the latter, the nurse was under the obligation to keep an eye on...

EUR 6.2 M lottery prize won in Iasi

The EUR 6.2 M top lottery prize was won on Sunday. According to the Romanian Lottery, the lucky ticket was played in Iasi and had a cost of RON 20.5. The ticket consisted of three simple variants and a special draw variant. According to the aforementioned source, the ticket had a cost of RON 20.5. This was the largest prize won this year. The winning numbers were 28, 21, 12, 7, 23 and 11. The top prize was previously won on March 7 and stood at EUR 1.7 M. The largest prize in the Romanian lottery’s history was won on January 27, 2008 and stood at approximately RON 47 M.

Has Dan Diaconescu’s party reached 20 pc?

In a blogary.ro blog post, presidential adviser Sebastain Lazaroiu says he got his hands on a poll indicating some spectacular changes since the spring surveys. “A very recent opinion poll (I am not going to disclose the name of the pollster, if they want to publish the results of the poll they can...

Former Cluj Prefect Calin Platon was detained for 24 hours after being heard by the traffic police yesterday in relation to a car accident he caused, killing a three-month baby and severely injuring his mother. Platon was to be taken to before a court with the proposal to be remanded, on charges of manslaughter, Realitatea.net reported.

After being interviewed by police for more than two hours and a half, he was taken to the Cluj Judge Hall Prosecutor’s Office to be heard by prosecutors as well, Mediafax said.

On his way to the Prosecutor’s Office, Platon told reporters that he deeply regretted “this terrible tragedy and I will answer in front of the law.” He also said that when the accident occurred, he was “blinded by sunlight” and saw the two victims on the pedestrian crossing in front of him when it was too late to hit the brakes. Platon added that he wasn’t speeding at the time.

A spokesperson for the Cluj County Police, Gina Pop, told Mediafax that...

Just one day after the hottest day of the year, autumn is here. Across the nation, yesterday, the tropical air was replaced by a wave of polar air. While meteorologists announce that heat wave temperatures will go down by up to 12C, doctors draw attention such sudden temperature variations are likely to create medical problems, Realitatea TV reports.

Saturday, mercury rose to 39C at Calafat and Bechet, the highest temperature this year. Saturday night however was a different affair, as a cold air front crossed the country, with temperatures going down by 10-12C. That resulted in a sudden drop in temperature in areas struck by heat wave Saturday. “On Sunday, the significant drop in temperature will be felt across the areas where the heat wave hit on Saturday. For example, those places where temperatures registered 38C will now see temperatures as low as 28C,” duty meteorologist Oana Paduraru told Realitatea.net. The cold air front brings with it precipitations and gusty wind,...

Bucharest General Mayor Sorin Oprescu stated on Saturday that, if the assets of the Giulesti Maternity Hospital are placed under sequestration, this would block the activity of the unit. Oprescu voiced hope that the court would reach a “balanced” decision, arguing that sequestration would be excessive, but that, “in the end, it’s up to the judges.” According to Oprescu, there are no hospital assets in the absence of which activity may continue undisturbed. The mayor’s statements come in response to a statement made by Chief Prosecutor Marius Iacob, the coordinator of the investigation in the Giulesti Maternity Hospital fire, arguing that prosecutors are considering precautionary measures related to the hospital assets, which would not affect the operation of the hospital. Prosecutors of the High Court initiated criminal prosecution against the Giulesti Maternity-“Panait Sarbu” Hospital, and sanctions may go as far as dissolving the healthcare unit.

As far as the...

A United Nations human rights body rebuked France on Friday for its crackdown on Roma and urged the government to try to integrate members of the EU’s biggest ethnic minority as part of a Europe-wide solution, Reuters reported. The 18 independent experts voiced concern that some of the hundreds of Roma flown to Romania in recent weeks under what France calls a voluntary repatriation programme had not been fully informed of their rights or had not freely consented to returning to their homeland.

“We understand that a state has a right and a responsibility to deal with security issues and issues of illegal immigration. But our view is when you are doing so, it should not be on a collective basis, you should not be targeting a group as a whole,” said Pierre-Richard Prosper, vice-chairman of the U.N. Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). “There is an appearance of discrimination,” Prosper told a news briefing. Patrick Thornberry, a British committee...

Traffic beneath the Basarab overpass will resume on both lanes on September 15, with the exception of the Plevnei – Gara Basarab perimeter, Bucharest General Mayor Sorin Oprescu stated on Saturday. While visiting the construction site Oprescu pointed out that traffic beneath the overpass will resume on the evening of September 14, with traffic on the overpass itself set to start in January-February 2011. “I don’t want to open it for traffic while still having to put the finishing touches. No! We will open it for traffic at the end of the year like I promised,” the Bucharest General Mayor stated. He added that after the construction works are completed the overpass will be tested for a month’s time. According to him, the sum spent so far this year for the Basarab overpass stands at RON 164 M, with the final cost tending to reach RON 248-250 M by the time it is completed.

Oprescu also talked about the existence of some “brakesmen” that would like to prevent the completion of...

EU foreign policy chief visits Romania’s Expo Shanghai pavilion

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton yesterday visited Romania’s pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai, where she was greeted by Bucharest’s Expo 2010 General Commissioner Ferdinand Nagy and consul Florin Tacu, according to a press release from the Foreign Ministry. Ashton visited a photography exhibition and the museum presenting Romanian history and civilisation inside the pavilion. She also attended a chamber music concert by the Romanian Piano Trio. Ashton “Declared herself impressed with the pavilion’s design, the arrangement of exhibition spaces and the cultural and artistic programmes conducted within the pavilion,” the release said.

Interior Minister presents Schengen accession stage at Salzburg Forum

Minister of Internal Affairs Vasile Blaga presented in the Ministerial Conference of the Salzburg Forum, the stage of...

International cooperation in the area of Japanese studies, as well as a mounting interest in Japanese culture have led to the need to set up a Centre of Japanese Studies with the purpose of supporting research activity in the field. During the opening of the centre – the first of its kind in Romania – centre director Anca Focsaneanu explained to ‘Nine O’Clock’ that the intention of the project was to diversify research studies and train young people in the area of Japanese studies. It is seen as a way to facilitate the exchange of expertise and the establishment of an international reputation by cooperating with prestigious centres and associations of Japanese studies in Japan and worldwide. “The modernisation of Romania is down to studies, and the Japanese department is a highly dynamic one, having come a long way,” the rector of the Bucharest University, Prof. Ph.D. Ioan Panzaru, said. He also noted it was time to develop Romanian-Japanese relations and that the objective of the...

This weekend a new edition of the “National fair of organic, traditional and natural food” awaits Bucharesters with hors d’oeuvre prepared in cast-iron kettles, bread baked on a hearth, Transylvanian salami and sausages, jams prepared in monasteries, Arges County tuica and Maramures cookies. “At this fair of truly traditional products I provoke you to think with a light heart about serious things. What do you crave in autumn? Is there any dish you consider a legend of autumn? If so, tell us about it! One of our cooks will prepare it for you and you will receive a prize if none of them happens to know how to do it,” Daniela Popa, Media Link Businss manager, stated for Agerpres. The fair will also feature a book exhibition organised by the “Romanian Hospitality Association – tradition and evolution.” Ion C. Rogojanu, the president of the association, will present cook books, woodcuts featuring gastronomy subjects, menus authored by some painters and kitchen utensils....