Radio România Internațional

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  • October 17, 2020

    October 17, 2020

    VOTING The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu called on all Romanians living abroad to vote by mail, and reminded them that October 22 is the deadline for registration for this type of voting for the December 6 parliamentary election. Bogdan Aurescu warned that postal voting is the best way to protect Romanians health in the current pandemic. The foreign minister also says the full list of the documents required for voting is available on the ministrys home page in the section devoted to this years general election. The Foreign Ministry warned several times that some countries have restrictions in place, which will affect the number of polling stations that the Romanian authorities will be allowed to open abroad.



    COVID-19 In Romania, a new record-high number of coronavirus infections in 24 hours has been reported—4026, according to the Strategic Communication Group. The overall number of cases is 172,516. Also, 75 more people died, taking the death toll to 5,749. A new negative record was also reported in terms of ICU patients—726. The authorities are seeking solutions to make sure as many hospitals as possible are involved in the fight against the pandemic. The head of the Department for Emergencies, Raed Arafat, said that according to experts this second wave of the pandemic may last throughout the winter. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, over 1,000 schools in the country operate exclusively online. The Education Ministry says over 11,300 schools still work in the face-to-face teaching system, while 5,235 schools use both in-person and online classes.



    PANDEMIC The World Health Organisation warns that several European cities are facing a surge in the number of COVID-19 patients that require intensive care, and that ICUs may reach their full capacity in the coming weeks. NATO is prepared to provide assistance to Europe. According to the deputy secretary general of the Alliance, Mircea Geoană (Romania), NATO already has a special fund and logistical support plans in place for member and partner states. He explained that NATOs main concern is for the current healthcare crisis not to turn into a security crisis. France Press reports new restrictions introduced across Europe. In London, a ban on households mixing indoors came into force on Saturday, after on Friday 15,000 new infections were confirmed in the UK. In 10 major cities in France, including Paris and its suburbs, a curfew is in place as of Saturday between 9:00 PM and 6:00 AM. The measure will be in place for at least 4 weeks, amid a rise in the number of daily new cases to over 25,000. New restrictions are also introduced in Warsaw and other Polish cities included in a “red-zone: high-schools and colleges are switching to the online mode, restaurants will only be open until 9 PM, weddings are banned and the number of people entering shops, churches and public transport will be restricted.



    DATATHON Romania won the first prize in the 4th challenge, “A Europe fit for the digital age, in the EU Datathons online final. The Romanian teams submission, which also won a check for 12,000 euro, is called Digital Dryads, and is designed to protect forests from illegal logging using spectral analysis, machine learning and state-of-the-art satellite imagery produced under the EU Copernicus programme. The EU Datathon is an annual competition inviting original ideas on how to exploit EU Open Data.



    DEFENCE The Romanian Defence Ministry welcomes the approval by the US State Department of Romanias application for purchase of the Naval Strike Missile Coastal Defence Systems. The clearing has been forwarded to the US Congress. The Naval Strike Missile is a sea-skimming, over-the-horizon anti-ship missile, and Romania wants to buy two of the systems under one of the 5 programmes in the Romanian Armys upgrade plan. The proposed sale will improve Romanias capability to meet current and future threats by improving Romanias maritime defence capabilities in the Black Sea.



    LITERATURE A Romanian-British literature festival is held online and in London as of today until November 13. Entitled Romania Rocks, the event brings together Romanian and British authors and translators, and is designed to promote Romanian literature around the world. All events may be accessed free of charge on the communication channels of the Romanian Cultural Institute and the European Literature Network. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • July 30, 2020

    July 30, 2020

    COVID-19 President Klaus Iohannis has a new meeting today with the interior minister Marcel Vela and with the head of the Department for Emergencies Raed Arafat, to assess the situation and the causes of the steady growth in the number of COVID-19 cases. New containment measures were included by the Government on Wednesday night in an executive order concerning the state of alert. Authorities have decided that in counties or localities with large numbers of COVID-19 cases, the opening hours of outdoor bars and restaurants may be restricted. Also, in crowded areas where social distancing cannot be ensured, protection masks may become compulsory even outdoors. As of Thursday, face masks are compulsory in crowded outdoor areas in several counties in Romania where the number of coronavirus infections has risen sharply in recent weeks. The measure is adopted by an increasing number of counties, after more than a week with over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases per day. On Thursday a new record-high number of new cases was reported, 1,356, with the total so far in Romania nearing 50,000, and the death toll standing at 2,304. Nearly 26,600 patients have recovered.



    CHILDREN The labour minister Violeta Alexandru presented in the Cabinet meeting a bill providing for the gradual doubling of child benefits, to roughly 60 euros per month for children aged 2 to 18 and to 120 euros per month for children up to 2 years of age and for children with disabilities. The minister explained the increase will be gradual, up until 2022. In a first stage, in September, child benefits will be raised by 20%. The Government intends to pass the bill in Fridays Cabinet meeting. Parliament voted to double child benefits, at the proposal of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, but the implementation of the measure was postponed because the coronavirus crisis has put pressure on the state budget.



    YOUTH 56% of Romanian youth lost their confidence and motivation, according to a survey, Insights PulseZ, designed to identify the response and behaviour of young people during the 2-month state of emergency introduced in March over the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the survey revealed, the sudden suspension of day to day activities disrupted youngsters emotional balance. More than half of them were affected by the lack of face-to-face meetings, and nearly 35% admitted to having experienced tiredness and mood swings. The survey also shows that 44% of Romanian youth spent over 8 hours a day online. 33% of them attended online classes, and an equal number watched series and films.



    ELECTION Over 2,000 Romanian citizens living abroad have registered on an electronic platform, votstrainatate.ro, to vote in this years parliamentary elections. Over 1,390 of them chose to vote by mail, and nearly 620 registered to vote in polling stations. The Permanent Electoral Authority in Bucharest urges Romanian nationals living abroad to choose voting by mail as a safe and comfortable means to cast their ballots, without queuing, traveling, costs or risks, particularly in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Information on the registration procedure is available at votstrainatate.ro, and questions can be sent by email at contact@votstrainatate.ro. The Permanent Electoral Authority says citizens may enrol as voters abroad no later than 15 days prior to the election date.



    UNTOLD The 6th edition of the largest electronic music festival in Romania, Untold, begins today and will be held online for 4 days, amid restrictions and social distancing rules triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. The organisers have announced exceptional guests and surprises. In February, Untold announced its first participants this year, including David Guetta, Martin Garrix and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. Pussycat Dolls, Iggy Azalea and The Script also confirmed their participation, while Paul Kalkbrenner, Charlotte de Witte and Richie Hawtin make up the techno section of the festival. Over 80,000 fans have enrolled to take part in this online edition of the festival. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • August 17, 2019

    August 17, 2019

    VISIT The head of the Romanian state, Klaus Iohannis, will be on an official visit to Washington D.C. on August 19 and 20, at the invitation of the US president, Donald J. Trump. The 2 leaders will have a meeting on August 20, to discuss ways to strengthen and further develop the strong and dynamic strategic partnership between Romania and the US, in all its components. The Romanian president will emphasise on this occasion that his country will remain a reliable ally and strategic partner of the USA, one of the priorities of Romanias foreign policy being to consolidate the trans-Atlantic relation and Euro-Atlantic security. Klaus Iohannis said he also intended to talk to Donald J. Trump about the American troops in Romania and about the countrys capacity to host more US troops. The issue of US visa requirements for Romanian citizens will also be approached. Meanwhile, according to the White House, the US president looks forward to celebrating the 30th year since the fall of communism and the 15th year of Romanias NATO membership with president Iohannis. Klaus Iohannis and Donald Trump previously met at the White House in 2017, when they discussed the prospects for deepening and broadening the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the US.



    UNIVERSITY The 17th edition of the Izvoru Mureşului Summer University comes to a close today in Harghita County, central Romania. This years theme was “Romania and the Romanians abroad, one year since the Great Union Centennial. The topics approached include means to preserve the identity of Romanian communities in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova in the context of regional geopolitical developments and the Romanian national interest, the policies of parliamentary parties and public institutions with respect to the Romanians abroad and the Romanians in multi-ethnic communities in the country. Attending the works were students from Romania and from the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria and the diaspora, academics from the main universities in Romania and abroad, civil society and mass media representatives.



    VOTE Nearly 9,000 Romanians living abroad had registered to vote by mail on the www.votstrainatate.ro portal 20 days since its release. According to the Permananet Electoral Authority, this is more than the total number of registrations for mail voting for the 2016 parliamentary elections. The website www.votstrainatate.ro has been created to ensure better records on the Romanians living abroad and to help keep them better informed on the voting process ahead of this Novembers presidential election. The Ministry for the Romanians Abroad also launched an information campaign in this respect and announced that over 5.5 million Romanians have left the country. In the recent elections for the EP, tens of thousands of Romanians queued for hours in polling stations abroad, and many of them eventually failed to cast their ballots.



    PIPELINE The BRUA pipeline, designed to carry natural gas from the Caspian and the Black Sea to Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria, will only be completed in December 2020, one year behind schedule, according to the financial report for the first half of this year made public by the Romanian company Transgaz. The reasons for the delay include problems in the bidding process, the need to amend the legislative framework, the discovery of archaeological sites, adverse weather conditions for extensive periods of time as well as delays in the negotiations with some of the land owners or users, the company explains. Last month, the Romanian Economy Ministry announced having finalised almost half of the pipeline, and around 80-90% of the 3 compressor stations. Stage I of the BRUA project requires total investments of nearly 500 million euro, of which the EU has offered a 179-million grant. The Government of Romania holds about 60% of the stock of Transgaz, with the remaining shares traded in the stock market.



    MILITARY The National Defence Ministry will organise at the Mihail Kogălniceanu 57 Air Base, in the south east, a ceremony to mark the dispatch of the ‘Carpathian Pumas’ unit on a mission in Mali. The Romanian troops will take part in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. The around 120 members of the Romanian unit, accompanied by 4 IAR-330 Puma L-RM helicopters, will be in charge of medical evacuation, transportation of troops and materials, passenger transport, air patrol and monitoring activities beginning mid-October. At present Romania has 1,033 troops involved in missions abroad.



    SONGS All Romanians are invited to vote for one month to choose the 6 songs representing Romania in the first EU Songbook. So far 65,000 people in 26 countries have voted for their favourites, says the organiser of the event, the European Union Songbook organisation, on its website. The EU Songbook is a non-profit organisation without political or financial connections with Brussels. The first edition of the Songbook will be published on Europe Day, May 9, 2020.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • This Week… in Your Letters

    This Week… in Your Letters

    “I was very pleased to pick up your broadcast from my location in Chicago, IL, USA. It is not often that I receive a strong signal from your station but it seems that on this particular night, your broadcast reached quite far. Thank you for continuing to work in the shortwave medium. I look forward to hearing you more and will try and listen in. Sending you peace and thankfulness from Chicago.


    Henry Harris, Chicago, USA



    “I enjoyed the show on November 22, RRI has great programming and is an authoritative source of news and culture on Europe. I look forward to hearing Christmas music on RRI. Thanks for your support of shortwave!


    Richard Nowak, USA



    “Its hard to believe that another year has passed. We are all busy trying to wrap up things at our office. According to the latest weather forecast we will have unseasonably warm weather this winter. Christmas is my favourite time of year. Every street is decorated and business picks up. My family is not Christian but we enjoy spending Christmas together. White Christmas is romantic, but as far as I remember weve never had snow on Christmas in this town. Thank you for your help and support. Please continue to keep us informed in the future.


    Hidemitsu Miyake, Japan



    “Many thanks for the programme. Enjoyed the music and travel info about Romania. Thanks for the schedule and QSL for my previous reception report. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2017!


    Rauno Eerola, Finland



    “There was an extremely interesting program on the Technical History of Radio in Romania, including how recordings were made, “Battery Bricks and the role of radio during the events of 1968. I hope you will continue to broadcast on shortwave, as this is the only way I can hear you. I really enjoyed the Technical History of Radio Romania. This was a most enjoyable program. I have told my friends about it. As always, I also enjoy your informative broadcasts very much. They are a great resource for news not only on Romania, but also about neighbouring countries such as Moldova. I am very appreciative of your broadcasts. I wish to thank you also for all the beautiful QSLs which you have sent in the past. I enjoy showing them to my friends. Please accept my best wishes, I hope to hear from you soon.


    John Fisher, USA



    “I usually enjoy your news and Romanian music.


    Yoshihiro Toyama, Japan



    “Greetings from Canada! I write to you as the transition from early fall to late fall is underway. The trees will be bare from leaves in a matter of a few weeks. As we prepare for the first few snowflakes, temperatures are already about to fall below zero at night on a regular basis. Shortwave reception of RRI is also sporadic at times as well. Reception of European stations has been kind of hit and miss the last month. Ice hockey season has begun in Canada. It is by far the most popular sport in Canada. Many thanks for the attention to my letter and your continued presence on shortwave.


    Robert Gauvin, Canada



    “As always I enjoyed the programs from Radio Romania. I do believe the Salt Mine Therapy information was a repeat, as I remember it from a previous show. Still I learned something new. I thought the music was great and as always the programs professional and crisp in their delivery. You guys and ladies really have it together. Can you believe its been over two straight years now I have been reporting monthly to your station? Time does fly. Thank you very much for reading my report. I hope your engineers found it useful. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Good luck and 73s.


    John Cooper, USA

  • This Week… in Your Letters

    This Week… in Your Letters

    “I was very pleased to pick up your broadcast from my location in Chicago, IL, USA. It is not often that I receive a strong signal from your station but it seems that on this particular night, your broadcast reached quite far. Thank you for continuing to work in the shortwave medium. I look forward to hearing you more and will try and listen in. Sending you peace and thankfulness from Chicago.


    Henry Harris, Chicago, USA



    “I enjoyed the show on November 22, RRI has great programming and is an authoritative source of news and culture on Europe. I look forward to hearing Christmas music on RRI. Thanks for your support of shortwave!


    Richard Nowak, USA



    “Its hard to believe that another year has passed. We are all busy trying to wrap up things at our office. According to the latest weather forecast we will have unseasonably warm weather this winter. Christmas is my favourite time of year. Every street is decorated and business picks up. My family is not Christian but we enjoy spending Christmas together. White Christmas is romantic, but as far as I remember weve never had snow on Christmas in this town. Thank you for your help and support. Please continue to keep us informed in the future.


    Hidemitsu Miyake, Japan



    “Many thanks for the programme. Enjoyed the music and travel info about Romania. Thanks for the schedule and QSL for my previous reception report. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2017!


    Rauno Eerola, Finland



    “There was an extremely interesting program on the Technical History of Radio in Romania, including how recordings were made, “Battery Bricks and the role of radio during the events of 1968. I hope you will continue to broadcast on shortwave, as this is the only way I can hear you. I really enjoyed the Technical History of Radio Romania. This was a most enjoyable program. I have told my friends about it. As always, I also enjoy your informative broadcasts very much. They are a great resource for news not only on Romania, but also about neighbouring countries such as Moldova. I am very appreciative of your broadcasts. I wish to thank you also for all the beautiful QSLs which you have sent in the past. I enjoy showing them to my friends. Please accept my best wishes, I hope to hear from you soon.


    John Fisher, USA



    “I usually enjoy your news and Romanian music.


    Yoshihiro Toyama, Japan



    “Greetings from Canada! I write to you as the transition from early fall to late fall is underway. The trees will be bare from leaves in a matter of a few weeks. As we prepare for the first few snowflakes, temperatures are already about to fall below zero at night on a regular basis. Shortwave reception of RRI is also sporadic at times as well. Reception of European stations has been kind of hit and miss the last month. Ice hockey season has begun in Canada. It is by far the most popular sport in Canada. Many thanks for the attention to my letter and your continued presence on shortwave.


    Robert Gauvin, Canada



    “As always I enjoyed the programs from Radio Romania. I do believe the Salt Mine Therapy information was a repeat, as I remember it from a previous show. Still I learned something new. I thought the music was great and as always the programs professional and crisp in their delivery. You guys and ladies really have it together. Can you believe its been over two straight years now I have been reporting monthly to your station? Time does fly. Thank you very much for reading my report. I hope your engineers found it useful. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Good luck and 73s.


    John Cooper, USA