Radio România Internațional

Tag: bad weather

September 14, 2024

A roundup of local and international news.

WEATHER – The weather is getting colder in Romania in most regions, with temperatures below the normal ones for this time of year. Normal values are recorded in the eastern and southeastern areas. Showers and storms are present in most regions. Five people lost their lives in Galati (east), on Friday night, and hundreds of people were evacuated following severe flooding caused by the heavy rain. In certain situations, the fire-fighters had to use pneumatic boats, as the water was 1.5m high in some areas. The floods led blocked county and national roads. Maximum temperatures today are between 13 and 25 degrees Celsius, with 17 degrees Celsius in Bucharest at noon.

DEFENSE – The U.S. State Department on Friday announced it has approved the sale of 32 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Romania, in a deal worth $7.2 billion. Romania’s deal for the Lockheed Martin-made F-35s will also include F135 engines made by Pratt & Whitney for each jet and a spare engine, the Pentagon announced. The Romanian Defense Ministry hailed the decision and specified that, in addition to the jets, the purchase would also provide logistics and maintenance support, navigation, communications and cryptographic equipment, ammunition and weapons, training for pilots and other personnel, and simulators. “Romania is a key NATO Ally in promoting security and stability in the Black Sea region and beyond. The F-35As will provide Romania with unparalleled air defense capabilities and enhance interoperability among NATO air forces”, U.S. Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec said.

ENERGY – Romania’s natural gas deposits are full and the coal stocks are are at the required level. This is the conclusion of Friday’s meeting of the National Energy Command, convened by Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja. He specified that the problem is the significant fluctuation of energy prices in the short term, and one cause is the lack of interconnectivity between Austria and Hungary. The energy ministers from Romania, Bulgaria and Greece will present in about 10 days, to the Council of Ministers of the European Union, a preliminary plan for accelerating investments in interconnections, so that when energy is cheaper in one part of Europe, the other part can also benefit similar prices. Romania continues to be the second largest gas producer in the EU.

GERMAN BORDER – The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns its citizens traveling to Germany to prepare for longer waiting times, because the government in Berlin has decided to extend temporary checks at all land borders to reduce illegal migration. As of Monday, in addition to the temporary checks already in place at the land borders with Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland, there will also be checks at the borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark, for a period of six months. Romanians facing special situations can call the embassy’s hotlines in Berlin, as well as the Romanian consulates in Germany.

FARMERS – Romanian farmers will receive a bigger advance from the European funds, the Agriculture Ministry in Bucharest announced. According to the institution, advances will be granted in the amount of 70% from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund for direct payments and 85% from the European Fund for Rural Development, as a result of a derogation approved by the European Commission. The Romanian Agriculture Minister, Florin Barbu, has said that this will help farmers cope with the liquidity problems they face, in order to prepare for the new agricultural year. The Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture specified that a budget of approximately 1 billion euros was allocated to cover these amounts and that it is making efforts to start payments on October 16.

DRUGS – Three Albanian and three Romanian drug traffickers were detained by the Romanian law-enforcement agency DIICOT, after they were caught with approximately 4.5 kg of heroin. The drugs were prepared in a house in Ialomiţa county (south) and were intended for the Romanian market. The value of the heroin is approximately 50,000 euros. According to the Romanian Police, investigations began after two Albanian citizens entered the country on September 9, with the aim of trafficking a large amount of heroin. They then met with other members of the group in a house in Ialomiţa, where the drugs were mixed with additives, portioned and packaged. Later, the narcotics were distributed among the members of the group, according to DIICOT.

DAVIS CUP – The Romanian team leads China 2-0 in the Davis Cup World Group II after the first matches in Craiova (southwest). Saturday has started with the doubles match pitting Victor Cornea/Bogdan Pavel against Fajing Sun/Rigele Te. The last two singles matches will be played between Filip Cristian Jianu and Bu Yunchaokete, and between Creţu and Yi Zhou respectively. On Friday, tennis player Cezar Creţu beat Yunchaokete Bu 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, and Gabi Adrian Boitan defeated Yi Zhou 7-6, 6-2. Romania and China have never met at the Davis Cup before.

14 September 2024
January 21, 2024 UPDATE

Protests – The Alliance for Agriculture and Cooperation, made up of several national organizations of Romanian farmers, requested the authorities in Bucharest to take all steps to convince the European forums to support the measures that can protect farmers in the Union from the effects of the sale of cheaper cereals from Ukraine. The Alliance made this move in the context of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting due on Tuesday, to discuss the proposals from five states, including Romania, regarding the regulation of Ukrainian grain trade. The Romanian farmers are asking for the introduction of a European system for monitoring the transport of Ukrainian agricultural products, a system that should guarantee that they reach their destination and do not remain on the route. Also dissatisfied with the drop in grain prices generated by Ukrainian imports, Romanian farmers protested, these past days, throughout the country, temporarily blocking customs offices at the border with Ukraine. Cheaper than those in the EU, Ukrainian cereals do not have to meet European quality standards.

Parliament — The Romanian Senate was convened, on Monday, in an extraordinary session, to adopt the emergency ordinances recently issued by the government in the context of the farmers and transporters protests. There are several laws – one of them refers to the excise duty on diesel fuel, while other modifies regulations in the field of road transport. The government adopted the ordinances on Thursday as an urgent response to the requests of farmers and transporters who have been protesting throughout the country for more than 11 days. The emergency ordinances were proposed after negotiations from the Ministries of Agriculture and Transport. One of them modifies road transport regulations. The new provisions will allow category B license holders to also drive agricultural or forestry tractors with a maximum speed of 40 km/h on public roads. Another amendment eliminates the obligation to carry out the periodic technical inspection of slow vehicles, respectively of those whose maximum designed speed is up to 25 km/h. Regarding the diesel fuel excise duty, the Government decided to postpone until June 1 the application of a European directive by which diesel and kerosene must have the same tax mark. The ordinances were adopted to respond to an emergency situation, during the parliament recess, so, according to the Constitution, the Parliament must be convened to turn them into laws. In this case, the Senate is the first chamber notified.

Weather — The bad weather affected several areas in Romania. In Bucharest, more than 20 cars were damaged by fallen trees as a result of the heavy snowfalls. On some sections of national roads, road traffic was temporarily blocked due to the layer of snow and ice formed on the road. Currently, traffic unfolds in winter conditions, and the Traffic Police called on drivers not to travel if their cars are not equipped with winter tires. Railway traffic was also affected. On some sections of the railway trains are running at low speed. Other trains are delayed due to broken rails due to the low temperatures. Also, the air traffic at Bucharest’s airports takes place in winter conditions. Delays are reported for some flights due to aircraft de-icing actions, which are carried out after the boarding of passengers.

Meeting — The Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, had a meeting with her Vietnamese counterpart, Bui Thanh Son, in Bucharest on Sunday. He is part of the delegation led by Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh currently on an official visit to Romania. Luminiţa Odobescu and Bui Thanh Son welcomed the state of bilateral relations established 74 years ago and emphasized the need to continue efforts to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Ms. Odobescu reiterated her commitment to identifying opportunities for cooperation in such domains as trade, culture and education, digitalization, cyber security, medicine and pharmacy. The Romanian Foreign Minister has given assurances, at the same time, that Romania will remain a constant supporter of the consolidated cooperation between the EU and Vietnam. On Sunday, the Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh was present at the signing of a memorandum of collaboration between the Romanian Institute for Research and Development in Information Technology and the Institute of Technology and Digital Transformation in Vietnam.

Bratislava – Slovakia rejects Ukraines admission into NATO, the PM Robert Fico said on the public radio. He pointed out that he was going to travel, on Wednesday, to Ukraine, to the border town of Uzhhorod, for discussions with his counterpart, Denîs Şmîhal. “I will tell him that we will block and express our veto for Ukraines accession to NATO because it would be nothing but the basis for a third world war”, said Fico, criticized by his opponents as “pro-Russian”. Slovakia, which has been a NATO member since 2004, has long been one of Ukraines staunchest supporters in its defensive campaign against the Russian invasion launched in February 2022. However, after Prime Minister Ficos left-wing nationalist government took over in October 2023, Slovakia decided to stop supplying Kyiv with weapons, although Bratislava continues to send demining systems and diesel generators in case of Russian attacks on power plants. At the 2023 Vilnius summit, NATO stated that Ukraine would be offered an invitation to join when the conditions allow it.

Sculptor – The sculptor Vlad Ciobanu, one of the most valuable fine artists in Romania, passed away at the age of 75. Since 1990 he had taught at the Bucharest National University of Arts. Throughout his career he received numerous awards, including the Prize of the Union of Fine Artists for Sculpture, in 2005. Vlad Ciobanu was the coordinator and curator of several editions of the International Sculpture Symposium ” Brâncusi Workshops” from Târgu Jiu, southwest Romania , in the period 2005-2021. He wrote numerous articles, papers and essays about the famous Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi. He had numerous solo or group exhibitions in the country and abroad, in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Serbia, Bulgaria, Austria, Germany, France. Important monuments signed by Vlad Ciobanu can be found, among others, in Alexandria (south) – “Unknown Hero”, Alba Iulia (centre) – “King Ferdinand”, Onești (east) – “Dimitrie Cantemir”. The Artoteca Gallery, in Bucharest, hosted the last solo exhibition by Vlad Ciobanu called “Pilgrim” between December 4, 2023 and January 8, 2024. At the end of the exhibition, Maestro Vlad Ciobanu gave an interview, possibly his last interview, for our radio station, which you can listen to in one of the future editions of World of Culture.

Handball – CSM Bucharest defeated, at home, the Swedish team IK Savehof, 35-26, on Sunday evening, in a match from Group A of the Women’s Handball Champions League. After a more difficult start, the Romanians took control and dominated the match until the end. CSM Bucharest will play their next match on February 3, away from home, against Gyori Audi ETO KC (Hungary). Also on Sunday, the handballers from CS Rapid Bucharest were dramatically defeated, in an away match, by the Danish team Ikast Handbold, 30-29, in Group B of the Champions League. It was the second consecutive away match that Rapid lost by one goal difference. The Rapid players will play the next match at home, on February 4, against the vice-champion FTC-Rail Cargo Hungary. (LS)

21 January 2024
June 2, 2019

Pope Francis’ Visit — The 7 martyr Greek Catholic bishops beatified on Sunday left to the Romanian people a ‘precious’ heritage which can be summed up in two words: freedom and mercifulness, said Pope Francis before 100 thousand people who attended the Holy Mass held by the pontiff in Blaj (in central Romania) known as a spiritual place of the Romanian Greek Catholics. The 7 bishops who died for their faith during the communist regime will be included in the calendar with their new holy names and will be celebrated on June 2. Pope Franscis underlined that the martyrs proved faith and great love for their people in the face of the Communist persecution. Attending the ceremony in Blaj are president Klaus Iohannis and the PM Viorica Dancila. Also on Sunday, the 3rd day of his visit to Romania, the pontiff will meet with members of the Rroma community. On Saturday the Pope met with young people and families in Iasi) northeastern Romania), home to a large community of Catholics, and said that he felt together with the people present the warmth of being with their family. Pope Francis visited the Cathedral ‘Holy Virgin Mary, Queen’ and blessed 800 children, old and sick people. As many as 150 thousand pilgrims attended the ceremonies. Also on Saturday the pontiff held a Mass at the Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc in eastern Transylvania, a place inhibited by a majority ethnic Hungarian population, which venues annually the largest Catholic pilgrimage in Central and Eastern Europe. “Let’s Walk Together” is the motto of Pope Francis’ 3-day visit to Romania. The visit occurs 20 years after the one paid by Pope John Paul II, which was the first visit by a Pope to a country with a majority Orthodox population.

Meeting — The Romanian PM Viorica Dancila on Sunday met with her Moldovan counterpart Pavel Filip, in Iasi, in the context of the two officials’ participation in the events occasioned by His Holiness Pope Francis’ visit to Romania. The two PMs talked about the Romanian-Moldovan relations and the two countries’ ongoing common projects. Other topics tackled during the meeting were: the continuation of programs for refurbishing schools and kindergartens, the development of road infrastructure, energy inter-connection, the building of the Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline and of the Ungheni-Chisinau railway with European standard gauge as well as the framework for providing roaming services. The Moldovan PM thanked Romania for the constant support granted for the implementation of their agenda of reforms, including a grant of more than 200 thousand Euros recently offered, the implementation of the 112 emergency call service, and the provision of state-of-the-art medical equipment to the hospital in Comrat

Bookfest — The 14th edition of Bookfest International Book Fair comes to an end on Sunday. The guest of honor of the fair this year was Great Britain. Bookfest brought more than one million books, of which 4 thousand new releases, and it included more then 350 events. Casa Radio publishing house was among the many publishers participating in the fair, contributing over 150 special titles.

Weather forecast — Meteorologists have issued a fresh alert for the entire territory of Romania valid until Tuesday morning. Unsettled weather, rainfalls, strong winds and hail are expected in most regions. Hydrologists have also issued a code orange alert for floods valid until Sunday afternoon for 22 hydrographic basins in several regions of Romania. The heavy rainfalls and storms have affected 90 localities from 22 counties. In Prahova county, in the south, three children drowned in the high flood, while a 4th kid is reported missing. Almost 11 thousand firefighters, policemen and gendarmes were involved in the operations of evacuating the population from the areas running the risk of flooding, of saving people and limiting the effects of the extreme weather phenomena. The government announced urgent measures to support the people and communities affected by the floods.

Exercise — Monday will see the opening ceremonies for the Multinational Exercise Saber Guardian 2019 in 5 locations in Romania where the main drills will take place: Cincu, Borduşani, Babadag, Smârdan, and Râşnov. The exercise is meant to highlight the cohesion, unity and solidarity of partner and allied states, with a view to ensuring defense against any aggression, anywhere in Europe. (translation by L. Simion)

2 June 2019
The first episode of winter

The first heavy snow fall has just been registered in Romania, with bad weather reported in all regions of the country. Meteorologists have issued code yellow alerts against snowfalls, sleet, rain and gusty wind in almost three quarters of the territory, and they later limited the area under code alerts to the east and north-east. The snow later turned into sleet and rain. Temperatures decreased below zero degrees C and even down to minus 20 degrees centigrade on mountain ridges. Gusty wind of up to 55-75 km/h was also reported in these regions. A thick layer of snow in the mountains is now a reason of joy for ski lovers, who have already started to book a vacation in the mountain resorts.

Cold and precipitations will further be reported in the coming days, meteorologist Alina Şerban warns: “It will continue to be cold, even freezing in the areas outside the Carpathians’ curvature and this forecast is valid for the whole week. Actually, on Tuesday, Tuesday night and on Wednesday a new cold snap will hit the country, bringing over precipitations across most of the territory, particularly rain which will gradually turn into sleet, and even into snow in some regions, against the backdrop of low temperatures, below zero, down to as much as minus six, minus seven and minus eight degrees Celsius in places in the northern half of Moldavia and eastern Transylvania, in mid week.”

Snow has disrupted air traffic on several airports in Romania. Some flights reported delays because the planes had to be defrosted before takeoff. Road traffic is difficult in many regions of the country, without traffic restrictions being imposed however. Tens of snowploughs and dump-trucks cleared the roads, sprinkling anti-icing substances. In the capital city, the Bucharest City Hall has convened a winter command. Fire-fighters have already intervened to solve a series of events caused by the latest weather phenomena, particularly to remove uprooted trees which fell down on roads and vehicles. As expected, heavy traffic was reported in Bucharest. Cars ran at very low speed along the main roads and boulevards in keeping with the recommendation made by the traffic police, for drivers to be able to stop their cars in due time if need be. Drivers across the country are also advised not to park their cars under trees, because heavy snow might break tree branches. Pedestrian traffic is also difficult, as it rained after sidewalks got covered by snow.

19 November 2018
Romania hit by a wave of polar air

Autumn officially arrived in Romania precisely on Sunday at 4:54 hours local time. The equinox marked the arrival of the astronomical autumn in the northern hemisphere, where days will continue to get shorter and nights longer, right up to the winter solstice on December 21st. These longer nights are expected to usher in lower temperatures, which during the day will rise only until 2 p.m. or 3 p.m., unlike in summer, when we saw them rising until evening. Romania has made the transition to autumn more abruptly than expected by many.

A wave of cold air has engulfed the entire country in only 2-3 days. After on Saturday and Sunday temperatures soared to 30-31 degrees Celsius in certain areas, they shortly plummeted to values by 10 and 15 degrees lower than usual for this time of the year. Romania actually had two seasons on Monday: in its central regions people switched on their heating systems, whereas on the Black Sea coast others were having a great time basking in the sun and swimming in the warm sea water.

On Monday night, the wave of cold air swept over all the territory and temperatures plunged below zero in the mountainous regions on Tuesday. Minus 8 degrees C were reported at the Omu Peak in the Carpathians and minus 5 degrees in the Fagaras Mountains. Snow removal operations commenced on Romania’s highest and most spectacular motorway the Transfagarasan, where the snow layer reached up to 10 centimeters. So, temperatures sharply dropped all throughout Romania on Tuesday with intensified wind and local showers in the country’s northern and central regions as well as with snowfalls in the mountains.

According to the latest weather forecasts, the bad weather will continue to keep Romania in its grip until Friday, when temperatures are expected to rise again. However, experts believe that in spite of these cold days, Romania will see genuine autumn days only in October though temperatures are expected to be higher than usual for this time of the year, with scarce rain. Experts have also agreed that seasons are no longer what they used to be, as global warming has a significant impact in the northern hemisphere as well.

25 September 2018
Support for the population affected by flooding

July 2018 has been the coolest summer day in the last 34 years, according to specialists. Meteorologists say the temperatures we’ve seen this month have been lower than usual, with no heat waves yet. Normally, July is the hottest day of the year and the amount of precipitation is low. Not so this year, when we’ve had rain almost every day. Meteorologists have been busy issuing one alert after another for heavy rain, storms and unstable weather across the country. Hydrologists have been warning against flooding on several rivers in Romania.

Following the rains and strong winds in recent days, tens of towns and villages have been affected in more than half of the country. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila says emergency aid will be provided to the areas affected by flooding, calling on the local authorities to keep a close eye on the situation in order to take action where necessary. Following the heavy rains and the atmospheric instability in recent days, fire fighters have been deployed to remove the effects of bad weather. They have helped drain the flood water from hundreds of homes and households. They are still on stand-by given that meteorologists have extended their yellow and orange code alerts for atmospheric instability and heavy rain in most of the country.

A number of sections of national and county roads have suffered the effects of bad weather, with bridges being destroyed and a number of roads caving in. The worst affected counties most recently have been those in the south-east, south, and central Romania. Maximum temperatures have reached 32 degrees Celsius. Last year in July, Romania was sweltering in a heat wave that had engulfed almost the entire country. Weather forecasts were constantly upgrading the colour alert codes, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Temperatures did not drop much during the night either, staying at around 20 degrees Celsius. Returning to the situation this year, meteorologists have repeatedly expanded the validity of the yellow and orange alert codes for heavy rain and unstable weather.

Meteorologist Oana Paduraru: “In the counties and areas where the yellow code is in place we are expecting showers, thunderstorms and wind gusts. The weather remains unstable until the end of the week. The instability will also affect the rest of the regions where no alert has been issued, but on restricted areas.”

Hydrologists have also issued a number of yellow and orange code alerts for flooding on several rivers around the country.

26 July 2018
Flooding has taken its toll on Romania

After many days of code orange and even code red alerts for heavy downpours, thunderstorms and flooding, the situation in Romania is coming back to normal. The authorities are still assessing the damage, while some of the Interior Ministry’s rescue teams are still deployed to the affected areas in a bid to remove the effects of the flooding.

Rainfalls diminished as early as Tuesday night while the situation monitored by the Interior Ministry through its National Integrated Command Center no longer requires rescue operations for stranded persons. Unfortunately the bad weather in its last throes claimed more lives: a family in southeastern Romania was killed when the cart they were traveling in was swept by the waters. Two children, 5 and 7 years old, are also among the victims who have come to complete a grim picture created by the latest flooding, with hectares of farmland destroyed and desperate people who have seen their lifetime savings vanishing.

If central and eastern Romania bore the brunt of last week’s heavy rainfalls and flooding, the bad weather phenomena moved south wreaking havoc on several counties in the country’s south. Firefighters and gendarme troops fitted with the right equipment had been deployed to the affected regions in a bid to pump water out of houses, basements and courtyards and unclog the flooded wells. Rescue teams also intervened to clean the roads of fallen trees and debris.

The most affected regions, which required intervention, were in the southern counties of Arges, Gorj and Valcea, which also saw code red alerts for flooding. 150 residents from Valcea county were evacuated in a preventive move after river waters had broken through the protection dam. In another prevention move, gendarmes and firefighters have built six provisional dams in Sibiu county, in central Romania while construction works are underway for a third suchlike dam in the eastern county of Bacau. Capital city Bucharest was also affected by heavy rainfalls, which clogged the city’s sewer system to create knee-deep puddles in some areas. The authorities intervened promptly to assist those affected and also applied for EU assistance.

11 July 2018
June 22, 2018

SENTENCE – An emergency meeting of the executive board of the Social
Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition in Romania, is to be
held today, to discuss the situation created by the president of the party
Liviu Dragnea being sentenced to prison for instigation to abuse of power by a
court of first instance. The executive president of the Social Democratic
Party, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, believes that Dragnea should benefit
from the presumption of innocence until the final ruling, while the
vice-president and Interior Minister Carmen Dan claims that the sentence issued
by the High Court of Cassation and Justice is politically motivated and a
revenge from those who oppose the reforming of the rule of law. The right-wing
opposition wants Dragnea to resign from his public offices.

JUSTICE LAWS – Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has sent back for
reexamination in Parliament the bill that amends and completes the Law on the
functioning of the Higher Council of the Magistracy. According to Iohannis, the
bill includes provisions that are contradictory, unclear, as well as references
to provisions and norms that do not exist. This bill, just like the ones
regarding judicial organization and the status of judges and prosecutors, is on
the agenda of the talks that the chairman of the parliamentary committee in
charge with the laws Florin Iordache will have today and tomorrow at the
plenary session of the Venice Commission, the advisory body of the Council of Europe in the field of
constitutional law. Iordache has stated that the three bills are in line with
the opinions expressed by the Venice Commission and do not affect the
independence of the judiciary. A Venice Commission delegation has recently paid
a visit to Bucharest, to analyze the justice laws. Their modification, in the
form wanted by the coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance
of Liberals and Democrats has been criticized by the right-wing opposition,
magistrates’ associations and many civil society voices.

REVOLUTION CASE – Romania’s President
Klaus Iohannis has submitted to the Minister of Justice Tudorel Toader the
request for the criminal prosecution of the retired admiral Emil Cico
Dumitrescu, investigated for crimes against humanity committed during the 1989
Revolution. The first post-communist president Ion Iliescu and the former
prime-minister Petre Roman, as well as his deputy Gelu Voican Voiculescu are
also being prosecuted in the Revolution case. They allegedly masterminded a
military diversion, aimed to legitimize them as leaders of the power that took
over control after the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu attempted to flee,
a diversion in which many people were wounded and killed and which caused
significant material damage. 1,166 people died in the events of December 1989,
800 of them after the toppling of the Ceausescu regime.

CENTER – The Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor has
announced that a recovery center for soldiers returned from theaters of
operations abroad will be established near Targoviste, in southern Romania.
Investment might start next year. The project is an initiative of the Veterans’
Association and of the Disabled Veterans’ Association.

MOLDOVA – The Court of Appeal of the Republic of Moldova endorsed on
Thursday the invalidation of the early elections for the office of mayor of the
capital Chisinau. The second round of the ballot was won on June 3rd by the
representative of the pro-European opposition Andrei Nastase, who defeated the
pro-Russia socialist Ion Ceban. Nastase has announced he will appeal the
decision to the Supreme Court of Justice and has called for street protests.
The decisions made by the courts have already triggered protests in the country
and reactions from the European Union and the US embassy in Chisinau, who have
called for the appeal procedures to be carried out in a transparent manner. In
Bucharest, the Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu has warned that the
invalidation of mayoral elections might affect the stability of the republic,
and the right-wing opposition has voiced support for Nastase. If Nastase’s win
is not validated by a higher instance, Chisinau will be headed by an interim
mayor until the local election normally due next year.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzarnescu,
ranking 29th in the WTA classification, will today play against the Ukrainian
Elina Svitolina, no. 5 WTA, in the quarter finals of the Birmingham tournament,
with 850 thousand dollars in prize money. If she wins, Buzarnescu will take on
the winner of the match between Petra Kvitova (no.8 WTA) and Julia Goerges (no.
13 WTA). In the third round of this year’s Roland Garros tournament, Buzarnescu
defeated Svitolina 2-0.

BAD WEATHER – The Romanian Meteorological
Administration has issued a code yellow warning for bad weather, in place on
Friday for three quarters of the country. Torrential rain, powerful gusts of
wind and storms will be reported in most regions. For the south and south-east
of the country, the warning is valid until Saturday morning. The Hydrology
Institute has too issued a code yellow warning for flooding, affecting the
counties in the north, center and east, in place until Saturday. Temperatures
are dropping all over the country, with highs ranging from 19 to 34 degrees.

22 June 2018
Consequences of torrential rain and storms

The Romanian authorities have declared a state of alert in several counties following powerful storms and heavy rain in recent days. Dozens of bridges have been swept by the water and many streets, roads and crops have been flooded. In some cases, the damage caused to cereal crops, grapes and tomatoes is at 70%, according to farmers, who have given up all hope of a profit this year. Reports show that heavy rain and flash floods have damaged dozens of homes, basements, yards and gardens, economic sites, outbuildings, cars, wells and sections of roads.

According to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, army rescuers used high-capacity motor pumps, trucks, boats and special vehicles. The waters have subsided to leave behind mud and reveal the dejecting landscape of the damage caused. The National Meteorological Service had even issued a red code warning for torrential rain, thunderstorms, hail and heavy wind in Galati county, in eastern Romania. Valcea, in the south, is one of the counties most severely affected. It was particularly bad in Calimanesti, where in one night it rained as much as in one month. One man, aged 60, died in the flash flood.

In Vrancea county, in the east, the army firefighters were called in to rescue a shepherd and 200 animals stranded on an island in the middle of Siret river. Rescuers used boats to take the man and the animals to safety. In the south of the country, in Teleorman, train travel was temporarily disrupted because of a fire caused by lighteningto the locomotive of a train with around 100 people on board. Electricity black-outs were reported in dozens of localities, mostly in the counties of Bacau, Iasi and Vaslui, in the eastern part of the country.

In Bucharest and other cities, the streets have been flooded and traffic disrupted in some areas. A 2 km-long traffic jam formed at the entrance to Bucharest on the motorway linking the capital city to the Black Sea coast, because of the traffic restrictions imposed due to flooding.

18 June 2018
The effects of rain showers and storms

Antarctica is heading for disaster at high speed. This is the conclusion of an international expert team that has conducted a study whose worrying results have been made public recently. The document is launching an alarm signal as to the future of planet Earth. According to the scientists, the white continent situated at the South Pole has lost some three trillions tons of ice since 1992, which is enough to raise the level of oceans by some eight millimetres, and this tendency has increased dramatically over the past five years. Furthermore, if the phenomenon is not contained in due time, hundreds of millions of people leaving in low coastal areas are in danger. This is not the only effect produced by global warming, unfortunately considered to be a futile issue even by some top-level decision-makers.

To the Romanians, Antarctica is geographically situated at the far end of the globe, and alarming information coming from there fades away, in keeping with the distance which separates the two areas. However, when the Romanians are facing extreme weather phenomena, atypical for Romania’s temperature continental climate, they become increasingly aware of the situation and start asking questions on the dangers looming ahead. For some time now, spring and autumn are almost non-existent, summers are unusually hot, in winter snow has almost vanished in some regions of the country and tornadoes have also been spotted in Romania.

Right now, against the backdrop of temperatures exceeding normal values for this time of the year, Romania is facing extreme weather phenomena, such as rainfalls, thunderstorms, gusty wind and hailstorms. Heavy rainfalls and gusty wind have severely affected several regions of the country. Basements, cellars, streets and parking lots in several towns have been submerged. Tens of trees have fallen on cars and electricity lines, roofs have been swept away by the wind and many fires have been started by lightning strikes. Many households in the countryside have been flooded. Electricity has also been disrupted in places. In the field, hailstorms have destroyed maize, wheat and sunflower cultures on hectares. Egg-sized hail has produced extensive damage in several towns and communes in the west of the territory, where roofs and cars have been severely affected. Heavy railroad traffic was reported in places.

Code red, orange and yellow alerts have been issued for hydrographical basins in almost three quarters of the country. The Interior Ministry has announced that over 3,300 firelighters have been mobilised to intervene in the affected areas. In brief, the weather picture is not one of the best at the moment, with fickle weather still gripping the whole country until Saturday.

15 June 2018
March 19, 2018

DEBATES – The Romanian MPs with the Parliament’s special committee on the justice laws are today resuming debates on the status of judges and prosecutors and judicial organisation. After the projects are put in line with the Constitutional Court’s decisions a final vote will be given in Parliament. The Power and the Opposition have had divergent opinions on an article referring to the elimination of the head of state from the procedure of appointing and revoking the leadership of the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The MPs have analysed around 20 articles that the Constitutional Court judges deem unconstitutional.

ELECTION – Vladimir Putin won on Sunday a 4th presidential mandate with 77% of the votes, in the context of a turnout rate of over 67%. The Radio Romania correspondent to Moscow has reminded that Russia has for the first time organised presidential elections in Crimea, where the Kremlin leader, who has been at the helm of Russia for 18 year as president or prime minister, has won over 90% of the votes. The West as well as Kiev have said they would not recognise the elections in the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by the Russians in 2014. Vladimir Putin will rule Russia for another six years, in the context of very tense relations between the West and the East. The conflict in Syria, the Ukrainian crisis, the suspicions of Russian interference with Donald Trump’s election as US President and the recent accusations by London, of Moscow having poisoned a Russian spy on the territory of the UK have done nothing but increase tensions.

INVESTIGATION – International chemical weapons experts have today arrived in the UK to collect samples of a nerve agent used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury on March 4. Technical experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are collecting samples of the toxin, which London says is a Soviet-designed military grade nerve agent called Novichok. President Vladimir Putin has rejected allegations that Russia was behind the attack. The incident has triggered a crisis, with Britain and Russia expelling diplomats in tit-for-tat measures.

WEATHER — Romania continues to be affected by a sharp decrease in temperatures, by up to 15 degrees Celsius compared to the multi-annual average, according to a code yellow alert. Weather experts say that the bad weather will stay the whole week and have warned that, after the yellow warning for heavy rain, wind and low temperatures in place for the eastern half of Romania, rain will gradually turn into drizzle and snow. The National Road Infrastructure Administration has announced that one thousand special vehicles have been used to spread non-slip substances in order to ensure normal traffic on the road sectors affected by the bad weather. Most problems have been reported in the north of the country, where it has been snowing heavily and the roads have been covered in a thick layer of snow, which could not be removed because of the wind.

BOOK FAIR — The Leipzig Book Fair came to an end this past weekend. Romania was the guest of honour, and under the motto “Zoom in Romania” it organised over 70 events to promote contemporary Romanian writers. For 4 days, readers had an opportunity to meet several Romanian authors already present in the German market, such as Mircea Cărtărescu, Norman Manea, Nora Iuga and Filip Florian, as well as young writers like Lavinia Branişte and Bogdan-Alexandru Stănescu. During the event, more than 40 works translated from Romanian were promoted. The Leipzig Book Fair is one of the most important such events in Europe and the world. Meanwhile, Romania is also taking part these days, alongside 45 other countries, in the 38th Paris Book Fair. “Romania, as you have never read it” is the motto of the Romanian stand, which presents more than 50 recent releases and over 20 events. (Translated by Elena Enache)

19 March 2018
Another week of winter in Romania

In mid March, Romania has again fallen prey to the whims of weather, as temperatures have dropped dramatically as of Saturday, by 10-15 degrees Celsius, way under the normal average this time of the year. Weather experts say that the bad weather will stay the whole week and have warned that, after the yellow warning for heavy rain, wind and low temperatures in place for the eastern half of Romania, rain will gradually turn into drizzle and snow.

The freezing rain, which has affected Romania every winter in the past years, has produced glaze ice on roads and railways, hampering traffic. Several sectors of national road have been closed because of the glaze. Problems were also reported at the Henri Coanda National Airport, where the freezing rain didn’t allow planes to take off for more than three hours. Airplanes were kept on the ground as defrosting operations were hampered by the extremely aggressive freezing rain, which would cover the planes in ice again in a matter of minutes, making it impossible for them to take off.

According to the Bucharest Airports Company, the runways were treated with anti-freezing substances, so landing was safe. Railway traffic has also been hampered and trains have been delayed for hours, especially in the south, because the contact wires were covered in glaze, and many electrical engines could not be used.

The National Road Infrastructure Administration has announced that one thousand special vehicles have been used to spread non-slip substances in order to ensure normal traffic on the road sectors affected by the bad weather. Most problems have been reported in the north of the country, where it has been snowing heavily and the roads have been covered in a thick layer of snow, which could not be removed because of the wind.

Glaze ice has also affected the capital Bucharest, covering cars, trees, sidewalks and the roads. Hydrologists have issued yellow and orange alerts for flooding, including on the Danube, and have warned that the situation will get even more complicated when temperatures start going up again.

19 March 2018
February 27, 2018 UPDATE

JUSTICE – Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toaders formal request for the dismissal of the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, was rejected on Tuesday by the Higher Council of Magistracy. Chief prosecutor Kovesi has said that all accusations levelled at her by Minister Toader are ungrounded. She has also said that, since taking over the position of chief prosecutor of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate in 2013, the institution has had the best results since its setting up. The Justice Minister accused Kovesi of having seriously violated her duty, delaying resolutions to cases, failure to investigate prosecutors, defying Parliament and contesting decisions of the Constitutional Court. At the Higher Council of Magistracy’s meeting on Tuesday, Laura Codruta Kovesi answered all 20 points included in Minister Toader’s report based on which he had asked for chief prosecutor’s dismissal. After deliberation, the Higher Council of Magistracy decided that chief-prosecutor Kovesi should not be dismissed. The Councils endorsement is consultative in nature, with the final decision lying in the hands of President Klaus Iohannis. The latters first reaction was to say that there were no solid reasons to remove the head anti-corruption prosecutor. General Prosecutor of Romania, Augustin Lazar, is on Kovesis side, joined by a majority of anti-corruption prosecutors. Protests have been held almost daily in Bucharest and major cities against the dismissal.

VISIT — Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Better Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights, is paying an official visit to Romania on Thursday. He will have meetings with President Klaus Iohannis, PM Viorica Dancila, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Liviu Dragnea and the Speaker of the Senate, Calin Popescu Tariceanu. The European official will hold a press conference at the headquarters of the European Commission Representation in Bucharest. In a statement for the portal caleaeuropeana.ro, Timmermans said he was expecting the Bucharest authorities to explain him the proposal to dismiss the chief prosecutor of the Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi.

CHISINAU – Romanian PM Viorica Dancila held talks in Chisinau with her Moldovan counterpart, Pavel Filip, for bolstering bilateral cooperation. They reviewed the stage of economic cooperation, especially in trade and energy. The two prime ministers met representatives of the Siret-Prut-Dnestr Euroregion, as well as representatives of the Association of Romanian Investors in the Republic of Moldova. She also held a meeting with the speaker of the Parliament of Moldova, Adrian Candu. The PM emphasized the constant and firm support that Romania has for Moldova, urging officials there to continue their structural reforms, as stipulated by the association agreement between Chisinau and the EU, signed in 2014. On Monday in Brussels, after the EU Foreign Affairs Council, Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu made similar pledges. He chaired a meeting of the Group for the European Action of the Republic of Moldova, also attended by Moldovan Foreign Minister Tudor Ulyanovsky.

PROSECUTION — The National Anti-Corruption Directorate called on the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Romania to issue a mandatory jail sentence against former Social Democratic prime minister Victor Ponta. He stands accused of forging documents, conspiracy to commit tax evasion, and money laundering, in his private law practice. Ponta is prosecuted in this case alongside former Social Democratic senator Dan Sova. In the case of the latter, prosecutors have also asked for a mandatory jail sentence for complicity to abuse of power, fiscal evasion and money laundering.

EC – European commissioner for energy Miguel Arias Canete said Tuesday in Brussels that the European Commission will sue Romania at the European Court of Justice if the Parliament in Bucharest passes the amendments to the Emergency Ordinance 64/2016 on natural gas. One of the amendments stipulates that 70% of the gas produced in Romania will have to be traded only on the spot market of the OPCOM trading market. This comes in the context in which EC has already opened a lawsuit against Romania for blocking gas exports.

WEATHER — The south and east of the country, including the capital Bucharest, are under yellow and orange alert codes for very low temperatures, blizzard and snow. Temperatures are expected to go even lower in the following few days, reaching values comparable to the historical records for this region. Minimums will range between -22 and -12 degrees Celsius. Road and railroad traffic has been disrupted, with sea ports being closed. The blizzard last night has brought down power lines in dozens of localities. Several national and county roads are off limits, and two national motorways in the southeast of the country have been closed. Schools are out in Bucharest for the entire week, as well as in several southern counties.

EUROPE — At least ten people have lost their lives in the cold wave that has hit Europe these days. In Central Europe, the UK, Italy and Spain, the authorities have called on people to prepare for this so-called Moscow-Paris phenomenon, caused by cold waves from Siberia. On Monday, schools and tourist venues in Rome were closed when the first snow since 2012 fell there. In the UK, the so-called Beast from the East disrupted road, railroad and air traffic, with heavy snow warnings being issued. (Translated by Elena Enache)

27 February 2018
Romania in the grip of bad weather

Traffic and electricity have been disrupted, schools,
kindergartens and ports have been closed down because of heavy snowfalls and
gale-force winds in more than half of Romania’s territory, which is under code
orange alert. The most affected counties are those in the centre, northeast, east
and some in the southeast of the country. The Romanian Interior Minister Carmen
Dan has announced that hundreds of localities have been left without
electricity because of blizzard, tens of thousands of consumers being affected by a power outage. Trees have fallen
down, damaging power lines and reparation works are rendered difficult by the
thick snow layer.

Road traffic is disrupted on several county and national
roads, with hundreds of cars waiting in line. The police has imposed traffic
bans on some road segments, for vehicles with a total weight of over 7.5 tons,
irrespective of their winter gear. The line authorities say specific actions
are taken in the affected areas, mainly on the segments of road built on steep
terrain, to avoid traffic jams. Traffic is also difficult because of snow and
low visibility on the A2 highway, linking Bucharest to Constanta, in the
south-east. Hundreds of snow clearing vehicles are also running along the most
affected roads, to remove snow and spread ice-melting chemicals or salt.

The
seaports of Constanta North, Constanta South and Mangalia, in south-eastern
Romania, have been closed because of gusty wind and low visibility whereas
loading and unloading activities have been brought to a halt. The Constanta
South-Agigea River Port has been closed and traffic on the Danube-Black Sea
Canal has been restricted. The Port Control officers have sent weather
notifications, high- seas- forecast and storm warnings and called on ship
captains in the area to take supplementary safety measures on board, to avoid
accidents. The Education Minister Liviu Pop has announced that classes have
been suspended in several schools and kindergartens in the counties affected by
strong blizzard.

However, meteorologists say the weather will improve in the
following days, with precipitations falling mainly in the east of the country.
Although it will be warmer than usual for this time of the year, the real feel
temperatures will be lower than normal because of wind, which might exceed 100
km/h at high altitudes, especially on mountain ridges. On Friday, temperatures
will increase in southern and southeastern Romania, up to 9 – 10 degrees
Celsius, meteorologists also say. (Translated by Diana Vijeu)

18 January 2018
Romania in the grip of bad weather

Traffic and electricity have been disrupted, schools,
kindergartens and ports have been closed down because of heavy snowfalls and
gale-force winds in more than half of Romania’s territory, which is under code
orange alert. The most affected counties are those in the centre, northeast, east
and some in the southeast of the country. The Romanian Interior Minister Carmen
Dan has announced that hundreds of localities have been left without
electricity because of blizzard, tens of thousands of consumers being affected by a power outage. Trees have fallen
down, damaging power lines and reparation works are rendered difficult by the
thick snow layer.

Road traffic is disrupted on several county and national
roads, with hundreds of cars waiting in line. The police has imposed traffic
bans on some road segments, for vehicles with a total weight of over 7.5 tons,
irrespective of their winter gear. The line authorities say specific actions
are taken in the affected areas, mainly on the segments of road built on steep
terrain, to avoid traffic jams. Traffic is also difficult because of snow and
low visibility on the A2 highway, linking Bucharest to Constanta, in the
south-east. Hundreds of snow clearing vehicles are also running along the most
affected roads, to remove snow and spread ice-melting chemicals or salt.

The
seaports of Constanta North, Constanta South and Mangalia, in south-eastern
Romania, have been closed because of gusty wind and low visibility whereas
loading and unloading activities have been brought to a halt. The Constanta
South-Agigea River Port has been closed and traffic on the Danube-Black Sea
Canal has been restricted. The Port Control officers have sent weather
notifications, high- seas- forecast and storm warnings and called on ship
captains in the area to take supplementary safety measures on board, to avoid
accidents. The Education Minister Liviu Pop has announced that classes have
been suspended in several schools and kindergartens in the counties affected by
strong blizzard.

However, meteorologists say the weather will improve in the
following days, with precipitations falling mainly in the east of the country.
Although it will be warmer than usual for this time of the year, the real feel
temperatures will be lower than normal because of wind, which might exceed 100
km/h at high altitudes, especially on mountain ridges. On Friday, temperatures
will increase in southern and southeastern Romania, up to 9 – 10 degrees
Celsius, meteorologists also say. (Translated by Diana Vijeu)

18 January 2018