Radio România Internațional

Tag: measles

  • September 23, 2016

    September 23, 2016

    SCANDAL— Former Romanian Deputy Prime Minister, Gabriel Oprea, has sent a request to the Senate Speaker, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, on the resumption of voting in Parliament regarding the start of criminal investigation against him, for manslaughter. On Monday, with only 45 “yeas” and 73 “nays”, the Senators voted against the request made by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate regarding the start of criminal investigation against Oprea. New rallies against the vote in the Senate are scheduled this evening in Bucharest and other big cities across the country. On Thursday, thousands of people took to the street, chanting slogans denouncing corruption in Parliament.



    VISIT — Romanian PM Dacian Ciolos held talks on Wednesday, the last day of his visit to New York, with representatives of US companies willing to invest in Romania. The PM presented the American investors the measures taken by the government in an effort to assure economic stability and improve the management of state-owned companies, laying emphasis on cutting red tape. The American investors insisted on the need to have a predictable and transparent business environment in Romania. The PM said the American investors showed interest in developing the capital market in Romania and in the portfolio of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Dacian Ciolos also attended in New York the UN General Assembly session, had a series of bilateral meetings and participated in the summit on refugees and migrants.



    MEASELS EPIDEMIC — The vaccination law is going through an endorsement process, says the Health Ministry, which vehemently criticised the campaigns against the vaccination of children. Three infants died of measles, with doctors saying the immunisation might have prevented the outbreak of measles, which affects almost half of the country. Sources with the Health Ministry say hundreds of cases were registered in 23 of Romania’s counties in the first eight months of the year. Family doctors say the poor measles vaccination coverage is caused by the parents’ refusal to vaccinate their children. They say the danger is increased by the fact that infants under one year of age are not normally vaccinated against the virus, which they can easily contract when getting in direct contact with sick children. Doctors have initiated an awareness raising campaign and have launched an appeal to the population, to make it understand that the vaccines included in the national program are intended to eradicate dangerous and potentially deadly diseases.



    RadiRo — Six symphony orchestras from Europe and Asia, alongside prominent conductors and soloists are taking part, in Bucharest, in the third edition of the International Radio Orchestras Festival – RadiRo, which runs until October 1. This year, alongside five European Orchestras- the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the National Radio Orchestra, the festival has among its honorary guests an orchestra from Asia, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra of China, which opens the festival today.



    TTIP — Government officials from the EU member states are today meeting in Bratislava (Slovakia), for talks on the draft trade agreements with the US and Canada. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the US (TTIP) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) are facing increasing opposition by some European politicians and protesters. Critics of the agreements say the proposals favour multinational companies, to the detriment of people’s interests and will lead to the dissolution of public services. According to the BBC, France has urged the EU to abandon the TTIP trade deal. The two trade agreements should be approved by all national parliaments of the EU member states.



    TENNIS— Romanian tennis player Patricia Tig (WTA No.135) has today qualified for the semi-finals of the Seoul tennis tournament, with 250,000 dollars in prize money up for grabs. Patricia Tig defeated Spanish Sara Sorribes Tormo (WTA No.139) in three sets. Patricia will now face Lara Arruabarrena (WTA No.90). Another Romanian tennis player, Monica Niculescu (WTA No.55) will meet in the quarterfinals Slovakian Jana Cepelova (WTA No.102). In another move, Romania’s Davis Cup team will face the team of Belarus, in the first round of Group 1 Europe/Africa Zone, following Thursday’s draw in London. The match is due between February 3 and 5, 2017, and Romania will be playing away from home. The Romanian and Belarusian team have met only once so far, in 2005, in the first round of the World Group, when Romania defeated Belarus 3-2, on home turf. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • September 22, 2016

    September 22, 2016

    UN General Assembly – Romania steps up efforts to meet global challenges like poverty, climate change, terrorism and conflicts, in the spirit of international solidarity and joint responsibility, the PM of Romania, Dacian Cioloş, said in his address at the UN General Assembly session in New York. He added that at present Romania holds the presidency of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation, while Romanian military and police troops take part in peacekeeping missions. Romania will continue to earmark substantial political, diplomatic, financial and human resources to maintaining regional and global stability, the head of the Romanian government also said. Today, PM Ciolos is having talks with the Secretary General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and with American business people who invest in Romania. He also had meetings with members of the Romanian community in New York. On Tuesday, PM Dacian Cioloş discussed with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, the prospects for lifting visa requirements for Romanian citizens, and attended the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants.




    Anti-fraud – The head of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), Giovanni Kessler, hailed in Bucharest the efforts of Romanian authorities to curb fraud. He added that the Anti-Fraud Department in Romania is the Europeans main partner and a success model for Romanias anti-fraud strategy aimed at building a better, corruption-free society. At the Albiţa checkpoint in eastern Romania Kessler had a meeting with officials of customs authorities in Romania, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. The main topic was cross-border cooperation, with a view to preventing and fighting illegal trafficking on the EU external borders.




    Refugees – At the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants in New York Romania did not make any relocation commitments in addition to the decision made at EU level, the Romanian Foreign Ministry says in a news release. The Ministry mentions that Romania takes part in the common European effort in this respect, by means of “implementing internal relocation decisions made in 2015 and of voluntarily participating in the foreign relocation process.




    Defence – On September 28 Romania will receive the first six F-16 planes from Portugal, the Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc has announced. He made this statement after a meeting with the ambassador of Portugal to Bucharest, João-Bernardo Weinstein, whom he thanked for the contribution of the Portuguese Air Forces to training the pilots and other personnel who will operate the aircraft. Romania has purchased from Portugal a total of 12 upgraded F-16 planes, compatible with the models used by the other NATO member states. The contract, signed 3 years ago, cost the Romanian Army some 630 million euro.




    Measles – Romania is currently facing a measles epidemics. According to the Healthcare Ministry, three infants have died and nearly 700 got sick in the first 8 months of the year, as opposed to seven confirmed cases and no deaths last year. The Ministry intends to run an awareness raising campaign regarding the benefits of immunisation.



    Charlotte protests – The situation seems to have got out of control in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a young African-American was shot in clashes with the police. Wednesday was the second running day of protests in this American town, where according to CNN a person was shot and a police officer wounded. The Governor of North Carolina declared a state of emergency in Charlotte and sent the National Guard to calm things down. Keith Lamont Scott (43) was shot dead on Tuesday in a parking lot, while police tried to serve a warrant for a different man. According to social media, the man was reading a book when the police officers approached him, but authorities claim he was armed and had refused repeated demands to put the gun down before the police officer, himself an African-American, shot him.




    Corruption investigation – Anti-corruption prosecutors in the Republic of Moldova have taken 15 judges and 3 court enforcement officers, involved in a huge money-laundering scandal. The mass media in Chisinau, quoted by Radio Romania correspondents, say they were reportedly involved in the laundering of a rough 18 billion USD coming from the Russian Federation. If proven guilty, the suspects risk spending 5 to 10 years behind bars.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)