Radio România Internațional

Tag: ballistic test

  • November 29, 2017 UPDATE

    November 29, 2017 UPDATE


    MINIMUM SALARY – The Romanian Government on Wednesday decided to increase the minimum gross salary from 1450 to 1900 lei, the equivalent of some €410. According to specialists, the measure will stimulate employment and discourage illegal work. Romania is currently faced with a serious shortage of workers, especially in construction, agriculture, IT and health-care. Maintaining the current level of penalty point under the totting up system is also on the agenda of the Executive. As the value of this point is calculated depending on the minimum salary, maintaining its current level has been proposed to prevent traffic fines from growing excessively.



    MILITARY – Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor and US Ambassador to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, attended Wednesdays signing of the Letter of Offer and Acceptance for the purchase of Patriot missile systems. Minister Fifor thanked the USA and said Romania would become an important ally for NATO. The surface-to-air Patriot missile system will become operational by mid-2020. Romanias President Klaus Iohannis on Monday ratified the law on the purchase of Patriot missile systems, after last week the Chamber of Deputies adopted it as the decision-making body. Romania plans on purchasing seven Patriot missile systems worth $3,9 billion.



    NORTH KOREA – Romanias Foreign Ministry has firmly condemned the launch of a new ballistic missile by North Korea, labeling it a threat to regional and international peace and security. North Koreas repeated challenges are violating the resolutions of the UN Security Council, the Ministry also writes, calling on North Korea to prevent the situation from further escalating and resume dialogue with the international community. North Korea has announced the successful testing of a new type of inter-continental missile, which can hit any part of the US territory. The test, carried out after a two-month break, has been condemned by the US, Japanese and South-Korean authorities, as well as by the European Union. The UN Security Council has called an emergency session to discuss new sanctions against Pyongyang.



    INVESTMENT – European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu has approved two new investment projects in road and water infrastructure, worth some €252 million. €76 million from the European Regional Development Fund will be invested in works on the European road E 79, which will link Romania to Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece. Also, some €176 million from the Cohesion Fund will be invested in water management and distribution infrastructure in urban areas in Vrancea County, in the east.



    MINIVACATION – Thursday is the first day of a 4-day mini-vacation, occasioned by the celebration of Saint Andrew, Romanias patron saint, and Romanias National Day on December 1. Romanians have chosen to spend this extended weekend in the country, mostly in resorts on Prahova Valley, in Bukovina, in the north and in spas. The average budget allocated for such trips is approximately €170 per person. On the other hand, the Romanians who have chosen to go abroad will spend on average €320 per person. On December 1, Romanias National Day, the main event on the celebration agenda is the military parade in Bucharest, which will be attended by some 3,500 military staff, fighter jets and military vehicles.



    CANADA – The Romanian Defense Ministry has recalled that, as of December 1, Romanian citizens will be able to travel to Canada visa free, for periods of maximum 6 months, for tourist purposes. Those who intend to travel by plane will have to first get an Electronic Travel Authorization – eTA. The others will only have to have a valid passport. The Romanian Foreign Ministry hails the decision made by the Canadian authorities to liberalize the visa-regime for the Romanian citizens, the outcome of years of diplomatic cooperation, also with the participation of the European Commission.



    HANDBALL – As of December 1st, Germany will be hosting the World Womens Handball Championship. Romania is part of Group A, alongside France, Spain, Slovenia, Angola and Paraguay. On December 2nd, in their first match, the Romanian squad will take on the team of Paraguay. At the previous World Championship, in 2015, Romania won bronze. The Romanian team is the only team to have participated in all the 22 editions of the World Championship held so far. (Translated by M. Ignatescu & V. Palcu)

  • April 29, 2017

    April 29, 2017

    TEST – According to sources from South Korea and the US, the North Korean army last night held a ballistic test, which apparently failed. The missile didnt leave the North Korean territory and was not a threat to the USA, sources with the US army have been quoted by Reuters as saying. President Trump reacted saying that North Korea disrespected China with this test. The US administration has called for stepped up international pressure against the Stalinist regime in Pyongyang.



    BREXIT – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis is today attending the special European Councils meeting on the Brexit issue underway in Brussels. Iohannis is expected to support the unity of the 27 member states in the process of negotiation and stand for reducing the negative effects Brexit entails. According to a spokesperson for the presidency, protecting the rights and interests of the Romanian citizens in the UK remains a priority for Romania. On the other hand firm guarantees are needed that the EU and the UK will be meeting their obligations assumed before withdrawal with a minimum impact upon the Unions budget and without affecting obligations concerning the cohesion funds and agriculture. Brexit talks are expected to last until the end of October 2018 so that the European Parliament may have time to approve the UKs withdrawal accord in due time. The UKs effective withdrawal is expected to take place in late March 2019, when Romania is holding the Council of Europes presidency.



    HOLIDAY – The mini-holiday on Labour Day is officially opening the summer holiday season here in Romania, with the seaside resorts on the Black Sea coast seeing a massive inflow of tourists. Romanians by tens of thousands have flooded particularly the resorts of Mamaia and Vama Veche. Over 26 thousand employees of the Romanian Interior Ministry will be on duty these days protecting the tourists, Romanian Interior Minister Carmen Dan has announced. According to her, 10 thousand policemen, 5 thousand firefighters, over 43 hundred border policemen and roughly 7 thousand gendarmes have been deployed for the tourists protection.



    TENNIS – WTA 5th player Simona Halep of Romania today takes on Laura Siegemund of Germany in the semifinals of the Stuttgart tournament with 760 thousand dollars in prize money. Halep has defeated WTA 26th Anastasija Sevastova and if she qualifies for the finals Halep will be meeting the winner of the game pitching Kristina Mladenovic of France against Maria Sarapova of Russia who is back in competitions after a long doping ban. In another development, the Romanian – Dutch pair Tecau – Rojer has qualified for the semis of the ATP tournament in Barcelona, which has 2.3 million euros in prize money. They will be playing Florin Mergea of Romania and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan.



    POPE – Pope Francis has today celebrated a mass at a church in Cairo, the venue of a bloody ISIS attack in December when 30 Christians were killed. The Pontiff earlier urged the leaders of all religious denominations to distance themselves from violence in the name of God and made an appeal for unity against religious violence. During a peace conference he attended the Pontiff has said that religious leaders must affirm that violence and hatred arent compatible with faith and that any human life is sacred. The Pope spoke at the Al Azhar University, the cradle of Sunni culture, where Grand Imam, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb said the militants interpreted religious texts in an ignorant manner. Islam is the state religion in Egypt but the Coptic Christians account for 10% out of the countrys 90 million inhabitants. The conference has also been attended by Constantinoples Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.