TV Executive and Dozens Others Arrested in Romanian Male Prostitution Row

Doru Iuga, the TV executive allegedly connected to the prostitution ring

Almost 30 persons, among which a German citizen and a TV executive from Bucharest have been taken into custody on Thursday, in connection with a male luxury prostitution ring. Zender Klaus, a German national living in Romania for 11 years, is accused of organising the encounters between gay men and male prostitutes – meetings attended, among others, by a journalist and a football player. Prosecutors claim that young men and boys would be brought to a villa in Snagov, close to Bucharest, to entertain other gay men in all-out orgies. These parties would take place on week-ends, mostly, fact confirmed by several neighbours who claim to have seen lots of men coming and going from the house.

Weapon Drawn in Romanian Parliament Hearing, Live on TV

Constantin Duţu, the Broadcast Council member who drew the weapon

A member of the Romanian Broadcast Council has pulled a pistol during a hearing in front of the Culture Committee of the Romanian Parliament. Constantin Duţu was to testify on Wednesday afternoon in front of the committee when, at 14:00 hours Romanian time, he drew a pistol and placed it on the table, in front of the MPs. He then put it back in a briefcase, but immediately drew it back in front of the live television cameras. Immediately after, Constantin Duţu was removed from the committee’s chambers.

Romanian Parliament to Discuss Death Penalty Reinstatement

Liberal-Democrat senator Iulian Orban, supporter of the death penalty

This autumn, Romania’s MPs will have on their agenda the question of whether or not to reinstate the death penalty, after more than two decades since the capital punishment was abolished. Death sentences may again be legally pronounced against paedophiles who murder their victims, according to the bill submitted by the Liberal-Democrat senator, Iulian Orban. This initiative comes in the wake of an unseen crime wave against children. In the most recent case, a 10 years old girl was raped and then killed in Jimbolia, close to the Romanian-Serbian border.

Two-Pound Bladder Stone Removed from Romanian Patient

The stone removed from the patient weighs roughly one kilogram (Photo: Adevărul)

A 64 years old man from Dolj, Romania, was until recently the proud owner of what may be the world’s largest bladder stone ever to be surgically removed. Florea Rotaru was suffering from extreme abdominal pains, but, like many Romanians, avoided seeing a doctor about his ails for fear of surgery. When eventually the pain overwhelmed his will power, the man admitted voluntarily to the emergency room of the Craiova County Hospital, where he was immediately taken to the operating room. The doctors were completely surprised at the size of the bladder stone revealed by the X-rays. 

Survey: Three in Five Romanian Migrants Are There to Stay

Romanian migrants target low qualified jobs (Photo: Adevărul)

Around 60 percent of the 3 million Romanian migrants are not planning to come back to their motherland, it was revealed in a survey conducted by the Soros Foundation. They are saving up to 40% of their earnings abroad – which totalled 12 billion Euros in 2010 – and they are now sending less money to their families at home. The amount sent to Romania by the ex-pats decreased to 2.8 billion Euros in 2010, while the remaining 9 billions remained stored in Western banks, the same survey announced.

That’s Unheard of: Congestion Charge Dropped Because of Staff Shortage

The local council of Constanţa, Romania, has announced that it is going to drop local congestion charge to Mamaia, one of the most crowded Black Sea resorts under its jurisdiction. The mayor of Constanţa, Radu Mazăre, claims that the city hall was left with no choice but to renounce collecting 3 Romanian Lei (approximately 1 US Dollar) from every person who wanted to drive their car into the resort. The tax level had not been raised since 2007, but 75% of the staff in charge of collecting the tax was sacked in 2010, as a result of the Romanian general austerity policy. In a nutshell, there was nobody left to take the money, says the mayor. “One other option was to outsource the collection of the tax, but that would have lead to an increase of the amount”.

Ford Faces Massive Fine from Romania’s Government

Negotiations are under way between Ford Automobiles in Romania and the country’s government regarding a possible breach of contract from the car producer. The latter purchased, in 2007, a car plant in Craiova, Romania, and committed to produce 250.000 units in 2011. So far, according to Mediafax, Ford Romania has only produced 3000 vehicles in the first four months of 2011, which brings the factory’s output to an average of 750 cars per month. According to the privatisation contract, failure to produce the amount of cars mentioned in the contract bears a fine of 14 million Euros (approximately 20 million US Dollars). The car manufacturer has been negotiating in the past 10 months a postponement of one year of the obligation to produce the 250.000 vehicles.

“Stereo Love” Reaches 160 Million Hits on Youtube

Edward Maya  and Vika Jigulina, the two Romanian artists behind the international dance hit “Stereo Love”, have good reasons to celebrate. Their song was not only awarded the “Top Dance Song” distinction at the Billboard Music Awards 2011 in Las Vegas, but it also reached an amazing number of hits on Youtube: more than 160 million people watched it, most of them playing the official version of the video clip. The jury chose to award the two Romanians’ song over two nominations of none other than Lady Gaga. The song itself has an intricate story that links Romania to a former Soviet republic, Azerbadjan. 

Police Warning: Beware of Cheating Cab Drivers in Bucharest!

While in Bucharest, you may find yourself cheated or even driven home by a drunk taxi driver. They may be hard to avoid, though, because there are simply too many of them. A police raid on Monday night revealed that dozens of taxi drivers had their cabs rigged to cheat. Several devices meant to add up extra figures to the fare had been cleverly concealed within the cars, the police revealed. With a simple push of a button, the driver would be able to increase the sum on the metre without the client even suspecting it. Most concerning is that the devices were found installed in cars belonging to reputed taxi companies, usually thought as “safe” to ride with.

“Golden BMW” Sighted In Moldova, Europe’s Supposedly Poorest Country (Photo)

Photo: 24h.md

Local media and bloggers in the Republic of Moldova have been reporting of an unusually looking BMW X5 parked in several locations throughout the country’s capital city, Chişinău. The car appears to be gold plated and it was one of the media’s “juiciest” scoops on Tuesday, April the 19th. The owner of the BMW has, so far, been unnamed. Tabloid newspapers and websites both in Moldova and in neighbouring Romania have displayed the incredible photographs that have prompted numerous comments of disbelief.