Romanian newspapers on Friday publish extensive coverage of the life and history of Herta Muller, the German writer born in Romania who received the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday. Also in the newspapers today - Romanian President Traian Basescu recalls in a comedy show a poem he wrote during his days as a seaman, lack of wildlife protection raises legal issues for the country and new suspicions appear on shady deals at the Tourism Ministry.

"Ceausescu sold a Nobel", newspaper Adevarul headlines. It reports that the German state paid 8,000 German marks to the Romanian state under the Nicolae Ceausescu regime to allow Herta Muller to leave the country for Germany. She was awarded the 2009 Nobel Award for Literature on Thursday and the paper quotes her saying in a press conference in Berlin that "My books always spoke about communism".

Cotidianul reads that "anti-communism has a resounding name starting Thursday: Herta Muller". The paper claims that shortly after the announcement books signed by Muller - a writer born in Western Romania and who left for Germany in 1987 - started vanishing from book stands in Romania.

And Romania libera reads that Muller's Nobel Prize is a "Nobel against the Securitate", dictator Ceausescu's dreaded secret police.

Also in the news today, the same Romania libera reports that the European Commission has brought Romania before the European Court of Justice over a lack of protection for the country's wild birds. The main charge is that wild bird habitats on a surface of over a million ha in Romania are not placed under environment protection as the European legislation demands.

Gandul promotes a show due to be broadcast on Pro TV - Romania's largest TV station, which is liked to the publishing house of Gandul - in which President Traian Basescu is set to recite poetry. Basescu will appear on a comedy show, Divertis, on Sunday where he will recite a poem he wrote in his youth, when he served as a seaman. The show was already recorded and a report was shown on Pro TV on Thursday evening, depicting Basescu - who is due to run for a new term in presidential.elections this autumn - letting himself pressed before recalling several lines from a poem he wrote at sea for the people at home.

Meanwhile, Evenimentul Zilei reports on a "dedicated public tender" organized by the Tourism Ministry, which only two companies, with shareholders known for their success in obtaining public contracts, managed to join. The tender contracts, on the production and installation of tourism signs, amount to some 600,000 euro. One of two companies in the tender is run by an official sponsor of Tourism minister Elena Udrea's Democratic Liberal Party and the other by a company which has a long lasting monopoly on traffic signs in the country.

Also on Friday, Adevarul reports that signs of oil pollution have appeared on Black Sea surface near a place in the port of Constanta where two ships sank some 15 years ago. Port authorities suthorities have intervened to limit the extension of the apparent spill but warn that serious damage might be caused unless a proper intervention takes place.