ASPA: Over 4,100 Stray Dogs Captured Between September And November
A total 4,178 stray dogs were captured in September, October and November, of which 1,467 were adopted by private individuals, 1,509 by non-government organizations and another 156 are about to be adopted, said Razvan Bancescu, project coordinator at Bucharest’s animal welfare association ASPA.
According to Bancescu, nearly 30 stray dogs were captured daily in November, lower compared to October, because the average adoption rate also decreased. (Jurnalul National)
Two Former Romanian Ministers Sentenced To Prison Over Shady Privatizations
Romania’s High Court of Justice on Tuesday sentenced former economy minister Codrut Seres to six years in prison and former communications minister Zsolt Nagy to five years in prison in a file concerning strategic privatizations.
The ruling is not final and may be appealed at the High Court’s panel of five judges.
The two were indicted in March 2009 on charges of organized crime regarding the privatization of Romanian power distributor S.C. Electrica Muntenia Sud, the sale of an 8% stake in the country’s dominant oil and gas company, privatization/restructuring processes at the country’s airliner S.C. Romaero S.A., aircraft maker Avioane Craiova, telecom operator Romtelecom and postal company Posta Romana.
Seres was sentenced to five years in prison for adhering to an organized crime group and six years for leaking classified information. The court merged the sentences and ruled he should serve the longer one.
Nagy was sentenced to five years in prison for adhering to an organized crime group. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Leu’s Exchange Rate Hits 2½-Month Low Vs Euro Of 4.4684
The Romanian leu widened its earlier loss against the euro by midday Tuesday, amid tensions between the government and President Traian Basescu regarding next year’s budget, and the central bank’s reference weakened to 4.4684 units, the lowest rate in two-and-a-half months.
Against the US dollar, the leu’s indicative lost 0.6% to 3.2936 units.
The leu fell against the euro during early trading hours Tuesday, after Basescu announced it would not sign Romania’s latest memorandum of understanding with International Monetary Fund. The memorandum stipulates, among others, the introduction of a new tax on fuel as of 2014.
Basescu argued the new tax would hinder economic growth and asked the Parliament to reconsider the measure.
The leu opened down at 4.442/4.445 per euro, from 4.434/4.4355 per euro at Monday close. It further depreciated and hit an intraday low of 4.478 to the euro. (Adevarul)
Lawmakers Adopt All Articles Of Draft State Budget For 2014
Romania’s Parliament adopted Tuesday, in less than one hour, all 52 articles of the draft state budget for 2014, rejecting all amendments.
Lawmakers are to discuss the annexes to the budget bill. (Puterea)
Basescu To Propose Alternatives To Raising Excises On Fuels
Romanian President Traian Basescu plans to send back to parliament the 2014 state budget bill and will propose clear alternatives to raising excise duties on fuels, so the country will be able to meet the budgetary targets set with international financial institutions.
Basescu met a delegation headed by Ponta Tuesday evening to settle a dispute regarding the country’s latest memorandum of understanding with the International Monetary Fund, after the president announced Monday evening he would not sign the document because of a new tax on fuel announced by the government and stated in the memorandum.
Speaking after the meeting, Basescu said the prime minister was inflexible on the excise duty issue.
The IMF’s executive board in September approved a new EUR1.98 billion two-year precautionary credit line for Romania, the third financial package the eastern European country has received in the last four years. (Adevarul)