Radio România Internațional

Tag: Earth Day

  • April 22, 2018

    April 22, 2018

    EARTH DAY – Earth Day is celebrated today in Romania as well, with cleaning projects, flower planting and hikes organised by schools, NGOs, associations and political parties. Climate changes are a clear proof that the Earth is suffering and each and every one of us can end this suffering, provided that we all work together, reads a Facebook post of the Romanian Ministry for the Environment. In 2018, events focus on containing plastic pollution. The Earth Day network, which has offices in over 175 countries, intends to raise awareness on the risks entailed by the use of plastics for peoples health as well as for the oceans and wildlife. Hundreds of millions of tons of plastics are sold around the world every year.




    PROTESTS – A new large-scale rally of railway workers is scheduled for Monday, April 22, at noon, in Bucharest. On Friday more than 2,000 unionists picketed the Transport Ministry and the Government head offices. Dumitru Costin, leader of the National Union Bloc, believes all-out strike to be the only solution. Railway sector unions want a special law to regulate professions in the sector, including salary rights, and demand solutions for the Freight Transport Corporation and investments in the maintenance and development of the railway network. Romanias railway network, the 7th longest in Europe, is subject to over 700 speed restrictions, and the 1,200 trains of the public railway corporation only total 300 cars. Transport Minister Lucian Şova said in a news release that he supported the adoption of relevant regulations and that increasing investments in the sector was a priority.




    HUMAN RIGHTS – Corruption remains widespread in Romania, and bribe-giving is still common practice in the public sector, reads the 2017 Country Report on Human rights issued by the US State Department. Laws were not always implemented efficiently, and officials, judges included, sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Immunity from criminal prosecution held by existing and former cabinet members who were also members of parliament sometimes blocked investigations, the report also reads. The same document notes that some Romanian politicians own or control media organisations, influencing their editorial policy. As regards prisons, the report mentions that they remained overcrowded and in breach of international standards, although the authorities took some steps to address the situation. In Romania, the US State Department says, some cases of police abuse were reported in 2017 as well, most of them going unpunished. So were cases of anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, and discrimination against the Roma, people with disabilities and sexual minorities. Child abuse and neglect cases were also reported.




    HUNGARY – Tens of thousands of protesters marched the streets of Hungarian capital city Budapest to protest governmental control over the media. This was the second consecutive Saturday of protests against PM Viktor Orban, recently re-elected to office. According to the BBC, the protesters accuse the Government of high-jacking the public and private mass media and using them in order to win the recent elections through anti-immigrant messages. The participants in the rally also criticised opposition parties and called for a new opposition movement. The PM Viktor Orban has dismissed the protests as “irrelevant, BBC reports.




    TENNIS – Simona Halep, no 1 in the world, secured Romanias qualification in the Fed Cup World Group, with a decisive win in the playoffs. Halep defeated today in Cluj (north-west), the veteran Patty Schnyder, 39, who replaced Timea Bacsinzky, on the second day of the Fed Cup World Group playoffs. The fourth singles match, between Irina Begu and Viktorija Golubic, was therefore cancelled. In the doubles event, Simona Halep and Irina Begu face Patty Schnyder/Jil Teichman. So far, Romania is ahead, 3-0, Halep having defeated Viktorija Golubic on Saturday 2-1, while Begu outplayed Bacsinzky 2-0.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • April 22, 2017 UPDATE

    April 22, 2017 UPDATE

    SIREN ALERT DRILL – The outcomes of the alarm drill carried out in Romania this week indicate that the coverage of siren signal is below 50% of the total national territory. According to data provided by the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, hundreds of sirens could not be tested because of breakdowns or of a shortage of siren operators. In the capital city Bucharest, less than a quarter of the sirens were operational during the drill. Under these circumstances, the Inspectorate, jointly with the Communications Ministry, is analysing the option of setting up a complementary citizen information system for disaster situations. Mobile phone texting is one of the options, which will be discussed until mid-May with telecoms operators, said the Communications Minister Augustin Jianu.




    EARTH DAY – On April 22nd, every year, International Earth Day is celebrated. This year the event was held under the motto Environmental and climate literacy, launching a 3-year world education campaign, according to a UN resolution. In Bucharest, Earth Day was marked with an open door day at the National Geology Museum. Special activities for children, concerts and street art events were also organised, and in other cities in Romania people were also invited to take part in events, competitions and exhibitions on environmental topics.




    MILITARY – Romanian troops from Battalion 307 Marines are taking part, until April 30th, in a multinational exercise in Latvia, called “Summer Shield. Alongside the Romanian troops, over 1,000 military from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the US, Canada, UK, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland are taking part. Air defence, exploration and artillery support exercises will be held, as well as weapons of mass destruction defence, anti-tank defence and military engineering exercises. “Summer Shield has been held in Latvia since 2004. Starting 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, the exercise became part of NATO manoeuvres. As many as 1,300 troops took part in it in 2016.




    FINANCIAL RATING – Moodys has reconfirmed its BAA3 rating for Romanias long-term debt and P-3 rating for the short-term debt. According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the outlook was changed from positive to “stable, in line with the level granted from other international agencies, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and JCRA. The Romanian Finance Minister Viorel Ştefan said Romanias sustainable economic growth, improved institutional framework, continued structural reforms and low public debt will contribute to a future improvement of the country rating.




    AVALANCHE – Two teenagers died on Saturday in an avalanche in Retezat Mountains, south-western Romania. The victims were part of a group of 51 people, many of whom were children. The local mountain rescue service had warned on Friday against imminent avalanche risks triggered by the snowfalls of the past few days.




    ILLEGAL MIGRANTS – over 100 migrants, who were trying to leave Romania illegally, hidden in a lorry, were apprehended at Nădlac II checkpoint in the west of the country. More than 40 of them were children. The refugees, who had applied for asylum in Romania, came from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and India. They admitted that they were trying to enter the Schengen area, and have been charged with attempted illegal border crossing.




    FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – Over 50,000 police and gendarme will be working to ensure safety and order during the presidential election, PM Bernard Cazeneuve announced after Thursday nights shooting on police forces on Champs-Élysées Boulevard in Paris. The attack upset the agendas of the candidates and brought the fight against terrorism back to the forefront of the debate. A poll run after the Champs-Élysées shooting finds Emmanuel Macron at the top of voter preferences, with 24.5%, followed by the far-right leader Marine Le Pen, with 23%, and François Fillon and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who share the third place, with 19% each.




    TENNIS – Romanias womens tennis team is playing this weekend against the UK at home, in the playoffs for the Fed Cup World Group II. On Saturday, the British Johanna Konta defeated Sorana Cirstea, 6-2, 6-3, after in the first match of the day Simona Halep had outplayed Heather Watson, 6-4, 6-1. On Sunday Halep is to play Konta and Irina Begu will take on Watson. Later on Sunday the doubles game will be played, between Monica Niculescu/Sorana Cirstea and Laura Robson/Jocelyn Rae. Romania and Britain have so far played against each other in Fed Cup five times, with Romania winning four of the ties. Meanwhile, Romanias FED Cup captain, the former world no 1 player Ilie Nastase, caused a scandal ahead of the play-off, through reportedly racist comments about Serena Willians and inappropriate conduct in relation to the British team captain Anne Keothavong. The ITF has begun an investigation.




    GYMNASTICS – The Romanian Marian Drăgulescu Saturday won the gold in the floor finals of the European Gymnastics Championships in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The European competition was hosted by the Transylvanian city, between April 19 and 23, 60 years after the first edition held in Romania. 274 athletes from 37 countries have taken part, with Romania represented by 10 gymnasts. On Sunday, Larisa Iordache and Cătălina Ponor will compete in the beam finals. Also on Sunday, in the mens competition, Marian Drăgulescu takes part in the vault finals. in last years edition, in Bern, Marian Drăgulescu won 2 silver medals in the mens floor and vault finals, and Cătălina Ponor won 2 bronze medals in the womens floor and beam events.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • April 22, 2017

    April 22, 2017

    SIREN WARNING DRILL – The outcomes of the alarm drill carried out in Romania this week indicate that the coverage of siren signal is below 50% of the total national territory. According to data provided by the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, hundreds of sirens could not be tested because of breakdowns or of a shortage of siren operators. In the capital city Bucharest, less than a quarter of the sirens were operational during the drill. Under these circumstances, the Inspectorate, jointly with the Communications Ministry, is analysing the option of setting up a complementary citizen information system for disaster situations. Mobile phone texting is one of the options, which will be discussed until mid-May with telecoms operators, said the Communications Minister Augustin Jianu.




    EARTH DAY – On April 22nd, every year, International Earth Day is celebrated. This year the event is held under the motto Environmental and climate literacy, launching a 3-year world education campaign, according to a UN resolution. In Bucharest, Earth Day is marked with an open door day at the National Geology Museum. Special activities for children, concerts and street art events are also organised, and in other cities in Romania people are also invited to take part in events, competitions and exhibitions on environmental topics.




    MILITARY – Romanian troops from Battalion 307 Marines are taking part, until April 30th, in a multinational exercise in Latvia, called “Summer Shield. Alongside the Romanian troops, over 1,000 military from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the US, Canada, UK, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland are taking part. Air defence, exploration and artillery support exercises will be held, as well as weapons of mass destruction defence, anti-tank defence and military engineering exercises. “Summer Shield has been held in Latvia since 2004. Starting 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, the exercise became part of NATO manoeuvres. As many as 1,300 troops took part in it in 2016.



    FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – Thursday nights attack on police forces on Champs-Élysées Boulevard in Paris was the main topic of the last hours of election campaign in France, upsetting the agendas of the candidates and bringing the fight against terrorism back to the forefront of the debate. A poll run after the Champs-Élysées attack finds Emmanuel Macron at the top of voter preferences, with 24.5%, followed by the far-right leader Marine Le Pen, with 23%, and François Fillon and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who share the third place, with 19% each. Over 50,000 police and gendarme are working to ensure safety and order during the presidential election period, PM Bernard Cazeneuve has announced.




    TENNIS – Romanias womens tennis team is playing the UK at home, in the playoffs for the Fed Cup World Group II. The games are scheduled for April 22 and 23, in the Black Sea coast resort of Mamaia. Romanias team is made up of Simona Halep (5 WTA), Irina-Camelia Begu (33 WTA), Monica Niculescu (47 WTA) and Sorana Cîrstea (61 WTA). The British team has 2 players in the world top 100: Johanna Konta (10 WTA) and Heather Watson (72 WTA). Romania and Britain have so far played against each other in Fed Cup five times, with Romania winning four of them. Meanwhile, Romanias FED Cup captain, the former world no 1 player Ilie Nastase, has caused a scandal ahead of the play-off tie, through reportedly racist comments about Serena Williams and inappropriate conduct in relation to the British team captain Anne Keothavong. The ITF has begun an investigation.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • April 22, 2016

    April 22, 2016

    SALARY LAW-Romanian Prime Minister, Dacian Ciolos, announced on Friday that the Government was planning to reset its operating ways and to restart the drafting of an emergency ordinance, whose aim would not necessarily be to change the current salary law, but to correct it, with focus on the salary grid, but only within the right budgetary constraints. Ciolos has held talks with the new labour minister, Dragos Paslaru, with trade union and employers association representatives about the salary law in the public sector. According to Paslaru, the Government has prepared a new version of the ordinance on unitary salary pay system, which might be adopted on June 1st and enforced in autumn. Low salaries will go up first, says the minister, followed by measures aimed at doing away with the inequities in the system. Trade union leaders have stated they do not support this initiative.



    THE REFERENDUM CASE-The Supreme Court is to issue its final ruling today on the so-called Referendum case. In May 2015, the leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea was sentenced to one year in prison with suspension, for having coordinated a complex mechanism, involving several people, with the aim of rigging the referendum on July 29th, 2012. Prosecutors say that Liviu Dragnea used his party influence and authority to get undue non-property rights, benefiting the political alliance his party was a member of. The stake was to get the needed participation quorum with votes obtained in conditions other than legal. Liviu Dragnea claims he was innocent and called on the magistrates to acquit him.



    VISIT– US President, Barack Obama, is currently on an official visit to London, in an attempt to convince British voters, ahead of the June 23rd referendum, not to relinquish EU membership. Obama will urge Britons to vote for the UKs remaining in the EU, to maintain the countrys welfare, its “special relation with the US and the Wests cohesion. Obama is today having talks with British Prime Minister, David Cameron. Earlier, the White House leader had paid a visit to Saudi Arabia, where he participated in a Gulf cooperation meeting, held in Riyadh.



    GREECE – The Euro zone finance ministers are today assessing in Amsterdam the progress made by Greece in reforming the state, in exchange for receiving foreign financial assistance, to save it from bankruptcy. The Euro-group meeting comes just a day after the European Commission announced that Athens reached the objectives it has set in an effort to reduce its budget deficit and public debt, and it even exceeded all expectations. The assessment to be made by the finance ministers is of utmost importance, as the disbursement of another instalment of the third big loan for Greece, worth 86 billion Euros, depends on this decision. The Greek government as well as its European partners continue to have different standpoints on various reforms, including those of taxation and pensions.



    EARTH DAY– Earth Day is being celebrated on April 22nd. On this occasion, 160 countries will sign, in New York, a historic agreement meant to slow down global warming. The agreement was reached in principle at the Paris Conference held in December. Earth Day was first celebrated back in 1970, kick-starting the modern environmental protection movement. On this day, various campaigns have been designed to raise public awareness over recycling and to reduce energy consumption. Earth Day is celebrated in Romania, too, where selective waste collecting activities have been intensely promoted.

    WORLD DRUG PROBLEM – The UN General Assembly
    convened in New York, in its 30th special session, on the world drug
    problem. Romania’s Permanent Representative to the UN, ambassador Ion
    Jinga, said the National Anti-Drug Strategy is in full compliance with the
    international legislative framework and ensures enough action-flexibility at
    national, regional and international level.
    In a special session, Romania organised, jointly with the UN Office for
    Drugs and Crimes, an event on the drug
    issue and HIV.



    with the UN Office for Drugs and Crimes, an event on the drug issue and HIV.


    BULGARIA– Mandatory voting will be introduced in Bulgaria, after the Parliament in Sofia on Thursday adopted the new amendments to the Electoral Code. If citizens with the right to vote do not go to the polls, they will automatically be removed from electoral lists. They will be enlisted again only after submitting a written declaration. The opposition voted against the bill. According to FP, the right wing government in Sofia proposed the measure, in an effort to reduce absenteeism and to put an end to the vote-purchasing behaviour. Across the EU, voting is also mandatory in Greece and Belgium.



    EUROVISION– The European Broadcasting Union has today announced that Romania will not be allowed to participate in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, because of the debts it has accumulated. Romanias debt to the organiser of the well-known European song contest stands at some 10 million Euros. This year, the Eurovision contest will be held in Stockholm, between May 10 and 14, and Romania should have been represented by Ovidiu Anton, with the song, Moment of Silence. The management of the Romanian Television Company has recently informed the Romanian authorities that the transmissions of other leading competitions, such as the forth-coming European Football Championships in France or the Olympic Games might be discontinued, because of debts and under-financing.


    (Translated by Diana Vijeu)