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Romania digs out from 15 feet of snow The Associated Press reports: Snow as deep as 15 feet (4.5 meters) isolated areas in Romania, Moldova and Albania on Tuesday and turned a power plant in Kosovo into a park of dazzling ice sculptures. In a winter harsher than many can remember, energy workers struggled mightily Tuesday to break the ice that has encapsulated Kosovo's main power station in Obilic. Steam from the plant's vents coated its pipes and buildings with ice and snow, turning them into unworldly, unrecognizable objects of art.

The Romanian prime minister on Monday announced the immediate resignation of himself and his government, saying he wanted to protect the stability of the country.

The world court ruled Monday that Greece was wrong to block a bid by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to join NATO in 2008 because of a long-running dispute over the fledgling country's use of the name “Macedonia.” In a 15-1 ruling, the court found that Greece's veto breached a provisional 1995 deal under which Greece had agreed not to block membership of the country in international organizations if it used the name FYROM, while the matter was submitted to further negotiations. More than 15 years later, mediation over the name is still ongoing. The victory is partly...

European skull's evolving story The specimen was found along with bear remains The earliest modern humans in Europe were short of being the complete article, according to a study of a fossilised skull from Romania. The 35,000-year-old cranium discovered in Pestera cu Oase in the west of the country shows an interesting mix of features, say scientists. Whilst undeniably a Homo sapiens specimen, it has some traits normally associated with more ancient species. The skull is reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr Helene Rougier, from Washington University in St Louis, US, and colleagues say the fossil...

In Bucharest and in Athens, the exacerbation of the economic crisis has undermined public tolerance for the privileges enjoyed by the Orthodox Church. If things do not change, warns România Libera, the organisation runs the risk of paying a heavy cultural tribute. Laurentiu Mihu With each passing day, the crisis that has swept across Europe has thrown into question not only the capacity of states to maintain a minimum of solvency, but also the philosophy that has provided the basis for the social and economic system since the Second World War. Established ideologies are no longer in tune with current...

The Kyoto Protocol committee has blocked Romania from selling carbon credits over concerns about irregularities in the country's carbon emissions data, Romania's environment ministry said Sunday. In December, Romanian Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said the country hoped to earn some 1.5 billion euros ($2.2 billion) from selling carbon offsets. But the committee that monitors Kyoto Protocol compliance decided to suspend Romania from the programme due to "irregularities observed" in Bucharest's 2010 greenhouse gas emissions data, the environment ministry statement said. The suspension has immediate affect, and Bucharest must put in place an "adequate" system for monitoring emissions before it can...

An immigration officer returned home to find gipsies had moved in, ransacked the place and dressed in her clothes. Julia High was even offered a glass of her own wine by the Romanian squatters. They claimed they had rented the property from her ‘son’ because she had died, and produced a set of fake documents. Miss High, 55, has no son.

Ordinary measures will not do anymore , For I am opening up in you a Grand new door , The fullness of your upper and lower springs ! ( Joshua15:17-19 ) My answer is " YES" and now my spirit brings ~ ~ ~ , Truly all it is you need to know , So now just come to me that to you my fullness I may show , Not just a twinkling but the fullness of my 7 eyes , Things others will not know but you have paid the price , So now step into My Sanctuary ,...

Some of them really did take to the streets in December 1989 to bring down Nicolae Ceausescu’s regime, but many others simply “forged revolutionary certificates” so as to benefit from the 42/1990 law, which grants a wide range of privileges to those with proof that they took part in the Romanian revolution. According to Burcharest weekly Revista 22, a total of between 20,000 and 30,000 official veterans were “handpicked from the millions of Romanians who protested at the time,” and so became “profiteers of the Revolution.” Now Prime Minister Emil Boc has decided to put an end to their privileges...

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian authorities said Monday they had found dozens of small, old rocket warheads stolen from a train carrying military equipment from Romania to Bulgaria stashed near a railway station in a village north of Bucharest. Authorities promised that the 64 warheads posed no danger to the public but offered varying explanations why. The Romanian national police said there was no risk because they were not attached to rockets. Spokesman Florin Hulea declined to provide further details. Two daily newspapers cited officials close to the investigation as saying the warheads did not contain explosives. The papers, Evenimentul...

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Authorities investigating the theft of 64 missile warheads from a train transporting military equipment to Bulgaria sought to reassure the public Monday that the components are no danger to the public.

U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested three Romanians Saturday after they waded across the Rio Grande into the United States, according to court records. The apparently undocumented immigrants were charged with illegal entry to the United States. The federal court record regarding the arrest of Elena Ploesteanca Lapadat, Rica Dunca and Florin Rica Dunca does not give the location of their arrest. The three pleaded not guilty Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald G. Morgan, according to the court record. Counsel has been appointed for them. A Romanian interpreter, Maria Stefan, interpreted for the three defendants telephonically. The three are being...

The ongoing IMF attack on European Democracy In December of last year I wrote an article called "The cost of the bail out - Just your Democracy."  In it I referenced an IMF document called "Lifting Euro Area Growth: Priorities for Structural Reforms and Governance." What prompted me to look at that IMF publication was the injudicious way the IMF publicly told Portugal that it should cut its unemployment payouts. The document in question, I argued, was nothing short of the IMF's blue-print for how to ensure the public in every country were forced to bear austerity measures in order to...

Did you know that the EU has ensured that there has been no war between its members for last 60 years?

A 52-year-old Highland Park father is one of two U.S. citizens charged with agreeing to sell missiles and other weapons to the Taliban for their use against American troops in Afghanistan, according to a complaint unsealed by federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week. Oded Orbach, born in Israel, was among seven men arrested in an international sting operation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Paid informants posing as Taliban representatives conspired with the men to ship narcotics through West Africa — with a portion intended for the United States — and to use the proceeds to buy weapons for protecting Taliban-owned...

<p>BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — There's more bad news in the cards for Romania's beleaguered witches.</p> <p>A month after Romanian authorities began taxing them for their trade, the country's soothsayers and fortune tellers are cursing a new bill that threatens fines or even prison if their predictions don't come true. Superstition is a serious matter in the land of Dracula, and officials have turned to witches to help the recession-hit country collect more money and crack down on tax evasion.</p>

US defence business and Romanian officials sought a sole-source route for the sale of F-16s to Romania, according to a US Embassy cable released by Wikileaks from November 2007 As a condition of joining NATO in 2004, Romania needed to upgrade its Soviet-era MiG-21 Lancer Aircraft through purchasing a new air combat force, with the other major bidders including Sweden’s Saab-manufactured JAS 39 Gripen and the Italian-British-German-French Eurofighter Typhoon. The cable, attributed to then-US Ambassador to Romania Nicolas Taubman, stated that American aerospace company Lockheed Martin, along with “allies in the Presidency and Ministry of Defense” were seeking a ‘sole-source’...

FEARS of a new wave of illegal immigrants into Europe were raised last night after Romania threatened to stop patrolling its eastern border. The country’s president Traian Basescu has said he will drop border security in protest over a dispute about immigration restrictions on Romanian citizens. His government is furious that the EU has blocked an application for full freedom-of-movement rights. Now the row has triggered concerns that illegal immigrants will exploit a relaxation of security along Romania’s borders with Moldova and Ukraine and its Black Sea coast – borders already understood be key routes for those trying to enter...

MOGOSOIA, Romania – Solace for world leaders trying to enforce painful austerity measures: At least you're not running Romania. Angry witches are using cat excrement and dead dogs to cast spells on the president and government who are forcing them to pay taxes. Also in the eye of the taxman are fortune tellers, who should have seen it coming. And President Traian Basescu isn't laughing it off. In a country where superstition is mainstream, the president and his aides wear purple on Thursdays, allegedly to ward off evil spirits. Witches from Romania's eastern and western regions will descend to the...

The United States has signed a deal with Bhutan giving US citizens in the country immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the State Department said Tuesday. The deal with Bhutan brings to 34 the number of countries with which the United States has signed so-called "Article 98" agreements exempting US citizens from the court's jurisdiction, said Lynn Cassel, a department spokesman. Bhutan and Bosnia-Herzegovina both agreed to the pacts on May 16 but the deal with Thimphu was not announced until Tuesday. Washington refuses to support the ICC, arguing that it could become a forum for politically...

This is a movie based on the true story of a true Romanian legend: Ion Gavrilă Ogoranu (1923-2006) Born in a Romanian family in the Fagaras County, he studied at Radu Negru high school in Fagaras then enrolled in two colleges: the Agronomy College in Cluj and the Academy of Economic sudies in Brasov. He joined the Romanian Armed Forces in the famed 12th Brigade Mountain Hunters (participating in the on the western front campaign against Nazi Germany). He also enrolled at the Military Academy in Campulung. He started his career as an anti-communist fighter while still in college. For...

The NATO summit to be held in Lisbon on 19 and 20 November will be marked by the rise of Russian influence in the alliance. A Romanian editorialist highlights the vital importance of the link between Eastern Europe and Washington. Romanians should get used to the idea of living in a Europe where NATO will no be longer able to guarantee their security. The Paris-Berlin-Moscow axis has left us with only one option: the United States. Hello and welcome to the 19th century! From now on — now being the first day of the "historic" NATO summit in Lisbon —...

*****NOTE THE FOLLOWING IS A MACHINE TRANSLATION FROM ROMANIAN***** Hundreds of blogs include pictures and comments, positive or negative, about the events of 23 May 2010 in Montana Bocsa Orthodox parish. Orthodox parish priest, Dr. Daniel Crecan, is accused by his superiors "that would have given the sacred mysteries that would be unorthodox and concelebrated Mass with the Roman Catholic priest Philip Rolf Schoenenberg in Pentecost Sunday." Orthodox believers say that, in fact, their priest concelebrated, but attended Catholic Mass, in the spirit of good understanding that prevails among all Christians in their community. Caransebes Diocese Consistory and was degraded...

Romania halts MiG-21 training flights after fatal crash By Craig Hoyle The Romanian air force has halted all training flights involving its MiG-21 fighters, after two pilots were killed when one of the aircraft crashed on 1 November. The two-seat aircraft was lost near Campia Turzii air base at around 13:10 local time after completing a weather check ride, the defence ministry says. Reports suggest that the Soyuz R-13-300-engined aircraft crashed while attempting to land. Both crew members were experienced MiG-21 pilots, with a combined total of more than 1,770 flight hours logged on the type, according to information released...

Just a year ago Ukraine was insisting that Russia would be required to vacate the Crimean naval base of Sevastopol when its old lease expired in 2017. That would have posed serious problems for Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, which is headquartered there. But today, after pro-Moscow President President Viktor Yanukovych took office in February, Russia appears completely secure in its military foothold on Ukrainian soil until at least 2042. In a quiet announcement Monday, Moscow revealed that – with Ukrainian consent – it will "upgrade" its Black Sea fleet over the next decade with at least 18 new warships,...

Romania’s job insecurity and a drop in the quality of life has brought forth a wave of nostalgia for the Communist period. The majority of Romanians have neutral or favourable views on Communism, according to a pole by the Institute of Investigating Communist Crimes (IICCMER) and CSOP. 46 per cent of Romanians polled have a favourable view of Communism and five per cent a neutral view. Around 49 per cent of Romanians believe that life was much better in the country before 1989. However most Romanians believe it is necessary to set up a Day of Remembrance for the Victims...

El Baradei and Chairman of Iranian Parliament, Ali Larijani Source: Al Youm Al SabehSeptember 6, 2010The Egyptian Newspaper Al Youm Al Sabeh reports: In a communication to the Attorney General of Egypt, Dr. Yasser Najib Abdel Mabboud, has accused Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, former Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency and a candidate in the Egyptian presidential elections, of receiving funds exceeding $7 million (US) from Iran’s leadership as support for ‘political reform in Egypt’.Abdul Mabboud , a candidate of the National Party and who like El Baradei is also running for the Egyptian Presidential election, was informed of the...

France has begun expelling approximately 700 Roma to Romania and Bulgaria on Thursday, AFP reported. The first 79 Roma to participate in what has been termed a "voluntary return procedure" agreed to leave France on a flight headed for Bucharest later in the day. Another 132 Roma are expected to leave France for Romania this Friday. Each adult to participate in the repatriation program is to receive 300 euros from the French government, and 100 euros for every minor that leaves the country.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization, on Friday criticized Israeli President Shimon Peres who paid tribute to Romania for "rescuing 400,000 Jews" during World War II. ... Romania had long denied its participation in the Holocaust, triggering criticism from Israel and Jewish organizations. An international commission of historians set up in 2003 established that some 270.000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews died between 1940 and 1944, during marshal Ion Antonescu's pro-Nazi regime, while some 25,000 Gypsies were deported, half of whom died.

Romanian President Traian Basescu said that in the case of a conflict with Iran, his country will stand alongside NATO and Israel. "We hope the sanctions imposed on Tehran by the UN Security Council will lead to the proper solution – not one of digging graves for American soldiers, but one of negotiations and transparency," said Basescu.

BUCHAREST, Romania -- A 25-year-old Romanian woman who weighed 528 pounds (240 kilograms) when she gave birth to a baby girl more than 5 months ago, has died, media reported Monday. Relatives of Victoria Lacatus said she died of a heart attack Sunday after developing a high fever and breathing problems. Doctors from Craiova hospital in southern Romania said Lacatus' heart stopped. Hospital manager Florin Petrescu said doctors tried to resuscitate Lacatus for 30 minutes, a task made difficult because of her extreme obesity. After she gave birth by cesarean section to a 6.4 pounds (2.9 kilograms) baby girl on...

BUCHAREST, Romania -- A helicopter carrying one Romanian and six Israeli soldiers crashed Monday in mountainous terrain during joint military training, the Romanian defense ministry said. There is no information on whether there are survivors, Defense Ministry spokesman Constantin Spanu said. Officials were scrambling to reach the accident site near the central Romanian town of Zarnesti, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of Bucharest, he said

Sanziana Buruiana wants to heavily tax overweight citizens - at a rate of €10 per kilo overweight - and punish anybody making 'dumb blonde' jokes. ‘Anyone like that needs to be put in prison,’ said the 23-year-old.

A top court in Romania has ruled out a pension cut demanded by the country's government as part of a deficit-cutting financial austerity measure. The government wanted to cut state pensions by 15%, as well as slashing wages and welfare allowances. But the Constitutional Court said the pension cut was unconstitutional, a ruling which cannot be appealed.

BUCHAREST (AFP) – Romania will raise the VAT tax levied on goods and services to 24 percent from 19 percent to curb the public deficit and obtain a crucial IMF loan disbursement, Prime Minister Emil Boc said on Saturday. The move comes after a court on Friday blocked the government's plan to cut pensions by 15 percent in 2010, leading the International Monetary Fund to postpone the unlocking of a new tranche that was due on Monday. "The government has decided to raise the VAT tax by five points", Boc told a press conference. "Under these conditions, the agreement with...

Crisis-hit Romania cannot afford to purchase second-hand F-16 combat aircraft this year, Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu said. - There is no money for the F-16s, I can't see where we could get one percent of GDP (gross domestic product) in order to buy military equipment - Vladescu told Money Channel TV station. - Such an expense is downright impossible at this moment - he added. Romania had announced in March its decision to purchase 24 F-16 aircraft currently used by the US air forces, at a cost of 1.3 billion dollars (1.1 billion dollars), in order to replace its ageing,...

Miss Bikini World is crowned  Winners ... Miss Bikini World finalists     By STAFF REPORTER Published: 30 May 2010 A ROMANIAN college student has become the new Miss Bikini World. The annual competition final took place today in Sanya, China.   Diana, 22, beat 63 other contestants to win the crown. She said: "I am so excited that I do not know what to say. "All the contestants are very strong and I must say I am so lucky to win." Kasey-Lee Brunker from Australia bagged the Miss Spring crown and Luna Ramos from Venezuela was named Miss Summer....

The saga of the Romanian air force’s selection of a “new” fighter to replace its MiG-21bis Lancer is becoming a heated political, industrial and economic battle that is not likely to be solved anytime soon. A buy of 24 secondhand U.S. Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighters was originally announced in March by Defense Minister Gabriel Opera, without a formal competition. The F-16s — old Block 25 airframes in service with the U.S. Air National Guard — were expected to be free, but the price tag eventually reached $1.3 billion (€1 billion) when training, weapons, aircraft modification and infrastructure requirements...

Eurofighter consortium representatives held talks with Romanian legislators on Tuesday in a bid to wrest a 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) fighter contract from Lockheed Martin , executives said on Wednesday. In March, Romania's Supreme Defence Council approved the acquisition of 24 secondhand F16 fighters made by Lockheed to modernise its air force, a plan that requires parliamentary approval. The Senate Defence Committee, however, said it wished to hear alternative offers and convened the meeting on Tuesday with Eurofighter -- comprised of Finmeccanica , BAe Systems and EADS -- and Sweden's Saab , which has proposed its Gripen fighter. Maurizio...

Romania is to cut wages and pensions in the public sector later this year to comply with an IMF-led rescue deal. Romanian President Traian Basescu said the "programme to cut public expenses was inevitable". Public sector wages will be cut by 25% and all salaries, including the minimum one, will be affected. Jobless benefits and pensions will be slashed by 15%. Romania is the recipient of a 20bn-euro aid package from the IMF, the EU and the World Bank. The country, as well as two other bailed-out states, Latvia and Hungary, have missed targets for cutting their deficits by significant...

Greg Grigore and his mother are passionate about the motives which prompt them to spend weekend afternoons on street corners a world away from their native Romania.

Scotland Yard and Romanian police have busted 30 suspected mobsters who allegedly ran a child trafficking ring which kidnapped children from poor Gypsy communities and forced them into a life of crime in Britain as reported by the Daily Mail: Police estimate that more then 170 youngsters as young as seven have been trafficked to the UK by the gang. * * * Police say the modern-day Fagins forced their young victims - snatched from poor gypsy communities - to beg in Britain and go on pick-pocketing and shoplifting sprees. Mob bosses set them up with bogus documents and homes...

Building a missile defense shield to cover all European countries, including Russia, would help restore confidence in NATO, the Bulgarian foreign minister said on Saturday. Nikolay Mladenov said that would show the people that "the Alliance is really taking care of their security rather than just engage in operations at the other end of the world." Speaking earlier in the day at a NATO conference in Brussels, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called for a new Euro-Atlantic security architecture, "one security roof," in which Russia should be a full-fledged partner. He said one security roof "would be a very strong political...

Swedish group Saab said Thursday it was "surprised" at Romania's choice of F-16 second-hand aircraft to the detriment of its Gripen and asked authorities to submit all offers to parliament. "We are surprised at the statement indicating that the Supreme Defence Council is pursuing the old F-16s, without any offset, due to lack of financial resources,", said Richard Smith, Saab's marketing director for Romania. "Unfortunately, the Romanian armed force may end up with someone else's junk." The Supreme Council announced Wednesday it would submit to parliament its decision to purchase 24 F-16 aircraft currently used by the US air force....

Romania's Supreme Defence Council on Tuesday approved the acquisition of 24 second-hand F16 fighters produced by Lockheed Martin Corp to modernise its air force."Taking into account that Romania does not have the needed financial resources to buy new ... planes, the Council okayed a defence ministry proposal to acquire 24 F16 used planes," the council said in a statement. It said the plan would be subject to parliament's approval. Romania is a U.S. ally and some analysts had said the F16 was a likely choice. The economic crisis complicated the NATO member's effort to seal a planned multi-billion euro fighter...

Russia has serious questions over the aims of fresh US missile defence plans for Europe, the foreign ministry said Friday, in Moscow's strongest expression of concern yet over the new initiative. "We still have serious questions regarding the true purpose of the US missile system," a ministry spokesman, Andrei Nesterenko, told reporters in televised remarks. "Therefore we will continue to consistently oppose any dubious unilateral actions in relation to missile defence that can negatively affect international security." His comments were Russia's strongest statement of concern after Romania said it would hold talks with Washington on hosting US missile interceptors and...

Moldova's rebel region of Transdniestria said on Monday it was ready to host Russian tactical missiles if the Kremlin were to ask, escalating growing tensions about defense between Moscow and Washington. NATO and European Union member Romania, which borders Moldova, this month approved a U.S. plan to deploy interceptor missiles which Washington says aims to defend against current and emerging ballistic missile threats from Iran. It prompted calls for clarification from Russia's foreign ministry, which said it was concerned. Interfax news agency quoted regional leader Igor Smirnov as saying on Monday: "We are not against it ... As far as...

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, mounted stiff resistance tonight to any swift bailout of Greece, as a rift opened up between European capitals over how best to tackle the risks posed to the euro. Despite a show of Franco-German unity on the crisis and the first statement from EU leaders pledging to safeguard the currency's stability, hopes on the markets of a German-led rescue plan to shore up Greece's critical public finances were dashed by Merkel, who repeatedly emphasised that Athens would need to put its own house in order and brushed aside all questions of financial support. "Germany is...

Romanian President Traian Basescu announced last week that his country would accept an US offer to base medium-range interceptor missiles (the proposed land-based version of the SM3 system) as part of the revamped missile defence plans formulated by the Obama Administration in 2009. "Romania has been officially invited by US President Barack Obama to be part of the [new] missile defence system," Basescu said after a meeting of the country's Supreme Defence Council. He stated that talks between Washington and Bucharest on the issue should start in the near future and any agreement will be submitted to Romanian parliament for...

Romania has agreed to base American anti-missile systems on its territory. These will probably be land based Aegis systems. So far, Aegis has achieved an 83 percent success rate during live test firings. So now everyone wants an Aegis ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) ship for protection. The Aegis system was designed to operate aboard warships (cruisers and destroyers that have been equipped with the special software that enables the AEGIS radar system to detect and track incoming ballistic missiles). However, there is also a land based version that Israel is interested in buying. The development version of AEGIS was land based,...