KEY STORIES TODAY: Moves to solve cemetery dispute / Politicians named in key positions / Events in Republic of Moldova

Attempts to solve issues related to a disputed heroes cemetery move on. Politicians have been named in key positions within the state. News from the Republic of Moldova in the aftermath of political crisis.

• The issue of a heroes cemetery disputed by ethnic Hungarians and Romanians returns: a Hungarian website, Hirado.hu, reports that in the wake of meetings between defense officials from both countries it has become clear for the Romanian camp that the remains of Hungarian soldiers are buried under concrete crosses built by Romanian local officials in a town that claims the cemetery. Romania’s Defense Ministry had announced a joint commission of representatives of all countries with soldiers buried in the cemetery would go research the situation there. More on this in Romanian here

• Romanian organised crime prosecutor’s office DIICOT have demanded military prosecutors to pass over the case related to widespread violence during the August 10, 2018 clashes between riot police and anti-government protesters in Bucharest. The gendarmes intervened in a disproportionate manner against protesters at the time, sparking a wave of inquiries. More on this in Romanian here

• Romania’s Parliament voted on Wednesday that a former secretary general of the governing PSD party, Marian Neacsu, currently a member of Pro Romania party, take over as vice-president of national energy market regulator ANRE. This comes despite Neacsu, a controversial figure with a suspended prison sentence for conflict of interests, has almost no connection with the energy sector. The nomination is seen as purely political, despite EU demanding that regulators be fully independent. More on this in Romanian here

• Dozens of Romanian children have been stuck on airports in Milan, Doha and Tokyo, with parents accusing an association, Young Partners for Civil Society Development, of organising camps in the United States without buying plane tickets for travel to the respective camps. The manager of the association closed it when parents laid siege on it, according to a Digi24 report (in Romanian).

Earlier on Wednesday

• Romania has a new politically chosen Ombudsman – news in English

• Who’s running for the leadership of the governing Social Democrats – news in English

• New pensions law voted despite criticism – news in English

Republic of Moldova:

• The former leader of Moldova’s Democratic Party, Vlad Plahotniuc, a businessman with massive political power until he was forced away in recent political struggles in Chisinau, is targeted by a drug trafficking case in Russia, according to Moldovan media quoting Rbc.ru. He risks a life sentence if found guilty. More on this in Romanian here

• The judges of Moldova’s Constitutional Court, a key stakeholder in the recent political crisis in Chisinau, have resigned, local media announced. Moldova President Igor Dodon called the move the only reasonable solution for the situation in the country. More on this in Romanian here