Radio România Internațional

Tag: heat

  • August 25, 2024

    August 25, 2024

    NOMINEE The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, leader of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD), was officially nominated as the PSD candidate for the upcoming presidential election during a PSD congress held in Bucharest yesterday. He was also reconfirmed as president of the Political-Parliamentarian formation, which is presently co-ruling Romania. In a speech delivered at the event, Ciolacu presented the programme with which he wants to win the highest position in Romania. The country’s industry, agriculture and public services are the main axes of his strategy. According to him, the Social-Democrats have managed to win the trust of the Romanians through unity, and he proposes a new type of president, ‘a president for all’. Most of the PSD members who took the floor during the Congress lashed out at their partners in the coalition that is presently ruling Romania and made ironical statements against the country’s incumbent president Klaus Iohannis. The Social-Democrats haven’t won the presidential election since the year 2000. The first round of the presidential ballot is due on November 24 and the second on December 8.

     

    HEAT Romania is in for its 13th consecutive day of extremely high temperatures. Meteorologists have issued new code yellow and orange alerts for three thirds of the country. Counties in the country’s west and south are bracing up for temperatures of 36-38 degrees Celsius and higher thermal discomfort. A code yellow alert has also been issued for the regions in the north-west, center, north-east and the Black Sea coast where the highs of the day are expected to go up to 36 Celsius. The heat wave persists in the capital city Bucharest, whose citizens are bracing up for temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 33.

     

    MEDALS Students from Romania have walked away with four medals from the International Geography Olympiad hosted by the Irish capital Dublin over August 19th and 24th. David Mihai Dumitrescu, from the National College ‘Carol l’ in Craiova, south-western Romania, won gold in Dublin and Ian Mitocaru, from the National College in Iasi became silver medalist. Tudor Olariu from the Iasi-based ‘Costache Negruzzi College’ and Iustin Balan from the ‘Garabet Ibraileanu’ National College in Iasi stepped onto the podium third step. According to the Education Ministry in Bucharest, Romania’s team in Dublin has been coordinated by teachers Mihaela and Dorin Fiscutean of the National College in Iasi.

     

    COAL According to the National Institute for Statistics in Bucharest, Romania’s coal production dropped by 20% in the first six months of the year against the same period of 2023. The country’s coal imports have also dropped by 30%, the same report says. According to the estimates of the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis, this downward trend is likely to continue in the following years as other energy-production facilities will become operational. The EU’s consumption and production of coal last year dropped by 23%, to its lowest level in recorded history, says the EU statistical Office, Eurostat. According to the same sources, the 100 million ton slump in the coal production in a single year is one of the sharpest ever registered in the EU for this type of fuel. With almost two thirds of the entire EU consumption, Germany and Poland were the biggest coal consumers.

     

    VOLLEYBALL The Romanian women’s volleyball side was outperformed 3-0 by Croatia, in its first match of Group G of the preliminaries of the European Championships EuroVolley 2026. The entire game was dominated by the Croatian side, which tops the ranking after having also defeated the selection of Kosovo. Romania will be taking on Kosovo at home on August 29th. Winners of the seven preliminaries groups as well as the best five teams ranking second are to qualify for the final tournament.

    (bill)

  • Romania in the grip of severe weather

    Romania in the grip of severe weather

     

    Extreme weather has been reported in the past few days in Romania, with code red, orange and yellow alerts issued in various parts of the country.

     

    Heavy rainfalls, storms and hail caused serious damages on Thursday night in several counties in the south and west of the country. An immediate severe weather alert was also in place for the capital city Bucharest and the adjacent Ilfov County.

     

    Bucharest saw medium-size hail and strong wind, with speeds reaching 90 km/h. Heavy rainfalls and thunderstorms were also reported, and the locals were warned by the RO-Alert system not to leave their homes. Emergency Inspectorate teams were called to remove the water and the trees fallen in the streets.

     

    The severe weather also disrupted traffic at the Otopeni International Airport, with some flights diverted to other airports.

     

    In several counties, national roads were obstructed by the trees taken down by the wind. In Craiova (southern Romania), parks were evacuated and underpasses were closed down. Streets were flooded and tram traffic was suspended.

     

    In Mehedinți County, in the south-west, an extremely violent storms, with gusts of wind reaching 70-80 km/h and hailstones the size of pigeon eggs, destroyed roofs and tore scores of trees, which fell on vehicles. The roofs of two school buildings were ruined.

     

    In rural areas, hailstorms destroyed hundreds of hectares under wheat and barley crops just before harvest time, as well as maize, sunflower and vegetable crops, vineyards and orchards.

     

    Several areas in the south of the country were under code yellow and orange alerts for heat, and the heat stress index was around the critical 80 units.

     

    It is an atypical summer, with extreme weather occurrences, including hailstorms, heavy rainfalls and heat waves, according to experts, who expect such phenomena to be even more frequent in the forthcoming period. Specialists estimate that 2024 will be the toughest year since 2016 in terms of weather conditions. They also say that, at least this year, extreme weather occurrences are going to be much more frequent, with hailstones, for instance, much larger than in previous years.

     

    Since April 15, as many as 94 hail cannons have been used to fight this phenomenon. The system has been fiercely opposed by some farmers, who argue that the use of hail cannons leads to reducing or preventing rainfall, although so far there is no scientific evidence in this respect. (AMP)

  • Extreme weather in Romania

    Extreme weather in Romania

     

    Several parts of the country have been under code red alerts for storms early this week. Heavy downpours within short periods of time, strong wind and hailstorms have caused serious damage, and calls were made to the emergency number 112 especially in the centre of the country.

     

    In Alba County, the bad weather caused flash floods and left thousands of people without electricity in several towns and villages, while railway traffic between Braşov and Sighişoara was disrupted for hours after a fir tree fell on the rail tracks. The roofs of scores of houses were affected by storms, and households were flooded. In Odorheiu Secuiesc, hundreds of trees were torn down, damaging houses and vehicles, for which people have already applied for reparations.

     

    The head of the National Meteorology Administration, Elena Mateescu, explained that such occurrences are favoured by the very high temperatures reported over the past few days, entailing severe heat stress.

     

    Elena Mateescu: “It is a summer during which we will certainly be speaking about such occurrences quite frequently, especially in June, which is traditionally the month with most precipitations during the year. Rain is good. Definitely, storms and hailstorms are less good, but the precipitations during this period should meet the water needs of large areas, especially in the eastern part of the country, which is currently hit by severe, indeed extreme drought. The weekend will once again see rising temperatures, reaching 35-36 degrees Celsius, and the same temperatures will likely be reported early next week as well, especially on Wednesday. The updated forecasts for June point to a good probability that each week will see higher temperatures than usual.”

     

    A heat wave holds the country in its grasp these days, with deepening heat stress and a temperature-humidity index reaching a critical 80 units. In fact, the temperature will be higher than normal throughout the month, including at night time, with Romania close to having tropical nights of 20 degrees Celsius. At the same time, weather instability will be significant, with heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms, strong wind and hail. According to meteorologists, the highs could exceed 37 degrees Celsius in the coming days. (AMP)

  • July 28, 2023

    July 28, 2023

    WEATHER The PM of Romania Marcel
    Ciolacu requested all the institutions in charge to centralise data on the damages
    caused by the extreme weather over the past few days in Romania. Measures will
    be taken subsequently to address the situation and to avoid similar occurrences
    in the future, a government spokesperson said. According to the General
    Inspectorate for Emergencies, over 50 localities in 19 counties and the capital
    city Bucharest have been affected this week by storms and heavy rainfalls.
    Several people died, and houses, buildings and vehicles have been damaged.


    CANCER The government endorsed a National Plan on
    Cancer Prevention and Treatment. The new programme facilitates quick access to
    prevention measures, diagnostic, treatment and palliative services. The
    healthcare minister, Alexandru Rafila, said investments would be made in the
    field of oncology, and all services for patients would be free of charge,
    including advanced radiation therapy. He added that the government would also
    develop an innovation fund, mainly benefiting cancer patients. The plan will be
    implemented in several stages over the next 5 years. Representatives of the
    Federation of Cancer Patients Associations however are unhappy with the absence
    of implementing rules for the plan, without which, they argue, it is impossible
    to know how long it would take from diagnosis to the start of the actual
    treatment.


    DISSIDENT The High Court of Cassation and Justice in
    Bucharest Thursday upheld a ruling clearing two former Communist political
    police officers, Marin Pîrvulescu and Vasile Hodiş, of the charges related to
    the torturing of dissident Gheorghe Ursu.
    They were originally tried for crimes against humanity. The construction
    engineer, poet and writerGheorghe Ursu was investigated by the Securitate in the ’80s,
    after he sent letters to Radio Free Europe and kept a diary of the horrors
    of the communist regime. He was arrested in September 1985 and died 2 months
    later, after being beaten while in detention. After
    Thursday’s ruling of the supreme court, the justice minister Alina Gorghiu said she would have liked not to see
    any form of repression and torture validated. The Group for Social
    Dialogue, a political and social NGO, says the supreme court’s decision to
    acquit the torturers of the dissident Gheorghe Ursu is the most radical form of
    rehabilitation of communist totalitarianism. Prosecutors are looking into
    exceptional methods to challenge the ruling.


    GREECE The Romanian foreign ministry warns the Romanian
    nationals who are in Greece or intend to travel there that the local
    authorities said the risks of wild fires remains high today in several parts of
    that country. The situation is particularly serious in Rhodes, where 92
    Romanian fire fighters are also deployed. In order to better respond to this
    phenomenon, the European Commission announced plans to create its own firefighting
    fleet, and procure an additional 12 aircraft to this end, deployed around the
    Mediterranean, where most wildfires are reported.


    SECURITY
    The US Senate Thursday night endorsed the National Defence Authorisation Act
    (NDAA), which included a bill on Black Sea security. With this decision, the US Senate confirms the
    status of the Black Sea as a region of critical geo-strategic importance and
    paves the way for enhanced US engagement in the region. The US Senate’s
    decision also confirms the county’s strong support for a comprehensive US
    presence in the Black Sea region, jointly with its allies and partners, in
    strategic areas such as security and defence, economy, energy and democratic resilience, the
    Romanian Ambassador to Washington Andrei Muraru
    said. The bill endorsed by the Senate is to be reconciled in September with the
    version of the NDAA already approved by the House of Representatives. A bill
    similar to the
    Black Sea Security Act is also pending in the House, with good chances to be
    included in the reconciliation procedure and in the final text of the NDAA sent
    to president Joe Biden.


    FOOTBALL Three
    Romanian teams played last night in the Europa Conference League qualifiers. Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe won, 2-0
    away from home, the match against the Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia. Romanian
    champions Farul Constanța also won their home match against FC Urartu, 3-2, while former champions CFR Cluj drew
    at home against the Turkish side Adana Demirspor,
    1-1. The return leg is scheduled for August 3. (AMP)

  • July 26, 2023 UPDATE

    July 26, 2023 UPDATE

    HEAT Wednesday was a new day with extreme heat in Romania. The capital
    city Bucharest and several counties in the south and south-east were subject to
    a code red alert for temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius and a
    temperature-humidity index above the critical 80 units. Code orange and yellow
    alerts were also in place elsewhere in the country. On Tuesday the extreme
    temperatures disrupted railway traffic and caused road traffic restrictions. On
    the other hand, violent storms were reported in the west, north and centre of
    the country, where substantial damages were reported. On
    Thursday, the temperature is expected to drop significantly, to highs between
    19 and 28 degrees Celsius.




    PROTEST Romanian construction workers Wednesday picketed the government
    headquarters to protest the Cabinet’s decision to scrap the tax facilities
    granted to the employees in this sector. The head of the National Trade Union
    Bloc (BNS), Dumitru Costin, said the proposed amendments to the Fiscal Code
    affect not only the construction sector, but other categories of employees as
    well. The BNS and the Familia General Federation of Trade Unions came up with a
    set of measures to avoid the scrapping of tax facilities as of September 1,
    including a new collective bargaining agreement for the sector and a gradual
    elimination of the fiscal facility, in keeping with the roadmap agreed on under
    the National Recovery and Resilience Plan as of 2025. They also suggest adjustments
    to budget appropriations for the investment projects funded by the government
    or from EU funds, as well as a salary policy for this sector for the
    forthcoming years able to ensure balanced salaries, especially in the private
    sector.


    MEETING The Romanian
    foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Wednesday had talks with her French
    counterpart, Catherine Colonna, about the security situation at the Black Sea.
    In a Twitter post, Odobescu described the dialogue as very good. Bilateral
    cooperation was reconfirmed on this occasion. We have emphasised our joint
    support for Ukraine and the R. of Moldova, as well as our determination to
    consolidate security and resilience at the Black Sea, the Romanian diplomacy
    chief said in her post.


    DIPLOMACY The foreign
    minister of the Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu, Wednesday requested a
    limitation on the number of Russian diplomats accredited to Chişinău. He said
    the country has been for several years the target of hostile policies on
    Russia’s part, and that some of them were completed via the Russian Embassy
    there. Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry
    for explanations, after a media report revealed that the Russian diplomatic
    mission had installed high-performance espionage and interception equipment on
    its rooftop. The media in Chişinău mentioned 28 satellite dishes and telecoms
    devices, while individuals tied to Russian intelligence services were seen on
    the buildings. The authorities in Chisinau decided that the two countries’
    embassies would have equal numbers of diplomatic personnel, specifically 10 diplomatic
    positions and 15 administrative, technical and support posts, Moldpres reports.
    Consequently, the staff of Russia’s embassy in Chişinău will be reduced from 84
    to 25.


    NATO The NATO
    secretary general Jens Stoltenberg convened a first NATO – Ukraine Council
    meeting at ambassador level on Wednesday, at the request of Kyiv. The meeting
    focused on consultations on recent developments, with participants discussing
    the transport of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, the NATO spokesperson Oana
    Lungescu said. Ukraine’s request came after Russia terminated the so-called
    grains deal and started attacking the Ukrainian port infrastructure. Also on
    Wednesday, the head of the press office for the southern Ukrainian defence
    command, Natalia Humeniuk, said Russia was already using Shahed-type drones
    assembled in Russia.




    SWIMMING The Romanian swimmer David Popovici Wednesday qualified into
    the final of the 100m freestyle race at the World Championships in Fukuoka (Japan). Popovici, the defending world champion in
    this event, also holds the world record, set last year at the European
    Championships in Rome. The 100m freestyle final is scheduled for Thursday. On
    Tuesday, Popovici, also a former world champion in the 200m freestyle event,
    finished the competition’s final on the 4th place. (AMP)

  • Europe in the grip of heat wave

    Europe in the grip of heat wave

    The northern hemisphere struggled with yet another week of scorching heat. Temperatures were significantly over 40° Celsius in Italy and Spain, for instance, while devastating wildfires ravaged Greece, Canada and California. In the Canary Islands, a fire has destroyed 5,000 ha of land this month, forcing the evacuation of 4,000 people.



    On the Greek island of Rhodes, over 250 fire-fighters, including 52 from Romania, are working to put out a large-scale wildfire caused by the extreme heat and fed by strong winds. Thousands of hectares of forests, small and big hotels, homes, churches, and farms have been destroyed, and 30,000 tourists and locals were evacuated. The authorities have arranged for tourist repatriation flights and say this is the largest evacuation in the history of Greece, where a code red alert for extreme heat is still in force until 27 July.



    Several other parts of Europe are also under code red alerts, as temperature records are being reported around the world. Italy holds the heat record for continental Europe with 48.8 degrees Celsius measured in Sicily on 11 August 2021. On Tuesday, the highest temperature reported in that region was 44 degrees Celsius. On the same day, Spains meteorology agency announced 45.3 degrees Celsius in Catalonia, and 43.7 degrees Celsius in the Balearic Islands.



    In the south of France, record high temperatures were reported especially in the Alps, Pyrenees and on the island of Corsica, with 11.9 degrees Celsius above the average for this season. Red code heat alerts were also introduced in Serbia, Slovenia and northern Croatia, while Switzerland also reported wildfires.



    The UN called on the world to prepare for more intense heat waves, advising people to prepare their own personal emergency plans to handle these temperatures. The extreme heat that holds the northern hemisphere in its grip puts “an increasing strain” on healthcare systems, the World Health Organisation warned, as hospitals in the most affected regions have already announced increases in the number of emergencies related to the high temperatures.



    In turn, the World Meteorological Organisation has recently warned of an increased risk of deaths linked to excessively high temperatures.



    All these warnings come after last summer heat waves caused over 60,000 deaths in Europe alone, according to a recent survey. Currently temperatures are dropping slightly, but the weather remains hot in the south of Europe, where temperatures stay above 40 degrees Celsius in Sicily, Cyprus and Greece. But according to the World Meteorological Organisation, heat waves will continue to affect many parts of the world in August as well. (AMP)

  • July 19, 2023 UPDATE

    July 19, 2023 UPDATE

    WEATHER Extreme temperatures are still forecast in most of Romania,
    particularly in the south and east, where the temperature-humidity index will be above
    the critical 80% ceiling. The highs are expected to range between 25 and 37
    degrees Celsius. Most regions will also be facing atmospheric instability, with
    heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and wind. Code yellow and code orange alerts are
    in place in the west of the country, where strong wind, thunderstorms, hail and
    heavy rainfalls are expected.


    FIREFIGHTERS On Wednesday Romania sent another 40 firefighters and
    several fire engines to Greece, where the authorities requested international
    assistance under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The decision to send
    additional intervention equipment and personnel was made by the Romanian
    government. Romania has deployed a total of 13 fire engines and 80 fire
    fighters, after the Greek authorities issued a code-red alert for extreme heat
    across the country, with temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius expected to
    contribute to the spreading of wildfires. The Romanian fire fighters are to
    stay in Greece until August 1.

    CLIMATE The UN says humanity must prepare for more intense heat
    waves and recommends that citizens develop their own battle plan to
    face these extreme day and night temperatures. In North America, Asia, North
    Africa and the Mediterranean, temperatures will keep exceeding 40 degrees
    Celsius in the coming days. According to experts, heat-trapping greenhouse gas
    emissions are at the origin of climate change. Italy is subject to new alerts for
    particularly hot weather, while several regions in Spain have been placed under
    code red alerts due to the extreme danger induced by the heat wave.


    GOVERNMENT The new minister for labour and
    social solidarity, Simona Bucura-Oprescu, and the new minister for family,
    youth and equal opportunities, Natalia Intotero, were sworn in on Wednesday in
    a ceremony held at Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest. Oprescu replaces Marius
    Budăi, and Intotero takes over from Gabriela Firea, who resigned following a
    scandal concerning abuse in care homes for the elderly. The appointment decrees
    were signed by president Klaus Iohannis earlier on Wednesday.


    MEETING The PM of Romania Marcel Ciolacu had an informal meeting
    with the PM of Hungary, Viktor Orban, during a private visit by Orban to Romania. According
    to a news release issued by the government, Marcel Ciolacu emphasised that the
    Romanian party is seeking to maintain an open, positive, and constructive
    approach in the relations between the 2 countries. He welcomed Budapest’s
    support for Romania’s Schengen accession efforts, and voiced hopes that Hungary
    would remain an ally in this respect for Romania. The 2 officials also
    exchanged views on the topic of the EU’s current priorities, ahead of Hungary taking
    over the presidency of the EU Council in January 2024.


    GRAIN Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and
    Slovakia would like the ban on Ukrainian grain imports to be extended at least
    until the end of the year, the agriculture ministers of the 5 countries announced
    on Wednesday after a meeting in Warsaw. They signed a
    joint statement on the need to extend the EU preventive measures concerning the
    imports of wheat, maze, rape
    and sunflower seeds from Ukraine. In the same statement, the signatories also
    suggest that the list of products subject to the preventive measures remain
    open. According to a news release issued by the Romanian agriculture ministry,
    the participants sought a joint approach to the problems facing the farmers in
    these countries, which will be presented in the forthcoming AgriFish Council
    meeting. Romania was represented by the agriculture minister Ionut Barbu. Meanwhile, Reuters reports, an official letter from
    the Ukrainian government says Ukraine is currently working on defining a
    temporary maritime transport route via Romanian territorial waters, to continue
    to export grain via Black Sea ports. On Tuesday Russia pulled out of the
    agreement allowing safe passage to Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea. (AMP)

  • July 13, 2023 UPDATE

    July 13, 2023 UPDATE

    STRIKE Disgruntled with
    their salaries, trade unionists from Romania’s public finances on Thursday
    picketed the headquarters of the Finance Ministry in Bucharest. Their main
    claim is that the pay of the employees of ANAF and the Finance Ministry be
    adjusted in keeping with the inflation rate. Protesters have also asked for
    decent working conditions, for legislating the professional status and covering
    the staff deficit. Also on Thursday, representatives of cancer patients in
    Romania protested in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Health,
    disgruntled by the fact that the provisions in the National Plan for Combating
    and Controlling Cancer are not applied from the beginning of this month under a
    law endorsed with a landslide majority in Parliament, promulgated by president
    Klaus Iohannis and which has been in force since the beginning of the year.








    WEATHER Meteorologists on Thursday issued a code yellow alert for extremely hot
    weather valid until Sunday in several counties in Romania’s western, eastern
    and central regions. The heat-humidity comfort index is expected to exceed the
    critical threshold of 80 units with highs between 35 and 37 degrees centigrade.
    The weather is significantly cooling in the rest of the regions with highs ranging
    between 25 and 33 degrees Celsius.






    HEAT A heat wave struck southern Europe
    on Thursday, and according to Reuters, authorities have cautioned against
    record highs next week. A weather warning has been issued for the Canary
    Islands, an archipelago belonging to Spain, Italy, Cyprus and Greece. Authorities
    in Greece have announced that temperatures can reach 43 or 44 degrees Celsius on
    Friday or Saturday. Europe’s hottest temperature, 48.8 degrees centigrade, was
    recorded in Sicily in August 2021, but, according to the European Space Agency,
    it could be exceeded next week.






    RESIGNATION
    The Romanian Labor Minister Marius Budai stepped down on Thursday amid a
    scandal regarding the care centers for the elderly. The Romanian authorities are
    carrying on investigations at residential social centers throughout the
    country. More than 1,500 centers have been checked so far, and 15 nursing homes
    for the elderly, the disabled and children have been closed down. The activity
    of another 26 has been suspended. The authorities have issued 60 fines worth
    almost 800,000 lei (the equivalent of about 160 thousand Euros). A nursing home
    that was operating illegally was identified and a criminal case was also opened
    for abuse of office, fraud, false declarations, unlawful practicing of a
    profession and tax evasion in the case of a commercial company that owns three
    nursing homes. On the other hand, the Bucharest Court of Appeal will judge on
    July 20 the appeals made by the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime
    and Terrorism (DIICOT) regarding the placement under house arrest, under
    judicial control or the failure to take any measures in the case of the 20
    defendants detained last week in the investigation regarding the nursing homes
    for the elderly and the people with disabilities from Ilfov county (south, near
    Bucharest), where the so-called beneficiaries were beaten, insulted, starved,
    subjected to forced labor and deprived of minimum hygiene conditions.


    (bill)

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash



    Romanian football team FCSB has won the first leg of the tie against Slovak opponents Dunajska Streda, 1-nil, away from home. The fixture counts towards the European competition’s third preliminary round. FCSB’s Montenegrin midfielder Risto Radunović’s free kick enabled Estonian center back Joonas Tamm to score an unstoppable header goal. FCSB had the upper hand throughout the game, tactically, but also in terms of physical engagement, so FCSB are the favorites to making headway into the competition. The return leg is scheduled this coming Thursday, on the National Arena in Bucharest. If they outclass Dunajska Streda, FCSB will play the winner of the fixture pitting Norway’s Viking Stavanger against Sligo Rovers of the Irish Republic. FCSB’s next scheduled confrontation will decide their access to the Conference League group stage.



    The 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are underway in Halifax, Canada. The Romanian delegation’s main favorite to winning a medal, Cătălin Chirilă, on Wednesday qualified to the K1 500m race, having emerged as winner of the heat he was part of. Chirila clocked one minute, 50 seconds and 27 hundredths of a second, the best timing of this past Wednesday’s heat races. The Romanian was two seconds better than the 1000m race Olympic champion, the Brazilian Isaquias Queiroz. We recall that in 2022, at the World Championships in Copenhagen, no Romanian individual rower or crew succeeded to reach as far as the finals. In 2019, at then the World Championships in Hungary’s Szeged, Romania also had a lackluster run. Best-placed back then was the men’s canoe double 1000m crew, made of Victor Mihalachi and Cătălin Chirilă who came in 5th and who also secured their qualification to the Tokyo Olympics. In the 2017 edition of the of World Championships held in Racice, the Czech Republic, Victor Mihalachi and Leonid Carp won silver in the men’s canoe double 500m race.



    On Wednesday, in the round of 16 as part of the WTA 250 Washington tennis tournament, an event with 215,750 USD in prize money, Simona Halep pulled out of competition. Third-seeded Halep had no choice other than retire for medical reasons, after only 66 minutes of play, when her opponent, Russia’s Ana Kalinskaya, had a 7-5, 2-nil advantage. In the women’s doubles, the Czech-Romanian pair made of Monica Niculescu and Lucie Hradecka advanced to the semifinals, having secured a 7-6, 3-6, 10-2 win against the all-American pair made of Makenna Jones and Sloane Stephens.(EN)



    ——




  • Sports flash

    Sports flash



    Romanian football team FCSB has won the first leg of the tie against Slovak opponents Dunajska Streda, 1-nil, away from home. The fixture counts towards the European competition’s third preliminary round. FCSB’s Montenegrin midfielder Risto Radunović’s free kick enabled Estonian center back Joonas Tamm to score an unstoppable header goal. FCSB had the upper hand throughout the game, tactically, but also in terms of physical engagement, so FCSB are the favorites to making headway into the competition. The return leg is scheduled this coming Thursday, on the National Arena in Bucharest. If they outclass Dunajska Streda, FCSB will play the winner of the fixture pitting Norway’s Viking Stavanger against Sligo Rovers of the Irish Republic. FCSB’s next scheduled confrontation will decide their access to the Conference League group stage.



    The 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are underway in Halifax, Canada. The Romanian delegation’s main favorite to winning a medal, Cătălin Chirilă, on Wednesday qualified to the K1 500m race, having emerged as winner of the heat he was part of. Chirila clocked one minute, 50 seconds and 27 hundredths of a second, the best timing of this past Wednesday’s heat races. The Romanian was two seconds better than the 1000m race Olympic champion, the Brazilian Isaquias Queiroz. We recall that in 2022, at the World Championships in Copenhagen, no Romanian individual rower or crew succeeded to reach as far as the finals. In 2019, at then the World Championships in Hungary’s Szeged, Romania also had a lackluster run. Best-placed back then was the men’s canoe double 1000m crew, made of Victor Mihalachi and Cătălin Chirilă who came in 5th and who also secured their qualification to the Tokyo Olympics. In the 2017 edition of the of World Championships held in Racice, the Czech Republic, Victor Mihalachi and Leonid Carp won silver in the men’s canoe double 500m race.



    On Wednesday, in the round of 16 as part of the WTA 250 Washington tennis tournament, an event with 215,750 USD in prize money, Simona Halep pulled out of competition. Third-seeded Halep had no choice other than retire for medical reasons, after only 66 minutes of play, when her opponent, Russia’s Ana Kalinskaya, had a 7-5, 2-nil advantage. In the women’s doubles, the Czech-Romanian pair made of Monica Niculescu and Lucie Hradecka advanced to the semifinals, having secured a 7-6, 3-6, 10-2 win against the all-American pair made of Makenna Jones and Sloane Stephens.(EN)



    ——




  • August 3, 2022

    August 3, 2022


    AID In Romania, the people affected by recent natural disasters will receive state aid, after the government approves a draft resolution in this respect today. The largest sums, around EUR 2,000, will go to the families and individuals whose households have been affected to an extent of over 75%. In the case of fatalities, the families of the deceased will receive an additional EUR 1,500, irrespective of the number of victims. Meanwhile, the Romanian Waters Administration says the strategic water reserve in the countrys main 40 lakes, although decreasing since early July, is able to cover the needs of all relevant beneficiaries. According to current data, nearly 800 localities have introduced water supply restrictions, and the drought continues, especially in the east. As regards crops, a total of 205,000 hectares of farmland have been affected so far.



    AGRICULTURE Romanias grain yield is enough to cover the domestic demand and some exports, the agriculture minister Petre Daea said today, as 96% of the crops have already been harvested. High temperatures and extensive drought have affected crops, particularly sunflower and maize, across the country. Romania is one of the largest grain exporters in the EU and an active exporter to the Middle East. Last year the country had record-large crops, including 11.3 million tonnes of wheat. The domestic grain yield is generally 2-3 times higher than the domestic demand.



    COVID-19 The next variants of the new coronavirus will most likely be not very aggressive, but easily transmitted, the head of the Matei Bals Institute for Infectious Disease, Adrian Marinescu believes. He says the pandemic has reached a stage where we cohabitate with the virus, and many of the infected people perceive the disease as similar to a common cold. The health minister Alexandru Rafila does not rule out a 7th pandemic wave in Romania this autumn, when schools and universities resume classes. On Wednesday over 9,100 new COVID-19 cases were reported, most of them in Bucharest and in Cluj and Timiş counties. Nearly 4,000 COVID patients are hospitalized, of whom nearly 550 are children. 284 patients are in intensive care, and 41 COVID-related deaths have also been reported.



    TAIPEI The EU called for the tensions related to the U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan to be settled through dialogue and for all communication channels with China to remain open, so as to avoid errors. China has its army on high alert in response to the visit, which it sees as a provocation. Chinas defence ministry announced “targeted military operations”, and the East Command of the Peoples Liberation Army said they involved live-fire drills near Taiwan-a self-ruled island that China views as part of its territory. In Washington, the Biden administration says there is no need for the Chinese authorities to turn this visit into a crisis. The White House spokesman for national security, John Kirby, said the House Speaker has the right to visit Taiwan, but highlighted that the trip was not a violation of Chinese sovereignty or of the One China Policy. The visit, which was not supported by US president Biden, is the first by a US official at this level in 25 years.



    REVOLUTION The prosecutor general of Romania, Gabriela Scutea, today announced the “Revolution Case” was referred back to the supreme court. In this case, the ex-president Ion Iliescu, former deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu and Iosif Rus, former Military Aviation chief, are charged with crimes against humanity. According to the investigation, a widespread “terrorism” psychosis was created, which led to chaotic gun fire, fratricide, conflicting military orders. According to military prosecutors, this psychosis was induced deliberately, through disinformation and diversion, and resulted in over 850 dead, 2,380 wounded, hundreds of people illegally arrested and psychological trauma. Initiated in Timișoara in December 1989, the Romanian anti-communist revolution led to the flight, capture, summary trial and execution of the communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife Elena. (AMP)


  • July 27, 2022

    July 27, 2022

    GOVERNMENT The government of Romania
    is to pass today the implementing rules for an emergency order on rescheduling
    bank loan repayments. Instalments can be deferred for a maximum of 9 months,
    with citizens and companies having to prove that their monthly expenses have
    increased by at least 25%. The government’s decision follows a steep rise in
    inflation and a drop in people’s spending power. The agenda of today’s
    government meeting also includes the provision of emergency aid to
    underprivileged citizens. The Cabinet would like to spend some EUR 200,000 to
    support around 250 families and individuals in difficulty either because of
    fires or floods, or because of health problems. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian
    refugees in Romania remain a matter of priority for the government, which plans
    to take products from the state reserves and distribute them as aid to the
    refugees.


    ENERGY Romania is widely supported by the US, says the Romanian
    energy minister, Virgil Popescu, who had working meetings on Tuesday with
    officials from the US Department of State. In a social media post, the Romanian
    official said he had received assurances from Washington regarding support for
    the development of the Romanian civilian nuclear programme. Virgil Popescu mentioned
    that the Romanian authorities plan to complete the funding for the building of
    reactors 3 and 4 at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant by the end of the year, and
    that the financial support of the US partners is very important. The US also
    provides the assistance required for the implementation of a small modular
    reactor, the first of this kind in Romania.


    DIPLOMACY Romania is deeply anchored
    in a Euro-Atlantic system of values, security and unwavering solidarity, as a
    result, among other things, of decades of diplomatic work, the Romanian foreign
    minister Bogdan Aurescu stated today, on the celebration of 160 years since the
    Foreign Ministry was established. He reviewed the history of the institution,
    mentioning the outstanding personalities in Romanian diplomacy, and highlighted
    the current challenges. ‘When, for the first time since 1945, the threat of a
    brutal, unjustified and unprovoked war launched by Russia against our neighbour
    Ukraine looms over Europe, the implications can only be of global scale. (…) Together
    with our allies and partners, we are deeply committed to outlining a complex diplomatic
    response to this aggression that has tragic humanitarian consequences and
    incalculable economic costs,’ foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu said.


    AWARD The British PM Boris Johnson Tuesday presented the Ukrainian
    president Volodymyr Zelensky with the Sir Winston Churchill leadership award,
    news agencies report. The ceremony took place at 10 Downing Street, with
    Mr. Zelensky attending by video link. Named
    after one of Europe’s greatest war time leaders, the award is presented by the Churchill
    International Society to honour personalities that have demonstrated
    extraordinary leadership skills. Upon accepting the distinction, Volodymyr
    Zelensky said that No one knows how much time and effort it will take to
    achieve that victory, but the victory is worthwhile. This will become a joint
    history, as prominent as it was during Churchill times.


    COVID-19 Over 9,800 new SARS-CoV-2
    infections were reported over the last 24 hours in Romania, out of some 30,000
    tests, the authorities announced today. The number of Covid-19 patients in
    hospitals has reached 3,570, with 233 patients in intensive care, and 29
    COVID-related deaths were also reported. The health minister Alexandru Rafila said next week Romania might see 10,000 new cases daily. Although spreading
    very quickly, this variant of the virus causes less severe forms of the disease.


    EMPLOYMENT 70% of the Romanians working 2 jobs do so in order to
    increase their incomes in the long run, according to a poll conducted by a
    recruitment platform. According to experts, with remote work becoming
    widespread, employees are more in control of their time and therefore they find
    it easier to juggle with 2 jobs. Even so, most of them (72%) choose a part-time
    second jobs. Asked what they find to be the most difficult when working 2 jobs,
    6 out of 10 said keeping a balance between personal and professional life is
    the biggest challenge. Over 52% of the respondents believe it is impossible to
    have 2 jobs at the same time for more than a year. The poll was conducted in
    July and involved 1,200 respondents.


    WEATHER Bucharest and 14 counties in the south of Romania are today
    under a code orange alert for extreme heat, with temperatures expected to reach
    40 degrees Celsius in these regions according to the National Meteorology
    Agency. Thermal discomfort is severe, with the temperature-humidity index (THI)
    over 80. According to weather experts, periods of severe atmospheric
    instability are also expected, first in the mountains and central Romania, and
    later tonight in the south and south-east of the country as well. In Bucharest
    at noon the temperature was 35 degrees Celsius. (AMP)

  • July 22, 2022

    July 22, 2022

    RESOURCES
    PM Nicolae Ciucă promised that Romania will have the necessary natural gas to
    cover demand for the coming winter. The PM said more than 1.6 billion cubic
    meters of gas is already stored, and the energy plan stipulates 80% of the
    total capacity will be reached by November 1. Meanwhile, he said that in spite
    of the drought, there is enough wheat to cover the domestic demand and export
    commitments and that there are no reasons to worry about the maize and sunflower
    crops.


    HEAT WAVE The prime minister of Romania
    Nicolae Ciucă has today asked prefects to conduct information and prevention
    campaigns so that people are aware of the risks entailed by the high
    temperatures and that activities to mitigate the effects of the heat wave may
    be coordinated. He added that it was important for all localities to have cooling
    shelters and medical teams providing assistance and free water. PM Ciucă also requested the
    authorities to take steps to ensure navigability on the River Danube. The low
    water flow has made it nearly impossible to navigate the Danube, with several
    vessels stranded in sand and scores of cruise ships cancelling their stopovers
    in the port of Giurgiu over the past month.


    COVID-19 Nearly 7,400 new COVID cases
    were reported over the past 24 hours, out of around 24,400 tests, the
    authorities announced on Friday. Over 2,600 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised,
    171 of them in intensive care. Seven COVID-related deaths have also been reported.
    Hospitals are beginning to take measures, including increasing the number of
    beds set aside for COVID patients, regular staff and patient testing, and
    cancelling visiting hours in order to reduce the risk of infection.


    REFUGEES The Romanian
    Border Police announced today that 11,511 Ukrainian nationals entered Romania
    on Thursday, 4.5% fewer than the
    previous day.
    According to a news release, border checks are conducted efficiently and in
    line with the national and EU legislation, and border police units are working
    at full capacity.


    UKRAINE Turkey announced an agreement was reached,
    which would enable Ukraine to export grains via Black Sea routes. The deal is
    to be signed in Istanbul today by officials from Ukraine, Turkey, Russia and
    the UN. Three main provisions in the agreement are already known. First, Russia
    must guarantee ceasefire during the shipments. Secondly, Ukraine must guide grain
    ships in and out through mined port waters. Finally, Turkey, supported by the
    United Nations, is to inspect ships in order to dispel Russian fears of weapons
    smuggling. This is the first major agreement reached by Russia and Ukraine
    since the start of the invasion.


    FOOTBALL Romanian football champions CFR Cluj won 3-0 against
    Inter Club d’Escaldes, of Andorra, played on Thursday night on home turf in the
    first leg of the second round of Europa Conference League’s qualifiers. In the
    same competition, the winners of
    Romania’s Cup, Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe defeated 3-1 at home the Slovenian
    side Olimpija Ljubljana. Romania’s 2 other representatives in Europa
    Conference League played away from home. Universitatea Craiova drew against the
    Albanian side Vllaznia Shkoder, 1-1, and vice-champions FCSB were defeated by FC
    Saburtalo Tbilisi, of Georgia. (AMP)

  • July 20, 2022

    July 20, 2022

    WEATHER Romanian authorities have issued an amber heat alert valid today
    in 12 counties in the west of the country, and amber and orange alerts covering
    more than three-quarters of the country for the period July 22 – 24. As of
    Thursday, the extreme heat wave will cover most of the country, with the
    temperature-humidity index (THI) exceeding 80. Highs will generally range from
    35 to 37 degrees Celsius, with temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius
    expected on Friday and Saturday in the west, north-west and south-west.


    NATO The Senate, as the decision-making chamber in the
    Parliament of Romania, convenes today in a special meeting to ratify the NATO
    Accession Protocols of Finland and Sweden. Previously,
    the Chamber of Deputies had endorsed the
    bill ratifying the protocols. The documents were signed on July 5 in Brussels. Finland’s and Sweden’s decision to
    join the North-Atlantic Alliance comes amid security concerns related to
    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.


    HOLIDAY Every year on July 20 Romania
    celebrates Aviation and Air Forces Day, which overlaps the religious holiday of St.
    Elijah, regarded as the patron saint of pilots. In Bucharest, a military ceremony is held
    today, which brings together over 20 military aircraft of the Romanian, British
    and Italian Air Forces, Interior Ministry and Intelligence Service helicopters,
    a Tarom plane and 4 planes from the Romanian Air Club. Military aircraft will
    be flying over other cities across the country. The Romanian military aviation
    was established in 1910,
    when Aurel Vlaicu designed the first military aircraft.


    COVID In Romania, the National Public
    Health Institute announced that in the previous week 171 Omicron infections
    were confirmed in the country. All of these are SARS-CoV-2
    variants that cause concern. According to the institution, by July 17, as many
    as 6,611 Omicron infections had been reported. The number of COVID-19 cases
    continues to rise, and experts say the current wave is caused by an Omicron
    sub-variant of the coronavirus, which spreads a lot more quickly and is able to
    infiltrate the protection given by
    the current vaccines and previous infections.


    GOVERNMENT The government of Romania is
    scheduled to pass a bill today concerning the procurement of some of the
    most advanced electric trains, powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Only 3 countries
    in the EU are currently using or testing such trains. The Transport Ministry
    plans to purchase a total of 12 hydrogen electric trains. Also in the transport
    sector, the government intends to start expropriation procedures in order to
    widen the Bucharest South ring road. The Cabinet will also discuss the
    2022-2027 National Strategy on Research, Innovation and Smart Specialisation,
    which will create the framework for an efficient and effective spending of national
    funds. Two other documents are due to be reviewed today, a memorandum concerning
    talks with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on non-reimbursable
    EU funding, and another memorandum endorsing the 2022-2024 strategy for
    governmental debt management.


    ANTI-SEMITISM The
    pandemic context, vaccination campaigns, public campaigns raising awareness on
    the rise in cases of anti-Semitism and the information on the history of the Holocaust
    are the main factors contributing to a strengthening of online and offline hate
    speech, reads the latest monitoring report issued by the ‘Elie Wiesel’ National
    Institute for Holocaust Research in Romania. According to the institution, vandalism
    cases, the praising of inter-war far-right figures and people convicted for war
    crimes or known for their extremist attitude, anti-Semitic messages in
    Parliament and minimising the memory of Holocaust victims remain common
    occurrences in Romania. Central authorities have reconfirmed their commitment
    to fight extremist actions by endorsing a National Strategy for preventing and
    fighting anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalisation and hate speech and by
    introducing Jewish and Holocaust history as a school subject, the report also
    says. However, the lack of awareness and responsibility among local authorities
    hinders the implementation of the principles upheld by the central authorities. (AMP)

  • July 19, 2022

    July 19, 2022

    TALKS The president of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas is on an official
    visit to Romania today, at the invitation of president Klaus Iohannis. The 2
    leaders will discuss ways to encourage and strengthen bilateral cooperation in
    areas of mutual interest, particularly political dialogue, home affairs,
    education, economy and trade. The agenda of talks also includes regional
    developments in the Middle East, the progress and prospects of the Peace
    Process, the security situation and the consequences of Russia’s illegal
    aggression against Ukraine, the Romanian Presidency says. Also today, president
    Iohannis is scheduled to receive Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs and
    minister for defence, Simon Coveney.


    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu had a meeting on
    Monday with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on the sidelines of the
    Foreign Affairs Council held in Brussels. According to the Romanian Foreign
    Ministry, the Greek party thanked Romania for the assistance given by Romanian
    fire-fighters in containing the recent wildfires in Greece. The 2 officials
    also discussed the situation in Ukraine, with a focus on the consequences and impact
    at regional and EU level of Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked military campaign
    in that country. They highlighted the importance of ensuring energy security, a
    sector in which Romania and Greece have converging interests and approaches.
    Bogdan Aurescu welcomed the consolidation of bilateral dialogue and cooperation
    in this field, mentioning the recent opening of the Greece-Bulgaria natural gas
    interconnecting pipeline, a major step in consolidating the energy security of
    the countries in the region.


    EDUCATION Romanian students won 3rd place in the world, after
    Singapore and Lithuania, at the International Geography Olympiad. As many as
    209 students from 54 countries took part in this year’s competition. This
    success comes after the outstanding performances of Romanian students in other
    international competitions. They won 2nd place at the International
    Physics Olympiad organised online by Switzerland, while Romania’s team won 1st
    place in Europe and 5th in the world at the International Maths
    Olympiad in Oslo, out of 105 competing countries.


    LOAN The World Bank
    and Romania Tuesday signed a EUR 600 mln development policy loan, with a focus
    on inclusive green economic growth, the WB announced. This is the first of 2
    such financing operations, and is accompanied by USD 24.2 mln non-reimbursable
    financial assistance. The WB is currently running 10 investment projects in
    Romania, totalling USD 1.78 bln, in addition to 31 technical and analytical
    assistance projects worth USD 104 mln.


    COVID The Romanian
    health ministry Tuesday announced 7,658 new SARS-CoV-2 infections in the last
    24 hours, over 4,000 more than on Monday. The number of patients in intensive
    care has also increased to 136, and 9 people died from the disease in 24 hours.


    EU ACCESSION The European Union Tuesday opened the accession
    negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, the president of the European
    Commission, Ursula von der Leyen announced. The 27 EU member states Monday
    night agreed to open accession talks, after Skopje and Sofia signed a protocol
    that eliminates the last remaining obstacles. North Macedonia has been a
    candidate country since 2005, and Albania since 2014.


    UKRAINE The president of Russia Vladimir Putin and the president of
    Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are attending a summit in Tehran today, together
    with their Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi. According to the BBC, following
    the sanctions introduced by the West, Putin will use this opportunity to prove
    that Moscow still has strong allies. Putin will also have separate meetings
    with the leaders of the two states. Turkey negotiated with Russia and Ukraine
    to unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, while Iran and Russia are
    looking for new trade routes to bypass sanctions, the BBC also says. Meanwhile,
    in Ukraine, Russian forces carried on the shelling of Nikopol, with scores of
    attacks launched during the night. Several people, including a child, were also
    wounded after Russian missiles hit Odessa.


    DROUGHT Nearly half of the EU territory is facing drought risks, the
    European Commission warns, as a new heat wave has hit the continent. France,
    Romania, Spain, Portugal and Italy will likely have to handle a drop in
    agricultural yield, especially grains, the Commission explains. Germany,
    Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia will also be affected. In turn, the
    European Commissioner for crisis management Janez Lenarčič said that the worst
    is yet to come. Europe is struggling with an extreme heat wave these days, with
    temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius reported in France and the UK, and even
    43 degrees in some areas in the north of Spain. Wildfires
    also destroyed thousands of hectares of land in
    France, Greece, Portugal and Spain, forcing thousands of residents and tourists
    out of those regions. (AMP)