Radio România Internațional

Tag: Indonesia

November 22, 2022

PENSIONS The
ruling coalition in Romania has decided to increase public pensions by 12.5%,
as of January 1. The increase applies for all pensions, regardless of level,
but low-income pensioners will also receive additional aid from the government,
provided in 2 instalments. Child allowances and the allowances for war veterans
and widows will be adjusted to inflation, while people with disabilities will
receive a 13th allowance, the ruling coalition also decided.

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis will make an official visit to Latvia
on Wednesday and to Lithuania on Thursday. On Friday, he will take part in a
summit with his counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, and in an
international symposium. According to the Presidency, in Latvia Klaus Iohannis will
have talks with his counterpart Egils Levits, with PM Krisjanis Karins, and the
parliament speaker Edvards Smiltens. In Lithuania, the official agenda includes
consultations with president Gitanas Nauseda and the parliament speaker,
Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen.

NATO Romania will host for the first time, on November 29th
and 30th, a meeting of the NATO foreign ministers. The meeting will
have 4 sessions, focusing on the implementation of the Madrid Summit decisions,
on the war in Ukraine, on energy security and partners. Ukraine, the Republic
of Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as Finland and Sweden, were
invited to attend. It is for the first time that the Republic of Moldova takes
part in a NATO ministerial meeting. In fact, in this summer’s summit in Madrid,
NATO leaders announced measures to support Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina
in the current security context in Europe. The foreign ministers of the 3
countries are expected to discuss in Bucharest means to strengthen their
defence and resilience capabilities. The foreign minister of Ukraine, Dmytro
Kuleba, is also scheduled to attend the meeting in Bucharest.

AID Romania, France and Germany have agreed
on a new aid instalment to help the Republic of Moldova cope with the energy
crisis this winter. Officials of the 3 countries convened in Paris for the 3rd
ministerial conference of the Moldova Support Platform, initiated by Bucharest,
Berlin and Paris this spring. Moldova is to receive another EUR 100 mln in
international support to handle the consequences of the war in
Ukraine, including the energy crisis and the refugee inflow, and also to carry
on the reforms initiated in order to join the EU, the president of France,
Emmanuel Macron announced. The Romanian foreign minister said Romania intends
to pay a first instalment of EUR 25 mln by the end of this year, intended for
the implementation of projects in education, regional development, and public
utility services.

AUTOMOTIVE Romania is the EU’s six-largest car manufacturer, with an
average of over 40,000 vehicles per month. According to the latest report by
the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), nearly 50 million
cars were produced worldwide in the first 9 months of this year. China comes
first, with 16.3 million, followed by the US with 5.3 million. As many as 7.96 million
cars were produced in the EU during the same period, up 5.8% compared to 2021.
Germany tops the European ranking, with 2.4 million vehicles produced, which is
considerably less than the 3.4 million cars made in 2019. In Romania, the only
country where this year’s output was higher than in 2019, 376,000 cars were
made, of which some 60% were Dacia and 40% Ford. Recently, the Romanian
Carmakers Association announced that the national output went up 27.7% in the
first 10 months of the year, compared to 2021.

EARTHQUAKE Rescue teams in Indonesia
continue to search for survivors of Monday’s earthquake, in which hundreds of
people died or were injured. Many victims were school children. The 5.6 Richter
quake occurred at a depth of 10 km, and destroyed many buildings. According to Reuters,
Indonesia is on the so-called Pacific ring of fire, an area with many active
volcanoes that frequently produce tremors. In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 off the
Indonesian island of Sumatra caused a tsunami that killed 226,000 people in 14 countries,
with almost half of the victims reported in Indonesia.

FOOTBALL Today at
the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the defending champions, France, will play against
Australia, while two-times world champions Argentina take on Saudi Arabia. The
other matches scheduled for today are Denmark vs. Tunisia and Mexico vs.
Poland. On Monday England defeated Iran, 6-2, and in the same group the US and
Wales drew 1-1. Also on Monday, the Netherlands, who have played 3 world cup
finals without winning, defeated Senegal 2-0. (AMP)

22 November 2022
December 24, 2018 UPDATE

CHRISTMAS – On December 25th, Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Catholic Christians from all over the world, including in Romania, which is a predominantly Orthodox country, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. A famous tradition in Romania on Christmas Eve is caroling, with carolers symbolizing the angels and shepherds who announced the Birth of Jesus. They make wishes of good health and wealth and receive fruit, bagels, sweets or money. The old rite Christians who form the majority in Russia, Ukraine, Serbia and Georgia will celebrate Christmas on January 7. These days many pilgrims visit the holy sites from Israel and the Nativity Church in Bethlehem.

MESSAGES – On Monday, Romanias president Klaus Iohannis conveyed a Christmas message to all Romanians, saying that the birth of Jesus Christ is a celebration of the miracle of life and of kindness, compassion and generosity. “In the spirit of these holy celebrations, we should take care of each other and of our country. If we are better each day, we will all be better together”, the presidents message also reads. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has wished all Romanians good health and well being. The custodian of the Romanian Crown, Margareta, has too sent a Christmas message, saying she promised to carry on the work started by her father, King Michael, towards ensuring Romanias prosperity and stability an strengthening its international position.

JUSTICE – The Romanian justice minister Tudorel Toader has announced he will finalize, on Thursday, December 27, the procedure for the dismissal of Romanias Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar, which was started in October. Toader accused Lazar of professional and managerial misconduct and took legal action against him. The issue is to be judged by the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The opponents of the governing coalition claim that the dismissal of Augustin Lazar, which follows that of the former head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, was a form of political vendetta and an attempt to stop the anti-corruption fight. In another development, minister Toader has announced he has signed the documents for the release from prison of the former Romanian minister Elena Udrea and the former chief of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, Alina Bica, who are in prison in Costa Rica upon the request of the Romanian authorities. The two had received definitive sentences in Romania in cases of high-level corruption. The High Court of Cassation and Justice decided on the suspension of the imprisonment conviction in their case, after the Constitutional Court of Romania ruled as illegal the setting up of the panels of 5 judges at the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The ruling also led to the suspension of the imprisonment convictions in many other cases involving former ministers and incumbent politicians.

BREXIT – Romania supports the Brexit deal as well as the political declaration on the future framework of the post-Brexit relation between the EU and the UK, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu told the BBC on Sunday. He added that, from Romanias point of view, it was important for the UK to stay as close as possible to the EU. Teodor Melescanu also said that Romania envisaged to start bilateral negotiations with the UK as part of the strategic partnership concluded by the two sides. Minister Melescanu also recalled that, at the meeting held with the former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, he received assurances that the more than 400 thousand Romanians living in the UK would not be affected by Brexit and he gave the example of the Romanian physicians and nurses who went to work in the UK. Boris Johnson had stated that if those people were to leave the UK, the countrys healthcare system would be severely affected.

INDONESIA – The toll in the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Indonesia following a volcanic eruption has reach some 400 dead and more than 1,400 injured, the National Agency for Disaster Management announced on Monday. More than one hundred people are still reported missing. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the tsunami that hit the southern coasts of Sumatra and the western side of the Java island on Saturday.

BORDER TRAFFIC – More than 250 thousand people, both Romanian and foreign citizens, have crossed Romanias borders over the past 24 hours in more than 60 thousand cars, according to the border police. Of them, as many as 170 thousand entered Romania while almost 83 thousand left the country. In the same period of time, the border police identified 30 cases of crimes and 37 cases of offences perpetrated by both Romanian and foreign citizens. Also, 29 foreign citizens were denied entry to Romania as they did not comply with the legal provisions, and 16 Romanian citizens were prevented from leaving the country for various legal reasons.

IMMIGRANTS – The border police found in Curtici, near the border with Hungary, eight people from Iran who were trying to exit Romania illegally, using forged documents. The eight were travelling on an international train, along the Bucharest-Vienna route and presented IDs issued in Slovakia, Slovenia and Luxembourg. The adults, six men and two women, said they had got the documents from unknown individuals, because they wanted to get to the West. The border police are now conducting investigations in order to take the necessary legal measures.

24 December 2018
December 24, 2018

Christmas Eve — Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Catholic Christians from all over the world on Monday mark Christmas Eve and make the last preparations for the Nativity of Jesus, one of the greatest celebrations of Christianity marked on December 25. A famous tradition in Romania on Christmas Eve is caroling, with carolers symbolizing the angels and shepherds who announced the Birth of Jesus. They make wishes of good health and wealth and receive fruit, bagels, sweets or money. The old rite Christians who form the majority in Russia, Ukraine, Serbia and Georgia will celebrate Christmas on January 7. These days many pilgrims visit the holy sites from Israel and the Nativity Church in Bethlehem.

Justice — The Romanian justice minister Tudorel Toader announced he would finalize, on Thursday, December 27, the procedure for the dismissal of Romania’s prosecutor general Augustin Lazar, which was started in October. Toader accused Lazar of professional and managerial errors and Lazar took legal action against the justice ministry. The issue is to be judged by the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The opponents of the governing coalition claim that the dismissal of Augustin Lazar, which follows that of the former head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi, was a form of political vendetta and an attempt to stop the anti-corruption fight. In another development, minister Toader announced he signed the documents for the release from prison of a former Romanian minister Elena Udrea and a former chief of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, Alina Bica, who are in prison in Costa Rica upon the request of the Romanian authorities. The two had received definitive sentences in Romania in cases of high-level corruption. The High Court of Cassation and Justice decided on the suspension of the imprisonment conviction in their case, after the Constitutional Court of Romania ruled as illegal the setting up of the panels of 5 judges at the High Court of Cassation and Justice. The ruling also led to the suspension of the imprisonment convictions in many other cases involving former ministers and incumbent politicians.

Brexit — Romania supports the Brexit deal as well as the political declaration on the future framework of the post-Brexit relation between the EU and the UK, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu told the BBC on Sunday. He added that, from Romania’s point of view, it was important for the UK to stay as close as possible to the EU. Teodor Melescanu also said that Romania envisaged to start bilateral negotiations with the UK as part of the strategic partnership concluded by the two sides. Minister Melescanu also reminded that at the meeting held with the former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson he received assurances that the more than 400 thousand Romanians who are in the UK would not be affected by Brexit and he gave the example of the Romanian physicians and nurses who went to the UK. Boris Johnson had stated that if these people left the UK the country’s healthcare system would be severely affected.

Jakarta — The death toll in the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Indonesia following a volcanic eruption has reached 300 dead and more than 1,000 injured, the National Agency for Disaster Management announced on Monday. Scores of people are still reported missing. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the tsunami that, on Saturday, hit the southern coasts of Sumatra and the western side of the Java island.

Border traffic — More than 250 thousand people, both Romanian and foreign citizens, have crossed Romania’s borders over the past 24 hours in more than 60 thousand cars, the border police announced. Of them as many as 170 thousand entered Romania while almost 83 thousand left the country. In the same period of time, the border police identified 30 cases of crimes and 37 cases of offences perpetrated by both Romanian and foreign citizens. Also, 29 foreign citizens were denied entry to Romania as they did not comply with the legal provisions, and 16 Romanian citizens were prevented from leaving the country from various legal reasons. (translation by L. Simion)

24 December 2018
September 30, 2018 UPDATE

RULE OF LAW – The situation in Romania, including the independence of the judiciary will be on the agenda of talks between the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the First Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans. The talks are scheduled for Monday in Strasbourg. According to the website of the European Parliament, the preliminary opinion of the Venice Commission on three drafts to revise the Justice Laws, on the status of judges and prosecutors, judicial organisation and the functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy will also be approached during the talks. The meeting is held ahead of Wednesdays debate in a plenary session of the EP in Strasbourg, on the rule of law in Romania, a debate that the Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă has been invited to attend. Dăncilă has already held talks on this issue in Brussels, earlier this week, with the main groups in the European Parliament.

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

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

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

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

TENNIS– Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no.1 WTA, on Sunday abandoned the match she played with Tunisian Ons Jabeur, no.113 WTA, in the first round of the Beijing tennis tournament with some 8 million dollars in prize money, after the Tunsiain player won the first set 6-1. Halep is still affected by back problems. Another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea no.57 WTA, is facing Dutch Kiki Bertens no.11 WTA, whom she has defeated in all matches they have played so far. Although she was defeated by Slovenian Polona Hercog, Cîrstea made it to the main tables, after Australian Ashleigh Barty withdrew from the competition, after Fridays defeat. In the doubles, Romanian women players Mihaela Buzărnescu and Monica Niculescu have qualified for the second round, after defeating the pair Hao-Ching Chan (Taiwan)/Zhaoxuan Yang (China). Buzărnescu and Niculescu will face in the eighth finals the pair made up of Abigail Spears (the US)/Alicja Rosolska (Poland).

30 September 2018
September 30, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

30 September 2018