Radio România Internațional

Tag: extreme cold

  • January 12, 2017

    January 12, 2017


    EXTREME WEATHER The code yellow warning for severe cold has expired today, but temperatures are still extremely low. Weather specialists have warned that glazed frost might cover the roads putting drivers and passengers in danger. Also, the wind will keep on blowing hard especially in the south-east, south and center of the country. In the mountain areas the gusts will exceed 60-70 km per hour. The highs of the day range from minus 8 to 2 degrees Celsius, with a minus 8 degree reading in Bucharest at noon. Most national and local roads are now open, except for just a few in the south-east. Because of the bad weather, some 100 train journeys have been cancelled today, and schools and kindergartens in the capital remain closed.



    CONSTITUTIONAL COURT Romania’s Constitutional Court decided on Thursday that the law enabling the Government to issue ordinances is constitutional. Previously, the Court had rejected the notification filed by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the People’s Movement Party. The opposition parties had claimed that the law would allow the Grindeanu cabinet to amend organic laws through simple ordinances, which would run counter to the Constitution. The head of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea had stated that the opposition was merely attempting to block the Government’s activity.



    CVM Romania meets all conditions for the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism to be terminated this year, said on Thursday the Romanian Justice Minister Florin Iordache after a meeting with the Deputy Secretary-General in charge of Institutional and Administrative Policies of the European Commission Paraskevi Michou. The mechanism was introduced in 2007 as a prerequisite for Romania’s and Bulgaria’s joining the EU and it focuses in particular on the reform of the judiciary, the fight against corruption and organized crime. The Justice Minister has also said that Romania has taken major steps towards consolidating important institutions, which is a guarantee for the fact that the rule of law is extremely important in Romania.



    PROTEST Hundreds of people protested in Bucharest and Cluj on Wednesday night against the Ombudsman Victor Ciorbea, calling for his resignation, following his decision to notify the Constitutional Court about the law that bans people with criminal convictions from becoming Government members. The very fact that we are actually talking about the possibility of criminal convicts holding top positions in the state is outrageous and inadmissible. Integrity is not negotiable said one of the protesters. Last week, Ciorbea stated that his notification was based on solid arguments, because the law in question was in violation of both the Constitution and several international conventions. He denied media allegations according to which he had talked to the head of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea about the issue. A month ago, the Social Democratic Party won the parliamentary elections in Romania, with 45% of the votes, but Dragnea could not become the prime-minister, because he had already been given a suspended sentence of two years in prison for attempting to rig the referendum on the impeachment of the former president Traian Basescu in 2012.



    DIPLOMACY Romania’s Ambassador to Washington George Maior has had a meeting with top Republican members of the US Congress. The topic of the meeting was Romanian – American cooperation against the background of the soon to be instated Trump administration. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner hailed the exemplary conduct of Romania as a NATO member, US ally and partner. US politicians have stressed that fact that the strength of the Romanian – American relation is measured through joint cooperation projects, such as the management of the missile defense system, the efforts to fight terrorism, energy security and cyber security. Also, they have stated their belief that the cooperation with Romania has reached excellence standards and underlined the intent to continue to support the development of economic relations between Romania and the US, correlated with the priorities of the future US administration.



    NATO Some 3,000 US soldiers, accompanied by tanks and armoured vehicles have started to arrive in Poland today. The contingent is part of the troops that the acting US president Barack Obama has decided to deploy in order to reassure the NATO allies, currently worried by Russia’s aggressive actions. Their deployment takes place just a few days prior to the investiture of the new US president – elect Donald Trump, who is very much into improving the relations with Moscow. 80 combat tanks and hundreds of armoured vehicles have already arrived in Germany, and are to be deployed in Eastern Europe, including Romania.



    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu, ranking 40th in the WTA classification, has today qualified for the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Hobart, Australia, with 225 thousand dollars in prize money. In the quarters she defeated the Japanese Risa Ozaki 6-4, 6-4. On Friday, Niculescu will fight to qualify for the final, and play against the Ukranian Lesia Tsurenko. In the doubles, the Romanian Raluca Olaru and the Ukrainian Olga Savciuk, both finalists in Shenzehn, on Wednesday managed to qualify for the quarters. They defeated 6-4, 6-2 the pair made up of the Dutch Kiki Bertens and the Swedish Johanna Larsson. Olaru and Savciuk will play in the next round against the Ukrainian twins Liudmila and Nadia Kicenok.




  • January 9, 2017

    January 9, 2017

    BAD WEATHER – In Romania, traffic has been resumed today on the motorway connecting the capital city to the Black Sea coast and on the national roads that had been closed after the heavy snowfalls of the past few days. Black Sea and Danube ports were also reopened, except for Drobeta Turnu-Severin, but transport on the Danube, where ice blocks have formed, is still affected. Checkpoints on the Bulgarian border remain closed down. We remind you that heavy snows severely disrupted road, railway and naval transport at the end of the week. The most severely hit was the south-east of the country, where many localities experienced power outings. Across the country, scores of trains have been cancelled and some flights delayed. Because of the extremely low temperatures, schools and kindergartens are closed today in 21 counties, particularly in the south and the east, Bucharest included. The measure will stay in place on Tuesday in 16 counties and the capital city. Nine universities in Bucharest, Constanta and Oradea have also suspended classes today and tomorrow. Authorities have announced that schools in Bucharest might remain closed on Wednesday as well, unless weather improves.



    COLD WAVE, EUROPE – Extreme cold has hit the entire continent and has made at least 36 victims in the last few days, mostly in Italy and Poland. Italy is the worst affected, with temperatures reaching 60-year lows. One of the people who died in Italy because of the cold is a Romanian man living in Messina, Sicily. Greece was also hit by strong wind and heavy snows, which reached as far south as the Aegean islands and tested the refugees camped in Lesbos. Those who had been sleeping in tents were temporarily moved to heated accommodation or received blankets and sleeping bags. In Moscow, temperatures plummeted to negative 30 degrees Celsius, and in France to minus 20. Bad weather was also reported in Germany, Switzerland, and Poland, as well as on the Adriatic Sea coast, particularly around the Croatian town of Split, where the lowest temperatures in 50 years were reported. Biting cold has also gripped Hungary, Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The episode seems to have been caused by a glacial Polar Continental air mass which advanced south-westwards from Scandinavia.



    PARLIAMENT – The Parliament of Romania convenes in a special meeting today, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and head of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea announced. He explained that the decision was needed in order to enable the government appointed by the Social Democrats and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats to issue government orders. The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, in opposition, sent the bill enabling the Cabinet to issue government orders during parliamentary recess to the Constitutional Court. The two opposition parties argued that the bill allows the Cabinet headed by the Social Democrat Sorin Grindeanu to amend organic laws by means of government orders, which comes against the Constitution. The Power on the other hand believes the Government activity would be otherwise hindered.



    UNEMPLOYMENT – In Romania, the unemployment rate for November was 5.7%, the National Statistics Institute announced on Monday. The number of unemployed people reached 521,000, down both since the previous month and since the corresponding month of 2015. The unemployment rate stood at 6.5% among men and 4.7% for women, the National Statistics Institute also reported.



    GOLDEN GLOBES – The film La La Land directed by Damien Chazelle was the great winner of the Golden Globes awarded Sunday night in Los Angeles. The musical won 7 trophies, in all the categories where it had been nominated, including best picture – comedy or musical, best screenplay, best director, original song, original soundtrack. The feature film Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins, won the award for “best picture – drama. Cassey Affleck walked away with the award for the best actor, for the part in Manchester by the Sea, and Isabelle Huppert won the “best actress, drama category. The Golden Globe award for lifetime achievement went to Meryl Streep.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 22, 2016 UPDATE

    January 22, 2016 UPDATE

    ENERGY – At present Romania has no problems with its natural gas supplies, the National Natural Gas Transport Company, Transgaz, announced on Friday. According to a news release issued by the institution, the system is balanced and operates at normal standards in spite of the extremely low temperatures reported these days. The situation is under permanent monitoring and there is no emergency in the system, Transgaz added. Romania has 1.3 billion cubic metres of natural gas stored in its six underground facilities, and the daily consumption is around 50 million cubic metres. The low temperatures of the past few days pushed the daily electricity and natural gas consumption figures to record levels.



    JUDICIARY – The Mayor of the town of Hârlău (in eastern Romania), the Social-Democrat Constantin Cernescu, and the deputy Florin Ţăpuşă, have been taken by anti-corruption prosecutors under charges of bribe taking, abuse of office, forgery and criminal incitement. In the same case, which probes into illegal transactions with wood carried out over the past two years, the head of the local forestry office and his personal driver have also been arrested.



    DIPLOMACY – The Minister delegate for the Romanian diaspora, Dan Stoenescu, is on a three-day visit to neighbouring Ukraine as of Friday. During the talks with Ukrainian officials, Stoenescu reiterated Romanias support for the EU accession efforts made by Ukraine, and Bucharests willingness to provide assistance in extending domestic reforms in the field of national minorities. The agenda also includes meetings with members of the Romanian community in Ukraine, which is nearly half a million people, mostly living in villages and towns near the common border.



    BODNARIU CASE – A delegation of the Parliament of Romania is in Norway, in an attempt to contribute to the settlement of the situation of Romanian families whose children were taken over by the Norwegian social services. The Orthodox Bishop Macarie Dragoi of Northern Europe is also on a visit to Norway. He said the family is the most appropriate environment for educating children. These visits come against the backdrop of strong emotional responses in Romania after the Norwegian authorities decided to take five children, aged between 4 months and 10 years, from a Romanian-Norwegian family, on grounds that the children were subjected to physical punishments by their parents. Thousands of Romanians, both in Romania and abroad, took part in rallies to voice their solidarity with Ruth and Marius Bodnariu.



    MIGRANTS – More than 40 migrants drowned off the Greek and Turkish coastlines, in two separate incidents, while trying to reach the EU. According to commentators, such tragedies are the result of a deadly combination of bad weather, overloaded boats and huge numbers of refugees from Africa and Asia, who try to cross the sea into Europe every day. According to the International Organisation for Migration, 31,000 people arrived on Greek islands since the beginning of the year, which is 21 times more than in January 2015. Last year over a million migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean to get into Europe, and 3.700 drowned.

  • January 19, 2016 UPDATE

    January 19, 2016 UPDATE

    WEATHER– After snowstorms at the weekend, Romania is facing a cold snap until Thursday, meteorologists say. On Wednesday, temperatures will drop to minus 25 degrees Celsius, whereas the highs of the day will not exceed plus 2 degrees Celsius. In another move, railroad traffic is further disrupted in the south and southeast of the country, the areas the most affected by heavy snowfalls and blizzard at the weekend. Several villages have been left without electricity.



    DIPLOMACY – Romanian Prime Minister, Dacian Ciolos, will pay a two-day official visit to Paris, as of Wednesday. He is due to meet President Francois Hollande, Prime Minister Manuel Valls, and the speakers of the two Chambers of the French Parliament, Gérard Larcher and Claude Bartolone, respectively. The talks will focus on the privileged relations between Romania and France, on stepping up the projects in the roadmap of the bilateral strategic partnership, on improving economic relations and strengthening contacts between the business communities, as well as important topics on the European and international agenda, such as terrorism, migration and the EU security policy. Other focal points of the talks will include Romanias Schengen accession, the forthcoming report of the European Commission under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, as well as cooperation as part of Bucharests preparations to take over the presidency of the EU Council. Ciolos will also meet with representatives of the Romanian community in France and with CEOs and managers of important French companies. France is the fifth largest foreign investor in Romania.



    SPECIAL PENSIONS – Romanias Constitutional Court on Wednesday will debate the notification submitted by the technocratic cabinet in Bucharest on the special pensions law for elected local officials. According to the government, the law adopted in December would run counter to several articles in the Constitution, by instating a special regime of privileges for certain elected local officials. Furthermore, the government contests the retroactive granting of special rights and draws attention to the lack of budget resources. Over 16,000 potential beneficiaries, mayors, deputy mayors, presidents and vice-presidents of County Councils, are to receive special pensions ranging from 350 to1,500 Euros.



    ECONOMY– Romania is the third EU member state to register, in November 2015, the most significant increase in the volume of construction works, as compared to the same period of 2014. According to the data released on Tuesday by the European Statistics Office, Eurostat, Romania registered an increase of 6.8%, being outclassed only by Slovakia and Sweden. In November 2015, the volume of construction works at EU level increased by 1.9%, on an average, Eurostat also shows.



    SPORTS – The Romanian player Alexandra Dulgheru (no. 61 WTA) has qualified to the second round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, after defeating the Australian Storm Sanders (no. 355 WTA) 6-4, 6-2. Three other Romanian players lost their games in the first round. World no. 2 Simona Halep was surprisingly defeated by Chinas Shuai Zhang (133 WTA), Irina Begu (31 WTA) was outperformed by the Swedish Johanna Larsson (50 WTA), and Andreea Mitu (96 WTA) was defeated by the German Julia Gorges (45 WTA). Another Romanian player, Monica Niculescu (no 40 WTA), qualified on Monday to the second round of the tournament, and is to play against the Russian Elizaveta Kulicikova (no 109 WTA).


    (Translated and edited by Diana Vijeu)

  • January 19, 2016

    January 19, 2016

    WEATHER – After snowstorms over the weekend, Romania is facing a cold stint until Thursday. Last night temperatures dropped to minus 21 degrees in the centre and south of the country, while in the capital city Bucharest they reached minus 17 degrees. Temperatures will fall even more in the days to come in most parts of the country. On the other hand, road and railway transport is still disrupted in the south and south east, the areas the most affected by the heavy snowfalls and the blizzards of the past weekend. Several roads are still closed, including part of the motorway connecting the capital city to the Black Sea. Eight villages have reported power outings, and schools and kindergartens in several counties in the south-east remain closed down today.



    DIPLOMACY – The Romanian PM, Dacian Cioloş, will be on an official visit to Paris on Wednesday and Thursday. He will have meetings with President François Hollande, with PM Manuel Valls and with the speakers of the two Chambers of the French Parliament, Gérard Larcher and Claude Bartolone. The talks will focus on the privileged relations between Romania and France, on stepping up the projects in the Roadmap of the bilateral strategic partnership, on improving economic relations and strengthening contacts between the business communities, as well as important topics on the European and international agenda, such as terrorism, migration and the EU security policy. Other topics will also be approached, such as Romanias Schengen accession, the forthcoming report of the European Commission under the Cooperation and Verification mechanism, as well as cooperation as part of Bucharests preparations to take over the presidency of the EU Council. Ciolos will also meet with representatives of the Romanian community and with managers of important French companies. France is the fifth largest foreign investor in Romania.



    EU – The PM of Poland, Beata Szydlo, will be in Strasbourg today for talks in the European Parliament regarding Warsaws observance of the rule of law. The controversial measures of the ruling Conservative Party, which strengthened its control over the judiciary and the mass media, generated tensions between Poland and the EU. The European Commission initiated an unprecedented inquiry to establish whether Poland still complies with the European democracy standards. Yesterday in Brussels, the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, discussed the matter with the head of the European Council, his former political opponent, Donald Tusk, and with the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, in an attempt to ease tensions. Whereas Donald Tusk said an aggressive tone in the dialogue between Brussels and Warsaw should be avoided, the head of the Polish State said his country would never turn its back on Poland, but emphasised that the EU must respect Poland in its turn.



    ECONOMY – The growth rate of the Chinese economy in 2015 slowed down to 6.9%, the lowest since the 3.9% rate of 1990, Beijing announced today. China confirmed the slow-down of the worlds second-largest economy in spite of the growth in services, which last year, for the first time, accounted for more than a half of Chinas GDP of nearly 10,300 billion US dollars. The figures announced by the National Statistics Bureau in China for last year are significantly below the 7.3% reported for 2014. The authorities emphasized that the growth rate in 2015 was a “hard-won one, and added that the structural adjustment of the economy has reached a critical stage. Most indicators dropped in 2015, from the industrial output, undermined by over-capacities, to the real estate sector and to foreign trade, previously a traditional growth engine for the Chinese economy.



    SPORTS – The Romanian player Alexandra Dulgheru (no. 61 WTA) has qualified in Melbourne today to the second round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, after defeating the Australian Storm Sanders (no. 355 WTA) 6-4, 6-2. Also today, three other Romanian players lost their games in the first round. World no. 2 Simona Halep was surprisingly defeated by Chinas Shuai Zhang (133 WTA), Irina Begu (31 WTA) was outperformed by the Swedish Johanna Larsson (50 WTA), and Andreea Mitu (96 WTA) was defeated by the German Julia Gorges (45 WTA). Another Romanian player, Monica Niculescu (no 40 WTA), qualified on Monday to the second round of the tournament, and is to play against the Russian Elizaveta Kulicikova (no 109 WTA).

  • January 4, 2016 UPDATE

    January 4, 2016 UPDATE

    COLD WEATHER – The wave of cold weather which is sweeping the region has hit Romania, where temperatures dropped to minus 16 degrees Celsius. Three people died from the cold and scores have been hospitalised with hypothermia. Bucharest authorities decided to start offering hot tea and hot soup to the homeless. Snow has disrupted road traffic in the south and south west of the country and rendered air traffic difficult. Speed restrictions have also been imposed in places and many trains have failed to arrive on time. Several ports on the Black Sea Coast have also been closed down.



    CURRENCY – Romanias national currency, the leu, will this year maintain its stabilization trend against the Euro, but it will slightly depreciate against the US dollar. The forecast was made by the Financial – Banking Analysts Association in Romania, according to which the national currency will be mostly influenced by external factors. The President of the Association, Radu Craciun, has said that, although Romanias perception at international level is very good, the leus exchange rates will very much depend on the dynamics of the volatile currency markets. On the other hand, he has warned that certain promises made in the run-up to the 2016 local and legislative elections might raise worries among the foreign investors, and this could impact the evolution of the exchange rate.



    MOLDOVA– The Prime Minister Designate of the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population), the technocrat Ion Sturza, could not ask for a vote of confidence in Parliament on Monday because of a lack of quorum. The Sturza cabinet had however stood slim chances to get Parliaments endorsement, because the Prime Minister Designate failed to secure the needed 51 votes in order to take office. We recall that on December 21, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Nicolae Timofti, designated Ion Sturza, a businessman and former Prime Minister in 1999, for the position of Prime Minister, in the absence of a parliamentary majority willing to assume responsibility for the new cabinet. If President Timofti nominates a new candidate for the position of Prime Minister, who fails again to get Parliaments endorsement, the Moldovan President will be forced to dissolve Parliament and to call snap elections. The former cabinet, led by Liberal Democrat Valeriu Strelet, was sacked on October 29, under a no-confidence motion filed by the pro-Moscow left and voted by the Democratic Party.



    SEVERED DIPLOMATIC TIES – The EU and the US have launched an appeal for calm after Saudi Arabia, a country with a majority Sunni population, severed diplomatic ties with Iran, a country with a predominantly Shia population. The EU calls on the two sides to show restraint and responsibility, and the US Department of State said diplomatic relations are instrumental in solving differences between the two sides. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran, after its embassy in Tehran was stormed by violent protesters, discontent with the execution by the Riyadh authorities of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Sheikh Al Nimr, a harsh critic of Saudi Arabias ruling Sunni dynasty, was accused of terrorism, conspiracy and breaking the oath of allegiance to the sovereign.



    REFUGEES– The Swedish authorities, overwhelmed by the huge inflow of migrants, on Monday instated new controls on the border with Denmark, France Presse reports. Everybody who crosses the Ostersund Bridge, which is the main gateway used by the refugees, must present an ID. The measure also applies to those who come on board ships departing from the Danish and German ports on the Baltic Sea. Sweden, where over 20% of the residents are of foreign origin, received over 160,000 refugees in 2015 alone. In turn, Denmark on Monday temporarily introduced controls on the border with Germany, to prevent the entrance of migrants without valid travel papers.


    (Translated and edited by Diana Vijeu)