Radio România Internațional

Tag: August 10 protests

  • August 20, 2018 UPDATE

    August 20, 2018 UPDATE

    INVESTIGATION
    – Hearings will be as of Monday at the Prosecutor General’s Office in
    connection with the anti-government meeting organised by the Romanians living
    abroad, on August 10. We recall the military prosecutors have opened a criminal
    case for such crimes as abusive conduct, abuse of office and professional
    misconduct, regarding the way in which the gendarmes intervened during the
    protest. The Interior Minister Carmen Dan has apologized to all those who
    suffered because of violence. The opposition considers however that minister
    Dan should have resigned. Also on Monday the Bucharest Police announced the gun
    stolen from a gendarme on August 10 has been recovered.




    FIGHTER JETS – Two F-22 Raptor US fighter jets and a KC-135
    Stratotanker aircraft landed on Monday at the airbase in Campia Turzii, to join
    a joint military exercise with F-16 fighter jets of the Romanian Air Force as
    well as with F-15 aircraft temporarily stationed as part of the 2018 Dacian
    Eagle military exercise. Visiting the airbase in Campia Turzii, Defense
    Minister Mihai Fifor said Bucharest has proved it is a reliable and trusted
    ally. In turn, US Ambassador Hans Klemm said Romania is the only NATO state in
    the region to host such aircraft. The American official went on to say that the
    United States is proud of the progress Romania has made in terms of military
    advancement and interoperability.




    DNA – The Romanian justice minister, Tudorel
    Toader, has announced that no prosecutor has applied for the position of chief
    prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. Candidacies can be
    submitted by August 24, and the new procedure should be finalized by September
    6. This is a new selection organised by the Justice Ministry, after Tudorel
    Toader rejected all the four candidacies that had been submitted. The minister
    is optimistic that there will be a candidate for this position until the
    deadline expires. The position of chief prosecutor of the National
    Anti-Corruption Directorate has become vacant after Laura Codruţa Kövesi was revoked
    by a decree issued on July 9 by President Klaus Iohannis, who implemented a
    decision by the Constitutional Court.




    50 YEARS OF DACIA – The car-manufacturing plant in
    Mioveni, southern Romania, on Monday celebrated 50 years since the first Dacia
    car was made, during which time production has exceeded 6 million units. The
    first car was produced on August 20, 1968 and was a Dacia 1100 make,
    manufactured under the Renault R8 brand. A year later, the Dacia 1300 entered
    production, which made history for the next 30 years. In 1999, Dacia and the
    plant in Mioveni were taken over by Renault. At present, Dacia is the biggest
    company in Romania with a turnover of 5 billion euros in 2017. Dacia cars are
    exported to 44 countries on four continents. The top markets in the first half
    of 2018 were France, Germany and Italy.




    PEASANT CIVILIZATION – Săpânţa, in the northern Romanian
    county of Maramureş, which has been designated the Peasant Cultural Capital of
    the Romanians around the world, has been the venue for a cultural project titled The
    United Villages of Romania. The project has been carried out jointly with
    Radio Romania. This annual meeting of villages, this year devoted to the Great
    Union Centennial, has been attended by 800 artists, singers and folk groups
    from 30 county capitals, as well as from the Romanian communities around the
    world. The initiator of the project is
    an Irishman who has been living in Romania for 24 years, Peter Hurley. He says
    he has been impressed by the fact that the old Romanian civilization is
    surviving wherever there are Romanians.




    OLYMPIAD – Romania’s computer science team won
    four medals, of which two gold, at the 25th edition of the Computer
    Science Olympiad in Central Europe, hosted over August 12-18 by Warsaw, Poland.
    According to the Education Ministry, Romania ranked first in the unofficial
    medal standings, the same number of medals as Poland. This year’s edition
    brought together 55 contestants from 13 countries. The first edition of the
    Olympiad was held in Cluj-Napoca, north-western Romania, in 1994. In another
    development, Romania’s Olympic delegation at the International Earth Science
    Olympiad in Thailand won four medals, one silver and three bronze. The 12th
    edition of the Olympiad was held over August 8-17 and it brought together 154
    contestants from 38 countries.




    (Translated
    by D. Vijeu and V. Palcu)

  • August 15, 2018 UPDATE

    August 15, 2018 UPDATE

    PROTESTS – The head prosecutor with the Military Prosecutor’s
    Office in Bucharest, Ionel Corbu, said that the gendarmes’ intervention during
    Friday’s anti-Government protest was by no means justified, as long as there
    were several alternatives to quell the violent protesters. Ionel Corbu said the
    Military Prosecutor’s Office has received from the Romanian Gendarmes Service
    part of the documents it has requested, namely the action plan, the
    intervention plan and the operation log, adding however that no documents were
    received regarding the amount of tear gas used in the protests. The Bucharest
    Gendarme service said the tear gas used by the riot police was purchased from
    licensed manufacturers and that it is currently being used all over Europe. Military
    prosecutors continue to investigate the forceful intervention of the riot
    police on August 10 and are now looking into possible charges of abuse of
    office and actionable negligence. So far 200 people have filed criminal complaints.




    FEAST DAY – Orthodox and Eastern Catholic
    Christians in Romania on Wednesday celebrated the Assumption of Mary, the
    bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life.
    Churches and monasteries in Romania held special services on this occasion
    while thousands of Christians went on pilgrimage. Some 2.2 million Romanians
    celebrated their name day on Wednesday.




    NAVY DAY – August 15 is also Romanian
    Navy Day, as Saint Mary is also the patron saint of sailors. This year
    ceremonies were held in Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Tulcea, Braila, Bucuresti
    and Cernavoda on this occasion. Attending the events were thousands of navy
    military, scores of warships and numerous aircraft. The largest naval show was
    held in Constanta, the largest Romanian port on the Black Sea. The guard of
    honor and brigades of Romanian military, alongside peers from Great Britain,
    the United States and Ukraine paraded on the waterfront before the fleet
    command. Attending the ceremonies, President Klaus Iohannis said Romania cannot
    truly be a powerful player in the region without a powerful army, which should
    include a well-equipped, well-trained and modern navy, capable to successfully
    withstand any challenge. The President went on to say that, as a sign of
    appreciation for the activity and special achievements of the Naval Forces, he
    has decorated the war flag of the Romanian Naval Forces with the Maritime
    Virtue Order in rank of Officer, as a sign of military peace. Defense Minister
    Mihai Fifor told the navy military that their responsibilities are key to
    securing the eastern flank of NATO and the EU. Fifor recalled that 2018, the
    year marking 100 years since the Great Union, will be a landmark for the
    military navy by means of the modernization program carried out to strengthen
    the immediate response capacity of the Romanian Naval Forces and to consolidate
    Romania’s position in the Black Sea region.




    ACCIDENT – President Klaus Iohannis has expressed his condolences
    for the families of the victims of Tuesday’s collapse of a motorway bridge
    close to Genoa, which killed dozens of people, including two Romanian
    nationals, a Presidency report reads. The President also conveyed his
    condolences to his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella and to the Italian
    authorities. According to the Foreign Ministry, operations to extract the
    victims from the rubble are ongoing. A mobile consular team is on scene. Some
    250 firefighters and scores of search and rescue teams continue to look for
    survivors. According to our correspondent in Rome, 440 people were evacuated
    from 11 apartment buildings in the vicinity. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe
    Conte also visited the crash site, ensuring citizens the whole road
    infrastructure in Italy will be inspected to prevent such tragedies from
    happening.




    CAMPAIGN – The signature-gathering campaign entitled
    No criminally-prosecuted people in public office has so far raised over 800
    thousand signatures and is bound to continue until the end of the month, the
    president of Save Romania Union Dan Barna told the press on Wednesday. The set
    target is to gather 1 million signatures. This citizen initiative aimed at
    revising the Constitutions so that no person with a final criminal sentence can
    hold public office.




    MEETING – National Defense Minister Mihai Fifor on
    Wednesday met with his Moldovan counterpart, Eugeniu Sturza, on the sidelines
    of the Romanian Navy Day ceremonies held in Constanta. The two officials
    highlighted the good bilateral cooperation in the field of defense, also
    agreeing on enhanced cooperation as regards military medicine and education. As
    regards cooperation within NATO, Minister Fifor told Minister Sturza that
    Romania would continue to support Moldova’s efforts to join NATO.




    RAF – Six Russian bombers were intercepted over the Black Sea by British
    fighter jets deployed to Romania, charged with the security of NATO airspace, a
    Royal Air Force press release reads. Eurofighter Typhoon jets took off on
    Monday from Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in southeastern Romania, after six
    Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer bombers were detected in NATO airspace over the Black Sea.
    The Russian aircraft were headed to Crimea. The operation was part of NATO air
    policing operations with support from the Royal Air Force, aimed at deterring
    Russian aggression and enforcing Great Britain’s commitment to NATO collective
    defense. Romania’s Defense Minister Mihai Fifor last month said such challenges
    from Moscow are quite frequent.




    FOOTBALL – Three Romanian football teams are on
    Thursday competing in the second round of the Champions League third
    preliminary round. All matches are played on home turf. CFR Cluj is playing
    Alashkert of Armenia and is sitting on a 2-nil away win in the first leg. FCSB
    will take on Croatia’s Hajduk Split, after drawing nil-all in the first leg,
    while Romanian Cup winner CSU Craiova is playing RB Leipzig. Craiova lost 1-3
    in the first leg.






    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • August 15, 2018

    August 15, 2018


    PROTESTS – Hundreds protested on Tuesday in Bucharest for the fifth day in a row against the Government. The Military Prosecutors Department with the Prosecutor Generals Office has taken over the investigation into the events on August 10. Tuesday the last protesters who were injured in the August 10 protest in Bucharest filed criminal investigations. So far 100 people have filed complaints. Military prosecutors meanwhile continue to investigate the forceful intervention of the riot police and are now looking into possible charges of abuse of office and actionable negligence. The interim head of the Romanian Gendarme Service, Colonel Sebastian Cucos, whose mandate has expired, was replaced by Colonel Catalin Sindile, the former Deputy General Inspector of the Romanian Gendarme Service.



    ACCIDENT – Two Romanian citizens were killed in Tuesdays collapse of a motorway bridge close to Genoa, reads a Foreign Ministry release. Operations to extract the victims from the rubble are ongoing. A mobile consular team is on scene. The provisional toll shows 38 died and 16 were wounded, of whom 12 in critical condition. Some 35 vehicles and 3 trucks were crossing the motorway as Morandi Bridge collapsed. The bridge linked the city to the main airport in Liguria. Some 250 firefighters and scores of search and rescue teams continue to look for survivors. All households in the area have been evacuated. 400 people were relocated by the Italian Civil Protection service. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also visited the crash site, ensuring citizens the whole road infrastructure in Italy will be inspected to prevent such tragedies from happening.



    FEAST DAY – Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians in Romania on Wednesday celebrated the Assumption of Mary, the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life. Churches and monasteries in Romania held special services on this occasion while thousands of Christians went on pilgrimage. A mini-holiday has been instated by the state on this occasion and scores of Romanians are on the Romanian Black Seacoast, as well as in mountain and spa resorts. Some 2.2 million Romanians celebrated their name day on Wednesday.



    NAVY DAY – August 15 is also Romanian Navy Day, as Saint Mary is also the patron saint of sailors. This year ceremonies were held in Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Tulcea, Braila, Bucuresti and Cernavoda on this occasion. Attending the events were thousands of navy military, scores of warships and numerous aircraft. The largest naval show was held in Constanta, the largest Romanian port on the Black Sea. The guard of honor and brigades of Romanian military, alongside peers from Great Britain, the United States and Ukraine paraded on the waterfront before the fleet command. Attending the ceremonies, President Klaus Iohannis said Romania cannot truly be a powerful player in the region without a powerful army, which should include a well-equipped, well-trained and modern navy, capable to successfully withstand any challenge. The President went on to say that, as a sign of appreciation for the activity and special achievements of the Naval Forces, he has decorated the war flag of the Romanian Naval Forces with the Maritime Virtue Order in rank of Officer, as a sign of military peace. Defense Minister Mihai Fifor told the navy military that their responsibilities are key to securing the eastern flank of NATO and the EU. Fifor recalled that 2018, the year marking 100 years since the Great Union, will be a landmark for the military navy by means of the modernization program carried out to strengthen the immediate response capacity of the Romanian Naval Forces and to consolidate Romanias position in the Black Sea region.



    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world no. 1 and seeded first in the Cincinnati tournament, is tomorrow playing Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia, 58 WTA, in the second round. Halep is the only Romanian left at Cincinnati, a tournament with over 2.8 million dollars up for grabs. This will be the third match Tomljanovic is playing a Romanian in the womens singles, as she ousted Sorana Cirstea in the qualifying round and Irina Begu in the first round. In the doubles competition, the pair made up of Raluca Olaru and Vera Zvonareva of Russia lost to Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, the first-seeded pair. Also Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu lost to Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria of the United States.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)