2 Romanian ex-ministers convicted of corruptionFebruary 14, 2012 - 18:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Romanian court has convicted and sentenced two former agriculture ministers to three years each in prison on corruption charges, AP reported. The Bucharest court ruled Tuesday, February 14 that Decebal Traian Remes and Ioan Muresan are guilty of taking bribes and influence-peddling. The sentences can be appealed. Remes resigned as minister in 2007 after prosecutors accused him of taking a bribe of $21,000 (euro15,800) and the promise of homemade sausages and plum brandy from Muresan, a former minister who allegedly was acting on behalf of businessman Gheorghe Ciorba. Prosecutors said the payment was meant to secure favor for Ciorba's firm in a public auction, however Ciorba reported the bribe to authorities before the auction took place. The court handed Ciorba an 18-month suspended prison sentence. 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 | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |