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☆ A pig farm on the site of a Nazi 'Roma camp' is finally demolished. After decades of campaigning, Czech victims of Roma Holocaust are getting their memorial
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

He had spent decades campaigning for the pig farm to be torn down. Jana Kokyová is the chair of the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic. “During communism and even long after the revolution, nobody wanted to admit there was such a thing as a Roma Holocaust, it was not something you would speak about openly.”Many of Rudolf Murka's ancestors perished in the Roma Holocaust. However, it took another two decades for the government to finally act on the most obvious symbol of anti-Roma discrimination, the Lety pig farm. Čeněk Růžička poses with a pick during the official start of the demolition of the industrial pig farm on the site of the Lety camp.

Persons: Czech Republic CNN — Čeněk, “, ”, Jana Kokyová, Růžička’s, Ivana Kottasova, Bětka, Bětka’s, grandma, ” Kokyová, Kokyová, Růžičková, Růžičková’s, Čeněk, ” Růžička, Rudolf Murka, ” Murka, Jana Horváthová, –, Horváthová, “ It’s, Sinti, Murka, “ We’d, we’d, Rudolf Murka's, Josef Serinek, Zdenek Serinek’s, Josef, Zdenek, Marie Zemanová, grandpa, ‘ White, ’ ” Zdenek, Tomas Novak, Andrej Babiš, ” Václav Klaus, ” Horváthová, Růžička, Tibor Danihel, Václav Havel, Tibor Berki, ’ ”, Berki’s, Petr Pavel, Havel’s Organizations: Czech Republic CNN, Nazi, Communist, Roma, Czech Committee, CNN, Moravian Roma, Czech, of Romani, Czech government’s, Roma Minority Affairs, Czechoslovak, Former, Czech Helsinki Committee, CNN Roma, Getty Locations: Czech Republic, Lety, Prague, Roma, Bohemia, Moravia, Europe, Auschwitz, Germany, Czech, German Nazi, Hodonín, Brno, Europe’s Roma, West Germany, Czechoslovak, Czech Helsinki, Písek, South Moravia, “

☆ Romanian prosecutors send Andrew Tate to trial for human trafficking
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Luiza Ilie | Thomson Reuters | Bucharest-Based General News Reporter Covering A Wide Range Of Romanian Topics Elections | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are escorted by police officers outside the headquarters of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism in Bucharest (DIICOT) after being detained for 24 hours, in Bucharest, Romania, December 29, 2022. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERS/File... Read moreBUCHAREST, June 20 (Reuters) - Romanian prosecutors sent social media influencer Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two other suspects to trial on Tuesday on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. The brothers, former kickboxers who have U.S. and British nationality, are the highest profile suspects to be sent to trial for human trafficking in Romania. "Im sure this case has absolutely nothing to do with stealing my wealth," Andrew Tate said on his Twitter account. Prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.

Persons: Andrew Tate, Tristan Tate, Ganea, Read, Tristan, Tate, Prosecutors, cryptocurrency, Luiza Ilie, Jason Hovet, Alexandra Hudson, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Terrorism, REUTERS, Prosecutors, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Bucharest, Romania, BUCHAREST

☆ Europe plans to put guardrails on ChatGPT and other AI apps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Chris Johnston | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The European Union has taken the first steps towards regulating artificial intelligence, with its parliament backing a ban on the technology for biometric surveillance, emotion recognition, and predictive policing. Europe will also seek to require systems such as ChatGPT to indicate that content was generated by AI. The rules "aim to promote the uptake of human-centric and trustworthy AI and protect the health, safety, fundamental rights and democracy from its harmful effects," per a press release from the European Parliament on Wednesday. Talks will now begin with EU member states on the precise wording of the legislation. The rules aim to ensure that AI developed and used in Europe complied with EU rights and values including human oversight, safety, privacy, transparency, non-discrimination, and social and environmental wellbeing.

Persons: Brando Benifei, Dragos Organizations: European, EU Locations: Europe, Italy, Romania

☆ Halep questions long delay in doping hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Aug 29, 2022; Flushing, NY, USA; Simona Halep of Romania hits to Daria Snigur of Ukraine on day one of the 2022 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. In an interview with Tennis Majors, her first since learning of her failed drugs test, Halep said she has so far been denied her right to be heard by an independent court. Halep says she has undertaken 10 tests since her positive result, with all of them coming back negative. She now hopes to have a hearing in May but fears that may also be cancelled. I really want to play again because I love this sport and I want to play for the big titles again."

☆ Brazil’s Lula pitches ‘peace coalition’ for Ukraine, but he treads a thin line
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Julia Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

He says he aims to form a coalition of countries willing to intervene and lead efforts for peace in Ukraine, though in the process is finding himself treading a thin line with the world’s biggest powers. When he launched his political comeback in 2022, Lula told Time magazine that he thought both Russia and Ukraine were responsible for the conflict. Lula condemned Russia’s decision to invade its neighbor, but controversially claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could have done more to avoid the conflict. Lula could not contemplate sending weapons – a step that would go far beyond Brazil’s traditional foreign policy, suggested the analyst. But he couldn’t do nothing, either – after all, Lula had promised to bring Brazil “back” to the world stage.

The Black Sea and its Ukrainian coast have been crucial theatres of war since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. "The Black Sea is instrumental for making the whole of Europe peaceful and future-oriented," Kuleba, speaking via video link, told a Black Sea security conference in the Romanian capital Bucharest. It's time to turn the Black Sea into what the Baltic Sea has become, a sea of NATO." The remarks were brushed aside in Moscow, where Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing: "The Black Sea can never be a NATO sea." Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said a strong NATO foothold in the Black Sea going forward was a "must."

☆ Romanian farmers block borders in protest over Ukrainian grain imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUCHAREST, April 7 (Reuters) - Thousands of farmers protested across Romania on Friday over the impact of Ukrainian grain imports on prices, blocking traffic and border checkpoints with tractors and trucks and urging the European Commission to intervene. Anger is rising among farmers in Central and Eastern Europe over a flood of cheap Ukrainian grain imports, exempt from customs fees until June 2024, which have hurt prices and sales of local producers. Across the country, thousands of farmers used tractors, trucks and other machinery to block roads and borders. It decided to hand out compensation worth 56.3 million euros to Polish, Bulgarian and Romanian farmers, with more to come. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he expected decisions to be announced in coming days and weeks to alleviate anger among Polish farmers.

"Police believe one infant from the Romanian family has not been located and we'll continue searching. All are believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the U.S. from Canada," O'Brien added. Both the deceased and the missing children "were associated with the Romanian family" and had Canadian passports, which were found, O'Brien said. On Wednesday night, when the families likely sought to cross the river, the weather was poor. Reporting by Christinne Muschi in Akwesasne and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Police recovered six bodies on Thursday and believe the tragedy may have occurred on Wednesday night. The Akwesasne reserve straddles both sides of the St. Lawrence River, with land in Ontario and Quebec on the Canadian side, and New York. To fight smuggling of people and goods, local police monitor the river full-time with funds from Quebec. On Wednesday night, when the families likely sought to cross the river, the weather was poor. Reporting by Christinne Muschi in Akwesasne and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fact Check-Video does not show Romanian army entering Moldova
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A video of Romanian tanks rolling along a street has been shared online accompanied by a false claim that it shows Romania’s army entering Moldova. “New footage of Romanian army entering Moldova,” said one Twitter user sharing the footage on Feb. 25 (here ). Gen. Constantin Spinu, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MoND) spokesperson, said that claims of Romania moving military equipment to the Moldovan border were false. Other videos posted on social media that show the rehearsals in Alba Iulia also show a procession of five tanks, as seen in the shorter clip (here ) (here ). The video was filmed in Alba Iulia, hundreds of kilometres away from Moldova, and the defence ministry says it was likely taken during rehearsals for Romania’s National Day.

☆ Romanian politician invites an AI bot to advise the government and help capture 'the opinions and desires' of citizens, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Romania's prime minister has invited an AI bot to assist the government as an "honorary advisor." The bot described itself as a "mirror" for the Romanian people in a demonstration, per The Guardian. Ciucă introduced the bot on Wednesday, hailing it as a world first, according to a video shared by local media. Developed by local researchers, the technology uses artificial intelligence to "quickly and automatically capture the opinions and desires" of Romanian citizens, Ciucă said, per Politico. The website for Ion crashed shortly after the launch but has since been restored, local outlet Romanian Insider reported.

☆ Moldova and Romania vow to boost ties amid war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERSBUCHAREST, March 1 (Reuters) - Moldova and Romania pledged on Wednesday to boost economic ties following Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, and Bucharest reiterated support for Chisinau's bid to join the European Union. Moldova has been hit hard by the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine, which borders both Moldova and Romania, and tensions with Russia have risen over the war in Ukraine and the tiny former Soviet republic's EU accession bid. Recean said talks also covered regional security and that Moldova, which is highly dependent on Russian gas, was considering signing long-term contracts on gas and electricity supplies from Romania. "Romania will firmly support Moldova's European agenda, economic recovery and strengthening its security," said Iohannis, whose country joined the EU in 2007. Recean said Moldova and Romania enjoyed a "special relationship" and that Romania's experience in joining the EU was helpful for Chisinau.

[1/3] Andrew Tate talks to media representatives while being loaded inside a van outside the headquarters of the Bucharest Court of Appel, in Bucharest, Romania, February 1, 2023. Transcriptions of the wiretapped calls are included in a previously unpublished court document, dated Feb. 21, compiled by Bucharest court officials and reviewed by Reuters. Asked if he thought Tate had been framed, he replied: "The justice system will decide, not politicians." Reuters couldn't independently verify the identity of the people in the wiretapped calls, or determine if any lobbying of politicians took place. The wiretapped calls offer a window into his multi-pronged attempts to defend himself while in detention, efforts that stretch beyond the courtroom into the realms of politics and social media.

Internet celebrity Andrew Tate had offered her a new life. British-American Andrew Tate, 36, who's been based mainly in Romania since 2017, and his 34-year-old brother have denied all the allegations against them. Spokesperson Sue Beeby told Reuters that Andrew Tate "has never had" a creator account or received payments. In a separate YouTube video aimed at men who want to make money by putting women on OnlyFans, Tate called the platform "the greatest hustle in the world". The pair threatened to beat the women up if they did not do their job, according to the court document.

☆ This startup helps gamers get better at sports games like F1 and FIFA. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck Titan Academy used to raise $1.8 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A startup that helps gamers become better at sports games like FIFA and F1 by analyzing their own player data just raised $1.8 million in seed funding. London-based Titan Academy was founded by Max Teichert, a racing instructor for Porsche who was also a Gran Turismo Academy finalist in 2014. "By taking players' game data and analyzing it in the cloud, we help them get better," Teichert told Insider. "Currently, we have a platform for racing games in the market and the first-ever FIFA analytics platform in development." With the fresh funds, the startup will further expand its racing games platform, and also launch the first-ever FIFA analytics platform.

Andrew Tate once called his sexually explicit webcam business a “total scam” and boasted on his website that he lured women in by getting them to fall in love with him. Romanian authorities arrested him, his brother and two women on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group, according to Reuters. The webcam business that Tate ran and openly spoke about is central to these charges, according to Romanian Authorities. Some of the allegations by Romanian authorities echo what Andrew Tate has said publicly about his webcam business. Earlier this month, Vice reported that Tate was arrested in 2015 in the U.K. on suspicion of sexual assault and physical abuse, citing statements from U.K. authorities and Tate himself.

The Romanian central bank said slower economic growth and cheaper energy would help bring inflation down to single digits this year from over 16% now, earlier than previously forecast. "So the main question is when inflation in the region will fall enough that central banks will be willing to start normalising monetary conditions." Inflation is still expected to rise in early 2023 in some central European countries, based on central bank forecasts, before returning to single-digit territory by year-end. "This will help to improve external positions and lower inflation pressures in Central and Eastern Europe." "Given the dovish bias around the growth-inflation trade-off at Poland's central bank, we think the risk of premature policy easing is greatest there."

☆ WTA roundup: Belinda Bencic, Danielle Collins cruise in Adelaide
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

January 9 - Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Danielle Collins were among those to win their first-round matches at the Adelaide International on Monday in Australia. 8 seed, beat Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6-3, 6-4 in 79 minutes. Collins, the American 10th seed, handled Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic in 76 minutes. Hobart InternationalFourth seed Sloane Stephens lost her first-round match to fellow American Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-2 in Hobart, Australia. 1 seed Marie Bouzkova of Czech Republic beat Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 7-6 (2), 6-3.

While Budapest and Warsaw are haggling with the bloc over rule-of-law strings attached to billions worth of pandemic recovery funds, Romania has already drawn down over 6 billion euros in grants and cheap loans. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has said the government aims to tap more than 10 billion euros a year, equivalent to about 4% of GDP, of about 90 billion euros of EU funding available to Bucharest through to 2027. RESHORINGCompanies reshoring from Russia and Ukraine to nearby low-cost manufacturing hubs partially helped push foreign direct investment to 9.39 billion euros in January-October, the largest 10-month figure since Romania joined the EU. "We are optimistic that investment will rise in coming years, also encouraged by EU funds," said Alex Milcev, head of Tax and Legal at E&Y Romania. And relations with the EU are not always smooth: in December, Austrian opposition over unauthorised immigration kept Romania out of Europe's borderless Schengen area.

☆ Tennis roundup: Novak Djokovic advances in Adelaide
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

January 5 - Top seed Novak Djokovic fended off an upset bid from World No. 64 Quentin Halys to win 7-6 (3) 7-6 (5) on Thursday at the Adelaide International 1 in Adelaide, Australia. 6 seed, Jannik Sinner of Italy, who posted a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win over home-country favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis. Sinner will meet American Sebastian Korda, who ousted Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4. ASB ClassicTop seed Coco Gauff ousted fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals in Auckland, New Zealand.

☆ Fact Check-Footage of Tate brothers leaving Romanian anti-organized crime unit predates their December arrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Video showing Andrew and Tristan Tate walking out of the headquarters of Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) dates back to at least April 12, 2022. Pointing to a recent report by Romanian outlet Digi 24 about the brothers’ arrest on Dec. 29, which included undated b-roll footage, social media users falsely claimed that the ex-kickboxer and his brother were no longer detained. Examples of users misrepresenting the footage in the newscast are viewable on Twitter (here) and Facebook (here). “Andrew and Tristan Tate were NOT released tonight,” Constantin wrote via email on Dec. 30. Reuters previously addressed another months-old video being circulated as recent in relation to the Tate brothers’ arrest (here)VERDICTMissing context.

[1/4] U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the "Foreign Ministers of Partners at Risk of Russian Disinformation and Destabilization" session at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Bucharest, Romania, November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Stoyan NenovBUCHAREST, Nov 30 (Reuters) - NATO foreign ministers will on Wednesday seek to reassure fragile countries in Russia's neighbourhood that they fear could be destabilised by Russia as the conflict in Ukraine drags on, squeezing energy supplies and pushing up prices. Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told reporters that NATO wanted to be ensure that, after the war in Ukraine, Russia would have "no chance to dictate security options and a way of life to its neighbours". Bosnian Foreign Minister Bisera Turkovic, invited to join the NATO meeting, said she was concerned about Russia's intentions for her country. "The stability in western Balkans is important for peace," Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani said.

☆ Flatheaded dinosaur lived on island of dwarfed creatures
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A previously unknown dinosaur with a remarkably flat head lived around 70 million years ago on an island home to dwarfed prehistoric creatures. Discovered in what’s now western Romania, the Transylvanosaurus platycephalus (flatheaded reptile from Transylvania) was 2 meters (6 feet) long — a relatively small size for a dinosaur, according to a new study. The dinosaur’s bones were able to survive for tens of millions of years because the sediments of an ancient riverbed protected them. Ten dinosaur species have already been identified during excavations in the region, with the first dinosaur discovered in 1900. “Almost every terrestrial animal on this island was pretty small,” Augustin said via email.

☆ Former world number one Halep provisionally suspended for doping
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Two-times major winner Simona Halep of Romania has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned blood-booster roxadustat, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Friday. "Simona Halep, a 31-year-old Romanian tennis player, has been provisionally suspended under Article 7.12.1 of the 2022 Tennis Anti-Doping Programme (TADP)," the body said in a statement. Former world number one Halep described the ban as the "biggest shock of her life" and denied knowingly taking any banned substance. I have been notified that I have tested positive for a substance called Roxadustat in an extremely low quantity, she wrote on Twitter. Halep, the winner of two titles this season, ended her season early after undergoing nose surgery last month to treat breathing difficulties.

She mostly uses one room in her old house, which saves on heating. But many people in villages like Vasilati and non-affluent city neighbourhoods have little room to cut back. Eurostat data showed Romanians had the lowest power consumption per capita in the EU at less than half the average in 2020. Other villagers whose power consumption was driven higher by pumps and boilers said their bill doubled to roughly 3,000 lei ($597.73). Ichim's power consumption is low enough to fit into a government scheme that caps power and gas bills for households and other users up to certain monthly consumption levels.

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