In the news.

• The Romanian unit of ArcelorMittal will cut its steel-making output and put its staff on technical unemployment beginning next month due to a drastic decrease in demand.
• French-Romanian carmaker Dacia-Renault has petitioned the Romanian government for financial assistance, which isn't such a bad idea considering the fact that Ford has secured aid from the Romanian state.
  
• Adventist schools are shaping the educational landscape in Romania.
• The Hungarian President was denied a landing permit this week as he tried to visit ethnic Hungarians in Targu Mures and celebrate Hungarian holidays. Some have criticized these visits as provocative. More here.
  
• A Slavic element has been introduced into Romania's spying scandal.
• Michelin's tire plant in Romania has been idle for over two weeks.
• Romania counts on Balkan singer Elena Gheorghe to win the Eurovision competiton.
• Lawmakers decided to lift Adrian Nastase's immunity to allow prosecutors to begin their investigation into taking bribes and forging of official documents.
• The city of Brasov has a new brand-- "Brasov Be. Live it."
• Police in Romania detain 20 alleged hackers.
• The Romanian Minister of Labor assures pensioners that he will not allow the IMF to freeze pensions as a condition of its assistance.
• President Basescu says the government will negotiate with the IMF to begin repaying its loan in 5 to 7 years.  It seems loan talks with the IMF have been "a wake-up call for Romanian legislators". Better late than never.
  
• Romania's bio products market is expected to grow by 33% in 2009. Maybe those IMF loans can be paid early.
• Romania has joined Earth Hour to the delight of Chinese communists and other environmentalists.
  
• The Romanian Ambassador to the US takes time to reassure Adventists that there are 100,000 happy Adventists living in Romania.
• "Agro-dementia" has hit Romanian farmers, who have decided to turn their backs on European money. Or maybe they just don't appreciate the attached conditions, in which case "agro-dementia" should be redubbed "common sense". 
• Egophobia has its literal correlate.
  

[The photo was taken by Peterfi Sandor.]

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