Bucharest  - Voters in recession-racked Romania went to the polls Sunday to elect a new president.

Conservative incumbent Traian Basescu is seeking a new term. His main rivals are Social Democrat Mircea Geoana and Crin Antonescu, chairman of the National Liberal Party (PNL).

Opinion polls suggest that none of the 12 candidates in the race will achieve an absolute majority, making a run-off on December 6 the most likely outcome.

Bucharest  - The Romanian parliament Wednesday rejected the governing team put together by an independent economic expert tapped by President Traian Basescu, thus continuing the political stalemate in the run-up to presidential elections scheduled for November 22.

Basescu had chosen finance and economics expert Lucian Croitoru to form the new government, despite the fact that Croitoru did not have the support of the opposition Socialists (PSD) and Liberals (PNL), and was therefore expected to lose the vote.

Bucharest  - An economist and finance expert was tapped Thursday to pull together a new Romanian government by President Traian Basescu.

Lucian Croitoru, who is unaffiliated with any party, received the nod from the president. The appointment is likely to be opposed by the opposition, who candidate for rebuilding the government was blocked by the president. A court case is possible.

A minority government headed by Emil Boc of the centrist PD-L party collapsed Tuesday after it failed a vote of confidence with less than 35 per cent of the vote. (dpa)

Bucharest - In a first since the fall of communism, Romania's government Tuesday failed a no-confidence vote, two weeks after the breakup of the cabinet.

The no-confidence motion passed with 258 in favour to 176 against, the development coming some 40 days before the country's presidential elections.

Now President Traian Basescu faces consultations with the major political parties before naming someone to try to form a new government.

Bucharest - German-Romanian author Herta Mueller, winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature, was congratulated by Romanian literary compatriots on Thursday.

"To me, Herta Mueller has long been a Nobel Prize winner. So I can only be happy that my premonition has been officially confirmed," said Andrei Plesu, a Romanian philosopher and art historian.

Bucharest  - Romania's opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) on Thursday filed a motion of no confidence in parliament against the minority government of Prime Minister Emil Boc.

Two weeks before, the governing coalition consisting of Boc's centrist PD-L and the Social Democrats (PSD) disintegrated.

The PSD, which pulled out of the coalition, announced their intention to support the no-confidence motion, making the fall of the Boc administration a likelihood.

Parliamentarians are expected to put the motion to a vote on Tuesday.

Bucharest - Romania and Azerbaijan Monday signed a strategic partnership deal to boost their political and economic ties, the Romanian news agency Mediafax reported.

The deal was signed during an official visit of Azerbaijani President Ilcham Aliyev to the Romanian capital Bucharest, in which he met his Romanian counterpart Traian Basescu.

Bucharest  - Steaua Bucharest coach Cristiano Bergodi has been dismissed from his post in the wake of a row with club owner Gigi Becali during his side's midweek home scoreless draw against FC Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League.

Bergodi had only taken up the job in June but according to the Mediafax news agency Friday the Italian has now been replaced by Mihai Stoichita because he refused to allow Becali into the dressing room at half-time of the Europa League tie.

"I was humiliated and can't work with this person anymore, even if they had gone on to win 5-0," said Becali.

Bucharest - Romania's broad-based centre-left coalition faced a major confidence vote in parliament Tuesday over three laws concerning state spending and education.

The government comprising the centre PD-L and socialist PSD parties was expected to survive the vote, which hinges on a fast- track package of laws introduced under pressure from the International Monetary Fund.

Bucharest - Romania's presidential election will take place November 22, with December 6 set for a likely runoff vote, the interior ministry announced Monday.

It remains unclear whether incumbent President Traian Basescu will stand. Despite having the best prospects of any potential candidate, opinion polls suggest he would not win outright in the first round.

The polls place socialist PSD party leader Mirceas Geoana second and Crin Antonescu of the nationalist PNL party third in current voter popularity.

Bucharest - Dinamo Bucharest face sanctions from football's European governing body UEFA after fans forced their Europa League play-off match on Thursday evening to be abandoned.

UEFA said Friday it had ordered Dinamo Bucharest to appear before a disciplinary panel on Tuesday.

Romanian football federation officials said they feared the club could be banned from European competition for several years, a penalty which could lead to the club's financial ruin.

Bucharest - Romania on Thursday denied reports that it was host to a secret facility run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for detention of suspected terrorists.

"I think this is a story to discredit Romania," said Norica Nicolai, the head of Romania parliamentary committee to review similar accusations.

Bucharest - Romania's parliament late Monday voted to strip parliamentary immunity from a former minister who allegedly diverted state funds toward a colleague's campaign for the European Parliament.

The 192-35 vote clears the way for investigations into the allegations against former youth and sports minister Monica Iacob Ridzi. She resigned her ministerial portfolio earlier this month over the allegations, but remains a member of parliament.

Washington - US President Barack Obama expressed hope Tuesday that Afghanistan can enter a "different phase" after elections take place in August.

Obama said any exit strategy for US and NATO forces would have to be met with the Afghan people taking on greater responsibility for security and governing.

"My hope is that we will be able to begin transitioning into a different phase in Afghanistan," he said while meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. Afghanistan's presidential election is scheduled for August 20.

Bucharest  - About 5,000 Bucharest residents protested a planned high-rise building on Sunday, saying its proximity to an historic church could endanger both the building and local aesthetics.

With the exception of the Saint Joseph Cathedral, the church encroached upon by the planned building, Bucharest's Catholic churches kept their doors shut in protest as marchers delivered a petition to the Romanian government against the planned 19-storey building.

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) promoted Reliance Big TV has signed a four week content agreement with Sony Music to showcase Michael Jackson's Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour on its PPV service.

The DTH service provider will premiere the concert on 12 July.

The company claims that this is the first non-film premiere on the DTH platform in the country.

Big TV, having a user base of 1.8 million, plans to drive its PPV revenues through differentiated content acquisitions. This includes non-film content on its PPV platform.

Bucharest - A group of 38 Afghan immigrants trying to reach Western Europe were apprehended Monday morning by Romanian officials after a dramatic pursuit, the Mediafax news agency reported.

Hidden in a Greek truck which was listed as carrying peppers to Belgium, the group made it to the Romanian-Hungarian border before abandoning the truck during a checkpoint and trying to make their way across an open field.

Police apprehended the Afghans after pursuing them for several hours.(dpa)

Bucharest  - Former Romanian national team captain Gheorghe Popescu admitted Thursday to being an informer for the country's former secret police under communist rule.

In an telephone interview with the daily Evenimentul Zilei on Thursday, Popescu said he provided reports to Securitate on teammates and others while playing for the Universitatea Craiova club, the paper's online edition reported.

Popescu, 41, defended his actions, saying, "Even if I wrote notes, I wrote good things."

Bucharest  - Romania's foreign minister promised continued backing for Georgia's bids to join the European Union and NATO during a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Friday in Bucharest.

Energy policy will also be an important part of the political dialogue between the two nations in the near future, said the Romanian minister, Cristian Diaconescu. The two countries are considering ways to cooperate more closely in the Black Sea.

Bucharest - Romania's opposition National Liberal Party (NPL) is planning legal action against what it calls massive electoral fraud in connection with this month's European Parliament elections.

NPL Chairman Crin Antonescu, a candidate for the presidential election in the autumn, announced the plans Thursday.