Romanian ex-PM attempts suicide as jailers arrive
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Former Romanian prime minister Adrian Nastase tried to kill himself on Wednesday when police came to take him to start a two-year jail term for corruption, a case touted by Romania as proof that it is getting tough on graft.
Nastase appeared to have attempted suicide when police arrived at his house in an upmarket part of the capital to take him to prison, the Bucharest Court of Cassation and Justice said in a statement.
Snow as high as houses
By Bogdan Cristel
When I was little, my grandfather told me about the winter of 1954, when the army had to shovel them out from under snow so high it covered their house completely. I didn’t believe the story at the time as it seemed like a fib, a fisherman’s tale.
Well, I recently realized my grandfather wasn’t exaggerating. I had never before seen snow that would cover an entire house until this February.
Romanian protesters clash with riot police
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romanian riot police used tear gas against protesters who threw rocks and set fire to newspaper stands and rubbish bins in central Bucharest in a fourth day of street demonstrations against government austerity measures Sunday.
Protesters also gathered peacefully in several large cities across Romania, including Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi, calling for the resignation of President Traian Basescu and the centrist government of Prime Minister Emil Boc.
Climbing Eden Park
By Bogdan Cristel
After 40 hours of flying Bucharest – Amsterdam – Beijing – Auckland, I arrived in New Zealand; my first time in the Southern Hemisphere.
The first nice surprise here was that both my check-in pieces of luggage arrived on the same flight (I expected it to take a week and to be on the safe side packed a toothbrush in my hand luggage).
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