The head of the Romanian Gendarmerie Olimpiodor Antonescu and his first deputy Nicolaie Rugina have been sacked following a scandal involving alleged illegal staff hiring in the institution. read more...

A 29 year-old woman diagnosed with the AH1N1 virus has died in hospital in Iasi, eastern Romania, the second swine flu-related death in Romania over the past three days. read more...

Romania could meet most of its objectives under the EU’s Cooperation and Verification Mechanism this year if the Justice Ministry and High Council of Magistrates get along and act together, Justice Minister Catalin Predoiu said Tuesday. read more...

Romanian unions and employers called on the prime minister Tuesday to fire Labor Minister Ioan Botis, disgruntled with talks on the country’s new labor code. read more...

The Roma minority is a sensitive issue for Romania and authorities may resort to harsh measures like halt state child allowance payments unless parents send their children to school, President Traian Basescu told OSCE’s High Commissioner on National Minorities Knut Vollebaek Tuesday. read more...

The Romanian state’s ownership in Proprietatea Fund (PF) might go down by nearly 6 pct until the end of 2011 from the current 39 pct to 33 pct, Greg Konieczny, Templeton Emerging Markets Group deputy executive chairman and Proprietatea Fund (PF) portfolio manager told a press conference on Monday. read more...

A Qatar Airways flight landed in Bucharest for the first time on Monday and the company is going to operate flights on the Doha-Bucharest route four times a week. Qatar Airways is the first five-star airline company coming to Bucharest and the first airline of the Middle East operating direct flights to Romania. read more...

The Ministry of Public Finance (MPF) on Monday borrowed 2.541 billion lei (approximately 0.5978 billion euros) from the commercial banks, in an issue of discount T-bills, placed on tender through the Romanian National Bank. read more...

The implementation by Romania of the SIS and SIRENE Schengen Information System is being conducted in accordance with the Schengen acquis, states the relevant report of the Schengen evaluation working group (Sch-EVAL), debated at the end of the previous week in Brussels, European diplomatic sources on Monday told; the cited sources reminded that the assessment report was positive, and that with one exception – that of France – the document was accepted by all member states. France asked for extra time to analyze the text. read more...

Romania plans to replace over half of its 20,437 MW installed electrical output with new units by 2035, Economy Ministry director Alexandru Sandulescu said Tuesday. read more...

Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc decided to invite unions and employers for talks on the new labor code Tuesday afternoon after they demanded the resignation of Labor Minister Ioan Botis. read more...

Romanian used apartment prices rose by as much as 8% since the beginning of the year, but representatives of realty ads platform imobiliare.ro expect owner ambitions to “deflate” in the near future. read more...

Romania registered a third AH1N1-related death this year, as a 23 year-old woman died Tuesday in hospital in Ploiesti, southern Romania. read more...

The World Bank is prepared to offer Romania technical and financial assistance for its planned follow-up deal with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission, much like it did when the initial bailout package was signed two years ago, a World Bank official said Tuesday. read more...

Romania’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday cleared a government emergency decree issued in 2009 that raised taxes on gambling and the minimal value of share capital required for a gambling license. read more...

The Romanian government prefers to boost efficiency in the companies it owns, not privatize them, a World Bank official said Tuesday. read more...

The International Monetary Fund will show flexibility regarding the duration of a follow-up agreement with Romania, IMF mission head Jeffrey Franks said Tuesday, without giving an exact timeframe. read more...

President Basescu declared on Tuesday that the money for electoral campaigns, for general and local elections should be paid, in fixed amounts from the state budget or the local budget. read more...

Romania's workers' unions and employers' associations must draft by Friday a joint position on the changes to the Labor Code and the other laws under negotiation, which the prime minister will analyze by January 26 and announce which of their proposals will be taken into account. read more...

Romania will register a slow economic recovery in 2011 after a 2% decrease in 2010 and will confront with tough austerity measures and any opposition to them might produce instability, Economist Intelligence Unit reads quoted by the Romanian news agency Mediafax. read more...