PM Victor Ponta has become the highest ranking Romanian official who has been put under criminal inquiry under corruption-related charges while in office. Ponta was at the National Anti-Corruption Department (DNA) headquarters on Friday morning. He made no statement on his arriving at the DNA offices and there is no public information about the purpose of his going there.
UPDATE 1 Victor Ponta said on Friday he was a suspect in a case related to his activity as a lawyer in 2007-2008 and for conflict of interest over his naming fellow lawyer Dan Sova as minister in his government.
UPDATE 2 Asked on his leaving the DNA offices if he would resign, Ponta said: We don't do politics at the DNA, we do politics in Parliament
UPDATE 3 The DNA issued a press release announcing that anti-graft prosecutors ordered a criminal inquiry against PM Ponta for 17 cases of false documents under private signature, complicity to tax evasion, money laundering.
updating
The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, congratulated Pope Leo XIV for succeeding Pope Francis on Thursday, May 8. He expressed confidence that the new pope will continue to promote "the spirit of dialogue, peace, and cooperation between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church." "In a world facing multiple spiritual, economic, and […]
The organizers of the Untold festival announced they will offer a RON 150 (EUR 30) voucher toward the purchase of a festival pass to anyone who votes on May 18, during the second round of the presidential elections. In an online message, Untold representatives emphasized the connection between civic participation and the future of every […]
The Open Streets program, which sees the city's major arteries close for car traffic and become pedestrian areas, returns this weekend with a program of exhibitions, concerts, and a Festival of Lights. On Saturday, May 10, at 2:00 p.m., the public is invited to the Made in Romania exhibition, which presents a selection of civilian […]
Joseph Stiglitz, the famous economist and professor at Columbia University in New York, and winner of the Nobel Prize in economy in 2001, told an audience in Cluj, Romania, that governments must stimulate exports and key sectors when facing deficits. Stiglitz was in Romania on Thursday, May 8, to receive the title of Doctor Honoris […]
The Constitutional Court unanimously validated on Friday, May 9, the results of the first round of the presidential elections. It also rejected as unfounded a request to annul the elections filed by Sebastian-Constantin Popescu, the presidential candidate of the New Romania Party, it announced. The runoff, set for May 18, will see ultranationalist leader George […]
Bucharest's culinary scene welcomes back OLEA, the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel's celebrated Mediterranean destination, now reimagined with a fresh concept that blends authentic coastal flavours with contemporary sophistication. Following an extensive transformation, OLEA reopens its doors to offer guests a refined journey through the Mediterranean's sun-drenched culinary traditions, right in the heart of Romania's […]
