NEWS IN BRIEF

April 15, 2009131

Culture Ministry’s budget cut

The Ministry of Culture, Religious Denominations and National Patrimony (MCCPN) was granted a budget of RON 892.363 million for 2009 after an approximately RON 28 million cut by budget rectification, Culture Minister Theodor Paleologu announced. The initial budget of MCCPN for 2009 totalized approximately RON 1.2 billion, respectively RON 920.898 without interests, reimbursements, loans and expenses generated by programs granted reimbursable financing. Therefore, the budget for cultural projects, that initially totalized RON 22 million, was reduced by RON 4.7 million, the Minister mentioned.

Priests’ wages, increased

During the Holy Week, MPs decided to show generosity to the representatives of the Church. The Chamber of Deputies adopted the ordinance that stipulated a wage increase for priests on Wednesday. With 201 votes for, one against and one abstention, the Deputies approved the ordinance that granted the priests wages that reached 65 per cent of the salaries of pre-University staff. Moreover, Deputies adopted another law that stipulated granting financial support for building and restoration of the administrative residences of the eparchies, of the residences and of the theological schools for the acknowledged religious denominations.

Cristi Minculescu, invited to a pizza in town by his band colleagues

The vocalist of the band Iris, Cristi Minculescu, was invited by his band colleagues to have a pizza in town, band drummer Nelu Dumitrescu declared on Wednesday for Agerpres. “He was really happy to see us. He was waiting for us. In the first day, we went out to a bar located near the hospital and we chatted for three or four hours and laughed. On the following day, at lunch, we went out for a pizza,” Nelu Dumitrescu said. He mentioned that his colleague’s condition was “fabulous, he was reborn, he gained weight, almost four kilograms.” “He told us that he will be much more careful in the future and that he will take care of his life. He cannot wait that we would start to sing again. He hopes that he could be able to perform by the end of July, but it also depends on the doctors’ approval and on his ability to recover, and regain the strength to be on stage for over an hour,” the bass player said, adding that he would have wanted to be home for the Easter, but unfortunately, he may only return to Romania next week.

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The volume “Naïve and Sentimental Cioran,” released in Madrid

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NEWS IN BRIEF

April 15, 20090

Doctor approved recovery program for Adi Mutu after knee surgery

The Romanian player of the football team, Adrian Mutu, underwent a medical examination by Doctor Piepaolo Mariani on Tuesday. Eight days ago, Mariani has performed a surgical intervention on Mutu’s left knee. After Tuesday’s examination, Mariani allowed Mutu to start the recovery program. The attacker will attend new medical tests in fifteen days, and his return to the Stadium is expected in approximately a month. In the meantime, the football player will attend a special recovery program destined to strengthen his muscles and joints.

Mutu underwent surgery a week ago at a clinic in Rome, due to medical issues at his left knee.

Due to the diagnosis established by the Italian doctors, Adrian Mutu is to stay out of the pitch for 30–40 days, and will miss the games versus Calgari, Udinese, Rome and Turin. The Romanian player might attend the game versus Catania, scheduled on May 10, and the last four rounds of the A Series.

15,000 demand 1973 European final result is reversed

LONDON – AC Milan’s 1-0 win over Leeds United in the 1973 European Cup Winners’ Cup final should be reversed if new evidence is found to suggest the match was fixed, according to a European Member of Parliament (MEP). Richard Corbett, who represents the Yorkshire & Humber constituency at Brussels, has collected 15,000 signatures for a petition to be handed in to European soccer’s governing body UEFA on May 16, the 36th anniversary of the match. Corbett is asking UEFA to investigate the final, and if new evidence is found that it was fixed it should be awarded to Leeds. “Following UEFA’s recent crackdown on betting syndicates and match fixing, UEFA can now show the whole of Europe that even if a match happened many years ago, cheating and corruption will not be tolerated,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Victor Hanescu eliminated by Murray in second round of Monaco Masters

The Romanian tennis player Victor Hanescu lost on Tuesday to British tennis player Andy Murray, Number 4 in ATP charts, in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters, and left the EUR 2.75 million-competition. Murray won the game in two sets, by 6–3, 6–2, at the end of a game that lasted for an hour and 25 minutes. Due to his achievements at this tournament, Hanescu gained EUR 14,500 and 45 ATP points.

Motor racing-F1 appeal court boosts Button’s chances

LONDON – Formula One championship leader Jenson Button’s title hopes received a significant boost on Wednesday when a Paris appeal court ruled the Briton’s controversial Brawn GP car was legal. The International Automobile Federation (FIA)’s court of appeal also cleared Toyota and Williams, whose cars use similar ‘double-decker’ or ‘split-level’ rear diffusers and which rivals had claimed broke the spirit of the rules. Button won the first two races of the season in Australia and Malaysia after overcoming protests from struggling champions Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull and BMW-Sauber. The four teams had then appealed against the stewards’ decisions. The FIA said in a statement that the court, which met on Tuesday, had decided “to deny the appeals submitted”. (Reuters)

The volume “Naïve and Sentimental Cioran,” released in Madrid

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April 15, 20090

Alpha Bank to launch the Alpha Anniversary deposit

Alpha Bank celebrates fifteen years of activity on the Romanian market, which is an opportunity for the bank to launch “Alpha Anniversary,” a 15-week or 15-month deposit in RON or USD, for physical persons. According to a press release sent to Nine O’ Clock, customers will be offered a free debit card Alpha Card Visa Electron, and will be granted free access to the Alpha Click Internet banking service. Alpha Bank Romania, part of the Greek financial group Alpha Card Visa Electron, was the first foreign bank opened in Romania after 1990. The institution developed organically and at the time being, it has a balanced units’ network and over 2,500 employees.

Gindi Rom developer officially enters Romanian real-estate market

Gindi Rom Company, a member of the Israeli Gindi Group, has officially announced its entry on the Romanian real-estate market, Agerpres informs. The company has developed commercial centers, office buildings and residential neighborhoods in Israel, Hungary and Switzerland and plans to enter new markets. One of Gindi’s investment plans provisions the development of a residential center in a central location in Bucharest’s District 3. Most of the company’s projects are short-term projects based on buying available plots of land. This method guarantees successful long-term business results, maintaining a high value for shareholders and investors.

Laurentiu Stoica, CFR Calatori General Manager

Transportation Minister Radu Berceanu appointed Laurentiu Stoica on Wednesday on the position of General Manager of CFR Calatori, Agerpres informs. He is the successor of Liviu Pescarasu, who was appointed Interim Manager in December and respectively General Manager on March 24. According to sources within the Ministry, the decision was taken after the Tuesday evening meeting of the Coalition, as according to algorithms, the position belongs to PSD.

Contributions transferred into mandatory pension funds stagnate

Yje overall value of monthly contributions transferred into mandatory private pensions (Pillar II) have stood still or even declined this year, amid the contribution being ‘frozen’ at 2 per cent of the gross income and the economic crisis that led to rising unemployment, according to the Private Pension System Oversight Commission (CSSPP), Agerpres reports.

The volume “Naïve and Sentimental Cioran,” released in Madrid

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BUSINESS

NEWS IN BRIEF

April 15, 20091

BNR injected RON 3.74 bln on the market

The National Bank of Romania (BNR) started a repurchase agreement on Wednesday, that allowed the institution to inject RON 3.74 billion on the market at an annual interest rate of 10 per cent, that equals the currency policy interest rate, Mediafax informs. The final date of the operation will be in a month, respectively on May 15. By these repurchase agreements, BNR offers cash to commercial banks and overtakes state titles. Dealers consider that most of the titles transferred to BNR by commercial banks come from the operation realized on Monday by the Ministry of Public Finances, that sold treasure certificates due in six months, worth RON 2.759 billion, 38 per cent higher than the scheduled value, with a medium turnover of 11.5 per cent. The interest rates for one-day loans maintained on Wednesday at the levels of 10.01 – 10.51 per cent registered on Tuesday, yet those for one-week loans increased from 10.07 – 10.57 per cent to 10.24 – 10.74 per cent.

Bogdan Mircea Dumitrache, new General Secretary of SME

Bogdan Mircea Dumitrache was appointed in the position of General Secretary of the Agency for the Application of Projects and Programs for Small and Medium Enterprises, by a decision of Premier Emil Boc. Moreover, another decision of the PM temporarily promoted Ioan Hidegcuti in the position of General Secretary for the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, Commerce and Business Environment. Hidegcuti has held the positions of Vice-President of the State Patrimony and Protocol Administration (RAAPPS) during the Vacaroiu Government and General Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, under Razvan Theodorescu’s mandate. The decisions were published in “Monitorul Oficial.”

Electrica invests approximately RON 400 M in electric installations

`This year the Electrica Company plans to invest approximately RON 395 M in electric installations for its branches and infrastructure, Agerpres informs. At the same time, this year the company will connect new consumers to its grid, the connection works costing it approximately RON 250 M.

ECB’s Weber opposes ECB rate below 1 pc

FRANKFURT– European Central Bank should focus on banks instead of capital markets in non-traditional measures it decides to take, European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said on Wednesday. He also said the ECB has some room to cut its main refinancing rate and that it should use it as inflationary pressures have subsided.

‘On the main refinancing rate, there is still a little room, which we also should use, taken into account price development,’ Weber, who also heads the Bundesbank, said in a speech at Hamburg World Economy Institute. The ECB has cut its benchmark rate by 300 basis points since October, and is expected to cut it to 1 per cent in May from current 1.25 per cent. ‘I am critical of lowering it below 1 percent, because offering loans on excess liquidity would not be rewarded any more,’ Weber said. He added there could be a danger that the private interbank market would come a complete halt if rates were too low. Weber also said he sees the deposit rate having reached it bottom level at current 0.25 per cent.

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