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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Even his best friend betrayed him. Stelian Tanase found out when he asked to see the thick file that Romania's communist-era secret police had kept on him. The revelation nearly knocked the wind out of him: His closest pal was an informer who regularly told agents what Tanase was up to. "In a way, I haven't even recovered today," said Tanase, a novelist who was placed under surveillance and had his home bugged during the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's regime. "He was the one person on Earth I had the most faith in," he said. "And...

THE ANTI-HUMANS: The Reeducation Experiment of the Communists Between 1944-1945, Communism took over the Christian country of Romania. An experiment of terror was performed on the young generation, on students from the age of eighteen to twenty five. Among those students was a man who is alive today after surviving sixteen years in the anti-human communist prison system. His name is Father George Calciu. After His release from prison, he was exiled to America in 1984. Below follows part of an interview by Nun Nina from this year.(1998) Nun Nina: This may be more difficult for you to talk about...

Madonna Booed During Romanian Concert Over Gypsy Remark August 28, 2009 7:13 a.m. EST Anne Lu - Celebrity News Service News Writer Bucharest, Romania (CNS) - Madonna's stance on equality was not warmly received in Romania. The pop superstar was booed during a concert after she mentioned discrimination of gypsies and homosexuals in the country. She told the "Sticky and Sweet" concert crowd in Bucharest, "I've never been to Romania before and I am happy to be here." "But I found out that there is a lot of discrimination against gypsies in Eastern Europe and that makes me very sad,...

Who was the real Count Dracula?Romania was the destination for this year's vacation. We really had a wonderful time. The people are very friendly and there's much to see in this beautiful country. It's truly a great place to go if you're looking for something that's affordable and different from the usual resort and beach destination (they have those too). I knew if we were going to Romania, we couldn't miss a trip to see Dracula's Castle. Brasov, 15 miles (24km) from Bran CastleIrish author Bram Stoker put Transylvania on the literary map in 1897 with his fictional novel Dracula....

Romanian authorities arrested two Israeli fertility doctors under investigation in Bucharest, Israeli Consul in Romania Lili Ben Harush announced on Tuesday evening. It was not immediately known why Prof. Nathan Levitt and Dr. Genya Ziskind were arrested, but it was assumed to be after an alleged attempt to escape the country and obstruct the local investigation into the suspected illegal activities of the Sabyc fertility clinic. Levitt and Ziskind were among the 30 people arrested in Bucharest last Monday on suspicion of paying Romanian women for donating their eggs to the Israel-owned Sabyc fertility clinic, some of whom, according to...

An Open Letter to the Obama Administration from Central and Eastern Europe 2009-07-15 by Valdas Adamkus, Martin Butora, Emil Constantinescu, Pavol Demes, Lubos Dobrovsky, Matyas Eorsi, Istvan Gyarmati, Vaclav Havel, Rastislav Kacer, Sandra Kalniete, Karel Schwarzenberg, Michal Kovac, Ivan Krastev, Alexander Kwasniewski, Mart Laar, Kadri Liik, Janos Martonyi. Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Adam Rotfeld, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Alexandr Vondra, Lech Walesa. We have written this letter because, as Central and Eastern European (CEE) intellectuals and former policymakers, we care deeply about the future of the transatlantic relationship as well as the future quality of relations between the United States and the countries of...

Col. Ion Manci (right), senior national representative, Romania, presents the Honor Emblem of the Romanian Land Forces to Lt. Col. Brian Pierce, Forward Operating Base Delta garrison commander, during a ceremony at the Romanian contingent headquarters, June 16. Manci also presented the award to Maj. Jennifer Finch, 41st Fires Brigade military intelligence officer-in-charge. Photo by Sgt. Allison Churchill, Multi-National Division – South. FOB DELTA — The Romanian contingent here recently signaled the end of their Army's operations in Wasit province with a ceremony at their headquarters building. The ceremony gave both the Romanians and U.S. Soldiers the opportunity to show...

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Arrest of Kenyan Exposes Massive Global Arms Trade The East African Africa News February 25, 2002 Monday Kenya L AST WEEKEND'S arrest of Kenyan-born Sanjivan Ruprah, who is alleged to be a part of a major arms smuggling operation to Africa, has brought into the open the extent of the multi-million dollar illegal business. The whereabouts of Bout remain unknown. Some media reports say he is in Moscow, while others say he is in the Congo or the United Arab Emirates. An international ...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, June 9, 2009 – Military operations in Iraq formally ended for Romanian forces June 4, as one of America's coalition allies prepared to ship out some of its remaining troops with an end-of-mission ceremony held by Romania’s 26th Infantry “Red Scorpions” Battalion. Lt. Col. Gabriel Toma, commander of the Romanian army’s 26th Infantry Battalion, conducts an inspection of troops with Romanian President Traian Basescu during an end-of-mission ceremony June 4, 2009, at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Mark Miranda  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Romanian flag was...

Romanian archaeologists has discovered, in southeastern county of Caras-Severin, a complex structure estimated to be 2,000 years old belonging to the Roman culture, local media reported on Thursday. The archaeological discovery has a special importance because it was built very early, probably in the autumn of 101 during the first Dacian-Roman War of 101-102, before the actual Roman conquest of Dacia, the Carpathian-Danube region, modern day Romania. The discovery will bring the village of Zavoi in Caras-Severin County to the attention of history researchers and archaeologists from around the world following the digging up of the ruins of a Roman...

110 brides and brides-to-be march to promote family values in Bucharest (NECN/APTV) - Dozens of women sporting full bridal regalia took part in a parade in Bucharest on Sunday, to promote the institution of marriage in Romanian society. Organizers of the "Bride Parade" said they intend to promote marriage as a way of maintaining traditional family values in this Orthodox country. The atmosphere was celebratory as dozens of women dressed in various white dresses, veils and tiaras marched to the sounds of trumpeters playing wedding songs. One woman called the event "unique" and one that "emphasizes the importance of the...

Fox news just had a cute story about a brides'parade in Rumania. The purpose of the parade seems to be a promotion of marriage and family values. Wouldn't this be a cute and fun way to promote marriage in our communities?

The Romanian Greek-Catholic Community is facing with a cultural and religious wipe-out: the Greek-Catholic churches are systematically destroyed by the Orthodox Church representatives, whose actions are supported and accepted by the Romanian authorities, the Romanian Greek-Catholic Association accuses in a letter addressed to Hillary Clinton, the US state secretary. Romanian Greek-Catholic Association, Inc. is a non-for-profit association registered in the United States of America, aiming to support the Greek-Catholic communities. Head of the association priest Cristian Terhes argues that "the citizens are harassed and threatened because they declare themselves Greek-Catholic; the rights and freedoms of the Greek-Catholics are systematically infringed,...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq , April 28, 2009 – Romanian soldiers are helping train Iraqi commandos on Camp Ur, near Contingency Operating Base Adder in Iraq. Soldiers assigned to the 26th Romanian Infantry Battalion teach Shotokan karate to Iraqi troops during hand-to-hand combat training, as part of commando training on Camp Ur near Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, April 26, 2009. (Photo courtesy of Multinational Division South)  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Soldiers of the 26th Romanian Infantry Battalion mentored Iraqi soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 39th Iraqi Army Brigade, through the first four weeks of tactical,...

Moldova has rejected a new ambassador proposed by Romania, an official said Friday, in another sign of deteriorating relations between the neighboring countries. Earlier this month, Moldova accused Romania of supporting violent anti-communist demonstrations by thousands of people who stormed Moldova's Parliament and presidential offices to protest an election that had returned the Communist Party to power. Romania rejected the accusation, but Moldova expelled Romania's ambassador.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Surprising as it may seem, incest is not always a crime in Europe. Three European Union nations — France, Spain and Portugal — do not prosecute consenting adults for incest, and Romania is considering following suit.

Romanian Court is going to try the appeal filed by the Bulgarian national Petar Zikulov, who is charged with espionage, Sofia News Agency reports. Zikulov is currently detained for 29 days, the maximum period under Romanian law. Zikulov and Floricel Achim, a Romanian warrant officer, were arrested in Bucharest on March 2, on charges of espionage and treason. They have been accused of leaking military secrets to a third country that was not an EU and NATO member.

A blast occurred Monday at the Bucharest Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence and Ecology Research Center of the Romanian Ministry of Defense, killing one officer who was working there, the ministry said.Major engineer Octavian – Viorel Mihai received first aid from the unit’s doctor and was immediately taken to the nearest hospital, to receive specialized medical attention, but he passed away.The officer was 37 years old and was working at the center since 2004. Part of his job involved working with powders and explosives. Another two slightly injured in NBC Research Center explosion A woman who was injured in the...

I was relaxing in my favorite armchair and watching golf when my daughter, Hannah, strode into the room. "Dad," she said, "we need to have a serious talk."   "Okay," I replied, turning to her.   She frowned. "You're going to have to turn the TV off."   "Oh." I tapped the remote control. This was serious.   Almost automatically, she began. "Dad, I don't really want to be an only child. I think we should adopt a baby brother."   Silence.   After picking my jaw up off the coffee table, I found my voice. "Where did this...

Soldiers from the 10th Iraqi Army Special Operations unit, the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division, and the 341st Romanian Infantry Bn. prepare to conduct indirect fire observation training in the Dhi Qar province, Nov. 25. Photo by Maj. Chad Carroll. CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER — The Iraqi Army conducted indirect fire training in the Dhi Qar province, Nov. 25, with U.S. and Romanian counterparts. The 10th Iraqi Army Special Operations unit teamed with 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and the 341st Romanian Infantry Battalion to develop their artillery and mortar capabilities. The troops fired rocket-assisted projectile...

The left leaning Social Democratic Party has won the most votes in Romania's first parliamentary elections since becoming a member of the European Union last year. The party claimed victory with about 33 percent of Sunday's vote. As Stefan Bos reports from Budapest, Hungary the victory does not mean the former Communists will be in control of the new government. Since October, thousands of workers have lost their jobs at major Romanian factories, and more lay-offs are expected. Social Democrat leader Mircea Geoana expressed his concern about the social tensions. Speaking in front of flag waving supporters outside his party's...

A Romanian entrepreneur has come under fire for putting plastic prostitutes on the street to advertise his garden gnome business.

The upcoming meeting between President-elect Barack Obama and his onetime rival Sen. John McCain was set in motion during a phone call over the weekend between Obama and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), McCain's closest friend. In an interview Friday, Graham said that Obama requested the meeting during a 20-minute phone call that the South Carolina senator described as a "pleasant" discussion about how they could work together effectively. "We just talked about the desire to find something meaningful to work on," Graham said. "He was very nice to me, said that he considered me a serious, reform-minded senator that he...

A NATO base to support the airlift operations of 12 nations will be established in Hungary early next year, and about 40 U.S. military members will be calling the station 100 miles west of Budapest home, according to an alliance agreement. The Strategic Airlift Capability Partnership — which involves the joint acquisition of three C-17 Globemasters — will increase NATO’s ability to transport large numbers of troops and supplies to far-flung places, such as Afghanistan. The town of Papa will host the base to be commanded by U.S. Air Force Col. John Zazworsky. "It (airlift capability) has been a longstanding...

Poland has claimed that it has assembled enough votes to block a landmark EU climate change agreement after spearheading a revolt by Eastern European states that fear the package would increase their dependence on Russian natural gas supplies. A six nation bloc on the EU's eastern fringes signed a pact to fight a proposal designed to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by a fifth by 2020. The target represents the EU's landmark initiative to address the pressures of climate change and would return the continent's output of CO2 to 1990 levels. Poland has led efforts to fend off adoption of...

A Soldier from the Romanian Army's 151st Inf. Bn. searches for simulated improvised explosive devices during training at the Combat Logistical Patrol course on Contingency Operations Base Adder, June 11. The Romanians attended the CLPAcademy as part of an overall Humvee familiarization process. Photo by Spc. Darrell Lavoie, 7th Sustainment Brigade. CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS BASE ADDER — Soldiers from the Romanian 151st Infantry Battalion, 15th Mechanized Brigade went through the 7th Special Troops Battalion’s Combat Logistical Patrol (CLP) Academy on Contingency Operations Base Adder, May 19 through June 11. The Romanians attended the CLP Academy as part of an overall Humvee...

Senator Schumer is coming under sharp criticism from the government of the Czech Republic and from Polish-American and Romanian-American leaders in America after writing an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal suggesting that America should accommodate what he called Prime Minister Putin's "dream of eventually restoring Russian hegemony over Eastern Europe." Diplomats and community leaders who read the Journal article in response to inquiries by The New York Sun said they were taken aback by the suggestion by the New York Democrat that America should try to gain Russia's backing for tougher sanctions on Iran by abandoning NATO plans...

Romania is buying 48 U.S. F-16 fighters for $4.5 billion. Half will be the latest model, the F-16C /50. The others will be used, and reconditioned to F-16C/25 standards. Romania could have waited a few years and bought the new F-35 instead, but that would have cost them more money (nearly $6 billion for just 24). Romania did the math and realized that 48 F-16s would be more than adequate to handle any neighborhood spats. And if Russia became a problem, Romania is now a member of NATO, and capable of calling on some very big allies. While the U.S....

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — The Wasit Provincial Reconstruction Team leader and 214th Fires Brigade commander briefed the Wasit Provincial Council last week on reconstruction efforts in the province. More than $38 million dollars have been spent on those efforts in Wasit province since Jan. 1, 2007 by Coalition forces and the PRT. “We have done a lot as a team, and it has been a team effort,” said Col. Peter Baker, the 214th FB commander, “but there is more to do so that essential services are available to all. “We are working on developing processes and systems to put...

(AGI) - Bucharest, apr. 4 - US policy towards Iran is wrong: the Islamic republic must be helped out to come out of isolation and must not be threatened. This is the sense of the solution proposed by Vladimir Putin to handle relations between Washington and Teheran. According to a diplomatic source Putin said that "No one can seriously think that Iran would dare to attack the US. Instead of backing Iran into a corner it would be much more sensible to jointly dream up a way to help Iran gain greater transparency".

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - President Bush won NATO's endorsement Thursday for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe over Russian objections. The proposal also advanced with Czech officials announcing an agreement to install a missile tracking site for the system in their country. NATO leaders were adopting a communique stating that "ballistic missile proliferation poses an increasing threat to allied forces, territory and populations." It also will recognize "the substantial contribution to the protection of allies ... to be provided by the U.S.-led system," according to senior American officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of...

PEORIA - This weekend figures to be a busy one for those involved with military in the Peoria area. Forty Marine reservists from Company C, 6th Engineer Support Battalion are headed home this morning after seven months in Iraq. Then, at 9 a.m. Sunday, 60 Illinois Army National Guard members will leave Peoria and head to Indiana to begin training for a yearlong deployment to Kosovo as part of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission known as Kosovo Force 10 (KFOR10). In both cases, the public is welcome to attend the ceremonies but should arrive at least 30 minutes before. Parking might...

Romanian cops have closed a vandalism investigation that left local houses in ruins by concluding ghosts were to blame. Families living in Lilieci reported windows broken, bicycles flying through the air, objects moving on tables and candles blown out when there is no wind. When they complained they were being hounded by evil spirits to police they were laughed at. But after officers saw the evidence with their own eyes they filed a report saying that ghosts were to blame. Mircea Hadimbu, 68, who says his house has now been completely wrecked, said: "The windows started to break one by...

You would never know, by skimming through Le Monde, and Le Figaro, let alone the international media, that the Treaty of Lisbon, short of some deus ex machina, will be ratified sometime between now and February 8. The French news is full of American politics. This is another great decoy for Sarkozy. Besides his marriage (which is now old news), there is the great American election to distract the French from the scenario that will unfold in their National Assembly and Senate over the next two days.Those of you who know French may be interested in this video from Nicolas...

CONSUMER officials in Romania have upheld a complaint from a man who said his inflatable doll had lost its moan. A sex shop in Brasov, Transylvania, was fined more than $1200 and ordered to provide the man, said to be in his 40s, with a new doll. .....complained that the rubber doll deflated too quickly, local media said.

Man wins sex doll complaint Monday, February 4, 2008 A sex shop in Romania was fined £600 after a customer complained that an inflatable doll it sold him had lost its moan. The shop in Brasov, Transylvania (which is a real place, even though it sounds like a pun on the phrase 'bras off') was also ordered to give the man, in his 40s, a new rubber doll. He had also complained his doll deflated too quickly. Iulian Mara, of the consumer protection office, said: 'We went to the sex shop and found out he was justified.'

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy and a dog with three legs fought off a 20-stone bear that attacked the boy's mother on a Romanian hillside and clamped its jaws round her neck. When the bear appeared, Petre Prundaru ran off and hid behind a tree, but his mother, Anisoara, 40, slipped and fell. When the boy saw the bear grab her by the neck, he picked up a stick and charged it. His pet dog, Cotonogu, also went for the bear and the animal ran off. Petre then managed to find a shepherd, who called emergency services... A hospital spokesman said: "Most...

Psychologists have long believed that growing up in an institution like an orphanage stunts children’s mental development but have never had direct evidence to back it up. Now they do, from an extraordinary years-long experiment in Romania that compared the effects of foster care with those of institutional child-rearing. The study, being published on Friday in the journal Science, found that toddlers placed in foster families developed significantly higher I.Q.’s by age 4, on average, than peers who spent those years in an orphanage. The difference was large — eight points — and the study found that the earlier children...

A long-running conflict between neighboring countries Romania and Moldova has escalated. Moldova has expelled two Romanian diplomats and recalled its own ambassador. Romania calls the measure is “totally unjustified”. Moldova's action is in response to comments by the Romanian ambassador to Moldova, who said the border between the two countries is not legally valid. Until 1991 Moldova was part of the Soviet Union, but in the years before the Second World War most of it's territory was in Romania. Moldova accuses its neighbor of undermining its sovereignty, by offering its 4 million inhabitants citizenship.

The little baby boy lay awake in his cot. He was bound in swaddling, as is the tradition in these parts, and I was aching to pick him up. The doctor told me his name: Emanuel Bizgan. He was five months old, the son of a homeless woman, and had been abandoned at the hospital. Emanuel is one of a new generation of orphans in Romania. These days babies abandoned at hospitals are likely to stay there until their second birthday. New laws banning the institutionalization of children under two have backfired for them. Only when they turn two will...

Did you hear the one about the two journalists that walked into a Romanian airport wearing Al Qaeda Airline uniforms and put fake bombs on planes? …No, it’s not the setup for a joke, it really did happen. An investigation has been launched after the pair entered Baneasa Airport in Bucharest wearing hats and overalls marked “Al Qaeda Airlines”. Alexandru Cautis and Catalin Prisacaru, from the Academia Catavencu newspaper, drove into a supposedly secure parking area, reserved for airport staff, unchallenged. Once inside, they were able to place fake bombs on passenger planes without being questioned. They were also able...

Bucharest and Brussels, 16 Nov. (AKI) - Romania, one two countries accused by Europe's top human rights watchdog of hosting secret CIA jails used to interrogate Islamist terrorism suspects, says it has written to the European Union executive denying the charges. The letter to the European Commission is a response to a request from EU justice and security commissioner Franco Frattini asking Romania and Poland - the other country implicated by the Council of Europe - for an explanation. A Romanian spokeswoman in Brussels, Doris Mircea, said that a committee of inquiry set up by the government concluded that the...

The European Parliament's miniscule far-right group is on the verge of collapse after the Romanian members threatened to walk out in response to derogatory comments by another member, Italian MEP Alessandra Mussolini. When xenophobic far-right political parties in the European Parliament formed a group last year, many predicted it would fall victim to its inherent contradictions. Parties whose bread and butter is attacking foreigners were expected to find it a bit difficult to cooperate even if they were all cut from the same extremist cloth. Now the Romanian contingent of the Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty group (ITS) is threatening to pull...

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- The Czech Republic's dominant power utility, CEZ AS, said Friday it has won the bid to build two more reactors at Romania's only nuclear power plant. The bidding, held by Romania's state-owned Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica, the plant's operator, was for a 2.2 billion euro ($3.2 billion) project to build two 720-megawatt reactors at the Cernavoda plant, to supplement the plant's two existing reactors. Cernavoda is a town on the Danube River in southeast Romania. The new reactors are planned to be operational by 2015, CEZ said. The Czech company said it is due to start...

Italy expels Romanians, condemns attack Sat Nov 3, 2007 2:23pm EDT By Phil Stewart ROME (Reuters) - Authorities tore down a gypsy camp and expelled around 20 Romanians from Italy on Saturday while condemning a "racist" attack in Rome apparently triggered by this week's murder of an Italian naval officer's wife. Masked assailants brandishing knives, clubs and canes stabbed and beat four Romanians outside a Rome supermarket late on Friday. One of the victims is in serious condition. The attack partly overshadowed the Rome funeral on Saturday for Giovanna Reggiani, 47, who police believe was fatally wounded by a Romanian...

Italy starts rounding up Romanian immigrants By Malcolm Moore in Rome and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels  Last Updated: 3:07am GMT 03/11/2007     Italy has begun rounding up thousands of Romanian immigrants for deportation after passing a new "public order and security" law. Death of Italian woman brings tensions to crescendoMasgras Neculai, 30, a petty thief, was named as the first Romanian who would be expelled under the new law, which allows anyone who is considered "dangerous" to society to be sent home.   Police in Rome have begun rounding up Romanians   The law was rushed through the Italian...

LANDSTUHL, Germany — Ask Romanian Army Lt. Col. Dorin Petrut how old he is and he’ll probably say, “22 years for each leg.” He does that, he says, because he can, thanks to the doctors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. They saved his lower left leg from amputation after he was injured in a rocket attack near Baghdad International Airport on Sept. 11. “I heard a sound like a C-17. I thought, ‘This is an airport. That’s not unusual,’” Petrut recalled. The next thing he remembered was seeing nearby cars “splattered with my flesh and blood.” The other Romanian and...

KIEV, Ukraine, Oct. 22, 2007 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today thanked fellow participants in the Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial conference for their support in Iraq and Afghanistan and told the group he plans to press NATO to live up to its commitments in Afghanistan. Gates, speaking with SEDM members at their 12th conference, expressed frustration that some NATO countries still haven’t followed through with troop commitments made at the 2006 NATO session in Riga, Latvia. “I am not satisfied that an alliance whose members have over 2 million soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen can’t find the modest...

U.S.-led Iraq coalition withering fast By WILLIAM J. KOLE Associated Press Writer Britain's decision to bring half of its 5,000 soldiers home from Iraq by spring is the latest blow to the U.S.-led coalition. The alliance is crumbling, and fast: excluding Americans, the multinational force was once 50,000 strong - by mid-2008, it will be down to 7,000. President Bush, facing opposition to the war from the Democrat-led Congress, also is paring back. He says he is committed to gradually reducing the American force from its current peak of 168,000 soldiers to just over 130,000 by next summer. U.S. troops...

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI told the newly enthroned patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church that he can count on collaboration from Catholics. The Pope sent a delegation to Bucharest on Sunday to participate in the solemn enthronement celebrations of Patriarch Daniel Ciobotea, the new leader of 19 million Romanian Orthodox. The Vatican delegation was led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and included Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the same dicastery, and Archbishop Jean-Claude Périsset, apostolic nuncio to Romania. As a "pledge to search for full communion," Cardinal Kasper...