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Romanians Call For Government Resignation


Protesters hold manipulated pictures of government leaders, Bucharest, Jan. 24, 2012.
Protesters hold manipulated pictures of government leaders, Bucharest, Jan. 24, 2012.

Thousands of Romanians have rallied in the capital, Bucharest, to demand the government resign, the latest in a wave of protests against spending cuts and other tough austerity measures.

At least 2,000 people gathered outside government headquarters Tuesday to demand Prime Minister Emil Boc and President Traian Basescu step down.

Boc has made some concessions - including dismissal of his foreign minister Teodor Baconschi for insulting remarks he made about the protesters - re-appointing a popular health official whose resignation sparked the demonstrations two weeks ago.

But opposition leaders say these do not go far enough and are calling for early elections.

Although most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, some clashes between protesters and police have turned violent.

The spending cuts are required as part of a multi-billion-dollar loan from the World Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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