Radio România Internațional

Tag: Italy quake

  • November 1, 2016 UPDATE

    November 1, 2016 UPDATE

    STRIKE The Romanian Trade Union Federation Sanitas
    has suspended the planned all-out strike in Romanian hospitals. Leaders of the
    member trade unions have made the decision following promises that next week
    Parliament will endorse salary rises in the health-care system. The salary
    increase measures adopted by the labour and budget committees of the Chamber of
    Deputies are to be voted upon in plenary session next week. According to the
    new provisions, salaries in education and
    health-care would increase by 15% on average, with a budget impact of
    some 300 million Euros.




    MEASURES The Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos
    believes the measures adopted by Parliament in the past months concerning pay
    rises in various sectors of the economy, amounting to 2 billion lei, which is
    over 1% of the GDP, might impact the budget significantly. They could either
    increase the deficit, which might prove disastrous for Romania, or trigger a
    drop in investments. Ciolos has stated that such pay rises for certain
    categories of employees are causing more imbalances, without actually solving
    the salary issue. The Prime Minister’s statements came after MPs on Monday had
    endorsed measures to increase the salaries of certain categories of employees
    in the country’s healthcare system and education. The Labour Minister Dragos
    Paslaru has described the measures as being driven by electoral purposes only.




    PERFORMANCE Attending in Bucharest the event celebrating 25 years of
    partnership with the World Bank, Romania’s president Klaus
    Iohannis has stated that there are areas where the country is still struggling
    with under-performing and incomplete processes. According to the Romanian head
    of state, Romania could capitalize better on the assistance
    provided by international institutions such as the World Bank. The WB-Romania
    partnership is the expression of a wide-range cooperation in various social and
    economic fields; it also reflects the complex evolution of the WB’s role with
    regard to Romania’s reform agenda, Iohannis has added. He has also stated that
    ongoing reforms are essential for sustainable development and economic growth.
    Iohannis has also pointed out that reforms in public and fiscal administration
    are among Romania’s key priorities.




    RADIO ROMANIA Representatives of the Romanian Public Radio held a
    meeting with the Ombudsman Victor Ciorbea on Tuesday, on the elimination of the
    TV-radio license fee, endorsed by Parliament last week, upon a proposal set
    forth by the Social Democratic Party. The delegation stated that a plea of non-compliance
    with the constitution should be formulated, as the TV-radio fee is the main
    source of funding for the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, and its
    elimination changes radically the autonomous and independent existence of the
    public media services. Radio Romania was established 88 years ago. It has three
    national and several regional channels, as well as an international channel
    broadcasting in ten languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German,
    Italian, Serbian, Spanish, Russian and Ukrainian, as well as in Romanian and
    the Aromanian dialect.




    QUAKE Italy has once again been rocked by an
    earthquake, measuring 4.7 degrees on the Richter scale. The quake’s epicentre
    was in Macerata, the same region that saw the devastating quake of August this
    year. Another 130 aftershocks of the Sunday’s earthquake were reported during
    the night. 40 thousand people have been left without shelter after the
    earthquakes of the past days, including 200 Romanian citizens. A rapid-response
    team of the Romanian embassy on Monday went to the affected region to provide
    consular assistance. There are no Romanian citizens in hospitals and most of
    those who cannot return to their homes have been offered accommodation in
    hotels in the Umbria region. According to a communiqué by the Foreign Ministry
    in Bucharest, four Romanians have asked for assistance to return to the country.
    The Romanian embassy has also called on the Italian authorities to investigate
    the case of a Romanian who died 24 hours after Sunday’s earthquake.






    DRILL Over November 1st and 12th Romanian troops are
    participating together with their US allies in Patriot Shock V, a joint drill
    held at the Capul Midia Shooting Range in Constanta, south-eastern Romania.
    According to sources with the Romanian Defence Ministry, Patriot Shock V is a
    joint drill of tactical level involving ground troops and surface-to-air
    missile installations. The drill’s objectives are planning and fighting air
    strikes as well as checking on the interoperability of command-control units
    of the two surface-to-air structures, Patriot and Hawk PIP lll.

  • September 2, 2016 UPDATE

    September 2, 2016 UPDATE

    IMF REPORT — The Romanian National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) is wasting its resources on unproductive audits, which lead to very poor results, reads a recent IMF report. According to the “Technical assistance report – Improving Compliance Risk Management of Large Taxpayers”, about 46% of annual audit resources are used on VAT refund issues as compared to only 5% in advanced administrations. There are also shortcomings in taxpayer services and collection enforcement. The Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) lacks an integrated compliance approach to guide operational activities toward major tax risks and its ability to implement modern risk-based methods continues to be impeded by its organizational structure, the report says. Also, according to the IMF, the LTO Risk Management Unit needs appropriately skilled staff and good analytic facilities to identify and mitigate risks.




    VISIT — Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos met on Friday in Bucharest the vice-president of the European Commission, Jyrki Katainen, paying an official visit to Romania. The two officials discussed about the EU’s future after Brexit and about European funds. PM Ciolos emphasised the fact that Romania remained strongly attached to the European project. On Thursday, the two officials took part in a dialogue with Romanian citizens. The discussions revolved around current topics on the EU and Romanian agenda, especially the Investment Plan for Europe, also known as the Juncker plan, which provides at least 315 billion Euro in private and public investment over three years.




    MOURNING — Friday was a national day of mourning in Romania in memory of the victims of the earthquake in Italy and in solidarity with the Italian people. All public institutions flew their flags at half-mast, while national radio and television stations, as well as institutions of culture, ran special programs. Eleven Romanians were killed in the quake in Italy. The last of the Romanians declared missing has been recently found alive. Five injured Romanians are still being treated in a hospital in Italy.




    MEETING — Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu travelled to Bratislava on Friday to attend the informal meeting of the EU foreign ministers. Talks revolve around the recent situation in Turkey, the situation in Ukraine, with a focus on implementing the Minsk Accords, as well as the EU global foreign and security policy. These informal meetings are held twice a year by the country holding the EU rotating presidency, currently Slovakia. On Thursday, the foreign minister was in Potsdam, Germany, attending the informal meeting of foreign ministers from OSCE countries. He said that one of Romanias major priorities is to solve the conflict in Transdniester while safeguarding the sovereignty and integrity of the Republic of Moldova.




    INVESTIGATION — The Romanian Senate on Friday received the official request by anti-corruption prosecutors to start an investigation of senator Gabriel Oprea, former deputy prime minister and minister of the interior, who is accused of manslaughter in the case of police officer Bogdan Gigina. The officer lost his life in a motorcycle accident while being part of the escort for the then minister. Part of the investigation was establishing if Oprea had the right to an official escort, since at the time he was attending a personal errand. According to the prosecutors, Oprea was responsible for the motorcade travelling at high speed, in violation of standing procedures. This in turn is seen as leading directly to the accident that killed the escorting police officer.




    FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football squad on Saturday leaves for Cluj, in central Romania, to take on Montenegro in their first match of the World Cup 2018 preliminaries. Romania is part of a group that also includes Poland, Denmark, Armenia and Kazakhstan. The game against Montenegro also represents the debut match of a selection with Cristoph Daum at the helm. The German coach is the first foreign national to lead the Romanian national team, replacing Anghel Iordanescu. We recall that Romania’s national selection, coached by Iordanescu, ended up at the bottom of group A in the European championship in France, with a single point. Our footballers obtained a one-all draw against Switzerland, and lost to France and Albania.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • August 30, 2016

    August 30, 2016

    ROMANIAN DIPLOMACY MEETING – The Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomats continues in Bucharest, having as guests of honour NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow and Slovakias Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák. Attending the meeting are Romanian and foreign diplomats, Government and Parliament members, representatives of the academic field, of the business sector and civil society. The meeting in Bucharest focuses on security developments, the dynamics of the EU internal processes and preparations for Romanias first turn at the EU Council presidency in the first half of 2019. The participants also discuss means to strengthen the capacity to provide professional consular assistance, in order to protect the interests and rights of the Romanians travelling and living abroad.




    CEREMONY – Romanian Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian attended on Tuesday in Bucharest a ceremony held in memory of the French soldiers who died in Romania during World War I. On this occasion, Minister Motoc has said that the French officials visit mirrors the strong relation between the two peoples. In his turn, the French official has said that the relations between Romania and France are strong and unique and have passed the test of time. On Monday Jean-Yves Le Drian tackled with Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos issues such as the consolidation of NATOs eastern border, security at the Black Sea and combating terrorism. The two official reiterated their countries commitment to developing the bilateral Strategic Partnership after the two sides had signed a new roadmap in June in the city of Paris.




    ITALY QUAKE – Romanian prime minister Dacian Ciolos and Labor Minister Dragos Pislaru are today attending, in Italy, state funerals for a second group of victims of last weeks quake, which so far killed 292 people. The Romanian Orthodox Bishop in Italy is also attending the funerals held in Amatrice, in central Italy, where ten Romanians also lost their lives. The bodies of seven Romanians have already been repatriated and the Bucharest Government has taken special measures to support all people who were affected by the quake.




    PROTEST – As many as two thousand books donated today by Bucharesters will be sent to the United States Embassy in Chisinau, the Republic of Moldova, in protest at the recent statements by the American Ambassador in this country, James Pettit. At the same time, protests were held in Chisinau, against the US Ambassador in Moldova. On Saturday, when Moldova celebrated 25 years since gaining its independence from the USSR, the US official said in an interview for the public TV station that “Moldova is not Romania, Moldova has its own history and its own challenges, and that “getting united with Romania, as a way to join the EU or for any other reason, is not a practical choice and not a choice that will make things better in Moldova. Hailed by the leftist pro-Moscow factions in Moldova, Pettits statements have been harshly criticized by the pro-European leaders in Chisinau and by Romanian politicians. Established on a part of Romanias eastern territories annexed by the USSR in 1940, following an ultimatum, the Republic of Moldova proclaimed its independence from Moscow on August 27, 1991.




    FOOTBALL – Romanias national squad will play on Sunday, in Cluj-Napoca, north-western Romania, against Montenegro, the first match of the 2018 World Championship preliminaries. The match against Montenegro marks German Cristoph Daums debut at the helm of the Romanian national squad. He replaced 66-year old coach Anghel Iordanescu after Romania’s failure to make it past the European Championship group stages. They finished bottom in Group A after losing to hosts France and Albania, and drawing with Switzerland.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)



  • August 26, 2016

    August 26, 2016

    268 people have died and around 400 have been wounded in the earthquake that hit central Italy early on Wednesday morning, shows the latest death toll made public by the authorities. Italy has declared a state of emergency in the regions worst hit by the quake. The PM Mateo Renzi has pledged 50 million Euros in funds for rebuilding and cancelled taxes for residents. He also announced a new initiative called “Italian Homes” after the press leveled criticism over building standards in high risk areas. Some of the buildings that collapsed had recently been renovated, in the aftermath of the 2009 quake that killed more than 300 people. The rescue operations continued for the second consecutive night. Rescuers have been hampered in their efforts by hundreds of aftershocks. The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Friday confirmed the death in the quake of a 6th Romanian citizen, and activated the special fund for supporting the costs of corpses repatriation. 5 Romanian citizens have been injured in the earthquake and 17 are reported missing. The Foreign Ministry announced they are in permanent contact and coordination with the competent Italian authorities, and the Romanian Embassy in Rome and the Consulate in Bologna are offering assistance to the Romanian citizens.



    Romania commemorates, Friday, the heroes of WWI as part of a military ceremony. The ceremonies, organized by the National Defense Ministry, mark 100 years since Romania entered WWI. Over 330 thousand soldiers died in this war and as many as 76 thousand were crippled. Solemn ceremonies are being held in 100 cemeteries and heroes monuments across Romania. At the end of WWI, on December 1, 1918, the process of setting up the Romanian unitary nation state was finalized, following the union of all Romanian provinces with a majority Romanian-speaking population included in the neighboring multinational empires, came under the authority of Bucharest.



    27 Syrian and Iraqi immigrants were arrested, last night, while they were trying to illegally cross the border between Romania and Serbia. As many as 600 foreign citizens have tried to illegally cross the border in the first seven months of this year, 41% less than in the same period of last year. 1,005 illegal migrants were caught at the border in 2015, shows a recent report issued by the Border Police. Most of the illegal migrants have tried to cross the border hidden in various vehicles or using fake documents. One week ago, the Romanian Interior Ministry deployed further border police and gendarmerie forces at the border with Serbia, after several small groups of immigrants attempted to cross the border. These actions are meant to ensure public order and fight cross-border crime at Romania’s southwestern frontier.



    At least 11 people have been killed and around 80 have been wounded this morning in a car bomb attack that hit police headquarters in Cizre, south-east Turkey. According to Anadolu Agency, that quotes security forces, the PKK are to be blamed for the car bomb attack. The town of Cizre, with a predominantly Kurdish population, located near the Turkish border with Syria and Iraq, has been the scene of confrontations between the Turkish security forces and the PKK Kurdish militias. On Thursday, the Turkish interior minister, Efkan Ala, accused the PKK of attacking a convoy, which the leader of the Turkish opposition, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, was part of. The Turkish security forces have been systematically targeted by the PKK attacks since the end of the truce in 2015. The attacks have killed tens of soldiers and policemen. (translation by Lacramiaora Simion)

  • August 24, 2016 UPDATE

    August 24, 2016 UPDATE

    UPDATE: Two Romanians have died and four others have been wounded following the earthquake that hit central Italy early on Wednesday morning, a communique issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry writes. According to the media, the 6.2 magnitude earthquake has so far killed 247 people, wounded hundreds and caused huge material damage. Hundreds of people have been reported missing. The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, sent the Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, a message of condolence, expressing his and the Romanian peoples solidarity with the Italian people. At the same time, the Romanian Foreign Ministry representatives have sent condolences to the families of the victims killed in the earthquake. The Romanian Foreign Ministry, by the agency of its diplomatic mission in Rome and its consular office in Bologna, continues actions aimed at granting assistance and protection and maintains contact with the Italian authorities with a view to obtaining further information on the existence of Romanian citizens among the victims.



    The Romanian PM, Dacian Cioloş, will pay, Thursday, his first official visit to the Republic of Moldova since he took office. High on the agenda of talks are meetings with the Moldovan president, Nicolae Timofti, with the speaker of Parliament, Andrian Candu and with the PM Pavel Filip. PM Cioloş will also meet with representatives of the Moldovan civil society and of parliamentary and non-parliamentary in opposition. The Romanian PMs visit to Chişinău takes place against the backdrop of the disbursement, on Wednesday, of the first installment worth 60 million Euros of the non reimbursable financial aid package of 150 million Euros which Romania is going to grant to the Republic of Moldova.



    The Turkish army and the international coalition forces on Wednesday began an operation against the Islamic State in the Syrian town of Jarablus, located near the border with Turkey. According to Turkish military sources, 70 targets in the Jarablus area had been destroyed by artillery and rocket strikes, and 12 by air strikes. Also Turkish tanks and other vehicles have rolled across the Syrian border after heavy bombing of an area held by the so-called Islamic State terrorist group. A Turkish official said the operation was meant to prevent the Kurdish militias to take control over this locality and to open a corridor for the Syrian moderate anti-government rebels.



    On Tuesday Romania signed in Bratisalva a declaration underlying its determination to protect democracy, the rule of law and human rights. The document was adopted by all delegations which attended the ministerial conference devoted to the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes. Attending the meeting organised by the Slovak presidency of the Council of the EU was also Romanian justice minister, Raluca Pruna. She reiterated that Romania had also signed a joint declaration issued by the line ministries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, which makes clear how the victims of totalitarian regimes should be recompensed and the way in which the justice systems of the aforementioned countries could be used to contain extremism. Attending the conference were also representatives of the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania.



    The feature film by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is ranked 15th by 177 film critics around the world, asked by the BBC Culture to take part in a poll to determine the 21st Centurys 100 greatest films. “We believe that the new classics on this list are destined to become old classics. Whether or not that happens is ultimately up to you, the moviegoers, the BBC Culture editors say. Mungius film won the Palme d’Or at the 60th edition of the Cannes Festival, back in 2007. Ranking first is “Mulholland Drive, directed by David Lynch, followed by “In the Mood for Love, by Wong Kar-wai and “There Will Be Blood directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.


    (translation by Lacramioara Simion, updated by D. Vijeu)