Radio România Internațional

Tag: Egypt

  • September 21, 2023

    September 21, 2023

    ACCIDENT A
    criminal investigation was initiated with respect to the blast that occurred last
    night on a gas pipeline on the Moldova Motorway construction site in eastern
    Romania, in which four people died and 5 others were injured. Two men with burn
    wounds affecting 30% and 40% of their bodies, respectively, were transferred to hospitals in
    Bucharest. Prosecutors are investigating manslaughter and bodily harm offences,
    as well as failure to take or observe work safety measures. According to the
    Vrancea Emergency Inspectorate, the blast was caused by the construction works
    conducted in the vicinity of the pipeline, which was also carrying natural gas
    to the neighbouring Republic of Moldova.


    TAXES The
    Cabinet had a first discussion on the set of measures aimed at the long-term
    rebalancing of the state budget and at facilitating the absorption of tens of
    billions in EU funding. Apart from cutting down public
    spending, the bill focuses on fighting tax evasion, introduces taxes on large
    profits and wealth, and eliminates tax privileges. Ahead of the Cabinet meeting,
    the measures were discussed in the three-party Social Dialogue Council, which
    brings together government officials and representatives of employer
    associations and trade unions.


    UN The wider
    Black Sea area must be protected against the effects of Russia’s war against
    Ukraine, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis said in his address at the UN
    General Assembly in New York. The Romanian official added that his country
    would not let down its most vulnerable partners, and mentioned the transit of
    Ukrainian grain via Romania, a topic he also approached in talks with the
    president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of the European
    Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Bulgaria’s deputy prime minister, Mariya
    Gabriel. President Iohannis also said Romania was concerned with the effects of
    climate change, of pollution, of energy insecurity, and is making visible
    efforts to fight them. According to him, climate education is a priority for
    Romania, and the climate-security interconnection should rank higher on the UN
    agenda. Stay tuned for more details on the Romanian president’s address at the
    UN after the news.


    WHEAT Egypt’s General
    Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) announced having purchased 120,000
    tonnes of wheat from Romania in an international purchasing tender, Reuters
    reports. GASC also said that since early June Cairo has imported approx. 2.14
    million tonnes of wheat, mainly from Russia (1.5 million tonnes) and Romania
    (420,000 tonnes). Egypt is the world’s largest wheat buyer, mainly for its
    national bread subsidy programme benefiting more than 70 million of its 103
    million citizens.


    BUCHAREST The
    Romanian capital city is celebrating these days 564 years since its first
    mention in official documents. Maps, plans, archive images and 3-dimensional
    scale models showcasing the 19th Century history of the city are
    displayed in an exhibition opened until Sunday at the ARCUB Cultural Centre. On
    Saturday, around 200 arts high school students will dance in front of the
    National History Museum of Romania, and the music of old-time Bucharest will be
    performed in the George Enescu Festival Square in front of the Romanian
    Athenaeum. (AMP)

  • Radio Cairo

    Radio Cairo

    War is a permanent threat to each and every one of us, whether closer or further afield. Whether we recall personal experiences or were told the experiences of others, or we watched documentaries or heard it on the news, war was never gone from the collective imagination. Although the current structures of collective defence such as NATO provide enhanced security guarantee for its members, war is a possibility for mankind to fall into darker its side. WWII is still a living memory, 78 years after its completion. During wars, not just the battles themselves are important, but also the information that circulates. Experts say it is as important as the military equipment.



    This is why the media that existed during WWII waged their own battle against the enemy. Radio was no exception, with fierce battles of information and disinformation being waged on the wavelengths. During WWII, Romania was part of the alliance with Germany, Italy and Japan against the US, Great Britain and the USSR. The two military blocs used the radio to confuse their enemy in the latters own language. One radio station that also had a Romanian-language service was Radio Cairo, a station founded by the British government.



    The Romanian national Livia Deakin-Nasta began working for this station in 1941, translating and writing news in the Romanian language. Her father was the journalist Liviu Nasta, who was close to the British embassy in Bucharest and who had provided information to the British ambassador to the Romanian capital, Burton Berry. Born in Bucharest in 1916, she had graduated from the Faculty of Romance Languages. In an interview to Radio Romanias Oral History Centre in 1998, Livia Deakin-Nasta remembered how her adventure as a radio journalist began:



    “I left Romania in February 1941. My father had just been arrested and I managed to leave the country with the help of the French and the Americans. I first went to Budapest and from there to Belgrade. When the Germans invaded, I went to Greece and from there I could only go to Cairo, where the second allied military command was stationed. One was in London and the second in Cairo.”



    In Egypt, Livia Deakin-Nasta ardently devoted her activity to serve those whom her father had informed in relation to the movements of the German and Soviet armies. She lived in an apartment with another 4 young women of other nationalities. Radio Cairo had been established in April 1941, shortly after Livia had reached North Africa, the head of the radio station being Lord Runciman. She was given the rank of lieutenant and introduced herself on the shortwaves under the code name Lieutenant Jane Wilson. She remembered that Radio Cairo also had an Italian service, a Bulgarian service and a Greek one, besides the Romanian service.



    “I was on air at half past 11 in the evening, the Italians were after me, as they were too lazy to write the text. I had 10 minutes of war news and 5 minutes of general news. The Italians would come into the office and sit with me and would draft their texts in Italian after my own texts in Romanian. Sometimes they encountered words they didn’t understand, but eventually they managed to speak Romanian better than everyone else. A woman came later, because I got very sick and could no longer stand on my feet, whose name was Elena. She had Romanian and Swiss origins. She was a very nice woman, I cant remember her full name. When the Germans came very close to Cairo in 1942, we were all evacuated to Lebanon, and I went on air from there. And I also went on air from Jerusalem where I went later in the spring of 1943.”



    Livia Deakin-Nasta remembered quite clearly how she put together her news bulletins as they came from the British Armys press office: “The Military Headquarters gave us the news, we wrote it, they cut everything that could be dangerous for the troop movements, and after that we sat in a summer cinema, that is outside, and, on our knees, we translated the text from English to Romanian. I didnt even have time to type. The materials were then burnt on the spot. And especially in 1942 when the Germans came, we almost burned all the archives. There were crazy times back then because war is never easy.”



    But the job of an officer who also worked as a journalist was not just to translate and read news, according to her. Her duties also included sending Morse coded messages to groups of agents from Romania. The evolution of the war, however, led to the disappearance of Radio Cairo in 1944, but the war on the airwaves entered a different era. (CM, LS)

  • February 5, 2023 UPDATE

    February 5, 2023 UPDATE

    Cairo – The Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, met, on Sunday, in Cairo, with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The talks focused on topics such as bilateral cooperation in the economic and social fields, as well as the impact of the Russian military aggression on Ukraine. The Egyptian president thanked, on this occasion, for the support provided by Romania for the evacuation from Ukraine of the more than one thousand repatriated Egyptian students last year, as well as for facilitating the export of Ukrainian grains to Egypt. Nicolae Ciucă highlighted the need to support Romanian farmers through access to the production of fertilizers from Egypt necessary for agricultural crops. At the same time, the two agreed to increase Romanian farmers grain exports to the Egyptian market. On Sunday, the Romanian Prime Minister also participated in the Egypt-Romania Business Forum, as well as in the signing ceremony of several bilateral documents. On Saturday, Nicolae Ciucă discussed with his Egyptian counterpart, Mostafa Madbouly, about the intensification of bilateral relations, both at the political, commercial and economic levels. He also had a meeting with the representatives of the Romanian community in Egypt and with Egyptian citizens who studied in Romania.



    EU – Starting on February 5, the European Union has completely suspended imports of Russian refined oil products, such as gasoline, diesel and fuel oil, in the context of the war in Ukraine. Until now, the embargo targeted crude oil. Also as of February 5, another European measure came into force, taken together with the allied states, the G7 group of highly industrialized states as well as Australia. The measure is about limiting the price of Russian oil products transported by sea. European limits provide a maximum of 100 dollars per barrel for expensive products, such as diesel and gasoline, and a maximum of 45 dollars per barrel for less refined ones, such as fuel oil. These measures come after a previous cap at 60 dollars per barrel of Russian crude oil imposed on December 5. Beyond this ceiling, Western companies were prohibited from providing maritime services to Russia, given that the G7 countries provide for approximately 90% of the global transport.



    Gas – In Romania, the natural gas stock in deposits is currently 1.880 billion cubic meters, i.e. 61% of the their capacity. According to Depogaz, the main underground natural gas storage operator in Romania, the country has no problem in securing natural gas for the cold season, this stock being by 780 million cubic meters higher than last year. The latest statistics show that Romania has the fastest emptying rate of stored gas deposits in the EU.



    Weather – In Romania, the National Meteorological Administration has issued a cold weather alert valid in all regions, until Friday, as well as Yellow Code Alerts for snow and blizzard, for areas in 27 counties, valid until Monday evening. According to meteorologists, in the Southern and Eastern Carpathians, it will snow locally and temporarily, and the wind speed will increase at 60 – 70 km/h, and at altitudes above 1,700 m, the gusts will exceed 80 – 90 km /h. Until Friday, the weather will be cold in all regions, with mostly negative highs. It will be frosty at night and in the morning in the intra-Carpathian regions, as well as on smaller areas and in the rest of the territory. The minimum temperatures will range between -14 and -4 degrees, and between -20 and -18 degrees C in isolated areas.



    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Gabriela Ruse reached the last qualifications round of the tennis tournament in Abu Dhabi. That happened following the abandonment of the Czech Tereza Martincova, at the score of 6-3, 3-0 for Gabriela Ruse. The Romanian Sorana Cîrstea entered the main singles draw directly and will play in the first round against the Ukrainian Marta Kostiuk. The winner will face the Swiss Belinda Bencic, the second seed, in the round of 16. Monica Niculescu will play in the doubles, where she pairs with the Japanese Miyu Kato, the opponents in the first round being Ulrikke Eikeri (Norway) and Alexa Guarachi (Chile). (LS)


  • February 5, 2023

    February 5, 2023

    Cairo – The Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, met, on Sunday, in Cairo, with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The talks focused on topics such as bilateral cooperation in the economic and social fields, as well as the impact of the Russian military aggression on Ukraine. The Egyptian president thanked, on this occasion, for the support provided by Romania for the evacuation from Ukraine of the more than one thousand repatriated Egyptian students last year, as well as for facilitating the export of Ukrainian grain to Egypt. In this context, Nicolae Ciucă highlighted the need to support Romanian farmers through access to the production of fertilizers from Egypt necessary for agricultural crops. At the same time, the two agreed to increase Romanian farmers grain exports to the Egyptian market. On Sunday, the Romanian Prime Minister also participated in the Egypt-Romania Business Forum, as well as in the signing ceremony of several bilateral documents. On Saturday, Nicolae Ciucă discussed with his Egyptian counterpart, Mostafa Madbouly, about the intensification of bilateral relations, both at the political, commercial and economic levels. He also had a meeting with representatives of the Romanian community in Egypt and with Egyptian citizens who studied in Romania.



    EU – The European Union totally suspended, as of Sunday, imports of Russian refined oil products, such as gasoline, diesel or fuel oil, in the context of the war in Ukraine. Another European measure, taken together with the allied states, the G7 group of highly industrialized states and Australia also enters into force on Sunday. The measure is about limiting the price of Russian oil products transported by sea. European limits provide a maximum of 100 dollars per barrel for expensive products, such as diesel oil and gasoline, and a maximum of 45 dollars per barrel for less refined ones, such as fuel oil. These measures come after a previous capping at 60 dollars per barrel of Russian crude oil imposed on December 5. Beyond this ceiling, Western companies were prohibited from providing maritime services to Russia, given that the G7 countries provide approximately 90% of the global transport.



    Weather – Romania is under a cold wave alert. Meteorologists have issued two yellow code alerts for bad weather valid until Monday evening. The first alert targets the Southern and Eastern Carpathians, where it will still snow locally and temporarily, and the wind will intensify with speeds reaching 60 – 70 km/h, and at altitudes above 1,700 m, the gusts will exceed 80 – 90 km/h. The other yellow code alert targets counties in the east and southeast of the country, where there will be temporary stronger winds. In the last 24 hours, firefighters intervened in several localities in 18 counties and in the city of Bucharest, to cope with the effects of snow, blizzard and strong winds, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) announced on Sunday. In several counties there are still problems with the supply of electricity. Firefighters intervened to get several vehicles unstuck from the snow, to clear dozens of trees and several electricity poles that fell and damaged several cars. Several national and county roads in the southeast, east and west were blocked by snow. The highs of the day are generally between minus 6 and 1 degree Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 2 degrees C.



    Kyiv – Ukraine was the target of numerous Russian bombings on Saturday, with Kyiv claiming at the same time that it managed to counter an attack on Bahmut, a city in the east that the Ukrainian president called a fortress, AFP reports. According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry the Russian forces are concentrating their efforts in eastern Ukraine. In the south of the Zaporizhzhia province (south), shells fell on some civil infrastructures located on the territories of dozens of localities. Also, the bombings continued in Kherson, an important city also in the south, captured and then abandoned by the Russians. The United States on Friday announced a new 2.2 billion dollar military aid package for Ukraine, which includes missiles that will practically double the range of the Ukrainian strike force against the Russians, AFP and Reuters report. Moreover, Portugal announced on Saturday that it would send Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. Also on Saturday, Canada sent the first Leopard 2 tank of those it promised to Ukraine, the Minister Defense Anita Anand announced. At the end of last month, Canada announced the decision to deliver four German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. (LS)

  • January 30, 2023

    January 30, 2023

    Parliament – The Romanian senators and deputies return, this week, to Parliament, for the first parliamentary session of the year. Among the priorities on the agenda are sensitive bills, such as the one on public service pensions, which should no longer exceed the salary from the active period, or the proposals to amend the education laws, on which the parties in the government coalition have so far failed to reach consensus.



    Brussels — The Romanian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Petre Daea, participated, today, in Brussels, in the meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council. The agenda of talks includes important topics for agricultural producers in Romania, such as: the market situation, the bio-economy, honey labeling, the directive on industrial emissions and animal transport. In the opening of the meeting, the Swedish Presidency will make a presentation of its work program for the current semester in the field of agriculture and fisheries. European officials will receive information from the German delegation regarding the Global Forum on Food and Agriculture, which was held in Berlin on January 21.



    Health — The Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said Sunday evening on a private television station that the number of flu and viral infection cases is decreasing in Romania. According to the minister, the flu epidemic will end in approximately two to three weeks. Alexandru Rafila stated that only in the last week, the number of cases reported was smaller by 25%, about 100,000 new cases of viral respiratory infections and cases of flu, compared to 140,000 a week ago. He also stressed that there were no problems with the stocks of medicines used in viral respiratory infections, even if their consumption has increased more than usual.



    ICR – The Romanian Cultural Institute – ICR announced the relaunch of the Cantemir Cultural Partnerships and Financing Program, intended for international projects. The main aim of the program is to connect culture operators from Romania with partners from abroad. Through the Cantemir Program, previously run between 2006 – 2012 and resumed in 2023 with some changes, ICR will grant non-refundable funding for cultural initiatives in the fields of visual arts – fine arts, decorative arts, science/research and architecture, design, new media, photography, performance and performing arts – theater, music and dance.



    Ukraine — The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg requested South Korea today to increase its military aid to Ukraine. The NATO leader is in Seoul, as part of a visit that will also include Japan. According to the BBC, Stoltenberg intends to strengthen NATO ties with the Asian allies of the United States. He mentioned the war in Ukraine alongside North Koreas nuclear and missile programs and Chinas growing assertiveness as reasons of concern for both East and West. In another development, on Sunday, in Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would not send fighter planes to Ukraine, while Kyiv continues to request weapons from the Western countries to counter the Russian invasion. On Wednesday, Berlin decided to send 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other European countries to supply similar tanks to Kyiv. Also on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was confident that his country could defeat Russia this year, despite Ukraines current difficulties on the battle front. ‘2023 must and will certainly be the year of our victory’ President Zelenski wrote in a social media post. At the same time, the Ukrainian leader admitted that the situation was very difficult regarding the heavy fighting in the east of the country.



    Cairo – The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is meeting today in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss regional issues such as the transition to democracy in Sudan and the elections in Libya. Blinken will also address the concerns related to the observance of human rights by the authorities in Cairo. Egypt is the first stage of the tour that the US official is taking in the Middle East, at a time of escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Today, Blinken will travel to Jerusalem, where he will reiterate the US calls for calm and the US support for a two-state solution, although US officials have admitted that the resumption of peace talks is unlikely in the near future. On Thursday, an Israeli raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank left ten people dead, and on Friday a Palestinian shot dead seven people near a synagogue in Jerusalem. The US Secretary of State will also travel to Ramallah, to meet with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. (LS)

  • August 10, 2021 UPDATE

    August 10, 2021 UPDATE

    Immunity — Herd immunity against COVID-19 in Romania is around 50%, through vaccination or the development of antibodies following the disease – the president of the National Committee for Coordination of Vaccination Activities, doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă said on Tuesday. He added that although the number of infections is on the rise, the situation is stable as compared to other European states. In another development, Valeriu Gheorghiţă specified that the authorities’ aim is to increase the number of vaccinated people, especially among the most vulnerable category, but that, at the moment, anti-Covid vaccination should not be mandatory, because the Romanian society is not prepared for this type of approach. Approximately 5 million Romanians, i.e. a quarter of the total population, have been fully vaccinated. More than 300 new cases of Covid 19 were reported on Tuesday in Romania, after processing more than 34,000 tests, this being the largest daily number reported since the end of May. Four deaths have also been announced. The number of hospitalized patients is also increasing, over 660, of whom about 80 are in intensive care.



    Humanitarian action — A Romanian Air Force aircraft transports, on Tuesday, to Egypt, 525,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine, produced by AstraZeneca, for the management of the pandemic in that country. Romania has received a request for international assistance from the Cairo government through the European Civil Protection Mechanism, thus joining European and international efforts to support Egypt. Similar humanitarian aid would be sent to Albania and Vietnam. Already on Monday, the Romanian Air Force transported to Tunisia approximately 180,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, antigen tests and medical supplies, as well as a 13-strong medical staff team who will provide support to the Tunisian health personnel. In a statement, the Tunisian Embassy in Romania thanked the Romanian state for its action.



    Attack – Romania reiterated its strong condemnation of any acts of aggression that represent violations of the principles and norms of international law and voiced its concern over the negative effects of these actions on regional and international security. This view was shared on Monday at an open debate of the UN Security Council held in video-conference format discussing maritime security as an expression of international cooperation. The Romanian foreign ministry said the attack on the Mercer Street oil tanker is a threat to peace and a blatant violation of international law. The European Union also condemned the attack and called for compliance with the principles and norms of international law. The Romanian foreign ministry recalled that Romanias and Britains permanent representatives at the UN together with Liberias permanent representative (under whose flag the ship was sailing) signed a joint letter to the president of the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary General on the subject of the attack on the Mercer Street tanker, in which a Romanian was also killed. The US presented information that the drone that hit the vessel was an Iranian-made kamikaze drone.



    Climate — The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis promised to get actively involved in the processes aimed at solving the climate crisis following the stark warning issued by a major UN report on the accelerated pace of climate change caused by human action. The report notes that global warming may exceed by 1.5 degrees Celsius the levels recorded at the end of the 19th century by around 2030, ten years earlier than previously estimated. UN experts speak of a genuine red code for humanity and unprecedented disasters, including more heat waves and floods. In response to the UN report, the European Commission said it is not too late to stop this trend provided the countries of the world act immediately and do so together. The US said the world cannot delay ambitious climate action, and the UK said the transition to renewable energy must be made fast, an idea supported by France. Greenpeace insists that it is now up to the worlds governments to take measures and commit to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.



    Police — The Romanian Police on Tuesday launched a road safety campaign entitled “View from the hospital”, in order to reduce the accidents caused as a result of drivers’ failure to observe speed limits on national highways and roads. The policemen presented what is meant by aggressive driving and explained that the dangerous maneuvers for drivers will be defined in the new proposals for the modification of the Traffic Code. The Interior Ministry has proposed, among other things, to double the sanctions for wrong-way driving on highways, i.e. withholding driving licenses for 120 days, as compared to 60 days at present, and license suspension for 60 days for driving in the emergency lane on highways instead of fines, as the rule goes at present. In Romania, excessive speed is the main cause of traffic accidents in the summer season. Statistics show that in summer, many drivers go on holiday with their families and try to reach their destination as soon as possible.



    Senate — The Romanian Senate’s Permanent Bureau on Tuesday summoned a plenary extraordinary session to inform about the adoption by the government, on August 5, during the parliamentary break, of the Emergency Ordinance repealing provisions regarding the disconnection of customers that do not pay their natural gas and thermal energy bills. So far, during the state of alert, conveyance and distribution operators have ensured the continuity of service provision for all subscribers who have not paid their bills. According to the authorities, the number of final customers – domestic and non-domestic – who had not paid their electricity and natural gas bills recorded in the period for which disconnections were postponed, was, at the end of May, over 200 thousand, the amount of outstanding debts standing at almost 250 million lei (about 50 million Euros). (LS)

  • January 13, 2020

    January 13, 2020

    Iran – Romania is closely monitoring the situation in the Gulf after Iran admitted having downed a Ukrainian plane, and this means monitoring the observance of the Vienna Convention which regulates diplomatic relations and the freedom to assemble in public spaces, shows a post on the official Twitter account of the Romanian Foreign Ministry. On Saturday and Sunday Iran saw street protests against the way in which the authorities communicated about the Ukrainian plane downed near Teheran, after initially the Iranian authorities had claimed it had been an accident. Thousands of Iranian protesters called for the resignation of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps confirmed Wednesday that they had hit the Ukrainian plane with 176 people on board, mostly Iranians and Canadians.



    Highway – An important meeting for the future highway linking Sibiu (centre) to Pitesti (south) is scheduled for today at the Transport Ministry in Bucharest. The meeting is meant to provide clarifications in relation to a request by the EC regarding the impact of this major infrastructure project on the environment. Granting European non-reimbursable funds for this project depended on these very clarifications. The meeting is being attended by representatives of the transport, European funds and environment ministries, and of the agencies for protected areas and environment protection. European experts will also participate in the meeting to provide consultancy for preparing infrastructure projects. Of the 5 segments of the highway, a contract for design and construction has been signed for only one segment and works are to star in spring. Two segments are still in the assessment stage, while for the other two segments, actually the most difficult ones given their location in a mountainous area, a tender will be held. At least 11 protected natural sites, located on the route of the highway, need concrete measures for conservation, which Romania has not yet taken, the EC concluded. The total value of the project stands at 1.3 billion Euros of which 85% is to be disbursed by the EC.



    School – Pre-school and school children on Monday started the second semester, one the longest semesters in the Romanian school’s recent history. It is by 5 weeks longer than the first semester. The spring holiday is scheduled for April 4th to 21st. The education minister Monica Anisie has announced that this week she will submit for public debate the methodology for the organization of contests for general inspectors and school managers.



    Handball – Romania’s national men’s handball team defeated, on Sunday evening, the Italian side in Benevento, 29-24, in their last match in the 3rd preliminary group of the 2021 World Championship. The Romanian handballers had already qualified to the 2nd stage of the preliminaries of the 2021 World Championship, after defeating Kosovo on Saturday and Georgia on Sunday. Romania is ranked 1st in the final classification, with 6 points, being followed by Kosovo with 3 points, Georgia with 2 points and Italy 1 point. Only the first ranked team will go ahead to the next stage. However, in order to go as far as next year’s World Championship to be hosted by Egypt, the Romanian handball team needs to pass two playoff rounds playing against two teams that are participating in the European Handball Champions under way these days in Austria, Norway and Sweden. Romania previously participated in a world handball championship in 2011.



    Strasbourg — Strasbourg is hosting today the first meeting of the European Parliament in 2020. Debates will focus on deescalating tensions in Iran and Libya in the context of the latest developments in the Middle East. Also, an important moment of today’s meeting is the presentation of the priorities of the Croatian presidency of the Council of the EU. The MEPs will also tackle such issues as the application and monitoring of the rights of the European citizens in Great Britain, the situation of the judiciary in Hungary and Poland as well as the European Green Deal. Romania has 32 representatives in the EP out of a total of 751 members.



    Deficit — Romania reported the 3rd biggest current account deficit in the EU in the 3rd quarter of 2019. According to data published on Monday by Eurostat, the EU member states with the biggest current account deficit in the assessed period were Great Britain (23.9 billion Euros), France (4.1 billion Euros) and Romania (3.6 billion Euros). In another development, Romania’s national bank announced on Monday that from January to November 2019 the current account of the balance of payments reported a deficit of almost 10 billion Euros, higher by 21% as compared to the one reported in the same period of the previous year. (translation by L. Simion)

  • January 3, 2020

    January 3, 2020

    MARKET The Romanian authorities are to be ceasing their control over the
    domestic gas market. The measure comes after a year when, under an emergency
    ordinance, the gas price for household consumers had been kept under the market
    price, a move that caused price hikes in gas deliveries for industrial
    consumers. Gas prices in Romania are presently higher than in the region both
    for industrial and household consumers. Deregulation in electricity prices is
    due to begin next year.












    SUV The
    new PUMA, an SUV American giant Ford produces in Craiova, southern Romania, is
    to be launched this month after its production commenced last October. The
    first PUMA cars were already sold in the Netherlands in early December and
    these vehicles produced in Romania are to be made available to the EU market
    shortly. A state-of-the art vehicle, the new Ford Puma is the first hybrid car
    produced in Romania. The company has invested over 200 million Euros in this
    vehicle whose production also requires 17 hundred fresh jobs. Ford Craiova has
    nearly 62 hundred employees and the total investment since the plant was taken
    over in 2008 stands around 1.5 billion Euros.










    GENERAL Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on
    Friday said that a harsh retaliation is
    waiting for the US after an American airstrike on a couple of cars at
    Baghdad’s airport killed Qassem Soleimani, the powerful head of Iran’s
    elite forces. Khamenei has also decreed three days of national mourning for
    Iran. The country’s president, Hasan Rouhani said Iran and the free nations of
    the region would take revenge on the United States for the killing. At least 8
    people were killed in the raid over a convoy at the Baghdad airport three days
    after the US embassy had been attacked by pro-Iranian protesters. The Pentagon
    has confirmed the US
    President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike at Baghdad International Airport
    that killed Qasem Soleimani, a key military commander, in a decisive defensive action
    to protect US personnel abroad that was intended to deter future
    Iranian attack plans.












    SPORT Romania will participate with 35 athletes in the 2020 Youth
    Olympics due in Lausanne, Switzerland over January 9 and 22. According to a
    communiqué issued by the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee the Romanian
    athletes will be competing in several disciplines, such as biathlon,
    bob-sleigh, ice hockey, speed skating, sledge, ski-jumping, alpine skiing,
    cross-country skiing and snowboarding. At the previous edition in Lillehammer,
    Norway, the first medals in the history of Romania’s participation in such an
    event went to Eduard Casaneanu, who walked away with gold from the ice-hockey
    event and Mihaela Hogas, who won bronze in the speed skating race.










    HANDBALL Romania’s national handball side is continuing its training campaign
    for the qualification for the World Men’s Handball Championships in 2021 in
    Egypt. Over January 10th and 12th the Romanians will be
    playing Italy, Georgia and Kosovo. Selector Rares Fortuneanu, who is also
    coaching French side Saint Raphael has voiced hope for Romania’s qualification for the final
    tournament, the first with 32 sides attending.






    (translated by bill)

  • June 19, 2019

    June 19, 2019

    VISIT The Presidents of Romania and Egypt, Klaus Iohannis and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi respectively, had official talks today as part of the visit the head of the Egyptian state is making to Bucharest. The 2 leaders announced with satisfaction an increase in the volume of bilateral trade, and President Iohannis said closer cooperation is being discussed, both in bilateral terms and between the European Union and Egypt, in the field of social and economic development, research, the fight against terrorism, energy and migration. Informal negotiations are under way for an economic agreement between the EU and Egypt.




    JUSTICE The European Commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said in Bucharest on Wednesday that Romania will very soon become a Schengen member, because it has fulfilled most of its commitments. The EU official made this statement ahead of the EU – USA ministerial meeting on justice and home affairs, an event organised under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. Taking part are also the European Commissioner for Justice, Vera Jourová, and European Commissioner for the Security Union, Julian King. For the first time, the US Attorney General William Barr is also attending the meeting. The US official had meetings yesterday with President Klaus Iohannis, with PM Viorica Dăncilă and with Justice Minister Ana Birchall. The agenda included topics of mutual interest in the field of justice. The US official also voiced his appreciation for the solid Strategic Partnership with Romania, which, he said, is the United States most reliable ally in the region.




    BUSINESS PM Viorica Dăncilă said on Wednesday that the French investments in Romania are proof that this is a favourable country for the business environment. Dăncilă is taking part in the French-Romanian Economic Forum, an event organised by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania as part of the Romania-France Season. “We have all witnessed of late a true economic upswing in the bilateral relation, with many successful projects that have helped push the French-Romanian trade to over 9 million euro last year, the Romanian PM said. France is the 5th largest foreign investor in Romania. Over 3,000 French businesses operate in Romania, employing a combined 120,000 people, and France is the 3rd most important market for Romanian exports and the 6th largest source of Romanian imports.




    EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Dacian Cioloş, who was elected into the European Parliament on the lists of the 2020 USR-PLUS Alliance, was chosen to lead Renew Europe, a pro-European group formed around President Emmanuel Macron following the May 26th European elections, and the 3rd largest group in the EP. “The presidency of Renew Europe group is just a step in the political construction we have been working to design for 2 years, Ciolos said. A former PM of Romania and former European commissioner for agriculture, Dacian Ciolos is the leader of PLUS party in Romania. The alliance formed by PLUS and Save Romania Union won 8 seats in the European Parliament, coming in 3rd in Romania after the National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party.




    MEDICINES Bucharest is hosting, between June 19th and 21st, the second meeting of the Heads of Medicines Agencies – HMA II. The agenda includes topics of strategic importance in the field of human and animal health products. Attending the meeting are the heads of medicines regulation and control agencies in the European Economic Area, representatives of the European Medicines Agency, of the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and of the European Commission. The first HMA meeting organised under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU was held in Timisoara in February.




    WEATHER Romanian meteorologists Wednesday issued a code yellow warning for heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and hailstorms, valid today in most parts of the country. Precipitation amounts will exceed 25 l/sq.m. The bad weather is expected to continue on Thursday. Experts also warn that thermal discomfort will remain high especially at noon time, with the temperature-humidity index sometimes exceeding the critical 80-unit ceiling.




    FOOTBALL Romanias youth football team Tuesday night won 4-1 against Croatia, in its first match in the European Under-21 football championship hosted by Italy and San Marino. In the same Group C, France defeated England 2-1. On Friday, Romania takes on England and France plays against Croatia. This is the 2nd participation for a Romanian youth football team in a final tournament, after the one in 1998, organised in Bucharest. The 4 top-ranking teams qualify into the 2020 Olympics.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • February 24, 2019 UPDATE

    February 24, 2019 UPDATE

    SUMMIT – Cooperation between the EU and the League of Arab States is vital in the fight against terrorism, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, said at the first EU-The League of Arab States Summit, underway in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Iohannis underlined that Romania is firmly opposed to all forms of terrorism and violent extremism. The Romanian president also said the evolutions in the region over the past few years included a series of crises which continue to impact everyones security, in spite of the efforts that are being made by local actors and by the international community. Klaus Iohannis said that economy is the engine to positive transformation and he added that trade exchanges and investments contribute to sustainable development, containing poverty and creating new jobs. The President of Romania has also reiterated that migration continues to be a major challenge. “We should approach the root causes of this scourge and closely cooperate with the origin and transit countries, Klaus Iohannis has also said.



    MAGISTRATES– The Romanian PM Viorica Dancila has invited representatives of the magistrates associations and of the Superior Council of Magistracy to talks on Monday, on the recent changes to the justice laws. In a communiqué, the prime minister has expressed her cabinets availability to support all judicial institutions to perform a correct act of justice, towards ensuring full respect for the citizens rights. The announcement is made shortly after Fridays protests by the magistrates across the country, against the provisions of an emergency decree issued on Tuesday by the government. According to prosecutors and judges the new changes may lead to an institutional deadlock and impact the independence of the judiciary. We recall that several prosecutors offices in Bucharest and several other cities have decided to suspend their activity, for a week, as from Monday, in token of protest against the new changes to the justice laws



    VENEZUELA – The EU on Sunday condemned the acts of violence by troops loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro which blocked convoys of humanitarian aid from crossing into Venezuela. Violence broke out on Saturday when four trucks attempted to cross the border from Columbia into Venezuela, backed by the crowd which demanded free access for the humanitarian convoy sent mainly by the US. According to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, the main causes of the current crisis are political and institutional, and consequently the solution could only be political. She called for restoring democracy to Venezuela by holding free, transparent and credible presidential elections. Several European states have recently announced they recognize the opposition leader in Venezuela, Juan Guaido, as interim president. In exchange, China and Russia recognize Nicolas Maduro as the legitimate president of the country.



    DIASPORA – Experts on Diaspora-related problems from 9 countries, including Greece, Italy, France and the UK, attended a debate in Craiova, southern Romania, between February 22 and 24. The event was organised by the Ministry for the Romanians Abroad, now that Romania is holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. The participants presented examples of reinsertion and reintegration of citizens, after their return to their countries of origin, as well as awareness raising campaigns on human trafficking.



    FLU – The National Public Health Institute on Sunday announced a new death caused by the flu virus, thus taking to 149 the total number of people who succumbed to the flu in Romania since the start of the season. The last person to die of flu is a man, 39, without pre-existing conditions, who hasnt gotten a flu shot. The latest data released by the National Public Health Institute show over 1.3 million people have been vaccinated against the flu so far.



    TRAVEL – The Tourism Fair which started in Bucharest on Thursday came to a close on Sunday. Over 330 companies from 15 countries have presented their travel offers to visitors. A Romanian-Moldovan joint project titled “The Route of Ruler Stephen the Great, was also launched during the fair, in an effort to boost cooperation between the two countries and to contribute to developing the areas along this route, in terms of tourism. The new project is destined for Moldovan and Romanian citizens, as well as for foreigners who want to embark on an interesting cultural and historical itinerary. The route includes 24 historical and cultural attractions on Romanias territory and 10 others located in the Republic of Moldova. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • February 23, 2019

    February 23, 2019

    DIPLOMACY The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, has talks today with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, on the sidelines of the EU – League of Arab States summit to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The 2 officials will look at the bilateral relations and discuss concrete means to encourage and deepen the cooperation between the 2 countries, in all areas of mutual interest, particularly in the economy. According to a news release issued by the Presidency, the consultations will also be a good opportunity to discuss common priorities, in light of Romanias holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU and of Egypts holding the presidency of the African Union. At the summit in Egypt scheduled on Sunday and Monday, Klaus Iohannis will give an address presenting Romanias views on the cooperation between EU member states and the Arab League countries in view of finding common solutions to current, as well as medium and long term future challenges.




    PES The Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă had a meeting today with the PM of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, on the sidelines of the congress of the PES in Madrid. The 2 officials expressed their satisfaction with the excellent bilateral relationship, confirmed by the Strategic Partnership, and with the dynamics of bilateral sectorial dialogue. They also discussed the 2 countries cooperation within the EU, given that Romania and Spain have similar views on major topics for the future of the Union, such as the post-2020 financial framework, the cohesion policy, the internal market, justice and home affairs, the Neighbourhood Policy and the EU enlargement. On Friday the Romanian PM had talks with her counterpart from Malta, Joseph Muscat, and with the Portuguese PM, Antonio Costa.




    PROTESTS Magistrates in Bucharest and several other Romanian cities protested on Friday in front of court buildings against new changes introduced to the justice laws. They also decided to suspend work for a week, as of Monday. Prosecutors and judges say that Ordinance 7, passed by the Government early this week, may lead to institutional deadlock and affect their independence. One of the provisions that angered the magistrates says that judges having previously worked as prosecutors may be appointed as chief prosecutors, and waives the seniority criterion. The emergency decree has been criticised both in Brussels, by the European Commission, and in Romania, by magistrate associations, the prosecutors division in the Higher Council of Magistracy and by the right-of-centre Opposition.




    DRUGS Romanian police jointly with German authorities dismantled a crime group that distributed large amounts of illegal drugs, particularly in Bucharest night clubs. During the operation, which took place last year, the authorities seized 11 kilos of high-risk drugs, 800 euro and 2 vehicles. Five individuals were arrested. The operation was based on intelligence received from German authorities, which found and seized a package containing over 3 kilos of high-risk drugs, during a routine check on a coach traveling from Rotterdam to Bucharest. Romanian police say the amount had been sent to a crime group distributing large amounts of drugs in Bucharest.




    WEATHER Romania struggles with exceptionally cold weather, particularly in the north and centre of the country. A code yellow alert for strong wind is in place across the country, except for a few counties in the south-west and the north. On Friday night authorities temporarily suspended navigation in all ports at the Black Sea, and railway traffic was also disrupted. The strong wind brought down tens of trees in the capital Bucharest on Friday night.




    MOLDOVA In the Republic of Moldova, the election campaign for Parliament continues. The recently modified election legislation scrapped the so-called reflection day, so candidates may campaign on the very day of the election as well. For the first time, a mixed voting system will be used, with 50 MPs elected on party lists and another 51 in a single-choice system, in one voting round. Polls indicate President Igor Dodons pro-Russian Socialist party is ahead, with nearly 40% of voter intentions, followed by a pro-European right-of-centre election cartel called ACUM, with 25%, and the pro-Western Democratic Party with 15%. A referendum is also held at the same time, concerning the reduction of the number of MPs from 101 to 61 and the possibility to have them removed from office by citizens.




    SPORTS The Romanian womens handball team CSM Bucharest plays today at home against the Hungarian side Gyor, in a game counting towards the Champions League main group stage. Also today, Dinamo Bucharest plays Sporting Lisabon away from home, in the first qualifying round for the 8th-finals of the mens version of the same competition.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • November 24, 2017 UPDATE

    November 24, 2017 UPDATE

    SUMMIT – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis said in Brussels on Friday that the EU must continue to support in a consistent manner the modernisation and reform efforts of the 6 Eastern Partnership countries. He encouraged a solid EU policy for its eastern neighbours, a region that must become predictable, stable and prosperous, committed to the European principles and values. At the 5th Eastern Partnership summit, 20 goals were agreed on and included in a roadmap for 2020. Launched in 2009, the Eastern Partnership is designed to promote political association and economic integration between the EU and 6 partners in Eastern Europe – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.




    PRESIDENCY – The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, had a meeting in Brussels on Friday with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Porosenko, on the sidelines of the Eastern Partnership summit. The main topic approached was Romanian-language education in Ukraine, in the context of president Porosenko promulgating a controversial education law in September. President Iohannis said his counterpart promised that all the recommendations of the Venice Commission with respect to this law will be taken into account, and that before being endorsed the prospective changes of the act will be discussed with Romanian officials and representatives of the Romanian community in Ukraine. Also on the sidelines of the summit, president Iohannis had talks with the prime minister of the Republic of Moldova, Pavel Filip. On this occasion, Iohannis reiterated that Romania supports Moldovas pro-European aspirations.




    LABOUR – The Romanian Labour Minister, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, said on Friday that Romania is struggling with a severe deficit in the labour market, particularly in the IT sector, healthcare, constructions and agriculture. She added that the country needs to find solutions to this problem, and one of them would be to persuade the Romanians working abroad to come back home. These statements were made during a debate on the economic, social and cultural development of Romanian rural areas, organised in Bucharest and attended, among others, by the Agriculture Minister, Petre Daea.




    JUDICIARY – The Chamber of Deputies Speaker and leader of the leftist Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, Friday challenged at the High Court of Cassation and Justice a protective asset seizure by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate in the case known as “Tel Drum. Prosecutors sought to make sure that the over 25 million euros worth of damages in this case will be recovered. Dragnea is charged for offences that include the setting up of an organised crime group, abuse of office and fraud, which he allegedly perpetrated when he chaired the Teleorman County Council. According to the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, the case was based on a notification sent by the European Anti-Fraud Office, OLAF, with respect to several misdeeds, including the use of false documents to illegally obtain European funding for county road repair works.




    ATTACK – Egypt observes 3-day national mourning after more than 200 people were killed on Friday in an attack on a mosque in the north of Sinai Peninsula. According to international news agencies, the perpetrators detonated a bomb then started shooting the believers in the mosque located in a region where authorities are fighting an Egyptian group affiliated to the Islamic State. Since the Egyptian Army ousted the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, in 2013, the jihadists have attacked security forces and civilians in northern Sinai on a regular basis, news agencies also report.





    RUGBY – Romanias national rugby team is playing a test match against Tonga on Saturday in Bucharest. If it wins, Romania, currently ranked no 14th in the world, will go one place up. A week ago, Romania won a test match against Samoa, 17-13, on home turf.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • April 9, 2017 UPDATE

    April 9, 2017 UPDATE

    UNIFIED PAY LAW – The unified pay law for state sector employees will be submitted to Parliament on Sunday, for debate, so it may take effect as of July 1. The bill creates equal conditions for all those who carry out the same activity and have the same seniority. Another principle is that of creating a scale, a hierarchy, for heads of institutions not to have smaller salaries than their subordinates. The bill also sets a timetable for the pay- rises to be made in the following years. The ratio between the smallest and the highest salary in the Romanian state sector will be 1/12. The political opposition in Bucharest contests this unified pay law drafted by the coalition Government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, saying it is unrealistic, as there is not enough money to cover all pay rises. In turn, the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, says the pay-rises are necessary but they should be kept in check, given that Romania managed to secure the current economic and financial balance at high costs.



    STOCKHOLM ATTACK VICTIM – Bishop Macarie Dragoi, the representative of the Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe on Sunday visited the Romanian woman who got injured in Fridays Stockholm attack. The woman, 83, was hit by fragments of concrete projected by the truck which rammed into a group of people. She suffered a double leg fracture. The Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe writes in a communiqué that bishop Macarie has encouraged the woman and assured her of his entire support. 4 people got killed and 15 others were wounded in the Stockholm attack. The Romanian Foreign Ministry firmly condemned the attack and reiterated Romanias commitment to the effort of combating all forms of terrorism.



    HOLY WEEK – Christian believers the world over, among which those in Romania, a country with a majority Orthodox population, on Monday enter the Holy Week, the week immediately before Easter. The Holy Week, was preceded by Palm Sunday, which celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, thousands of Orthodox and Catholic believers attended the traditional Palm Sunday processions, carrying icons, willow tree branches and flowers. This year, orthodox and Catholic believers will celebrate Easter at the same time.



    ROAMING CHARGES – As of June 15, roaming charges will no longer be applied to European citizens travelling to another EU member state. Thus, the Europeans will be able to call, text and go online in another EU country without paying extra-charges. European mobile users will thus be charged the same price for using their phone while abroad as they pay in their country of residence. The European Commission has taken action for 10 years to reduce and finally eliminate extra-charges imposed by telecommunication operators, and last week, the European MPs eliminated the last obstacle in the effort to completely eliminate roaming charges.



    ROAD TAXES – The National Road Company of Romania intends to notify the European Commission relative to the new system of cashing in road taxes instated by Bulgaria. Sofia eliminated the possibility of purchasing the road vignette from petrol stations, a move which results in long queues of trucks at the Giurgiu-Ruse border checkpoint between Romania and Bulgaria. According to the company, the Bulgarian side has so far rejected all proposals made by Romania in an effort to ease traffic. Giurgiu-Ruse is the main border checkpoint between Romania and Bulgaria, and is transited by over 1,000 trucks a day.



    CHURCH BOMBINGS – The Islamic State Jihadist group has claimed responsibility for Sundays church bombings in Egypt, which left scores of dead and over 100 others injured. The bombings hit two Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, respectively, while the believers were celebrating Palm Sunday. Coptic believers are making up the largest Christian community in the Middle East, accounting for some 10% of the total population of 92 million Egyptians.



    SYRIA – Russian and Iranian Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rohani, respectively, on Sunday had a phone conversation, condemning the recent US strikes on a Syrian air-base. The US cruise missile strikes came in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in north-western Syria.Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rohani have underlined the US aggressive actions against a sovereign state are unacceptable and running counter to the rule of law. The two presidents called for an objective investigation to be made in order to cast light on the circumstances in which the chemical attack occurred. Russia and Iran are the main supporters of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has said on CNN that President Donald Trump does not rule out the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia and Iran for the support they provide to the Syrian leader. Washington made public its intention to launch further attacks if need be, but it expressed hope this will not be necessary.

  • September 14, 2015

    September 14, 2015

    MIGRANT CRISIS – Brussels will be the venue for the first official meeting of EU member states representatives, who will be holding negotiations on the European Commissions proposal to set compulsory refugee quotas. The increasingly high number of refugees has started to create problems in Germany, which announced it will temporarily reintroduce border controls. A similar decision was made by the Czech Republic. According to the European Commission, an inappropriate response to the refugee influx might put in jeopardy the Schengen free movement area. Deputy prime minister for national security and interior minister, Gabriel Oprea, who represents Romania at the Brussels meeting, has said Bucharest complies with its initial commitments to receive 1,785 immigrants, in line with its current capacity. He will vote against compulsory quotas imposed by the Commission, according to which Bucharest should take in over 6,000 people. Overall, 10 EU member states are opposed to compulsory quotas.



    A NEW SCHOOL YEAR – At the start of a new school year, Romanias president, Klaus Iohannis, has today wished over the 3 million pre-school children and pupils, to enjoy a good year, which should take them closer to their professional and intellectual dreams. He attended the official start of the 2015-2016 school year in the southern Romanian city of Targoviste, where he said education is an issue which should make the object of a national debate and laying emphasis on a pupils education is not a slogan, but a principle. Himself a teacher by profession, Klaus Iohannis underlined that an important element of education is to correlate it with the labour market, the realities and needs of society. issue, later in RN.



    MOLDOVA – The organisers of the anti-government protests in the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, have urged the population to start an all out strike. The participants in the rally adopted a resolution calling for the setting up of a new political movement and of a so-called government of popular confidence, to replace the current cabinet. Some incidents were also reported when a group of young people, who claimed the only solution to overcome the crisis in the Republic of Moldova is to unite with neighbouring Romania, were forced out of the square.



    DIPLOMACY – Romanian foreign minister, Bogdan Aurescu, is currently on a visit to Turkmenistan. He is due to meet his counterpart Rashid Meredov and to be received in audience by president Gurbanguli Berdamuhamedov. High on the agenda of the talks will also be the relation between the two countries, laying special emphasis on economic cooperation in the field of energy and transports. The Romanian official pays this visit in the context of diplomatic demarches being made in order to boost Romanias foreign policy actions in its eastern neighbourhood and in Central Asia.



    EGYPT – 12 tourists have been killed accidentally by the Egyptian security forces, who opened fire at some vehicles with Mexican tourists onboard in the Western Dessert, the Egyptian Interior Ministry announced on Monday. 10 others have been injured. The tourist car convoy entered a restricted area, while the joint police and armed forces were following Islamist militants. After the former Islamist president Mohammed Morsi was removed from power by the army, in 2013, following violent protests, the Egyptian security forces were the target of various attacks committed by the militants.



    MUSIC – The “George Enescu International Festival continues in Romania. Performing in the “Great Orchestras of the World series will be the Choir and Orchestra of the George Enescu Philharmonics in Bucharest. European classical music orchestra “Les Dissonances will perform as part of the “Chamber Recitals and Concerts series. Last night in Bucharest, Richard Strausss “Elektra, considered to be one of the most difficult pieces of music was performed by the Bavarian Satate Orchestra, conducted by Sebastian Weigle, with the participation of the Radio Academic Choir, under the baton of Dan Mihai Goia.



    SPORTS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has consolidated its second position in WTAs rankings, made public today, after she reached the semi-finals of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Ranking first is American player Serena Williams. Russian Maria Sharapova, who didnt play at the tournament in New York ranks third. The surprise winner of the US Open, Italian Flavia Pennetta, is ranking eights. Four other Romanians are among the top players of the world: Irina Begu ( WTA ranking: 30), Monica Niculescu (WTA ranking: 39), Alexandra Dulgheru (WTA ranking: 52) and Andreea Mitu (WTA ranking: 79 WTA).