Floods – The situation is still critical in the east of Romania, where there have been severe rainfalls and floods in recent days. There are still inaccessible roads, flooded homes and evacuated people. A crisis cell was organized at the Health Ministry to provide the necessary medical assistance to the residents of Galati and Vaslui counties (eastern Romania), the most affected by the floods. The Interior and Defense Ministries have mobilized hundreds of firefighters, gendarmes, soldiers, as well as equipment to help evacuate the victims and to intervene for restoring the infrastructures destroyed by the waters. Camps with capacities of hundreds of places were set up in the most affected localities. At least six people have died, and thousands of homes have been destroyed following the floods of the last few days. Also, students from 25 schools in Galati County do not attend classes on Monday and Tuesday. The Education Minister, Ligia Deca, is today visiting educational units in the areas affected by floods. According to the line ministry, she will assess the need for support of the local residents so that the education process should be resumed as soon as possible. The government ordered the emergency release from the state’s national reserves of four modular buildings where children can learn temporarily, until the situation returns to normal.
Border control – The Romanian Foreign Ministry warns Romanians traveling to Germany to prepare for longer waiting times. The German government decided to extend, as of Monday, for a period of six months, temporary controls at all land borders, in order to reduce illegal migration. Besides those already existing at the borders with Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland, there will also be controls at the borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. Radio Romania’s correspondent in Germany reports that every person who crosses the border can be stopped and controlled by the federal police, in any border region and at any time. Not only the identity, but also the vehicle may be subject to examination during border controls. The luggage, goods and valuables may also be subject to police checks. Romanians facing special situations can call the embassy’s hotlines in Berlin, as well as the Romanian consulates in Germany.
Handball – Romania’s handball champions, CSM Bucharest, defeated Storhamar Handball Elite at home on Sunday, score 32-28 (17-15), in the second match of group A of the Champions League for women’s handball. With the three goals scored in this game, Cristina Neagu collects 1,139 goals in total, in the race for the title of all-time top scorer of the competition, in the last season of her career, being only three goals away from obtaining this title. CSM Bucharest lost the debut match in group A, in Romania, against Gloria Bistriţa, score 26-30. In the third stage, CSM Bucharest will play Podravka (Croatia) away from home, on September 21, and Gloria Bistriţa will play Krim (Slovenia) at home on the same day. Romania’s vice-champion, Rapid Bucharest, also plays in group B of the competition. The first-ranking teams in the two groups qualify directly for the quarterfinals, and the teams on the 3rd to the 6th places will play in the play-off, for the other four places available in the quarterfinals, a phase in which they will fight for the Final Four Tournament in Budapest due between 31 May and 1 June.
F35 – The US State Department has approved plans to sell 32 F-35 fighter jets to Romania, in a contract worth nearly 7 billion dollars. The Romanian Defense Ministry has welcomed the decision. The sale must now be approved by Congress. The move will improve the stability of a NATO ally and strengthen stability in Europe. Romania occupies a strategic position in the vicinity of Ukraine and the Black Sea.
Border security – The British government announced the setting-up of an elite command in charge of border security, one of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s campaign promises, a few hours after a new shipwreck of migrants in the English Channel, AFP reports. Elected by a comfortable number of voters in July, Starmer promised to make the fight against illegal immigration one of his priorities. The promised measures include the creation of an elite command in charge of border security, increased border controls authorized under anti-terrorism legislation, as well as new prerogatives in the field of financial investigations to detect networks and organized crime. This new structure “will co-ordinate the work of all our police and intelligence services to carry out joint investigations with their European counterparts to combat organized crime linked to immigration”, Downing Street announced. (LS)
