Realitatea TV is no longer the main sponsor of League I
Dumitru Dragomir, the President of the Professional Football League, has stated for HotNews.ro that during the next season the country’s top football league will no longer be called League I Realitatea, with the two sides agreeing to cancel the contract. League I will probably use the name of a beer company. ‘The next season the football championship will not longer be called League I Realitatea; we amicably cancelled the contract. Nevertheless, I cannot complain because I have plenty of offers. Currently I am negotiating with four potential partners. I am not pressured by time; there is no deadline because there is no provision forcing me to sign a contract before the season starts. I can also tell you that two of the four companies that want to cooperate with us are beer producers,’ Dumitru Dragomir stated for HotNews.ro. The value of the contract stood at EUR 1.2 M per year, with another 10 per cent to be added at the end of each season. The contract was signed for 5 years. If everything would have worked as planned, the Professional League would have won EUR 7.3 M from Realitatea.
Threat of F1 breakaway series revived
LONDON – The threat of a breakaway Formula One series loomed again on Wednesday after Ferrari and seven other teams walked out of talks in Germany with the governing body and warned that the sport’s future was at risk.“The eight FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) teams were invited to attend the meeting to discuss their further proposals for 2010,” the International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement. “Unfortunately, no discussion was possible because FOTA walked out of the meeting.” FOTA, who had threatened to set up their own championship until what seemed to be a breakthrough deal was announced in Paris last month, said in a statement that the future of Formula One was again “in jeopardy”. FOTA’s members are championship leaders Brawn GP, BMW-Sauber, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Renault, Toro Rosso and Toyota. The technical working group session, at the Nuerburgring before Sunday’s German Grand Prix, had been due to bring together FOTA, the three new entrants for 2010 plus Williams and Force India who are suspended from FOTA. However FOTA said they had been told during the course of Wednesday’s meeting by FIA technical head Charlie Whiting that “contrary to previous agreements” they had no voting rights because they had not yet fully entered for 2010. The situation effectively left the five non-FOTA teams, four of whom have yet to score a point in Formula One, making decisions while the likes of Ferrari, champions with an unbroken 60 years in the sport, would have been simply observers. A request for the meeting to be postponed was rejected and FOTA said they had no option but to walk out because they could not exercise their rights.
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Miron Cozma to run for president as independent
Ex miners’ leader Miron Cozma said yesterday in Deva that he will run for president this fall as an independent candidate, Agrepres reported. In spite of the fact that the court stripped him of his civil rights, including the right to vote or be voted, until 2014, Cozma said he will be able to run, using some particular provisions of the Constitution. “I will run because many people asked me to,” he said, adding that if he fails to register his Labour Party in court, he will run as an independent. Cozma added that after he becomes president, he will “tie up” all his three predecessors and that he will do anything possible to eradicate corruption within three months.
Romulus Mailat gets life sentence in Reggiani’s murder
Romanian Nicolae Romulus Mailat was sentenced to life in jail Thursday, after his appeal was heard in the Rome Court of Criminal Appeals, Mediafax reported the online page of Italian agency ANSA as writing. Originally, Mailat had been handed down a 29-year sentence for the murder of Giovanna Reggiani on October 30, 2007, yet prosecutors appealed the case. Prosecutor General Alberto Cozzella called on the Court to sentence the 26-year-old Romanian to life in prison and keep him in a secluded cell for a year.
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23 members of drug trafficking ring in custody
Twenty-three of the 42 individuals arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking on Wednesday were remanded in custody for an initial period of 29 days, and the rest were released on bail by a Court of the Bucharest Tribunal. The DIICOT anti-drug officers and prosecutors found 2.5 kilograms of heroine during house searches conducted on Wednesday. The case had come to the attention of the Organized Crime officers after two Bulgarians and there Romanians had been caught carrying 2 kilograms of heroine, at Giurgiu, in June. On Wednesday, two women were caught when trying to sell 62 grams of heroine to a dealer. The Police say it is the biggest drug trafficking ring feeding Bucharest dealers with heroin and having made over EUR 500,000 from their activity in the past few years.
Three children drowned in Mures River
Three children attending a trip to Lipova drowned in Mures River. The children, aged 10 to 15, were part of a greater group of schoolchildren who were visiting the area, accompanied by three teachers. They wanted to cool down in the river, under the surveillance of their teachers, but the water streams carried them under the surface. The children’s colleagues called for help immediately. Volunteer fire-fighters managed to find the eldest of them. They tried to resuscitate him for over an hour, but the attempts were unsuccessful. On Wednesday evening, the divers of Arad managed to find the lifeless body of the second disappeared child. The body of the twelve-year-old was found with sonar at the bottom of the river, close to the location where he entered the river for a swim. The rescue team will continue searching, in order to find the third drowned child.
False bomb alarm at the Press House
The Bucharest Police received a call on Wednesday evening, claiming that a bomb was placed at the Free Press House, yet a police investigation proved the alarm to be false. According to the Bucharest Police spokesperson, Christian Ciocan, a phone code at the emergency telephone number 112 occurred at approximately 19.10 PM, and police officers were reported that somebody had installed an explosive device at the Free Press House, and the bomb was to explode in an hour. The police officers of Police Dept. No. 2 surrounded the area, and employees of the Pyrotechnic Service, under the commandment of the Emergency Intervention Police Service, investigated the area for approximately an hour, Agerpres reported.
Family doctors collect signatures for Health being financed 6 pc of GDP
Family doctors announced that they intended to collect approximately five million signatures from their patients during the first half of August, in order to support a legal initiative regarding the financing of the health system with a sum that would represent 6 per cent of the GDP. “6 per cent of the GDP, the promise everybody made and nobody fulfilled, should become a law,’ the President of the National Society of Family Medicine (SNMF), Dr. Rodica Tanasescu declared, as quoted by Realitatea TV. The signatures collecting campaign started this May. “According to the law, one needs 100,000 signatures so that the legal initiative would be discussed in the Parliament and we are sure to have at least ten times more signatures,” the President of the Citizens’ Initiative Committee of SNMF, Dr. Marius Gabor explained.
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Patriarch Daniel starts visit to France
On Thursday, Patriarch Daniel started a canonic visit to the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Western and Southern Europe based in Paris, and will participate in the 13th General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches in Lyon, on June 15-21, the Romanian Patriarchy informs.
Thursday, Patriarch Daniel was expected to perform a Te Deum at the Metropolitan Cathedral and launch his book – ‘La joie de la fidelite’. Last night, the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church was going to be awarded the Doctor Honoris Causa distinction by the ‘Saint Serge’ Institute of Orthodox Theology. Friday, Daniel is meeting with the bishops who are members of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in France. The agenda of his visit also includes talks with the Parch-Bishop of Paris, Cardinal Andre. Afterwards, Patriarch Daniel will visit several Orthodox churches in Paris and, Saturday morning, will officiate the dedication ceremony of the Church of the Diocese Centre. In the afternoon, he will meet with the bishops, priests and congregation of the diocese. Sunday, 12 July, Daniel will officiate the re-dedication ceremony for the altar of the ‘Sf. Arhangheli’ Church in Paris.
Wednesday, July 15, the Patriarch will attend the festivities on the opening of the 13th General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches. In the programme there are also a visit to the Romanian Embassy in Paris, meetings with officials of sister Orthodox churches and of other Christian churches, as well as religious and cultural sightseeing in the French capital city.
King Albert II and Queen Paola visit Sibiu
King Albert II and Queen Paola visited several historical monuments in the centre of the city Sibiu and met people in the Grand Square, during an official visit. The King and Queen arrived to the Airport of Sibiu at approximately 11.00, and were welcomed by the Mayor of Sibiu, Klaus Johannis, by the latter’s wife Carmen, by the Prefect of Sibiu, Constantin Trihenea, and by the President of the County Council, Martin Bottesch.
The sovereigns were then escorted to the residence of the Mayoralty of Sibiu, where they had a brief private encounter with Mayor Johannis and signed the guestbook of the city. The Mayor of Sibiu then guided them in a short tour of the centre of Sibiu, and in the Grand Square, the King and Queen had a conversation with the hundreds of inhabitants of Sibiu who wished to greet them. The two of them received numerous presents from the inhabitants of Sibiu: books, diplomas, drawings and flowers. Moreover, they watched a short artistic program that included traditional Belgian and Transylvanian dances.
According to the official program, at 17.00, the Royal plane was about to leave the airport of Sibiu, heading to Brussels.
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Black Sea Global Properties presents revised offer for remaining Rutley shares
Black Sea Global Properties (BSGP) controlled by Dinu Patriciu through Rompetrol Holding S.A. has presented a revised offer for the rest of the shares it continues to hold in the Rutley European Property fund specialising in commercial property investment in Central Europe, Agerpres informs. At the beginning of June, BSGP offered a price of six pence for a Rutley share, evaluating the Rutley stock for sale at GBP 12.55 M (EUR 14.6 M). The ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE Rutley business was GBP 447 M. Thursday, Black Sea Global Properties offered details on a cash offer revised to 7.25 pence/share that had been made to the Rutley shareholders on June 26, 2009. The new offer evaluates the Rutley stock for sale at GBP 15.17 M and Rutley International at approximately GBP 449 M, including net liabilities of approximately GBP 434 M on December 31, 2008.
Vodafone Romania cuts prices for international calls
Vodafone Romania will expand the option Vodafone Europe during July 11 – October 15, 2009, offering Vodafone subscribers or users of the prepaid service special prices for international calls to European countries, Agerpres announces. According to an official press release, the promotion offers the customers of Vodafone Romania the opportunity to call any European destination, fixed or mobile, at a lower price. Thus, by means of Vodafone Europe, company subscribers, as well as Vodafone Advantage customers are granted EUR 0.17 per minute (no VAT included) for calls from Romania to any fixed or mobile destination in Europe. Moreover, users of the prepaid service may call any European destination at EUR 0.18 per minute (no VAT included). The Vodafone Europe option costs EUR 1.5 monthly (no VAT included) and may be activated by free call or directly from the Vodafone and partners’ stores.
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Moody’s estimates Romanian economy to decline 5.7 pc in 2009
Moody’s credit rating agency lowered Romania’s economic growth outlook for this year, estimating a GDP drop of 5.7 per cent, HotNews quoted a press release by the agency as saying. Moody’s previous prognosis spoke of Romanian economy going to sustain a 4 per cent decline. The agency however kept its forecast over the trend of the Romanian economy in 2010, with Moody’s analysts projecting a GDP fall of 0.2 per cent. Inflation estimated have stayed steady at 4.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent for 2009 and 2010 respectively. Moody’s analysts also hold that Romania’s rating could be downgraded if the IMF and CE funding programmes come to a halt or if EU is less inclined to provide financial aid to Romania.
BNR injected RON 3.7 bln on inter-banking market
The National Bank of Romania (BNR) yesterday reported a repo-type operation, the second this week, whereby it injected RON 3.7 bln on the market, at 9 per cent interest an year, equal with the monetary policy rate, Mediafax reports. Fourteen banks participated in the operation, and the one-month loan is due August 10. It was Monday, July 6, when the central bank engaged in the latest repo operation, in which RON 4.25 bln were pumped into the market, at similar interest . In repo-type operations, BNR offers liquidity to commercial banks in exchange for T bonds. The interest rates displayed by commercial banks for one-day deposits Thursday stood at between 8.8 per cent and 9.3 per cent, slightly down from Wednesday’s rates of 8.82 per cent to 9.32 per cent, while yields for one-week placements ranged from 8.86 per cent to 9.36 per cent, lower the 8.93 per cent to 9.43 per cent practiced in the previous session. One-month interests go from 8.97 per cent to 9.47 per cent.
ING estimates 8.6 pc economic downturn
Economic forecasts are bleak. The decline of consumption and of the real-estate industry severely damages the economic evolution as a whole, Evenimentul Zilei informs. ING analysts forecast that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) might fall by over 8.6 pc in Q2, compared to the same period of 2008, against the background of a stronger than expected contraction of the construction sector. According to a report issued by the bank, ING based its -8.6 pc forecast on an estimated 15 pc activity reduction in the construction sector during April-June, but the 24.5 pc decline reported in May hints to a faster quarterly decline, of – 20 pc. ING thus qualifies as “probably optimistic” its initial estimation of -8.6 pc of the GDP. Simultaneously, the difficult situation of the retail sector might contribute itself to economic contraction in Q2, as well as during July-September, and it indicates that the economic recovery process might be “very slow”. ING had previously released a forecast anticipating a 7.1 pc GDP decline in 2009.
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Geoana: Basescu in dramatic electoral decline
PSD President Mircea Geoana had declared yesterday at Craiova that the Presidential elections of 2009 are the most important political event of the last 20 years, and the question people are asking him at the time being is not whether Traian Basescu can be defeated or not, it is what the winner of these elections will do, according to Agerpres. He mentioned that the “current President” of the country, Traian Basescu is in a dramatic decline, as far as the trust and the voting intentions of Romanians are concerned, and is defeated by his own “lack of performance.” Geoana also declared that Basescu had registered a massive decrease in opinion polls as well lately, and that the difference of the PSD leader and of the President of Romania is merely 6 per cent. The Social – Democrat leader also said, according to Mediafax that the set of 24 proposals against the crisis, submitted by Social – Democrats, are not a hostile gesture towards the present Government, but an invitation to responsibility. The Social – Democrat leader also explained that, unless “firm measures” will be taken, Romania risks a social crisis and it ultimately risks to fail in its attempt of economical re-launch.
Moreover, the PSD President expressed his annoyance regarding the works on the highway, and “a huge annoyance” when he thought about the Transportation Ministers. The Social-Democrat leader also declared that he had read an analysis published by economists in the central press, referring to workplaces created by highway investments.
“I saw in the respective analysis that, of EUR 10 billion, there are EUR 1.1 billion invested on present works on the highways. At this time, only 5,500 workers are employed for this sum of EUR 1.1 billion that comes from our pockets,” Geoana added.
Antonescu: “Oprescu would be a powerful counter-candidate”
PNL President Crin Antonescu declared yesterday in a press conference that the General Mayor of Bucharest, Sorin Oprescu, would be a “powerful counter-candidate” if he entered the electoral campaign for the Presidential elections due this autumn. “I think that Mr. Oprescu, similarly to other public personalities – such as Mr. Isarescu and Vosganian – would be remarkable candidates. Anyone entering this campaign should be treated like a serious adversary, a real competitor, a person I must compete with in presenting my point of view and convincing the voters,” Antonescu declared.
Questioned by the journalists whether he fears that his image would be affected in the electoral campaign by the fact that IPP rated him “the most absent Senator,” the PNL leader replied that it was merely an “attack under the circumstances of the campaign.” “It is a great subject for such an attack, and it was exploited heavily. It is true that my presence at the Senate was not overwhelming, but there were circumstances you all have heard of, during the last six months,” Antonescu mentioned.
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