Radio România Internațional

Tag: immunoglobulin crisis

  • March 6, 2018 UPDATE

    March 6, 2018 UPDATE


    IMMUNOGLOBULIN CRISIS – Austria is the first country to respond to Romanias call for immunoglobulin, after Bucharest activated the European Mechanism for Civil Protection. The Romanian Health Minister Sorina Pintea has stated that there is no single dose left in the country, and that is why international help is needed. The Secretary of State with the Interior Ministry Raed Arafat has announced that Romania has also resorted to the NATO Mechanism regarding the provision of immunoglobulins. The Health Ministry has explained that the discontinuity in the supply of immunoglobulin was generated by the withdrawal from the market of producers that were covering more than 80% of the immunoglobulin needs. Romania needs 956 kilograms of immunoglobulins every year.



    COOPERATION – Romanias Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Tuesday had a phone conversation with her Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov, focusing on the organisation of a joint government session. According to a press release issued by the Romanian Government, Mrs. Dancila stressed the close partnership between the two neighbours and the importance of further developing it. The two officials discussed the organisation of a new Romania – Bulgaria – Greece – Serbia top-level meeting. Prime Minister Dancila also congratulated Bulgaria for its presidency of the EU Council.



    EU COUNCIL PRESIDENCY – The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu stated on Tuesday that preparations for Romanias taking over the presidency of the EU Council were on schedule. According to the Minister, there are several institutions involved in the preparations, including Parliament, the Cabinet and the Presidential Administration. Negrescu made the statements at a conference he attended in the town of Pitesti, in the south, titled : “Romanias EU Council Presidency: Expectations, Challenges, Responsibilities”. Romania is due to hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2019.



    MOLDOVA – At a press conference in Chisinau on Tuesday, held together with the interim Mayor of the Moldovan capital Silvia Radu, the Mayor of Bucharest Gabriela Firea announced that the two parties agreed to cooperate on outsourcing public services, with the aim of helping ensure an effective use of public money. She added that the two municipalities also intended to collaborate in urban regeneration projects. Firea said that Silvia Radu was very much interested in consolidating heritage buildings and wanted to learn from the Bucharest municipalitys expertise in the field. In turn, mayor Radu said that Gabriela Fireas visit to Chisinau was a step forward towards developing the good relations established in Bucharest on February 14th, when the two municipalities signed a cooperation agreement. Also, Firea announced that the Metropolitan Library in Bucharest will donate 20,000 volumes to the “B.P.Hasdeu” Library in Chisinau.



    ANTICORRUPTION – The Romanian state has one billion Euros to collect from asset seizures decided in cases prosecuted by the National Anticorruption Directorate, the chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi announced on Tuesday. The head of the Directorate stated that when talking about asset freezing, reference is made only to those assets that are on Romanian soil, and its interesting how criminals have found ways of hiding their assets abroad. Its the obligation of the Romanian tax authorities now to enforce the decisions as soon as possible, Kovesi added. In 2017, anticorruption prosecutors froze assets worth more than 200 billion Euros.



    FLU – 82 people have died from flu in Romania, according to the National Centre for Supervision and Control of Communicable Diseases. The last case reported is that of an 80-year old man from Bucharest, who had not been vaccinated against the flu and who was suffering from several diseases. According to official statistics, 1700 cases of flu were reported in the past week alone, as compared to only 85 in the same period last year.



    RUSSIAN SPY – The British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has stated that London will “respond appropriately and robustly” if the Russian state is found to have been involved in poisoning a Russian spy and his daughter. The two were hospitalised in Salisbury, in the south of England, after being found unconscious on a bench in a shopping center. The former spy is Sergei Skripal, aged 66, a former colonel of the Russian military intelligence service. Accused of espionage for the benefit of the United Kingdom, in 2006, Skripal was sentenced to 13 years in prison, but he got the status of refugee in England thanks to an exchange of prisoners between Moscow, London and Washington. Moscow claims that Sergei Skripal was paid 100,000 US dollars in exchange for providing the British intelligence service MI6 with the names of the Russian spies in Great Britain. 12 years ago, another Russian former spy, Aleksandr Litvinenko, was poisoned in London. Before dying, he said his assassination had been ordered by president Putin himself, but the Kremlin denied any involvement. (translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)




  • March 6, 2018

    March 6, 2018

    CRISIS — Romanian authorities have asked EU countries for support in ensuring the necessary amount of immunoglobulin for treating the population, after Bucharest authorities have activated the European Mechanism of Civil Protection. Health Minister Sorina Pintea said there is a severe immunoglobulin shortage on the market. State Secretary with the Interior Ministry Raed Arafat said Romania has also asked NATO for help. Discontinuities in supplying hospitals with immunoglobulin were generated after certain producers who accounted for over 80% of domestic demand chose to withdraw from the market.



    ANTICORRUPTION — The Romanian state should retrieve €1 billion in assets seized as part of cases handled by the National Anticorruption Directorate, anticorruption chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi said earlier today. The chief prosecutor said that seizing assets refers only to those assets that are currently on Romania’s territory. Kovesi added however that criminals have worked a away around that, opening off-shore accounts. Romania’s fiscal authorities must quickly enforce these decisions, Prosecutor Kovesi added. In 2017 anticorruption prosecutors seized over €200 million worth of assets.



    COOPERATION — Bucharest General Mayor Gabriela Firea on Tuesday told a press conference in Chisinau, held jointly with Moldovan Interim Mayor Silvia Radu, that the two parties agreed on a cooperation agreement to outsource certain public services, which is expected to improve public spending. Firea went on to say that the two municipalities want to cooperate in the field of urban regeneration. The Romanian official said her Moldovan counterpart expressed an interest to consolidate heritage buildings and wants to use the experience of Bucharest City Hall. In turn, Mayor Radu said Gabriela Firea’s visit to Chisinau is a step forward towards “developing the good relations” established in Bucharest on February 14, when the two sides signed a cooperation program between the two capital cities.



    FLU — The number of people who died to the flu virus this season has reached 80, reads the latest update of the National Center for the Supervision and Control of Communicable Diseases. An 80-year-old man died in Bucharest. He had not taken a flu vaccine and was suffering from a number of conditions. Over 1,700 flu cases were reported over the last week alone, as compared to 85 cases in the same period last year.



    TALKS — Romania’s Transport Minister Lucian Sova today held talks with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto with a view to building a high-speed railway linking the two countries’ capital cities. According to a Transport Ministry release, talks were held on the sidelines of a Transport Summit at EU level hosted by Budapest. The two officials also approached topics of mutual interest in the field of road transport and transport infrastructure.



    RUSSIAN SPY — The man who was recently admitted in critical condition at Salisbury hospital in southern England after being exposed to an unknown substance together with a woman is a former Russian spy working for the UK, the British media has revealed. The two were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury shopping center. The man is Sergey Skripal, 66, a former Russian army colonel working for the Russian intelligence. In 2006 Skripal was sentenced to 13 years in prison, accused of spying for Great Britain. He was granted refugee status in 2010 following a high-profile spy swap between Moscow, London and Washington. Moscow authorities claim Sergey Skripal was paid $100,000 for supplying the British intelligence service, MI6, with the names of Russian spies in Great Britain. 12 years ago, another Russian spy, Aleksander Litivenko, was poisoned in London. On his deathbed, Litivenko said Putin ordered his death, although the Kremlin denied any involvement.



    ELECTION IN ROME — The political context in Rome remains unsettled after none of the political factions set up before the vote managed to grab enough votes in Sunday’s election that should allow them for form a Parliament majority. The Populist and Eurosceptic Five Stars Movement grabbed the largest share of the vote, 32%. The far-right North League won 17.7% of the vote. The center-right Attilio Fontana was elected governor of Lombardy region, while Nicola Zingaretti, representing the center-left, was elected governor of Lazio region. Parliament will convene on March 23 to elect the speakers of the two chambers. President Sergio Matarella will then start consultations to form a new Government.



    TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu, 71 WTA, is today playing Roberta Vinci of Italy, 147 WTA, in the last preliminary round in the women’s singles at Indian Wells, the US, a Premier Mandatory tournament totaling $8.6 million in prize money. Four Romanians have already qualified to the main draw. The world’s no. 1 player Simona Halep is seeded first and will play in the second round against the winner of the match pitting WTA 5th ranked Krystina Pliskova of the Czech Republic against a player performing in the preliminary phase. Irina Begu, 36 WTA, is playing Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia, 47 WTA, while Sorana Cirstea, 35 WTA, will also take on a player from the preliminary phase. Mihaela Buzarnescu, 38 WTA, will be playing Jennifer Brady of the United States, 86 WTA. Simona Halep won the Indian Wells trophy in 2015. (Translated by V. Palcu)