Bucharest - Romanian President Traian Basescu and Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu embarked Wednesday on a whirlwind tour of five countries to review the Georgian-Russian conflict and its effects on the region.

In just two days, the Romanian duo were to visit the Ukraine, Moldava, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, meeting with their counterparts to review developments in the wake of the conflict in Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia.

In Kiev, Basescu is to meet Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko to start the series of top-level meetings.

Washington, Aug 19: Hindus have applauded Romania for her attempts at educational reforms and overhauling religious instruction, but stressed that minorities should be fairly treated when these planned reforms are finalized.

Acclaimed Hindu and Indo-American leader, Rajan Zed, in a statement today, said that considerable changes were reportedly needed in this overhaul. Every Romanian should feel welcome without any ethnic or religious discrimination.

Zed, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that in school curricula comparative religion could be offered as an alternative to religion and those who did not want to study either, should be offered a non-religious choice.

Bucharest  - Romania's central bank raised its key interest rate Thursday for the sixth time this year in a bid to fight inflation that is among the European Union's highest.

The quarter-point hike pushed the monetary policy rate to 10.25 per cent, keeping the cost of borrowing at a three-year high after consumer prices rose 8.6 per cent in June.

Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu's government, which faces November parliamentary elections, recently pushed through increases in retirement benefits and the minimum wage - moves that will increase inflationary pressure, local analysts said.

Curbing inflation is a key requirement for Romania to switch its currency to the euro, a goal the government has set for 2014.

Bucharest- Romania's secret police, and not the army, fired on demonstrators during the rev

Bucharest  - The Romanian authorities aided by colleagues from the US and several EU states have broken up a 17-person drug and cigarette smuggling gang, the Romanian border police said Monday.

Bucharest  - Romanian prosecutors Monday filed corruption charges against former Agriculture Minister Traian Decebal Remes.