Tisa river polution sparks Romanian-Ukrainian divergence

Romania will be forced to pay compensation to Ukraine for the damage caused by the recent heavy metal pollution of the river Tisa. According to the paper “Gandul,” the pollution was caused by a damage that appeared at a mine near the city Baia Borsa. Moreover, a Ukrainian Deputy informed Romania that his country would file charges in an international court and force Romania to pay in case our country refuses. On the other hand, according to Mediafax, Ukraine intends to consolidate its activities in the Danube Delta, and the increase of the economical development of this area should become a national priority, President Viktor Juscenko declared on Wednesday.

Teachers’ referendum outcome: 64 pc want to organize meeting

The referendum on the organization of the forthcoming protests was finished by the National Education Federation (FEN). According to the results, 64 per cent of the teachers intend to organize a meeting, at 58 per cent of them are prepared to boycott national tests and graduation exams, Realitatea TV informs. The first federation to finish the meeting was Spiru Haret, and 80 per cent of the attendants expressed their willingness to boycott national exams. The final decision on the organization of protests in education will be restarted on April 30, at the meeting of the Executive Bureaus of Education Federation. The teachers are enraged that their wages were not increased and that the Education budget was diminished by RON 600 million, as well as by the lack of decentralization.

One Romanian died, three severely injured in Hungary

One Romanian man died and three persons were severely injured due to a collision of two vehicles that took place in Hungary, not far from the Croatian border, according to the online edition of the “Romania libera” newspaper. In the accident that took place at approximately 2.00 C.E.T., on the M7 Highway near Becsehely locality, a microbus registered in Romania overturned after hitting a car registered in Romania as well, that followed it on the highway. After the impact, many passengers of the microbus fell out, according to the Zalau County Police Department. One of the ten passengers traveling by the nine-seat microbus, aged 36, died at once. Other three travelers were immediately carried to the Nagykaniza Hospital due to severe injuries. According to the Police Department, the traffic on the highway was stopped until 07.00 C.E.T.

Basescu and Boc awaited to attend UDMR congress in Cluj

President Traian Basescu and PM Emil Boc are awaited to attend the Cluj congress of the Hungarian Democratic Union in Romania (UDMR) Saturday, as well as meetings with local officials and county mayors. The congress’s coordinator, UDMR Executive Vice-president Kovacs Peter, said yesterday that the head of state and the premier will deliver the opening speeches. In his turn, the chairman of the Chamber of Deputies Foreign Policy Commission, Laszlo Borbely, said he would urge all the decision-makers for Romanian troops to be pulled out of Iraq after August 1 of this year, given the mandate of Romanian troops in that country is due to expire on July 31. ‘We have an agreement with the Iraqi government until that date, I see no reason why we should maintain troops in Iraq afterwards,’ Borbely said, adding that Romanian troops in Afghanistan ‘is something else’, given Romania’s pledges to the Transatlantic Alliance, commitments that need to be met.

Block of flats in Bucharest caught fire

A great fire occurred yesterday evening and destroyed a block of flats in the Pipera neighbourhood, in Northern Bucharest, Antena 3 reports. Many persons were blocked in burning apartments, some of them were unable to leave an apartment at the fourth floor of the building for a considerable period. Nonetheless, one person was rescued from the building, despite slight injuries and smoke intoxication. A few-month-old baby was also rescued and rushed to the hospital. The fire was caused by children playing in the hall of the block. The children accidentally set some rubbish, included a few plastic bottles, on fire. Several ambulances and fire trucks arrived to the scene of the conflagration as soon as possible and started working on the extinction of the fire. When Nine O’Clock went to print, the firefighters were still trying to put down the fire.

Land Forces Day celebrated throughout the country

On April 23 the Romanian soldiers celebrate the Land Forces Day. The Land Forces’ spiritual patron is St. George. On this occasion all army garrisons have observed a schedule that included the paying of homage to the forerunners, the evoking of the units’ battle traditions and the presentation of the current stage in which the Land Forces find themselves, a communiqué remitted to the press by the MoD informs.

In Bucharest wreaths were laid at the Infantry’s Monument and at the Artillery’s Monument. At the same time, the commandment of the 1st Division ‘Dacica’ celebrated its ‘Open Doors’ day.