Landmark Trial Begins: Former US President Trump Faces Criminal Charges
The first criminal trial against a former US president commences in a New York courtroom
The National Council for Combating Discrimination has fined Romanian President, Traian Basescu, for disparaging the country's Roma minority.
The fine is in the amount of USD 185.
Romania's official anti-discrimination agency initially declined to take the case because Basescu made the comments while on a visit abroad.
Later, the Supreme Court ordered the agency, which is under the control of parliament, to take the case.
Basescu has not yet issued an official reaction.
He was fined for having said "very few of Roma want to work'' and "traditionally many of them live off stealing", during a 2010 news conference in Slovenia.
The BBC reminds that Romania officially has 620 000 Roma, but the number is believed to be far higher because many do not declare their ethnicity to avoid widespread discrimination.
As in Bulgaria, the majority of Roma are unemployed and live deplorable housing and conditions, with limited access to healthcare and education.
Basescu made recently another controversial statement about the Roma.
Speaking in Berlin in January, while defending their right of free movement in the European Union, he said Roma irritate people by begging and are "perhaps more troublesome than a banker who makes tens of billions disappear from a bank".
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
Reports confirm that Ukraine has deployed long-range ballistic missiles provided by the United States in secret, targeting Russian forces in occupied territories
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has pledged to take all necessary measures to compensate for the six-month delay in receiving a new 61 billion dollars US aid package
Russia has declared its intention to repatriate 48 deported Ukrainian children to their families, according to Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights
United Nations resolution aimed at halting the arms race in space, proposed by the United States and Japan, failed to pass the UN Security Council due to Russia's veto, Reuters and DPA reported
A senior Hamas official has conveyed the movement's readiness to entertain a five-year truce with Israel, agreeing to disarm and transition into a political entity on the condition of Palestinian statehood recognition within the pre-1967 borders
The presidential election landscape in North Macedonia is poised for a runoff between Gordana Siljanovska, representing VMRO-DPMNE, and Stevo Pendarovski, backed by SDSM
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022