Romanian flings himself from parliament balcony

Shortly after Prime Minister Emil Boc greeted lawmakers, the man, Adrian Sobaru - identified by the country's public television station as one of its engineers - hit the floor with a thud that reverberated through the chamber.

No one else was injured, and Sobaru's injuries were reportedly not life-threatening.

Boc looked startled and, along with other lawmakers, rushed over to Sobaru. Speaker Mircea Geoana briefly postponed the session.

Boc called the incident a tragedy, said he was shocked, and appealed for calm in what he called "these tough times."

The session resumed without opposition lawmakers, who walked out when their request to reschedule a motion of no-confidence motion in the government was not approved. The opposition needed 236 votes to topple the government - which survived because not a single vote was cast in favor of the motion.

Romania is mired in recession and the government recently cut public sector wages by one-quarter. And the sales tax was increased from 19 to 24 percent, as the government worked to keep the deficit at 6.8 percent in 2010. The country's economy is expected to decline by 2 percent this year, after contracting by 7.1 percent in 2009. The cuts have angered many Romanians; Kazinform cites China Daily.

See www.chinadaily.com.cn for full version.