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  - Romanian President Traian Basescu expressed reservations Wednesday about nominating ethnic German mayor Klaus Johannis to form a new government, citing the need for a person with international financial expertise.

A day after the minority government of Emil Boc of the centrist PD-L failed a no-confidence vote in parliament, Basescu said he was not in principle opposed to the opposition's call for a technocratic cabinet led by Johannis.

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 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.

Chisinau  - A comprehensive treaty with Romania resolving border and trade issues is the top foreign policy priority of Moldova's newly elected pro-Europe government, a senior official said Tuesday.

"We need to get signed a basic political treaty (with Romania) to exclude speculation about relations between the Republic of Moldova and Romania," Vlad Filat, the ruling coalition's nominee for the post of prime minister, said in a ProTV Chisinau television interview.

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.

Dusseldorf  - A German state premier, Juergen Ruettgers, was criticized Friday for disparaging people in Romania during a speech in praise of the workers in his own state, North Rhine Westphalia.

In remarks on August 26 which previously had gone unnoticed, Ruettgers said, "And unlike the workers in the Ruhr, those in Romania don't show up at seven in the morning for the first shift and stay until they have finished.

"They come and go when they feel like it, and they don't know what they're doing," he said during an election campaign speech in Duisburg.

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.

Timisoara, Romania - Former Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is to quit football at the end of the season.

The 39-year-old VfB Stuttgart keeper told Germany's Sat. 1 television that he was looking forward to a life outside of the game.

In the interview to be broadcast Tuesday ahead of Stuttgart's Champions League play-off at Timisoara, Lehmann said: "Yes, it's enough. It's time to do something else."

Lehmann, who joined Stuttgart from Arsenal before the previous season, signed a one-year extension to his contract before the start of the new campaign.

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.

Chisinau - Moldova's new ruling coalition will make cancellation of visa requirements for Romanian citizens a top order of business, a senior official said Monday.

The four-party majority controlling Moldova's parliament considers visa-free travel for Romanian nationals a "top priority," said Markian Lupu, chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova (DPM).

National elections July 29 gave the DPM and three larger pro- Europe parties a 53-seat majority in Moldova's 101-member legislature.

Prague - A Romanian Roma teenager, whose relatives descended on Prague to pray for his recovery after a swimming accident, died Monday, a hospital said.

Ion Miclescu, 17, who was destined to become one of his clan's leaders, had been hospitalized in a coma since July 22 after he nearly drowned in a lake outside Prague. He took a swim to refresh himself during his family's travels through Europe, his relatives said.

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.

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.