Romanian lawmakers vote to lift former minister’s immunity February 3, 2016 - 17:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Romania's parliament has voted to lift the immunity of a former interior minister so he can be investigated on suspicion of abusing his position by allegedly overusing official motorcades, the Associated Press reports. Senators voted 102-30 Wednesday to lift the immunity of Sen. Gabriel Oprea. Anti-corruption prosecutors say Oprea used a motorcade 1,607 times from Jan 2-Oct 21, 2015, an average of five times a day and three times more than Romania's president used the privilege. Oprea denies wrongdoing. Many Romanians think senior officials abuse their positions by overusing motorcades, which often block traffic in the busy capital. There was public outrage when a policeman escorting Oprea died when his motorbike hit a pothole. Oprea resigned on Nov 4 when the government collapsed following street protests over a deadly nightclub fire that killed 63.  Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Pashinyan: We must stop searching for homeland, we have found that homeland  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has shared a message on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.Erdogan wants “realistic road map” for relations with Armenia Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a “new realistic road map” for relations with Armenia.Armenia-Azerbaijan: Experts launch work on determining coordinates Expert groups from the countries started the process of determining the coordinates based on geodetic measurements.Yerevan says did not expect CSTO in peacekeeping role Pashinyan has declared that the CSTO would be expected to come to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as an ally of Armenia |
