Radio România Internațional

Tag: casualties

  • September 5, 2023 UPDATE

    September 5, 2023 UPDATE

    VICTIM Another patient severely
    injured in the blasts in Crevedia (southern Romania) died on Tuesday morning,
    bringing the number of casualties to 5, the Health Ministry announced. The
    victim was of Nepalese origin and had burns on more than 90% of his body. The
    powerful explosions followed by a fire took place, 10 days ago, at an LPG
    station in Crevedia, south of Bucharest, which was operating illegally.




    NATO Together with our Allies, we will continue to
    strengthen the NATO structures on Romanian territory, president Klaus Iohannis
    said on Tuesday. He added that Romania will continue to support Russia-invaded
    Ukraine as long as necessary. Iohannis received the PM of Luxembourg Xavier
    Bettel at the military base in Cincu, central Romania, and addressed the NATO
    Battle Group in Romania, which comprises around 1,000 French, Dutch, Belgian
    and Luxemburgish troops and is spearheaded by France.




    WIND POWER On Tuesday, Romania had over 40% of its electricity
    demand covered from wind power sources, as the National Meteorology
    Administration issued a code yellow alert for strong winds in the south and south-east,
    where most of the country’s wind farms are located. According to the National
    Energy Regulatory Authority, wind farms have a total installed capacity of over
    3,000 MW, and most turbines were in operation on Tuesday. The second most important
    electricity source is nuclear power, followed by hydro power and coal.


    EPP The leaders of the
    European People’s Party (EPP), the largest group in the European Parliament,
    have decided that the National Liberal Party, a member of the ruling coalition
    in Romania, will host the EPP congress ahead of the European elections in 2024. Attending
    the event in Bucharest will be over 2,000 delegates from over 40 countries, including
    all the heads of state and government from EPP member parties, the EC president,
    Ursula von der Leyen, the European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola, and
    all the European commissioners affiliated to the EPP.




    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team is preparing the home matches
    against Israel, scheduled on Saturday, September 9, and Kosovo, on Tuesday,
    September 12, in Group I of the qualifiers for next year’s European
    Championships hosted by Germany. After 4 group matches, with 2 wins and 2
    draws, Romania has 8 points and ranks 2, after Switzerland (10 points). The
    group also includes Belarus and Andorra. The top 2 teams in each group qualify
    for the final tournament. Romania’s last participation in a European football
    championship was in 2016, and it last qualified in a World Championship final
    tournament in 1998. (AMP)

  • February 10, 2018 UPDATE

    February 10, 2018 UPDATE

    INFLATION – The National Bank of Romania has revised upward, to 3.5%, the inflation rate forecast for the end of the year, the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu, has announced. According to an earlier forecast, the inflation rate was estimated at 3.1%. Isarescu explained the main engine of economic growth is consumption, a situation which has had negative effects on the trade deficit which increased by 30% in 2017. Mugur Isărescu has also mentioned some structural problems with a significant impact on the economy, among which tensions on the labour market, the growing difference between the level of imports and exports, the fiscal and income policy which is currently being pursued and whose effects are likely to disappear only as of next year.



    MEDICINES – The process of introducing the European Medicines Verification System (EMVS) has officially been launched in Romania. The system will become operational in all EU member states next year. Consequently, as of February 9, 2019, only the medicines which respect the new security regulations in the field will circulate across the EU. The relevant authorities, representatives of the line industry and pharmacists say the initiative is essential in ensuring the patients safety and health, given that there is a growing risk of fake products entering the commercial chain. According to the new regulations, pharmacists will no longer be allowed to open medicine boxes and to sell only a few tablets, if patients make such a request.



    TOURISM – The most exquisite Romanian tourist project, the ice hotel at Bâlea Lake has been officially inaugurated, in the presence of the Canadian ambassador to Bucharest, Kevin Hamilton. The theme of the ice hotel this year is music. The 14 rooms and igloos are decorated with ice statues featuring such famous artists as Madonna, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. Tourists had the opportunity to get accommodation in the ice hotel as early as December 2017. A double room costs 100 Euros. Those who want to only visit the hotel should pay a ticket worth 3 Euros for adults and 2 Euros for children. Tourists can reach Bâlea Lake, at an altitude of over 2,000 m, by cable car, which covers a distance of 3,700m, over Balea Valley. The ice hotel is the only of its kind in Romania.



    JOINT DRILLS – One hundred Romanian troops will take part, as of Monday in joint military exercises alongside some 200 military from the United States, Moldova, Bulgaria and Ukraine. The exercises will be unfolding for five days, at a military base in Babadag, in Tulcea County, south-eastern Romania.



    MALTA – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has confirmed, based on data provided by the representatives of the consular office in Catania (Sicily, Italy) that a Romanian citizen died and another one was injured during a storm which hit Malta on Saturday. Romanias Consulate in Catania is monitoring the situation, is in permanent contact with the local authorities as well as with the Romanian national who has sustained injuries, providing the necessary consular assistance. The two Romanian nationals were travelling by a van which was hit by a falling tree. Gale force wind and torrential rain hit Malta, submerging roads, after months of low-level precipitations.



    WINTER OLYMIC GAMES– The first of the 28 Romanian athletes taking part in the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, which come to a close on February 25, on Saturday ran in the first competitions. They took part in the cross-country skiing, luge and biathlon events. PyeongChang in the Taebaek Mountains got the right to organise the Winter Olympic Games after having submitted its candidacy three times, in 2010, 2014 and 2018. It is the first edition of the Winter Olympic Games and the second edition of the Olympic Games hosted by South Korea. PyeongChang is also the third Asian city to host the Winter Olympic Games, after Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998, both in Japan. Over a period of more than two weeks, PyeongChang will host 102 sports events. This edition of the Olympic Games is attended by over 2,900 athletes from 95 countries.

  • Measures in the aftermath of the Bucharest nightclub fire

    Measures in the aftermath of the Bucharest nightclub fire

    Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has called on the responsible authorities to conduct a serious and effective investigation into the tragedy at the ‘Colectiv’ club in Bucharest, which ended in a staggering number of casualties. The head of state has also called on authorities to take the necessary measures and make sure that such tragic events will never happen again. President Klaus Iohannis:



    “We are no longer allowed to tolerate the incompetence of some authorities, the inefficiency of some institutions, and we can no longer allow corruption to spread and kill. Each and every one of us must act responsibly, like active and accountable citizens, who know when and how to take action, together, because they care about the country and society they live in.”



    Prime Minister Victor Ponta has called for an urgent control plan targeting all the clubs, restaurants and other entertainment facilities in the country, to prevent such events from occurring again. Inspectors have already started to conduct large-scale control operations in restaurants, clubs, cinema halls and malls, which usually host events, to see whether they observe the legal functioning conditions. These control measures are precautionary, and documents are verified to see if the owners have got the necessary licenses authorizing them to host shows that involve the use of pyrotechnical and flammable substances.



    The measures have been taken as the tragedy at the ‘Colectiv’ club has raised many questions as to the way in which authorities allow such facilities to function. Witnesses to the disaster have said that the materials used to ensure the sound insulation at the club were not fireproof, and there was nobody there to organize the evacuation, as the law dictates. Cristian Soricut, a specialist in the field, has told Radio Romania:



    “The first measures concern the building as such. It must be done with fireproof materials, the facility must have proper access ways, and the building or modernization license actually must be issued on the basis of these requirements. Secondly, it’s a matter of organization. Also, security in case of fire is a major thing. Here we can talk about fume exhaust systems, alarm system, fire extinguishers.”



    Fire prevention legislation will become harsher. The State Secretary with the Interior Ministry, Raed Arafat, has said that people in charge were working on changing the legislation when the tragedy occurred, and that just a few papers are yet to be issued for the law to be enforced. He has explained that fees are not enough to make club owners take all the necessary measures and, in the future, those who will not have the necessary documentation might face criminal charges and their facilities will be closed down.