Goliat, Romania's first nano-satellite developed by a research consortium led by the Romanian Space Agency, was launched from  the Kourou base in French Guyana on Monday morning as part of the first flight of VEGA rocket of the European Space Agency.

Romania's designated prime minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu and his proposed team of ministers passed Parliament vote on Thursday. As the opposition had announced it would skip the vote, Ungureanu's government received the vote of 237 members of the Parliament, four more than the needed threshold. As a whole, the parliamentary groups of the governing coalition have 244 senators and deputies.

Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, the head of Romania's foreign intelligence service who was designated to replace Emil Boc at the head of the Government, presented the full list of new ministers on Wednesday. They are due to face parliamentary commissions before the government stands up to a vote of approval in the Parliament.

Former Foreign minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, who's been serving as chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service, has been designated new prime minister of Romania following Emil Boc's withdrawal on Monday. Ungureanu said today that his key objective for the moment was the quick formation of a new government and pointed out his ideological options "were always Right-leaning".

Romanian PM Emil Boc announced on Monday he and his government would step down in an attempt to "ease the social tension" and avoid interfering with the "economic stability of the country". He urged politicians to help a new Government go through Parliament approval as fast as possible and recalled that both the European Commission and the IMF expect Romania to have a higher economic growth than the Euro zone this year.
UPDATE President Traian Basescu has named incumbent Justice minister Catalin Predoiu as interim prime minister following Emil Boc's resignation. Predoiu will serve as PM until a new government is formed.

Romania has a stable population of 19.042 million people forming 7.1 million households, preliminary results of a census which took place in autumn 2011 show. According to National Statistics Institute data presented on Thursday, there are some 8.5 million homes and 5.1 million buildings in Romania.

Romanian High Court of Justice magistrates gave former prime minister Adrian Nastase on Monday a 2-year sentence and stripped him of certain rights in a corruption case known locally as the "Quality Trophy" file. In this case, Nastase, who served as head of the Romanian government between 2000 and 2004, was charged of supporting his electoral campaign through funds collected in a "Quality Trophy" event organized by the a public institution. The sentence can be appealed.
UPDATE Adrian Nastase said on Monday he would appeal the verdict and that he was sure "things will be corrected on appeal". He called the verdict a "political decision, a dirty decision" and referred to "rumors" that head judge Ionut Matei "had meetings with representatives of the National Anti-corruption Department", the body which launched the corruption investigation against him.

Romanian President Traian Basescu signed on Tuesday the decree by which Foreign minister Teodor Baconschi is dismissed from office and the decree by which Cristian Diaconescu is named head of the Romanian diplomacy, the presidential administration has announced. The new minister was sworn in on Tuesday evening.

Several Liberal MPs wrote their resignation from the Romanian Parliament and handed them to opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) leader Crin Antonescu to have them at the ready should PNL decide to withdraw from the Parliament en-masse, Antonescu said on Monday. But he said a decision has not yet been made whether USL - the opposition union of liberals and Social Democrats - would withdraw from the Legislative. Antonescu said talks will be held with their Social Democrats (PSD) and Conservatives (PC) on the issue.

A French citizen has been arrested after he was caught on camera when stealing from an old Romanian woman's purse in a supermarket in Unirii Square, downtown Bucharest. The incident took place late afternoon on Saturday, January 21 and was filmed by the supermarket cameras.

Romanian prime minister Emil Boc announced before the Parliament on Monday that he dismisses Foreign minister Teodor Baconschi. He made the announcement shortly after apologizing before the joint chambers of the Parliament for communication failures of some members of the Government regarding the protests that have been taking place in Bucharest. By Monday afternoon, an announcement on the Foreign Ministry website said Baconschi was in Brussels for the Foreign Affairs Council.
UPDATE PM Emil Boc later said that he dismissed minister Baconschi because dignitaries should not be "encouraged to insult people who are rightfully discontent". For his part, Teodor Baconschi said for news station Realitatea TV that PM Boc informed him by phone about the decision and said it was a political decision as the prime minister had nothing to complain about when it came to government affairs. One possible replacement for Baconschi, according to some sources, might be Cristian Diaconescu, head of the National Union for the Progress of Romania (UNPR).

Thousands of people were protesting against current president Traian Basescu and his Democratic-Liberal government in central Bucharest on Thursday evening. Two protests started in the afternoon - one organized by the opposition Social Democrats and Liberals (the USL union) at the Arcul de Triumf square, and another, popular protest in Universitate Square. While the political protest ended at 7 p.m., many of its estimated 7,000 participants moved to Universitate, where HotNews.ro reporters estimated some 2,000 people were present by 8 p.m..
UPDATE The protests concluded about midnight, shortly after a series of confrontations between police and violent protesters took place. The incidents started at about 11.00 p.m., when gendarmes responded with a strong push after several young men, apparently football supporters, provoked them. The gendarmes eventually cleared the Universitate Square of protesters. Meanwhile, a US government official quoted by the AFP urged Romanian authorities and protesters to show restraint from violence.

​Hundreds of people from several cities across Romania were on their way to Bucharest on Thursday for demonstrations to be organized by the Opposition parties later in the day. It is the first official political meeting after popular protests erupted last weekend, peaking with major street violence on Sunday.

Romanian President Traian Basescu met the heads of diplomatic missions to Bucharest on Thursday. In his first speech since demonstrations against him and the government started in Romania last week, he said nothing about the protests but focused on the country's international affairs priorities. "2011 was a difficult year in which the economic, financial, humanitarian and sometimes political crises challenged governments and the people", he said.

Romania enters a fourth day of anti-government and anti-presidential demonstrations after a weekend marked by the most intense street violence the country has seen since the miners protests in Bucharest in the nineties. Peaceful protests took place in many cities across Romania these days, but only the capital city saw a wave of violence, with HotNews.ro recorded videos showing dozens of violent football fans coming to confront the special police forces deployed in the city centre.

​Romanian PM Emil Boc announced on Wednesday that the Government reached the macroeconomic targets for 2011 "without troubles". The economic growth, he said, stood at "almost 2%", as compared to the targeted 1.5%, while the budget deficit target of 4.4% was reached.

The mayor of Romanian city of Sibiu, where a tiger escaped from zoo earlier this week, was quoted by the media on Thursday as saying that he was please with the actions taken to solve the situation despite describing them as chaotic. Mayor Klaus Johannis ordered measures to improve security at the zoo following the escape of the tiger - which was eventually shot in a forest near the city.

Romania's High Court of Justice acquitted ex-PM Adrian Nastase in a major case in which he, a former aide and a former head of the national body dealing with money laundering were charged with acts of corruption. The decision is not final and can be appealed. Anti-graft prosecutors have demanded a 3-year suspended term sentence for Adrian Nastase in the case, commonly known in Romania as the "Aunt Tamara" case.

Romanian MPs adopted on Thursday the 2012 state budget law with 239 votes in favor and 168 against. While prime minister Emil Boc welcomed the vote noting that it was "the first time in the past 20 years when a budget with no electoral connotations is voted, the opposition protested saying the budget would not meet key objectives and maintains the gap between Romania and other European countries.

Romanian President Traian Basescu said on Friday that a Dutch decision to oppose Romania' and Bulgaria's Schengen accession was an "abuse". "Romania has Albita [Eastern border point], they have Rotterdam. The gate for trafficked cigarettes, alcohol and drugs is not Albita", the Romanian head of state said in Brussels, where he attends the European Council.

92 years, 7 months and 28 days - this is the total amount of delays in 27 major corruption cases which have been monitored by HotNews.ro. Almost a year and a half since the Romanian-language version of HotNews.ro launched a section dedicated to such major corruption cases, a statistical report on the results were presented on Thursday during a conference organized by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, in the presence of most judicial institutions in Romania and key ambassadors to the country.

Cuban workers are virtually defenseless. The reason is that the labour law offices in Cuban work centres, which are supposed to defend worker's rights, are but an extended arm of the government and the Communist Party.

The most important thing in Cuba is still the necessity to find ways to survive, mostly by taking part in illegal activities ranging from corruption through sex trafficking to various kinds of illicit deeds not thought of by even the most experienced observers.

Romania and Israel are interested in developing joint infrastructure, energy and agricultural projects, Romanian PM Emil Boc said in a press conference with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, on the margins of an inter-governmental meeting in Jerusalem. Iran, Middle East relations and links between Israel and Romania featured prominently during the talks.

A struggle to replace the second highest ranking official in Romania took a major twist on Wednesday, when the Senate voted its speaker Mircea Geoana out of office following him being ousted from the Social Democratic Party (PSD, opposition) on Tuesday. An interim speaker was named - Senator Petru Filip of the governing Democratic Liberal Party (PDL), who will serve until a new speaker is officially elected. According to Romania's Constitution, should the President be suspended or unable to fulfill his duties, the Senate speaker takes his place. The PSD announced earlier this week it would start procedures to suspend President Traian Basescu.

Romania's opposition Social-Liberal Union, formed of Social Democrats (PSD) and Liberals (PNL), decided on Monday to launch a procedure to suspend President Traian Basescu. While leaders of the USL Union said they hoped to have the support of the Romanian people, PM Emil Boc had described a possible such move as demagogic and irresponsible. USL leaders said the official suspension request would be finished most probably within a week.

The leader of Romania's main opposition party, the Social Democrats (PSD), said in an interview with HotNews.ro on Thursday that the PSD would accept any court sentence regarding former PM Adrian Nastase, who's the subject of several court cases which the PSD has so far described as politically motivated. PSD leader Victor Ponta's statement comes as Adrian Nastase broke Ponta's lines in a major internal struggle of the party.

The leader of Romania's main opposition party, the Social Democrats (PSD), spoke kindly of the country's National Anti-corruption Department (DNA) in an interview with HotNews.ro. PSD leader Victor Ponta, who's party had repeatedly claimed the DNA has been acting politically at the current president Traian Basescu's order, changed the tone in the interview. He praised the DNA for starting to move against the top ranks of the "institutionalized corruption system" in the country.

​The leadership of the Romanian Senate was undecided on Monday afternoon as the main opposition party, the Social Democrats (PSD) called on Senate speaker Mircea Geoana to withdraw from the second top job in the Romanian state. The PSD group in the Romanian Parliament later announced it withdrew its political support for Geoana and that it proposed Titus Corlatean, PSD vicepresident and head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, to take over the seat of Senate Speaker.

​A calmer period for financial markets and an assurance that foreign banks will not withdraw capital from subsidiaries on the outskirts of the euro empire are the two key advantages Romania has following the deal of EU leaders on the set of crisis measures. But major question marks persist among authorities and business people in Bucharest. What do the measures decided forcedly in Brussels on Wednesday mean in real terms and what are the key issues of uncertainty following the euphoria of the moment?

Romanian President informed the Romanian public in a press conference on Wednesday night that European leaders who had convened for marathon talks adopted the declaration on bank recapitalization. He used the occasion to underline that all states received guarantees that subsidiaries belonging to banks from other countries will have their capital level maintained for the coming years.

IMF mission head Jeffrey Franks has told HotNews.ro that Romanian "growth in 2012 will be lower than we had previously expected due to the effects of problems in the rest of the European Union." On a possible cut in social contributions, a measure that the Romanian business environment has been pressing for, Franks said "there will be very limited room in the 2012 budget for new initiatives". He also sanctioned the Romanian government progress when it comes to arrears and the reform of state companies.

Several days after the violent incident in which US basketball player Hardy Chauncey died in the Romanian city of Giurgiu, details about the case are yet to be cleared. Official reports of the police and prosecutors say he was beaten by a single person, but reports by local officials and journalists speak of several aggressors. Links of Romanian politicians and public authorities to a Giurgiu underworld clan which is apparently involved in the case have also emerged.

​American basketball player Chauncey Hardy was beaten to death in Romanian city of Giurgiu on Saturday because he put his cap on a girl's head in a club that night, prosecutors investigating the case said on Monday. The victim - Hardy - was thrown to the floor and hit his head some 40 cm away from the place he was hit, according to the file. The case caused two investigations and an uproar among the public at large, considering the involvement of local mob personalities in Giurgiu.

Libya, Afghanistan and the missile defense shield were the key issues covered in top NATO and Romanian officials at the Alliance's Parliamentary Assembly on Monday. While Europe had strong military forces, the gap between the US and its allies has widened for the past years and in Libya, European allies and Canada had most troops contributions but based their activities on US command capacities and essential units, said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. On the missile defense, Romanian President Traian Basescu said for his part that his country has never asked for or received anti-missile guarantees from anybody and had an obligation to obtain them by themselves through partnerships with allies.

As Nokia announced the closure of its plant in Jucu, Cluj county on Thursday, four years after its arrival in Romania, a three-party contract on the Jucu factory signed by Cluj county authorities, Nokia and the Tetarom industrial park remains secret. That comes against Romanian legislation and despite calls that the contract be made public. HotNews.ro first demanded the disclosure of the contract as early as 2007, but without results.

• Also: Nokia head Stephen Elop on Moldova factory rumors, local views, economic effects

​Nokia's factory in Jucu, Romania closes in 2011, Nokia confirmed in a press release on Thursday. The information was first circulated by HotNews.ro and local news outlets in Cluj, quoting sources within the company. The Nokia press release says the closure in Jucu, Cluj county will affect some 2,200 people and says the measure was due to the need to optimize production processes, with priority given to factories in Asia.

Dacia and Renault brands will voluntarly recall nearly 5.000 cars in Romania to check if some problems could occur at some engine valves, the representatives of the two brand said for the Romanian automotive magazine 0-100.ro. Logan and Sandero from Dacia and Twingo and Clio from Renault are some of the models included in the recall concerning mainly cars produced at the end of 2010. From the start of the Lolgan program seven years ago Dacia made just two significant recalls: one in 2005 and another in 2008.

The Republic of Moldova has a strategic interest in the AGRI project due to bring natural gas from Azerbaijan via Georgia to Romania, Moldova prime minister said in an interview with HotNews.ro. He also said that early elections would be catastrophic for his country, 5+2 negotiations over Transdniester and dismissed the possibility to bring the communists in the Moldovan government.

US Ambassador to Bucharest, Mark Gitenstein, said on Thursday that Romanian President Traian Basescu discussed the possibility of Romania acquiring F-16 fighter planes during his visit to Washington earlier this week. The main contact on the issue was the one with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and the major news is that there was a working plan in this regard involving Croatia and Bulgaria.

Most prefects, mayors, county council presidents and their deputies moved their businesses on the names of their relatives to avoid being accused of conflict of interests but they continue to do business with the state. Salaries of Romanians increased n November, for the first time in the last 8 months. Hungarian Ambassador in Romania Oskar Fuzes declared that if the EU will not expand Schengen, it will be a failure.

Romanian Giulian Dimitriu made a sculpture in marble of the famous artist that dominates the world of music currently. The statue was included in the Fashion Age collection, together with Mata Hari , Elan and Heshee statues. 

IMF board approved on Friday the sixth evaluation of the agreement with Romania and its supplementary letter so that the institution will release the seventh installment worth about 900 million euro that will be delivered most probably on Monday in the account of the Romanian National Bank, Romanian news agency Mediafax reads.

Romania’s commercial deficit dropped in the first 11 months of last year by 3.54% to 8.63 billion euro, from 8.95 billion euro in the same period in 2009 according to the Romanian National Statistics Institute. The decrease of the commercial deficit was mainly caused by an increase of exports and their advance to imports.

Romania needs to report further progress in 2011 so that it keep up with plans to join the euro in 2015, but reforms might take two years, which may change the date of euro adoption, Romanian National Bank (BNR) Governor Mugur Isarescu said on Tuesday.

Czech group CEZ sold by the end of 2010 its shares in the project to conclude works at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania, a press release of the group reads. It says the announcement of an intention to sell the 9.15% of shares held by CEZ in Energonuclear SA company was made in late 2010 and that the shares were sold to Nuclearelectrica SA, the majority shareholder in the project to build reactors 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda plant. Contacted by HotNews.ro, CEZ informed the shares were sold for 7.4 million RON.

Romania's government has a clear decision on rationalising social spending, which have a considerable weight in the consolidated budget - social spending amounts to 69 billion lei, of a total spending of 200 billion, Finance minister Gheorghe Ialomitianu said at a conference on European issues in Bucharest on Thursday.

National Liberal Party President Crin Antonescu and Conservative Party leader Daniel Constantin will sign, on Monday the protocol for the creation of the Center Right Alliance and all odds are that the alliance will be registered in court as well in the same day.

Unemployment rate in the EU dropped in April to 9.4% from 9.5% in the previous month and the one in the euro zone was 9.9% to a similar level to the one registered in March according to Eurostat data. In the similar period of 2010, the unemployment rate was 9.7% in the EU and of 10.2% in the euro zone.

Romania and Bulgaria will not join Schengen at the end of March, as their leaders were hoping because the Bulgarian evaluation report on the security of Bulgarian borders is negative, several European diplomats declared on Friday at Brussels, AFP reads quoted by Romanian news agency Mediafax.

Israeli Foreign Affairs minister called for help to Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain and France to sent specialized planes to attend the operations to extinguish the fire that broke nearby Haifa, Haaretz announces.