All posts tagged: Romanian

Romanian gang stole underground BT cables and nearly caused havoc in Birmingham city centre

Romanian gang stole underground BT cables and nearly caused havoc in Birmingham city centre

Published by Sam Flores

Three men have been jailed after stealing underground BT cabling and risking havoc in Birmingham city centre. Altafin Poenaru, aged 49, Marian Agarlita, 37, and Sorin Condrache, 45, were caught red-handed by armed police at a manhole on Great Charles Queensway at the junction with Newhall Street on January 20 this year. They had cut seven live cables which contained nearly 8,000 phone and internet lines serving the area, which includes countless businesses as well as government departments. READ MORE: Mum-of-six jailed for cruel £25,000 Birmingham raid to pensioner who offered her free food One of the risks was that alarm systems would have been disabled causing safety hazards for anyone trapped in a lift or a building fire. BT Openreach, which maintains telecommunications infrastructure, stated the incident involved a complex and dangerous repair operation requiring weeks to put right and costing them more than £96,000. Police arrested three men stealing BT cables from a manhole at Great Charles Queensway in Birmingham -Credit:West Midlands Police / SWNS The three men, all Romanian nationals, arrived in …

Romanian socialists and far right unveil plan to topple PM – POLITICO

Romanian socialists and far right unveil plan to topple PM – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

According to recent polls, PSD and AUR could secure a parliamentary majority if they joined forces at an upcoming general election. Bolojan, head of the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL), is currently leading a minority coalition government after the PSD decided to join the opposition last week. Ciprian Ciucu, mayor of Bucharest and a senior figure in the PNL party, criticized the move, writing on Facebook: “To me, it seems very irresponsible.” “Anyone who builds a majority to bring down a government has the responsibility to form another one in its place,” he added, and announced his party would no longer enter a coalition with the Social Democrats Other PNL politicians attacked the Social Democrats’ leader, Sorin Grindeanu, for his collaboration with the far-right AUR. “Grindeanu has repeatedly claimed that he would not collaborate with AUR. The alliance today confirms Grindeanu’s permanent lie,” MEP Dan Motreanu wrote on Facebook. The motion could be debated in parliament in early May, according to local media. However, both PSD and AUR would need the support of other opposition …

Crown Office update on Iranian man and Romanian woman accused of trying to enter Faslane nuclear naval base | UK News

Crown Office update on Iranian man and Romanian woman accused of trying to enter Faslane nuclear naval base | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

An Iranian man who was charged after allegedly attempting to enter the UK’s nuclear submarine base has been released from custody pending further inquiries, the Crown Office has confirmed. Prosecutors have also decided there should be no proceedings against a Romanian woman who was also charged following the alleged incident. The 34-year-old man and 31-year-old woman were arrested after Police Scotland was alerted to an alleged incident at HM Naval Base Clyde, known as Faslane, at about 5pm on Thursday. The pair were due to appear before Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Monday. In an update later in the day, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said the man was “liberated from custody pending further inquiries and did not appear in court”. The case remains “live and under consideration”. And following “careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case” against the woman, COPFS has decided there “should be no proceedings”. A COPFS spokesperson said: “The Procurator Fiscal received a report concerning a 34-year-old man in connection with an alleged incident on 19 …

Iranian man and Romanian woman charged with trying to enter UK nuclear naval base | UK News

Iranian man and Romanian woman charged with trying to enter UK nuclear naval base | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

Police Scotland have revealed they have charged two people for trying get into a UK nuclear submarine base, including an Iranian man. A 34-year-old Iranian man has been charged alongside a 31-year-old Romanian woman, after reports of two people trying to enter Faslane naval base where Britain’s nuclear submarines are based, the force said. Police Scotland said it was told of their attempted entry at around 5pm on Thursday and were arrested the following day. Iran War latest – UK air base targeted by Tehran The pair are due to appear at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Monday, the force said in a statement, adding that its enquiries are ongoing. Faslane is home to the core of the UK’s submarine fleet and the Trident nuclear deterrent. The Royal Navy has previously said that two people unsuccessfully tried to enter the site. Read more from Sky News:Meet the cast of SNL UK‘Cold plunge’ warning after warmest day Sky’s defence and security analyst Michael Clarke said Faslane is “the biggest military base in Scotland“, with around 6,000 to …

‘Something Familiar’ Doc on Family, Trauma Romanian Orphans (Trailer)

‘Something Familiar’ Doc on Family, Trauma Romanian Orphans (Trailer)

Published by Daniella Wilson

For Something Familiar, her debut feature, Rachel Taparjan picked a topic that is not only very personal to her, but also turned out to be full of trauma. Just read the logline for the documentary: “While helping a woman search for her birth mother, Taparjan is drawn into her own family history, uncovering a dark legacy that has loomed over its women.” The doc will world premiere in the main competition of the 23rd edition of Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, CPH:DOX, on Tuesday, March 17. “After Mihaela reaches out to Taparjan to help her find her birth mother, they set off for Romania, returning to the orphanage where they were both adopted,” reads a synopsis for Something Familiar. “What Mihaela uncovers in the search makes her question her entire identity. It also draws Rachel into her own journey through her family’s past, unveiling a painful legacy that has loomed over its women, which they shared despite the separation.” In what feels like an attempt to find some clarity or catharsis, or simply to explore possibilities, the filmmaker also enlists actresses to …

Wiz Khalifa’s appeal against 9-month jail sentence rejected by Romanian court

Wiz Khalifa’s appeal against 9-month jail sentence rejected by Romanian court

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This American rapper Wiz Khalifa suffered a blow in court Thursday as his appeal of a nine-month jail sentence was rejected by a Romanian court. The Constanta Court of Appeal’s decision came after Khalifa, whose real name is Cameron Jibril Thomaz, filed an appeal last month against the December conviction. Khalifa was stopped by Romanian police in July 2024 after allegedly smoking cannabis on stage at the Beach, Please! Festival in Constanta County. Prosecutors said the rapper was found in possession of more than 18 grams of cannabis, and that he consumed some on stage. open image in gallery It isn’t clear whether Romanian authorities will seek to file an extradition request, since Khalifa is a U.S. citizen and doesn’t reside in Romania. (AP) After his arrest, Khalifa apologized and said he didn’t “mean any disrespect” by consuming the drugs on stage in front …

5,000-year-old bacteria thawed in Romanian ice cave

5,000-year-old bacteria thawed in Romanian ice cave

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Whether it’s the ocean’s deepest hydrothermal vents or tall mountain peaks, bacteria is likely surviving and thriving. Ice caves can host a wide variety of microorganisms and offer biologists a bevy of genetic diversity that still has to be studied. And it could help save lives. A team of scientists in Romania tested antibiotic resistance profiles with a bacterial strain that was hidden in a 5,000-year-old layer of ice inside an underground ice cave. This bacteria may be key to finding new strategies to prevent the continued rise of antibiotic resistance. The new bacterial strain called Psychrobacter SC65A.3 is detailed in a study published today in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology. “The Psychrobacter SC65A.3 bacterial strain isolated from Scărişoara Ice Cave, despite its ancient origin, shows resistance to multiple modern antibiotics and carries over 100 resistance-related genes,” Dr. Cristina Purcarea, a study co-author and microbiologist at the Institute of Biology Bucharest of the Romanian Academy, said in a statement. …

Romanian grooming gang boss offered £1,500 to leave UK while awaiting trial for 10 rapes | UK News

Romanian grooming gang boss offered £1,500 to leave UK while awaiting trial for 10 rapes | UK News

Published by skeptic

The ringleader of a Romanian grooming gang was offered £1,500 by the Home Office to be deported while he was in prison awaiting trial for 10 rapes, a Sky News investigation has found. Mircea Marian Cumpanasoiu, 38, led a network which raped, drugged and exploited vulnerable local women in Dundee. But Sky News can exclusively reveal that in summer 2024, while in custody at HMP Perth awaiting trial for serial sex offences, officials handed him a “voluntary return” form under a government scheme paying foreign nationals to leave Britain. The department later decided not to remove him because of the upcoming court proceedings. Immigration status renewed during trial In another twist, just months later – as he stood in a High Court dock facing 10 rape charges – Sky News has discovered Cumpanasoiu’s immigration status, which was due to expire, was automatically renewed under the EU settlement scheme. Cumpanasoiu was later handed a 24-year extended sentence, with 20 years in jail and four on licence, for sexual and trafficking offences. Image: Cumpanasoiu winking to the …