Tariceanu Announces Officials Steps To Set Up New Liberal Party
Senate chairman Calin Popescu Tariceanu said Thursday the first official steps have been taken to set up the Liberal Reform Party and announced he will be running for president of Romania.
Tariceanu said his party will shortly become the most important liberal party on the local political scene. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Basescu: Right Wing Must Be United
President Traian Basescu said the Romanian right wing needs to be united to win the presidential election later this year, but the Liberal Party should express public regret for suspending the head of state from office in 2012.
“I still believe it is necessary that the right wing teams up in view of winning the presidential election,” Basescu said. He added, however, that liberals should say loud and clear that they regret suspending the president in 2012 and not forget they sided with social democrats for the suspension in 2007. (Curierul National)
Government Approves Severance Pay For CFR Marfa Employees; Layoffs May Start
The government has approved the payment of severance for employees to be laid off by CFR Marfa and layoffs may begin.
The state-owned freight rail carrier is set to lay off 2,500 employees, nearly 30% of its staff.
Laid-off employees will receive 12 to 24 salaries as severance pay, depending on seniority.
Layoffs will begin in July 2014 and will require RON67.6 million from the unemployment budget. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Facebook Buys LiveRail, Cofounded By Two Romanians
Facebook announced it bought video ad tech startup LiveRail, cofounded by Romanians Andrei Dunca and Sergiu Biris, in a $400-$500 million deal.
LiveRail was founded in 2007 by Andrei Dunca, Sergiu Biris and Mark Trefgarne, and currently has offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Paris and Cluj-Napoca. Dunca is Chief Technology Officer of LiveRail.
Facebook refused to disclose the terms of the deal, but according to TechCrunch, it is between $400 million and $500 million. (Adevarul)
Former Tax Authority Head Sorin Blejnar Indicted For Tax Evasion
Former tax authority chief Sorin Blejnar and spouses Radu and Diana Nemes have been indicted on tax evasion charges.
The three are accused of cheating the state of EUR56 million in taxes for oil products.
Anticorruption prosecutors also indicted 19 companies for tax evasion, accessory to tax evasion and money laundering. (Adevarul)
Survey: 47% Of Romanians In Rural Areas Are Online
Nearly half of Romania’s rural population (47%) is online and covers all age groups, and 80% of them are on Facebook, according to a survey by media agency Starcom MediaVest Romania, released Thursday.
According to the survey, Facebook is the main website used by Romanians in rural areas after Google Search. (Evenimentul Zilei)