Lawmakers Approve Prosecution Of Former Minister Elena Udrea
Romania’s Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday approved a request by prosecutors to detain and prosecute former tourism minister Elena Udrea.
Udrea is being investigated on suspicion of bribery and money laundering.
MPs voted in favor of prosecution but against Udrea’s arrest. (Puterea)
Romania Issued 30,540 Housing Permits in Jan-Sept
Romania issued 30,540 housing construction permits in January-September 2015, 5.2% more than in the same period in 2014, the statistics institute INS said Wednesday.
In September alone, the country issued 3,503 housing permits, 26.5% fewer than in August and 9.2% fewert than in September last year.
Residential building permits in rural areas accounted for 62.4% in September, down from 66% in August, the data showed. (Adevarul)
Agriculture Ministry Seeks To Revive Co-Ops
The Romanian Agriculture Ministry wants to go back to farming co-ops, but with a modern spin to benefit both farmers and retailers.
Farmers are set to benefit from lower income taxes and the cooperative would get a 20% discount from its profit tax, according to a bill the ministry plans to submit to Parliament. (Puterea)
Volkswagen Posts First Quarterly Loss In At Least 15 Years
German carmaker Volkswagen posted its first quarterly loss in at least 15 years on Wednesday, of EUR3.48 billion, on account of the scandal involving emissions testing.
The German group said it now expected its operating profit to drop “significantly below” last year’s record EUR12.7 billion, even though its auto sales are seen matching last year’s record 10.14 million deliveries.
Volkswagen set aside EUR6.7 billion in the July-September period to cover costs related to the scandal. (Romania Libera)
Spicy Foods Associated With Longer Life, Researchers Find
A study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that people who ate spicy foods almost every day had a 14% lower risk of death than people who ate spicy foods once a week.
Researchers evaluated the health and diet information of almost 500,000 people in China from 2004 to 2008, then followed up with them a few years later.
The study was observational, so it didn’t show that spicy foods caused people to live longer, only that people who regularly ate spicy food—especially food with fresh and dried chili peppers—were less likely to have died during the study period than those who ate spicy food less frequently.
“Some evidence from other studies suggests the bioactive ingredients in spicy foods such as capsaicin may lower ‘bad’ cholesterol and triglycerides and improve inflammation,” said study author Dr. Lu Qi. (Romania Libera)