Radio România Internațional

Tag: earthquake

September 30, 2018

INDONESIA – The provisional death toll of the earthquake and ensuing tsunami which rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday stands at over 830 dead, the National Disaster Management Agency has today announced. Many people are caught in the rubble, after several buildings collapsed following Fridays earthquake which measured 7.5 degrees and caused tsunami waves of up to 6m in height. Rescue teams in the town of Palu, on the western coast of Sulawesi, are making huge efforts to take people out from under the rubble. Most victims have been identified in Palu. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has sent messages of condolence to the victims families. The ministry expresses compassion and solidarity with the Indonesian people and authorities and expresses deep regret over the high number of victims, as well as for the high volume of material damage caused by that natural disaster, the Romanian Foreign Ministry writes in a communiqué.

SOVEREIGN FUND – The Romanian Finance Ministry has launched a public debate on the setting up of the Sovereign Development and Investment Fund. The document establishes the legal form, the registered capital, the strategy and management of this fund which, in the governments opinion, is needed to mobilise the available financial resources and channel them towards profitable projects. According to the relevant ministry, this Sovereign Fund is also aimed at developing and financing profitable and sustainable investment projects, from own funds and from attracted funds. The fund will include 33 state owned companies and the registered capital will stand at some 2 billion Euros.

GUAM – The former Soviet states which are making up the GUAM group, namely Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Moldova, will join efforts and will better coordinate their positions to defend their territorial integrity, representatives of the GUAM member states have announced in Chisinau, during a session of the GUAM Parliamentary Assembly. The delegates have also criticised Russias involvement in fuelling territorial conflicts in the region. GUAM was set up in 2006, with the declared aim of developing cooperation between the member states, by boosting stability and common security in the European space. The Republic of Moldova, a country with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, is currently holding the presidency of this organisation.

TRANSPORTS – Road passenger traffic in Romania increased by some 14% in the first half of the year, as against the similar period of 2017, and air traffic by 7.5%, data released by the National Statistics Institute show. The n umber of passengers who travelled by plane in the first six months of the year stood at some 10 million, 86.6% of whom were registered on international flights. In exchange, railway passenger traffic decreased by 2.7% in terms of the number of passengers. A 23.4% drop was also reported on Romanias internal waterways. No passenger sea traffic was reported in the aforementioned time span.

TENNIS– Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 WTA, exits the Beijing tennis tournament in the first round, with back pain. She abandoned the match she played against Ons Jabeur, no.113 WTA, after the Tunisian player won the first set 6-1. Another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea no.57 WTA, is facing Dutch Kiki Bertens no.11 WTA, whom she has defeated in all matches they have played so far. Although she was defeated by Slovenian Polona Hercog, Cîrstea made it to the main tables, after Australian Ashleigh Barty withdrew from the competition, after Fridays defeat. In the doubles, Romanian women players Mihaela Buzărnescu and Monica Niculescu have qualified for the second round, after defeating the pair Hao-Ching Chan (Taiwan)/Zhaoxuan Yang (China). Buzărnescu and Niculescu will face in the eighth finals the pair made up of Abigail Spears (the US)/Alicja Rosolska (Poland).

WORLD RECORD – Thousands of people-4807- particularly pupils and high-school students from all across Romania on Saturday set a new world record in the central Romanian town of Alba Iulia, by creating the largest human image of a country. Inside the map, they highlighted the number 100, by wearing white cloaks, as a way to celebrate 100 years since the setting up of the Romanian national unitary state. The old record belonged to Myanmar, where 3,466 people gathered in February 2018 to recreate the map of their country.

30 September 2018
March 4, 2018

Kiev — The Romanian Minister for Romanians Abroad, Natalia Intotero, has again called on the Ukraine authorities to modify the article in the Education Law restricting the right of the Romanian community to learn in its mother tongue. The Romanian minority in Ukraine, in the historical regions of Cernăuţi and Transcarpatia (west), is well integrated and should have to right to learn in its language, said Mrs. Intotero, following her visit to the two regions. Almost half a million ethnic Romanians are living in Ukraine, mostly in the eastern Romanian territories annexed in 1940 by the former Soviet Union following an ultimatum. The territories were subsequently taken over by Ukraine as a successor state.

Drills — More than 1,700 Romanian and foreign soldiers will be participating, as of Monday until March 15, in one of the largest multinational drills organized by the Romanian Naval Forces in the southeast region of Dobrogea and in the Black Sea international waters. Spring Storm 18 is based on a unique concept of joint training of the naval, air and ground forces. The drill is part of the plan of NATO immediate assurance measures adopted at the NATO summit held in Warsaw in 2016. The Romanian soldiers will be training alongside soldiers from the US, France and Bulgaria as well as from partner states such as Georgia and Ukraine.

Commemoration — Romania commemorates Sunday 41 years since the devastating earthquake of March 4, 1977. The 7.2 magnitude quake killed 1,579 people, mostly from Bucharest, and caused material damage estimated at the time at 2 billion dollars. 230 thousand residential buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. The quake caused an economic and social crisis which, according to historians, the Communist dictatorship could no longer cope with, until it was toppled in December 1989. Experts warn that hundreds of buildings might collapse in Bucharest in the event of a similar quake.

Handball — Romania’s women’s handball champions CSM Bucharest are today playing on home ground against the Danish team FC Midtjylland, in a main group match of the Champions League. Ahead of this match, the Romanian handballers were ranked 3rd in a group of 6, being outclassed by Gyor of Hungary and Rostov Don of Russia. The first 4 teams in the group will qualify to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, which CSM Bucharest won two years ago, at their first participation in the championship. On Saturday another two Romanian women’s teams played on home ground in the first round of the EHF Cup quarterfinals. HC Zalău defeated the Turkish team Kastamonu Belediyesi 29 — 28, and SCM Craiova lost to Lada Togliatti of Russia 23-25.

Berlin — The members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) voted for the resumption of the “great” government coalition with the Conservatives of chancellor Angela Merkel, the center left party leadership announced on Sunday. After centralization of the results of the postal voting, 66% of the almost half a million members of SPD said YES to the agreement concluded last month by the party leaders with the CDU/CSU grouping – the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and its Bavarian counterpart the Christian Social Union. The vote allows Germany to break an unprecedented political deadlock, more than 5 months after the legislative elections, following which no parliamentary majority could be formed.

Rome — Italians are expected to the polls on Sunday to vote in parliamentary elections. The publication of opinion surveys regarding voting intentions was forbidden in the 2 weeks preceding the elections, although analysts estimate that no party will be able to win the majority. After an election campaign dominated by the issue of migration and youth unemployment, the right wing party of the former PM Silvio Berlusconi is back into the voters’ preferences, being backed by two extremist parties. Next in the voters’ preferences are the populist Five Star Movement and the leftist governing Democratic Party that lost votes due to their weak recovery policy. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

4 March 2018
Is Romania Prepared for a Big Earthquake?

Bucharest is vulnerable to a powerful earthquake, warn the authorities, who say that an earthquake of the magnitude of that seen on the 4th of March 1977 would have the same devastating consequences. According to statistics, 800 of Bucharests more than 130,000 buildings face serious damage in the event of an earthquake. The Bucharest City wants to amend the legislation to make it easier to evacuate the owners of high-risk buildings and conduct consolidation works.

The Minister for Development Sevil Shhaideh says another problem is that local authorities are not applying for funds to consolidate vulnerable buildings:

Sevil Shhaideh: “The rate of absorption does not exceed 10% of the sum allocated under this programme. We have again earmarked 25 million lei this year to finance the consolidation of buildings at risk. We are waiting for applications from local authorities. There are some special conditions to be able to enter the programme and obtain funding for consolidation works.

VM Informing the population about what to do in the event of an earthquake may save lives, says the state secretary in the Interior Ministry Raed Arafat:

Raed Arafat: “Our focus in recent years has been on informing the public. We believe that the most important factor in responding to such disasters is the individual. If each and every one of us is prepared and knows what to do in the very first minutes, lives can be saved.

There is no means of predicting well in advance when a powerful earthquake occurs, explains the director of the National Institute for Earth Physics, Constantin Ionescu. He says, however, that Romania is one of the few countries to be connected to a high-performing early warning system:

Constantin Ionescu: “At the moment, there is no possibility, anywhere in the world, to predict an earthquake long in advance. The only instrument that has been developed to date in the world is the type of early warning system used in Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Romania, which gives the authorities 35 seconds of advance warning.

VF Things were different in 1977 when Romania was hit by the most powerful earthquake in its post-war history. 1,500 people were killed, most of them in Bucharest. The earthquake destroyed and caused serious damage to 32,000 homes and led to an economic and social crisis that historians say the communist regime was unable to overcome until it collapsed, in December 1989.

(translated by: Cristina Mateescu)

6 March 2017
Is Romania Prepared for a Big Earthquake?

Bucharest is vulnerable to a powerful earthquake, warn the authorities, who say that an earthquake of the magnitude of that seen on the 4th of March 1977 would have the same devastating consequences. According to statistics, 800 of Bucharests more than 130,000 buildings face serious damage in the event of an earthquake. The Bucharest City wants to amend the legislation to make it easier to evacuate the owners of high-risk buildings and conduct consolidation works.

The Minister for Development Sevil Shhaideh says another problem is that local authorities are not applying for funds to consolidate vulnerable buildings:

Sevil Shhaideh: “The rate of absorption does not exceed 10% of the sum allocated under this programme. We have again earmarked 25 million lei this year to finance the consolidation of buildings at risk. We are waiting for applications from local authorities. There are some special conditions to be able to enter the programme and obtain funding for consolidation works.

VM Informing the population about what to do in the event of an earthquake may save lives, says the state secretary in the Interior Ministry Raed Arafat:

Raed Arafat: “Our focus in recent years has been on informing the public. We believe that the most important factor in responding to such disasters is the individual. If each and every one of us is prepared and knows what to do in the very first minutes, lives can be saved.

There is no means of predicting well in advance when a powerful earthquake occurs, explains the director of the National Institute for Earth Physics, Constantin Ionescu. He says, however, that Romania is one of the few countries to be connected to a high-performing early warning system:

Constantin Ionescu: “At the moment, there is no possibility, anywhere in the world, to predict an earthquake long in advance. The only instrument that has been developed to date in the world is the type of early warning system used in Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Romania, which gives the authorities 35 seconds of advance warning.

VF Things were different in 1977 when Romania was hit by the most powerful earthquake in its post-war history. 1,500 people were killed, most of them in Bucharest. The earthquake destroyed and caused serious damage to 32,000 homes and led to an economic and social crisis that historians say the communist regime was unable to overcome until it collapsed, in December 1989.

(translated by: Cristina Mateescu)

6 March 2017
March 4, 2017

REPORT – Corruption continues to be one of Romania’s major problems, according to the US Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016. According to the report, bribe giving and taking continues to be a widespread practice in the public sector, the laws are not always enforced effectively and the officials, including judges, are sometimes corrupt and are not being punished. The report also mentions that the immunity held by former and current ministers, who are also parliament members, has sometimes blocked criminal investigations. The report denounces discrimination against the Rroma minority, prison overcrowding and the media politicisation.

JUSTICE — Romania’s new justice minister, Tudorel Toader, has announced that in about six weeks he will present the Government a draft law that will modify the criminal law in keeping with the Constitutional Court’s decisions. In an interview on Radio Romania, the minister said the law will be debated and adopted in Parliament. Tudorel Toader was appointed at the helm of the justice ministry in February, following the serious political crisis triggered by the government’s attempt to change the criminal laws through emergency decrees.

PNL – The National Coordination Council of the right-of-centre National Liberal Party, the main opposition party in Romania, on Saturday decided on the roadmap, procedures and manner of electing its president. Although many Liberals favoured the idea of the party president to be elected directly, by all party members, this will only be the prerogative of the delegates at the Congress due in June. So far, former ministers Ludovic Orban and Catalin Predoiu have voiced their intention to run for party president, after Alina Gorghiu resigned this position following the defeat in the parliamentary elections.

QUAKE — Romania commemorates today 40 years since the devastating quake of March 4, 1977, measuring 7.2 degrees on the Richter scale, that killed 1,570 people. The quake also caused material damage worth over 2 billion dollars. About 230 thousand homes were seriously damaged and 760 economic units became unfunctional. The earthquake generated an economic and social crisis that, according to historians, the communist dictatorship of that time was unable to overcome. Experts have warned that hundreds of buildings risk collapsing in the capital Bucharest in case of an earthquake of an equal magnitude.

WOMEN’S HANDBALL – European champions CSM Bucharest qualified to the Champions League’s quarterfinals after defeating on Friday evening, on home turf, the Slovenian team Krim Ljubljana, 28-26. In the last match of the group CSM Bucharest will be up against the Danish team Ebsjerg. Most probably, the Romanian team’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be the Macedonian side Vardar Skopje.

RUGBY – Romania’s rugby team is today taking on Russia away from home. The match will be played in Sochi and will count for the third round of Rugby Europe Championship. In the first game, the Oaks lost 38-41 to Germany, then they defeated Spain, 13-3. Romania’s next fixtures are the match against Belgium away from home on March 11 and the home game against Georgia, due on March 19.

(Translated by Elena Enache)

4 March 2017
December 28, 2016 UPDATE

NOMINATION – Sorin Grindeanu is the new nomination for the position of Prime Minister made by the coalition of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, which hold the majority in Parliament. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea, at the end of the meeting of the partys Executive Bureau. Aged 43, Sorin Grindeanu is a former Minister of Communications in the Government led by Victor Ponta and is the current president of the Timis County Council. The Social-Democrats proposal follows one day after President Klaus Iohannis rejected the nomination of Sevil Shhaideh for the office of Prime Minister. Liviu Dragnea said one of the options on the table is launching proceedings to have the president suspended, but the Social Democrats decided to make a new proposal for the position of Prime Minister in order to avert a political crisis. The interim president of the National Liberal Party in opposition, Raluca Turcan, sees the latest nomination as a last-resort, temporary solution.

BUSINESS – The business environment will be worsening in Romania in the next 12 months, with the national currency, the Leu, dropping in value against the Euro. This is the conclusion of the latest poll run by the Romanian Association of internationally certified financial analysts. Tax consolidation, needed after salary hikes, tax cuts and the drop in the VAT, as well as the fact that Romania will no longer have the same economic growth, given that the peak of the economic cycle has already been reached, will have an effect on investment, the poll shows. At the same time, Romania is a small and open economy, affected by the macroeconomic worsening of conditions globally. At the same time, it is expected that the Leu will drop against the Euro in the next 12 months. The Association shows that the increase in interest rates in the US has caused a rearrangement of exchange rates in all emerging countries, depreciating the local currency. The Associations Romania Macroeconomic Confidence Indicator was launched in May 2011, representing the forecasts of financial analysts in terms of Romanian economic activity for a year.

EARTHQUAKE – Romania has not sustained damage from the 5.3 magnitude earthquake that occurred on Wednesday night in the Vrancea seismic region, at a depth of around 100 km. The National Earth Physics Institute revised twice the magnitude after the quake, which was also felt in the south east of Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, and the west of Turkey. The last tremor of this size occurred on September 24, felt all across the country, as well as in the Republic of Moldova. According to the National Earth Physics Institute, the strongest earthquake in the last few years occurred on the 22nd of November, 2014, with a magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter scale.

CRASH – The second black box of the Tupolev 154 Russian aircraft that crashed in the Black Sea has been found, the Russian Defense Ministry reports. The most likely cause of the crash was a fault in the flaps, the Russian press quotes investigators as saying. The Russian security services said there were no indications to support the possibility of a terrorist act. The aircraft had landed on Sunday at Sochi for refueling, after taking off from Shkalovski airport near Moscow, heading for Latakia, Syria. It vanished off radar screens after 20 minutes. 92 people were on board, 83 of them passengers, most of them members of the military orchestra Aleksandrov, along with a number of journalists. They were scheduled to hold a holiday show on the Syrian base at Khmeimim. There were no survivors.

ARREST – The German authorities on Wednesday placed under pre-trial arrest a 40-year-old Tunisian national, suspected of having ties with Anis Amri, the alleged perpetrator of the December 19 attack in the German capital, which killed 12 people and wounded 50. According to the Federal Prosecutors Office, the attacker had the Tunisians phone number saved in his phone, which was telling of his involvement. Anis Amri was shot dead on December 23 by the Italian Police, in a train station in Milan. Sources close to the investigation say the alleged attacker drove to Milan via the Netherlands and France. We recall that a lorry ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas Market in Berlin, an attack claimed by the Islamic State terrorist organization.

(Translated by C. Cotoiu and V. Palcu)

28 December 2016
November 1, 2016

PERFORMANCE Romania is still seeing low performances and incomplete processes, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has today said in Bucharest during ceremonies marking 25 years of partnership with the World Bank. According to Iohannis, Romania could make a better use of the assistance provided by international institutions such as the World Bank. The WB-Romania partnership is the expression of a wide-range cooperation in various social and economic fields; it also reflects the complex evolution of the WB’s role in Romania’s reform agenda, Iohannis added. According to the Romanian head of state, ongoing reforms are essential for sustainable development and economic growth. Iohannis has also pointed out that reforms in public and fiscal administration are among Romania’s key priorities.

RADIO Radio Romania today celebrates 88 years of existence. November 1st 1928 saw the first broadcast aired by the Society of Radio-Telephonic Broadcasting, as the public radio corporation was named back then. 88 years ago, Romanians were able to hear for the first time in speakers, ‘Hello, hello, this is Bucharest Calling’. Since its early days, the public radio has been a promoter and supporter of Romanian culture and civilization a major vector in forging civic spirit and community cohesion. The institution’s name has changed many times along its existence, sometimes under the pressure exerted by various political regimes that ruled Romania at certain times in history. The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation is presently a structure with three national channels and several regional ones, including an international channel broadcasting in ten languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Serbian, Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian) as well as in Romanian and the Aromanian dialect. As every year, the Sala Radio (Radio Hall) in Bucharest has seen an anniversary concert while the institution has hosted the Open Doors Day, allowing listeners to visit its studios and see the activities going on there.

DRILL Over November 1st and 12th Romanian troops are participating together with their US allies in Patriot Shock V, a joint drill held at the Capul Midia Shooting Range in Constanta, southeastern Romania. According to sources with the Romanian Defence Ministry, Patriot Shock V is a joint drill of tactical level involving ground troops and surface-to-air missile installations. The drill’s objectives are planning and fighting air strikes as well as checking on the inter-operability of command-control units of the two surface-to-air structures, Patriot and Hawk PIP lll.

QUAKE Italy has again been rocked by an earthquake, measuring 4.7 degrees on the Richter scale. The quake’s epicenter was in Macerata, the same region that saw the devastating quake in August this year. Another 130 aftershocks of the Sunday’s earthquake were reported during the night. 40 thousand people have been left without shelter after the earthquakes of the past days, including 200 Romanian citizens. A mobile team of the Romanian embassy on Monday has been deployed to the affected region. There are no Romanian citizens in hospitals and most of those who cannot return to their homes have been offered accommodation in hotels in the Umbria region. According to a communiqué by the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, four Romanians have asked for repatriation assistance. The Romanian embassy has also called on the Italian authorities to investigate the case of a Romanian who died 24 hours after Sunday’s earthquake.

MEASURES Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos believes the measures adopted by Parliament in the past months concerning pay rises in various sectors of the economy, amounting to 2 billion lei, over 1% of the GDP, might impact the budget significantly; they could either result in a swollen deficit, which might prove disastrous for Romania, or in curbed investment. Ciolos said that such pay rises are causing more imbalances in the employees’ treatment without solving the payment issue altogether. The Prime Minister’s statements came after MPs in the assembled labour & budget commissions on Monday had endorsed several pay rises for some categories of employees in the country’s healthcare system and education. Both the Labor Minister and the Finance Minister have voted against the measures. Labour Minister Dragos Paslaru has described the measures as having only an election purpose.

1 November 2016
October 31, 2016

COLECTIV – A silent march in Bucharest and other rallies in several other Romanian cities commemorated one year since the fire that destroyed the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, killed 64 people and injured more than 100 others. President Klaus Iohannis and PM Dacian Ciolos paid tribute to the victims. Crown Princess Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown, sent a message emphasising the importance of preserving the unity of feeling and conscience. In another message, the Ambassador of the US to Bucharest, Hans Klemm, encouraged Romanians in their fight against corruption and effort to build a safe, democratic and successful country. In turn, the Ambassador of France to Bucharest, Francois Saint-Paul, has expressed his compassion for the victims families and has said his country will continue to train Romanian healthcare professionals.

STRIKE – More than 80,000 healthcare staff in Romania are on all-out strike as of today, the leaders of the SANITAS Trade Union Federation have announced. Throughout the protest, one-third of the employees will continue to work and emergencies will not be affected, the unions say. The protesters are mainly unhappy with the imbalances in the salary system and say they will only go back to work if their demands are granted. This is the last stage of the action initiated by public healthcare employees in September. Sanitas represents the interests of over 100,000 members.

MISSILE DEFENCE – The Romanian Defence Minister, Mihnea Motoc, is taking part in London today in the Multinational Ballistic Defence conference. The conference is organised by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Missile Defence Agency of the US Department of Defence. As a special guest, Minister Motoc will present Romanias view on the ballistic defence issue, given that Romania hosts the Aegis Ashore American missile defence system in Deveselu (south). The Romanian official will receive, on behalf of the Romanian Defence Ministry, the ‘David R. Israel’ award for merits in the anti-missile field and in recognition of the efforts and active involvement of Romania in preparing the military base in Deveselu. On the sidelines of the conference, Mihnea Motoc will have a meeting with the head of the Missile Defence Agency, vice-admiral James D. Syring.

ELECTION – The President of the neighbouring Republic of Moldova will be decided in the November 13 election runoff, between the pro-Russian Socialist Igor Dodon and the candidate backed by pro-European parties, Maia Sandu. According to official figures, in the first round held on Sunday, Dodon came out the first of the 9 candidates, with 48% of the votes, followed by Sandu, with 38%. The turnout rate was the lowest in the history of parliamentary and presidential elections in the Republic of Moldova.

EARTHQUAKE – Many Romanians living in the Puglia province called the emergency number provided by the Romanian consular office in Rome, after the 6.5 Richter earthquake that hit the centre of Italy on Sunday. A mobile unit of the Romanian Embassy is trying to provide assistance to the nearly 140 Romanian citizens who live in the towns of Norcia and Preci, severely affected by the quake, which was the strongest since 1980. The Italian authorities announced there were no casualties, but scores of people were nonetheless injured, and most buildings were seriously damaged.

TENNIS – The Romanian Simona Halep concludes the year 2016 on the 4th position in the world ranking of professional tennis players, and is in the top 10 WTA for the third consecutive year. The top 3 places are held by German Angelique Kerber, the American Serena Williams and Radwanska Agnieszka of Poland. Three other Romanian players are in the Top 100. Irina Begu is ranked 29th, Monica Niculescu 39th and Sorana Carstea 81st. The last major competition of this year for Simona Halep was the WTA Final in Singapore. In January 2017 she will play in Shenzhen (January 1-7), where she won the 2015 final, and then in the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

31 October 2016
September 24, 2016 UPDATE

FESTIVAL Bucharest is seeing the third edition of RADIRO, Europe’s only large-scale festival exclussively devoted to radio orchestras. The event, which has been staged by Radio Romania kicked off on Friday night with George Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody performed by the Shenzhen symphony orchestra of China. That was the first participation of an orchestra from Asia in the festival. Until its last day, October 1st, the festival will have seen concerts by the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the MDR Radio Orchestra of Leipzig, the ORF Radio Orchestra of Vienna the BBC Concert Orchestra and the National Orchestra of Radio Romania.

MIGRATION The International Migration Organisation (IOM) announced that more and more migrants choose to return to their countries of origin instead of settling in the countries that offered them shelter. The organisation announced it had contributed to the repatriation of 51,000 people who chose to leave Europe in the first 6 months of this year. In 2015 the organisation helped nearly 69 thousand people to get back home. The first three countries the migrants chose to return to were Albania, Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of these migrants were leaving Germany, a country, which in 2015 reported the largest number of asylum seekers, 442,000.

RESIGNATION Romanian senator Gabriel Oprea, former deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, who is currently facing charges of manslaughter said that he would resign from Parliament the next week. On Monday his Senate colleagues turned down a prosecution request from the National Anti-corruption Directorate for Oprea, a move that triggered protest rallies in Romania’s major cities. We recall the former Interior Minister has been placed under investigation after a police officer from his motorcade was killed in a road accident.

ENVIRONMENT Famous US actor Leonardo DiCaprio has posted an Instagram message in support of actions aimed at protecting environment in Romania. The actor said the governemnt in Bucharest should protect forests from illegal logging and destruction. DiCaprio has congratulated Greenpeace volunteers who cleaned the waste from forests in central Romania. In 1998, the actor founded a foundation that develops projects for the protection of the environment. In another development on Saturday thousands of volunteers took to the streets to collect waste part of a cleaning operation staged by ”Let’s Do It, Romania!”, which has in the past 7 years become a symbol of volunteering and managed to involve over one million Romanians who have collected close to 25 thousand tons of waste from 300 regions in Romania. For the first time this year the National Cleaning Day has enjoyed support from the government in Bucharest as five ministeries have got involved in the opeartion.

EARTHQUAKE An earthquake of 5.3 Richter rocked Romania at 2 a.m. on Saturday. With an epicenter in Vrancea, eastern Romania, the termor was felt in Bucharest, the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Serbia. According to the Inspectorate for Emergency situations no victims or material damage have been reported. Since the beginning of the year Romania has witnessed four earthquakes with magnitudes above 4 Richter, all with epicenters in Vrancea.

24 September 2016
September 1, 2016 UPDATE

ANTI-CORRUPTION – The Romanian Interior Minister, Petre Toba, resigned on Thursday night, after the National Anti-Corruption Directorate asked the Presidents approval to prosecute him for favouring an offender. Tobă allegedly denied a de-classification procedure for documents requested by investigators in a case in which the former interior minister, Gabriel Oprea, and other Ministry officials are accused of embezzlement. Also on Thursday, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate requested that the Senate be notified on the prosecution of Gabriel Oprea, in a separate case of manslaughter. A police officer died last year in a motorcycle crash, while a member of the motorcade accompanying Oprea during his term in office. Oprea was apparently traveling for personal purposes at the time, which did not entitle him to use a motorcade.

PARLIAMENT – The Parliament of Romania Thursday convened on its second regular session of the year and the last of the 2012-2016 term. According to the leaders of the main floor groups, the list of priorities includes bills in a number of fields, including economy, healthcare and education. Priorities also include a 5% reduction of social security contributions, a law regulating the lawyer profession, a bill allowing indoor smoking and one on prevention in the healthcare sector. Well have details after the news.

MOURNING – Friday is a day of national mourning in Romania, in memory of the victims of the earthquake in Italy and in solidarity with the Italian people. The national flag will fly at half-mast on all public institution buildings, and national radio and television channels and cultural institutions will adjust their programmes accordingly. On Thursday, the eighth of the 11 Romanians who died in the earthquake was repatriated. Previously, the last Romanian citizen who had been missing was found alive. Five other Romanians are still in hospitals in Italy.

OSCE – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Lazăr Comănescu, takes part on Friday in Potsdam, Germany, in an informal meeting of the OSCE foreign ministers. Organised by Germany, which is currently holding the rotating presidency of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the meeting is designed to tackle current security issues, such as the conflict in east Ukraine, migration and terrorism. During the meeting, the head of the Romanian diplomacy will insist on the need to step up the OSCE actions aimed at settling protracted conflicts, and, in the same context, at identifying political solutions to the Transdniester conflict, while observing the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova.

EXPULSION – The Iraqi citizen Hamad Raad Salih Hamad has been denied access to Romania for 10 years, for national security reasons, under a ruling passed on Thursday by the Bucharest Court of Appeals. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Iraqi citizen who arrived in Romania in 2013 on a student visa had radical religious views, was disseminating jihadist messages and was intolerant of Westerners and Shia Muslims. On Tuesday, the Court of appeals ruled the Pakistani Shahzad Ahmed as persona non grata. The decision was made after the Romanian Intelligence Service found that he had been involved in online propaganda for terror units operating in Pakistan, which supported the supremacy of extremist Islam. Further to that ruling, the Pakistani citizen, who was married to a Romanian woman, was taken into custody and is to be expelled from the country.

MIGRATION – Thirteen Afghan citizens, including 8 underage children, and a Pakistani citizen, were caught by Romanian border police trying to cross illegally into Serbia. The migrants had no identity documents. They said they were trying to reach a Western European country. The Romanian authorities have strengthened security measures on the Serbian border, after in August many small groups of migrants attempted to cross it illegally. Meanwhile, illegal migration on Romanias borders has seen a substantial drop in the past seven months of the year compared to the corresponding period of 2015, by over 40%. Illegal entry or exit attempts have been reported, involving both citizens of Middle East or African states, like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan, and from the Republic of Moldova, Russia, Turkey or Albania.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

1 September 2016
August 29, 2016

EARTHQUAKE – A Romanian citizen is still missing, after last weeks earthquake in Italy. According to data made public by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, a total of 11 Romanians died, and 6 were injured. The Minister delegate for relations with the Romanian diaspora, Maria Ligor, had talks with officials of the Italian Civil Protection Department and with Romanian nationals currently living in tents in Amatrice, the village the most severely affected by the quake. PM Dacian Cioloş has convened a special Cabinet meeting today, to look at ways to assist the Romanian citizens affected by the earthquake in Italy and their families.

DIPLOMACY – PM Dacian Cioloş said on Monday, at the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomats, that Bucharest has been denied access to the visa-free Schengen area for political reasons for more than 5 years. Romania, Ciolos added, believes in the revival capacity of the European project and is determined to invest its diplomatic and political resources to that end. According to Dacian Ciolos, a crisis-management approach has used up political energy and time this past year. The meeting in Bucharest focuses on security developments, the dynamics of EU internal processes and preparations for Romanias first turn at the EU Council presidency in the first half of 2019. The participants will also discuss means to strengthen the capacity to provide professional consular assistance, in order to protect the interests and rights of the Romanians traveling or living abroad.

KING MICHAEL – Romanias former sovereign, King Michael I, currently in a stable medical state, is grieving, but is supported by the love and respect of his family and looked after with flawless professionalism by his physicians, His Majestys Press Office reported. The news release comes after media speculated that, according to a representative of the Bishopric Palace in Curtea de Argeş, where Romanian royalty are buried, Prince Radu had said King Michaels health was worsening and signals were not positive. According to the Royal House of Romania, Prince Radu said the King was in a frail state, which, given his age and diagnosis, was declining. Any other speculations, assumptions or allegations are untrue, the Press Office added. Poor health recently prevented the former sovereign from attending the funeral of his wife, Queen Anne.

ANTI-CORRUPTION – The head of the Intelligence and Internal Protection Department of the Romanian Interior Ministry, Rareş Văduva, has been indicted by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. According to judicial sources, charges include abuse of office and obstruction of justice, as well as favouring an offender. The same sources said the charges are related to proceedings that had been disjoinded from the case in which the former Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea was sent to court. According to the Anti-Corruption Directorate, during his term in office Gabriel Oprea increased the budget of the Interior Ministrys secret service in order to buy a limousine for his personal use.

WORLD WAR 1 – Bucharest is hosting today a roundtable, a military exercise and a military music concert devoted to the commemoration of 100 years since Romania joined the First World War. On Sunday, in his address given at the opening of commemoration ceremonies, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis paid tribute to the heroes who sacrificed their lives and called for the construction of a strong and dignified Romanian state. The commemoration of World War One is the strongest argument in favour of the European project, Iohannis added, defining it as the most comprehensive political and cultural project aimed at building the dialogue and understanding among Europeans.

DEFENCE – The Romanian Defence Minister, Mihnea Motoc, is on an official visit to Slovakia today, where he is taking part in the commemoration of the anti-Nazi insurrection during World War 2. He will also visit the Romanian military cemetery in Zvolen, where a ceremony will be held to commemorate the Romanian troops who died in battles to free Slovakia from Nazi occupation. Motoc will have a meeting with his Slovakian counterpart, Peter Gajdos, to discuss means to strengthen the bilateral military cooperation and cooperation within NATO and the EU.

US OPEN – Four Romanians are today playing their first matches at the US Open, the final grand slam of the season. Irina Begu (22 WTA) will take on Ukraines Lesia Tsurenko (80 WTA), Monica Niculescu (57 WTA) will play against the Czech Barbora Strycova (19 WTA), and Ana Bogdan, 117 WTA, will play against another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, 88 WTA. Two other Romanians will enter the competition on Tuesday. Simona Halep (no. 5 in the world), will face Belgiums Kirsten Flipkens (68 WTA), and Patricia Maria Tig (129 WTA) will play against Laura Siegemund, from Germany, 28 WTA.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

29 August 2016
August 25, 2016

EARTHQUAKE In Italy, thousands of rescuers are trying to find among the debris survivors of the earthquake that hit a mountain area in the center of the country on Tuesday night. According to the latest toll, some 250 people have died and hundreds are wounded. Five Romanian citizens are among the dead, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced. Another 11 are missing. Two mobile consular teams are providing ground assistance to the Romanians in the areas affected by the quake. More on this after the news.

MOLDOVA On his first formal visit to the Republic of Moldova, the former soviet country with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, Romania’s Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has met with his counterpart Pavel Filip. Ciolos has stated that the Romanian Government’s goal is to improve the Moldovan citizen’s situation and it fully supports the reforms that the Moldovan authorities have decided to implement. Dacian Ciolos has announced that on Wednesday Romania disbursed the first installment of the 60 million Euro reimbursable loan to the Republic of Moldova. In turn, Pavel Filip has stressed that Romania is a close and dedicated friend to the Republic of Moldova, proof of that standing the bilateral strategic partnership for European integration. The Moldovan Prime Minister has stated that the main priority with regard to bilateral relations is energy cooperation, especially on extending the Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipe-line.

VISIT European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Gunther Oettinger is on a two-day formal visit to Bucharest. He will meet with the Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, Communication and Information Society Minister Delia Popescu and Culture Minister Corina Sutenu. Commissioner Oettinger will give a speech in the opening of the conference titled Digitalisation – the Future of Europe and will also take part in the round table: Economy, Currency and Digital Revolution: Challenges for Europe, organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. On the last day of the visit he will hold talks with representatives of the creative industry and will meet with Romanian film makers at the Bucharest Cinema Studio.

SECURITY The security situation in the east and south of NATO is the main topic of discussion in Ankara today, between Turkey, Romania and Poland. The Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu, who is attending the three-party meeting, will reiterate Romania’s support for the Ankara authorities and will stress Turkey’s importance at regional level as NATO ally and a key partner to the EU. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the agenda of talks also includes the measures that need to be taken to implement the decisions made at the NATO summit in Warsaw. We recall that, among other things, a decision was made in Warsaw to set up a multi-national brigade in Romania and to deploy four battalions in Poland and in the three Baltic countries.

BOOK FAIR Romania, who is a guest of honour at the 2016 International Book Fair in Beijing, has prepared many cultural events, book launches, exhibitions, music recitals and theatre performances. An album and a film devoted to composer George Enescu will be launched today, followed by a recital by the Romanian violinist Andrei Mihail. On Wednesday, the Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Beijing, Constantin Lupeanu, dubbed the greatest sinologist in the world, got the Special Book Award, China’s most prestigious distinctions in the field, for translating and publishing more than 30 Chinese books. The Romanian stand has on display more than 1200 albums and books, published by 20 publishing houses, as well as translations from Romanian authors, published with the support of the National Book Centre. At this edition of the fair, there are another 15 guests of honour from central and eastern Europe, besides Romania.

SYRIA Syrian rebels supported by the Turkish army have taken control over the town of Jarabulus, in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey, from Islamic State jihadists. Turkish tanks have today crossed the Syrian border as part of the offensive launched by Ankara to oust the jihadists from this Syrian town. Turkey is thus trying to prevent the Kurdish militias from getting control over the town and to open a corridor for the Syrian anti-government rebels, a Turkish official has stated. The same official has mentioned that Ankara will carry on operations in northern Syria until it makes sure the imminent threats against its national security have been neutralized.

FOOTBALL Romania’s football vice-champion Steaua Bucharest failed to qualify for the Champions League’ groups, after losing the play-off tiebreak, away from home, 0-1, to the powerful English squad Manchester City. In Bucharest, Steaua was defeated 0-5. However, the vice-champion will play in the Europa League groups, to which champion Astra Giurgiu is trying to qualify today. The holder of the title will play the return match in England, against West Ham United, after a 1-1 match on home turf.

25 August 2016
19 April, 2016

MINISTER — In Bucharest today, the newly appointed labor minister, Dragos Paslaru, takes up his term under difficult circumstances, with trade unions protesting the planned emergency executive order on state wages. On Monday, 200 teachers protested outside the government building, demanding a 35% raise.

VISIT — Spanish Minister of Justice Rafael Catala is on an official visit to Romania on Tuesday and Wednesday. He is scheduled to hold talks with Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu, his counterpart Raluca Pruna, and head of anti-corruption, Laura Kovesi. These meetings are part of the intense cooperation between the two countries, considering the huge Romanian community in Spain, and the common interest displayed by the two countries in creating an international court for prosecuting terrorism. Spain has the largest community of Romanians living abroad, amounting to around one million.

CUSTOMS CODE — Romanian goods will gain access to the entirety of the EU starting on May 1, 2016, when the Union Customs Code comes into effect. The document sets common procedures, harmonized across the EU, facilitating trade.

INVENTION — Romania got 19 gold medals, 14 silver medals, two bronze medals, and 30 special prizes at the Geneva International Invention Salon. Romanian teams submitted 30 inventions, including a method to recycle safety glass and a device to pinpoint cancer cells. Over 1,000 inventions from 40 countries competed in the event, half of them from Asia, predominantly from China. Last year, Romania got 28 medals. Two years ago, the Grand Prize was won by a Swiss company for technology created by a team of Romanian researchers.

CINEMA — The 12th edition of the Bucharest International Film Festival, running from Monday to Sunday, opened with the film Soy Nero, submitted by Iranian director Rafi Pitts. It tells the story of a deported Mexican who manages to enlist in the US armed forces in order to gain citizenship. The festival consists of 15 movie screenings for films from Spain, France, the US, Iran, Romania, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Argentina and Bulgaria.

EARTHQUAKE – The Ecuadorian government announced that 400 people are known to be dead and around 2,500 injured after the 7.8 Richter scale quake on the Pacific coast of the country. The search for survivors continues, while reconstruction costs are estimated to reach billions of dollars. President Rafael Correa said this is the worst tragedy in the last 70 years for his country. On Monday, officials with USAID announced it would join UN rescue teams, sending teams of experts to Ecuador to support recovery after the earthquake.

BOMBING — Around 30 people were killed and over 300 injured in a suicide bombing in Afghan capital Kabul, according to police sources. The attack was claimed by the Taliban, and targeted a government building housing security personnel.

PULITZER — The winners of the Pulitzer Prize were announced in New York. The Associated Press won the prize for a public service. Reuters and the New York Times won the prize for breaking news photojournalism in relation to the refugee crisis. The Los Angeles Times won the prize for breaking news reporting on the San Bernardino massacre, while the Tampa Bay Times and the Sarasota Herald Tribune won prizes for investigative journalism.

19 April 2016
February 7, 2016

SECURITY – The UN Security Council convenes today in New York, in an emergency meeting, after North Korea overnight launched a long-range missile, apparently to place a satellite on orbit. The meeting has been requested by the US and Japan, which are members of the Council, alongside South Korea, which claim that it was actually a ballistic test carried out by Pyongyang. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has called on North Korea to halt provocative actions. The international community has condemned Pyongyangs ballistic test, which comes just a month since the latest nuclear test carried out by North Korea. Heavy international sanctions have already been imposed on Pyongyang, following its ballistic firing and carrying out three nuclear tests in October 2006, May 2009 and February 2013, respectively.

MIGRATION-French President, François Hollande, and German
Chancellor, Angela Merkel, are to attend an informal dinner in Strasbourg, at
the invitation of the European Parliament President, Martin Schulz. Prior to
that, the French and German leaders will have a bilateral meeting to tackle
such issues as the migrant crisis and its impact on the Schengen area, and the
key demands made by Great Britain to remain in the EU, respectively. The
meeting is held just days ahead of a European summit due in Brussels on
February 18-19, when Hollande and Merkel exert new pressure regarding the
redistribution of refugees in Europe. As regards the referendum in Great
Britain, Paris and Berlin are not willing to make further concessions to Prime
David Cameron, other than those offered by the head of the European Council,
Donald Tusk.

COSAC – The Chair of the European Affairs Committee with the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Ana Birchall, is today attending in the Hague, the Netherlands, the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC). The focal points of the talks will be the priorities of the Dutch presidency of the EU Council, which include migration, tightening EU border security, EU and Euro zone finances, strengthening the European domestic market and the relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom. The Netherlands is currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2016.

EARTHQUAKE – In Taiwan, rescue teams in the town of Tainan are going ahead with the operations of rescuing survivors after several buildings and blocks of flats collapsed in the wake of Saturdays powerful quake which measured 6.4 degrees on Richters scale. At least 24 people lost their lives, some 500 others sustained injuries and 120 are reported missing. So far, over 350 survivors have been taken out from the buildings reduced to rubble.

TENNIS– In the north-western Romanian city of Cluj Napoca, Simona Halep, WTAs no.3, is today meeting Petra Kvitova, WTAs no.9, on the second day of matches being played by Romanias and the Czech Republics tennis teams, in the first round of the Fed Cup World Group. Also today, Monica Niculescu, WTAs no.40, is facing Karolina Pliskova, WTAs no.13. After the simple tennis matches played yesterday, Romania and the Czech Republic are at a 1:1 draw. In the first matches, Halep was defeated by Pliskova, whereas Niculescu defeated Kvitova. A possible double tennis match will oppose the pair Andreea Mitu/Raluca Olaru to Denisa Allertova/Barbora Strycova. The Czech Republic is the best performing Fed Cup team in recent years, being the holder of 9 titles, including that of 2015.

RUGBY– Romanias national rugby team on Saturday scored a clear victory, 39-14, on home turf, in the city of Cluj Napoca, north-western Romania, against Portugal, in a new edition of Rugby Europe Championship, the second ranking continental competition, after the famous RBS 6 Nations Tournament. In the next leg, due next Saturday, Romania will meet Spain, in Madrid. In March, Romanian rugby players are pitched against Russia, Germany and Georgia. In autumn, under the guidance of Welsh coach Lynn Howells, Romania participated in the World Cup final tournament in England, where it defeated Canada, in the group stage, and lost to France, Ireland and Italy.

(Translated and edited by Diana Vijeu)

7 February 2016
May 12, 2015 UPDATE

PROTESTS-Over 300 members of the two main trade unions in Romanias public administration on Tuesday protested in front of the government building in Bucharest. They demanded better working conditions and higher salaries. The protesters are disgruntled with a government decision under which 60% of these workers will be given minimum wages irrespective of their training, job seniority or the type of work. Public servants also staged protests on Monday. Similar actions are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

THE FORESTRY CODE-The joint environment, agriculture and legal committees with the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday rejected a request made by president Klaus Iohannis for a new assessment of the Forestry Code being made. The voting is to be held in a plenary session of the Chamber on Wednesday. If rejected, the draft law can only be appealed at the Constitutional Court, otherwise the president should promulgate it. The president has called for a reassessment of the document, which, in his opinion, includes provisions aimed at limiting the activity of entrepreneurs and creates the prerequisites for a discriminatory treatment. The Senate rejected the required amendments, given the majority votes cast by the MPs of the ruling coalition and of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, but the Chamber of Deputies is the decision maker in this case. In another move, the government has notified the National Anti-Corruption Directorate on scores of possible cases of corruption in the forestry sector between 2009 and 2012. Illegal deforestation sparked off numerous street protests in several cities across the country at the weekend. Klaus Iohannis has announced the issue will be discussed during the next session of Romanias Higher Defence Council.

CYBER SECURITY SUMMIT-A pilot-project has been launched by the Centre for Innovation in Cyber Security, during the Regional Cyber Security Summit underway in Bucharest. The summit, which is organized by the Romanian field ministry and the US Department of Commerce, brings together representatives and experts from 17 Central and South-East European states and the US, who present the cyber security polices pursued in their countries. Romania has already proved to be an IT leader and stands chances to become a regional cyber security leader, in the current context, marked by the Ukrainian crisis and Russias aggressive policy.

DIPLOMACY-Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, is attending the meeting of the NATO foreign ministers held in Antalya, Turkey, on Wednesday and Thursday. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, security challenges in the eastern and southern vicinity are the focal points on the agenda of the talks, to also be attended by the EU
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. Other issues to be approached at the summit include the political transition process in Afghanistan as well as the security situation in that country and the region. In another move, Ukraines security situation and its impact on Euro-Atlantic security will be other issues to be tackled by the NATO-Ukraine commission. On the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, Bogdan Aurescu will have talks with his counterparts from NATO member or partner states.

VISIT– US secretary of state John Kerry on Tuesday met in the famous Black Sea resort of Sochi with Russias president Vladimir Putin and his Russian counterpart, Serghei Lavrov. The focal point of the talks was the conflict with Ukraine, which brought Russian-US relations to their lowest level since the end of the Cold War. This is the first visit paid by John Kerry to Russia after the annexation of Crimea and Moscows involvement in the conflict between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev forces, in eastern Ukraine. After his short visit to Russia, Kerry will leave for Turkey, where he will attend a meeting of the NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday. Later, he will return to Washington, to take part in a landmark summit of Gulf nation leaders, hosted by US president Barack Obama.

ECONOMY-Greece is facing the risk of running out of liquidities in a couple of weeks, the countrys finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said after Athens failure to reach an agreement on another bailout tranche, France Press reports. On Monday, the EU finance ministers hailed the progress Athens had made in talks with its foreign lenders, but said that ‘more work was needed. Lenders are asking for fresh economic reforms but the far-left government, which came to power on pledges to end austerity in the country, insists on finding alternative solutions. Greeces public debt has reached 320 billion euros, which accounts for 175% of the countrys GDP.

EARTHQUAKE– Over 48 people died in Nepal, following Tuesdays quake which measured 7.3 degrees on Richters scale, the authorities in Katmandu have announced. The tremor rocked Nepal just a couple of weeks after the powerful quake of April the 25^th. The quake, whose epicentre was close to the Everest base camp, on the border with China, was reportedly felt in Indias capital city. An aftershock measuring 5.6 degrees was registered just minutes later, the US Geological Service has announced. We recall that on April 25^th a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed 8,000 people and injured 18,000 others in Nepal, being the most devastating tremor to have hit the country in the past 80 years, Reuters reports.

TENNIS– Romanian tennis player Alexandra Dulgheru (72 WTA) on Tuesday qualified for the second round of the Rome tournament with a total of 2.4 million dollars in prize money, after defeating Japanese Misaki Doi, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3. Another Romanian, Irina Begu (31 WTA) defeated Polish Urszula Radwanska (109 WTA), in the first round, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. In the womens double, Romanias best ranked tennis player of the moment, Simona Halep (2 WTA), made a “tour de force alongside Italian Francesca Schiavone, qualifying for the second round of the tournament, after defeating the pair Jurak/Parra-Santonja (Croatia/Spain), 6-2, 6-2.

12 May 2015