Radio România Internațional

Tag: Moscow

  • August 10, 2024 UPDATE

    August 10, 2024 UPDATE

    Fugitives – The Romanian Justice Ministry announces that it has brought back to the country other Romanian citizens who had fled abroad to avoid serving prison sentences, namely human traffickers and pimps. Among them there is a woman convicted of pimping at 6 years and 9 months, brought from the Netherlands. Another fugitive, brought from Italy, has to serve a sentence of 6 years and 1 month for human trafficking. We remind you that, this year, the so-called Fugitives Law entered into force, by which persons convicted and repatriated to serve their criminal sentence are obliged to pay the costs of being brought back to Romania. Only in 2023, the costs for bringing back to Romania over 800 Romanian citizens in this situation exceeded 10 million lei (around 2 million Euros).

     

    Untold – The biggest music festival in Romania, Untold, continues in Cluj-Napoca (north-west). Until Sunday, more than 250 top national and international artists perform for tens of thousands of fans from all over the world. Besides the concerts, the organizers have also prepared numerous thematic parties, and as a novelty, on the main stage, the performance of musical pieces is also done in sign language for people with hearing impairments. The authorities pay special attention to preventing the sale and consumption of drugs during the festival.

     

    Enescu – The 19th edition of the George Enescu International Competition kicks off on August 31, in Bucharest. This year, there was a historic record of entries to the Enescu Competition – 555 young people from 27 countries applied for the three sections of the competition – violin, cello and piano. Out of these, only 149 were selected to participate in the first stage of the competition. Each section will have two elimination stages, the semi-final and the final. The George Enescu International Competition is an event held under the High Patronage of the President of Romania and financed by the Government of Romania through the Ministry of Culture.

     

    Inflation – The National Bank of Romania significantly improved, on Friday, the estimates regarding the evolution of inflation, from 4.9% to 4% per year for the end of 2024. The downward trend should be maintained at the beginning of next year, followed by a temporary increase in the spring of 2025, then a return to the downward trend. The national bank calculates an annual inflation rate of 3.4% for the end of next year, slightly below the previously estimated level. The central bank governor, Mugur Isărescu, stated that the inflation forecast also took into account possible risks or uncertainties, including the conduct of fiscal and revenue policies, as well as the evolution of energy and food prices.

     

    Moscow – The Russian aviation authority banned Russian airlines from flying into Israel’s airspace in the following nights, the dpa news agency reports. The ban entered into force on Saturday and is valid until August 16. Moscow did not provide a reason for the decision, but dpa believes it could be linked to a feared Iranian airstrike on Israel. Russia is a close ally of Tehran and has recently stepped up its deliveries of air defense weapons to the Iranians. Many international airlines have canceled their flights to Israel due to the threat of war in the region. Meanwhile, Israel has agreed to sending negotiators to the new talks on a cease-fire agreement and the release of hostages in Gaza, following an urgent appeal by the mediator countries – the United States, Egypt and Qatar. Hamas has not yet responded to the call, seen as an attempt to stop the escalation of the conflict, after the assassination of the political leader of the Palestinian group, Ismail Haniyeh. (LS)

  • March 25, 2024

    March 25, 2024

    MOSCOW The four suspects of the Friday’s attack, which killed 137 and wounded over 180 at a concert venue in Moscow were brought to court on Sunday. All had wounded faces and, according to Reuters, one of them, which was being carried in a wheelchair apparently had an eye missing. The authorities have presented them as foreign citizens without revealing their nationality, but according to the Russian press, they are from Tajikistan. The attack has been claimed by the Asian branch of ISIS, which even released images during the massacre. The Russian investigators didn’t mention the Jihadi connection, whereas president Putin and the Russian Security Service FSB have mentioned the suspects’ intention to flee to Ukraine, where they had contacts. Kyiv has rejected the theory as absurd. The Romanian Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has conveyed condolences to the victims’ families underlining that Romania is firmly condemning any form of terrorism and violence against civilians.

     

    ALERT The government of France has raised the terror alert warning to its highest level after the Friday’s massacre in Moscow. The country’s Premier, Gabriel Attal, said in a post on a social network that “the decision was taken in light of the Islamic State’s claiming responsibility for the attack and the threats weighing on our country.” France is one of the countries, which has seen some of the bloodiest terror attacks masterminded by Islamist fighters, such as the ones in 2015-2016, which left roughly 300 dead and hundreds of wounded. The government in Paris has explained that the aforementioned Islamist organization has been recently involved in a series of attempted attacks, which have been thwarted by the police forces in several European countries, such as France and Germany and the head of the executive this morning summoned the representatives of the services responsible for the country’s security and safety of citizens.

     

    VOTE MPs in Bucharest are today debating upon a simple motion against Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu, who has been accused of having endorsed a law for the financial benefit of some politicians. Under the title ‘Praising Ceausescu cannot save the Romanian Agriculture’ the simple motion has been initiated by the opposition USR following the minister’s appreciative discourse about the country’s former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. The USR representatives have been accusing the minister of having treated the protesting farmers with contempt and of having ignored the MPs requests to present his activity. The vote is going to be cast on Tuesday.

     

    HANDBALL The Romanian women’s handball side Dunarea Braila has qualified for the final tournament of the EHF European League after a 26-25 home win against the Croatian side Podravka Vegeta on Sunday in the second round of the quarter finals. Dunarea, which also won the first game against Podravka, is Romania’s second representative in the EHF Finals Women, due on June 1 and 2 in Graz, Austria, after Gloria Bistrita. Romania’s champions CSM Bucharest have qualified for the quarter finals of the Champions League in women’s handball after a double win against Slovenian side Krim Mercator Ljubljana and will be playing in the quarters against the French side Metz Handball.

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  • March 23, 2024 UPDATE

    March 23, 2024 UPDATE

    CONDOLENCES Romania’s Foreign Ministry has conveyed condolences to the victims of the recent terror attack that left hundreds of dead and wounded in Moscow. In a post on the X network formerly known as Twitter, the diplomacy in Bucharest has underlined that Romania firmly condemns any form of terrorism or attacks against civilians. The Kremlin announced on Saturday the arrest of 11 people, including four perpetrators of the attack on a packed concert venue on Moscow’s outskirts, claimed by a Jihadist group known as the Islamic State. Gunmen donning camouflage suits opened fire with automatic rifles against the people attending a concert on Friday. According to AFP and Reuters, the death toll stands at 150 and is expected to rise. Health Ministry sources have announced that 115 people have been admitted to hospitals, including five children. Parliament sources have announced on Telegram, that two suspects have been apprehended in the region of Briansk after a car chase. Other suspects have taken refuge in a forest nearby.

     

    BORDER According to the Border Police General Inspectorate over 190 thousand people, Romanian and foreign citizens, as well as 57 thousand vehicles crossed Romania’s borders on 22nd of March. 96,119 people entered Romania yesterday, including 8,489 Ukrainian nationals. Since 10 February 2022, two weeks before the Russian invasion, 7,600,853 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. According to the same sources, procedures at Romania’s border checkpoints are done under the national and community legislation.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side ended in a one-all draw their friendly against Northern Ireland in Bucharest on Friday. Romania will next play Columbia on neutral ground in Madrid on Tuesday. These are the first two training matches of our squad before EURO 2024 in Germany in summer. In June, Romania will be playing also in friendlies against the selections of Bulgaria and Lichtenstein. At the final continental tournament, our side is part of Group E where it will be playing Belgium, Slovakia and the winner of the tie game on Tuesday pitching Ukraine against Iceland. On Thursday night in the tie semis, Iceland secured a 4-1 win against Israel and Ukraine clinched a 2-1 win in Bosnia.

     

    SCHENGEN Romania’s entry into the border-free area of Schengen is a feasible objective by the end of the year, Romanian Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu has said. According to him, the Romanian side has already completed the preparations for the country’s accession with its air and maritime borders approved by the EU Council and scheduled for the end of this year. Predoiu explains that Romania and Austria are cooperating very well in the field of border security, combating the illegal migration and cross-border crime and says that he has proposed his Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, to extend this collaboration beyond the Schengen issue with emphasis on fighting drugs and human trafficking. On March 31st, the Romanian and Bulgarian citizens will be able to travel to Schengen countries without border controls in ports and airports. According to statistics, 70% of the Romanians who travel by plane abroad have as their destination countries within Europe’s border-free area.

     

    SHORTAGE Romania is presently witnessing a shortage of trained physicians and nurses, according to data released by the Healthcare Ministry. Over 86 hundred jobs are available in this field while the small towns and villages are bearing the brunt of the present crisis. Over 300 communes across the country lack family physicians while over half of towns and villages have reported a shortage in medical personnel. In the county of Salaj, in north-western Romania, the issue has been partially solved by hiring retired doctors and setting up secondary working units. In order to attract the young doctors, who aren’t interested nowadays in getting a job in rural areas in Romania, the communes affected by the shortage have invested in upgrading their clinics, as well as the other facilities that may benefit the medical personnel such as dwelling places or transport networks.

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  • March 23, 2024

    March 23, 2024

    ARRESTS The Kremlin announced on Saturday the arrest of 11 people, including four perpetrators of the recent attack at a concert hall on Moscow’s outskirts, claimed by a Jihadist group known as the Islamic State. Assailants dressed up in camouflage suits opened fire with automatic weapons against the people attending the concert. According to AFP and Reuters, the death toll stands at 150 and is expected to rise. Health Ministry sources have announced that 115 people have been admitted to hospitals, including five children. Parliament sources have announced on Telegram, that two suspects have been detained in the region of Briansk after a car chase. Other suspects have taken refuge in a forest nearby.

     

    TENNIS Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea is today taking on US challenger Sloane Stephens in the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, Florida with more than 8 million dollars in prize money. The game was postponed in the first set due to the rain at 5-2 to Cirstea. The other three Romanians in the competition, Simona Halep, Ana Bogdan and Jaqueline Cristian have been eliminated in the first round. We recall that Halep, a former number one, has returned to competitions after a suspension of a year and a half for alleged doping.

     

    BORDER According to the Border Police General Inspectorate over 190 thousand people, Romanian and foreign citizens, as well as 57 thousand vehicles crossed Romania’s borders on 22nd of March. 96,119 people entered Romania yesterday, including 8,489 Ukrainian nationals. Since 10 February 2022, two weeks before the Russian invasion, 7,600,853 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. According to the same sources, procedures at Romania’s border checkpoints are done under the national and community legislation.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side ended in a one-all draw their friendly against Northern Ireland in Bucharest on Friday. Romania will next play Columbia on neutral ground in Madrid on Tuesday. These are the first two training matches of our squad before EURO 2024 in Germany in summer. In June, Romania will be playing also in friendlies against the selections of Bulgaria and Lichtenstein. At the final continental tournament, our side is part of Group E where it will be playing Belgium, Slovakia and the winner of the tie game on Tuesday pitching Ukraine against Iceland. On Thursday night in the tie semis, Iceland secured a 4-1 win against Israel and Ukraine clinched a 2-1 win in Bosnia.

     

    WEATHER The weather is nice and warm in almost all Romanian regions with highs ranging between 11 and 21 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 18 degrees.

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  • July 30, 2023

    July 30, 2023

    GOVERNMENT The government
    prepares to pass a set of fiscal measures in the coming days, designed to bring
    more money into the state budget and to keep the deficit close to this year’s
    target of 4.4% of GDP. As of this autumn, employees in agriculture,
    constructions and IT may have to contribute 10% of their incomes to the public
    healthcare fund. The government also intends to keep only 2 VAT rates, 9% for
    foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and hospitality services, and 19% for all other
    sectors. Governmental sources say the ruling coalition are also discussing a
    reorganization of the public sector, by scrapping 200,000 posts which are
    currently vacant. At the same time, the Cabinet is working on measures to support
    citizens cope with the rising inflation. The government is considering an
    increase in minimum wages in 2 stages: to roughly 670 euro in September and to
    750 euro as of January next year. But the plan is opposed by private
    entrepreneurs, who say they cannot afford to raise minimum wages for employees.
    According to a recent poll, should this measure be introduced, more than half
    of the private entrepreneurs in the country said they would raise prices for
    their products and services or downsize their staff.


    FIRE A Romanian fire fighter unit specialising in
    wildfires is leaving for France today, as part of a redeployment programme
    organised by the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and
    Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). As many as 40 Romanian fire fighters
    with fire engines, water tanks and other equipment will be stationed in
    Marseilles, on the Mediterranean Coast.


    TRIBUTE The Bucharest National
    Opera orchestra performs tonight for the first time at the Musikverein hall in
    Vienna, in a tribute concert to the Romanian composer Ciprian Porumbescu. The
    year 2023 was declared the year of Ciprian Porumbescu, to mark 170 years since
    the birth and 140 years since the death of the famous composer. The concert
    will consist exclusively of works by Ciprian Porumbescu: New Moon, the first
    Romanian operetta, the Ballad, the Romanian Rhapsody. The soloists, choir
    and orchestra of the National Opera House in Bucharest are conducted by Daniel
    Jinga, with special guests including maestro Gheorghe Zamfir and the soloist
    Maria Coman.


    UKRAINE A Ukrainian drone
    attack on Moscow hit 2 office buildings last night, the mayor of Russia’s
    capital city Sergei Sobyanin said, according to France Presse. According to the
    Russian defence ministry, a drone was shot down and 2 others were neutralized but
    crashed into a building compound. This was the latest in a string of attacks
    that Moscow blames on Kyiv, while also claiming the US and their NATO allies
    have provided assistance to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities say
    at least 2 were killed and 1 wounded in a Russian missile attack on the city of
    Zaporizhzhia.


    SPORTS Romania finished 4th
    at the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Maribor (Slovenia), with 9
    gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze medals. This is the best performance for Romania in
    this competition, after the ones in 1995 (Bath) and 2003 (Paris), when it came
    out 3rd. On Saturday, the last day of the event, Romania won 2 gold medals,
    thanks to Alin Şavlovschi, in the men’s 2,000 m hurdles race and Bianca Maria
    Tiţa, Ştefania Balint, Maria Denisa Capotă and Alexandra Ştefania Uţă, who won
    the women’s relay race with a new competition record (2’06”13). Romania’s
    women’s handball team won the silver after losing the final to France, 32-27. Three other
    medals were won in the tennis competition, by Giulia Safina Popa in the women’s
    singles, Giulia Popa and Alexia Tatu in women’s doubles and Yannick Theodor
    Nicolas Alexandrescou/Alejandro Mateo Berge Vega Nourescu in the men’s doubles.
    In the gymnastics competition, Alexia Gabriela Vânoagă won the silver in the
    beam final. Romania participated in the Festival with a team of 92 athletes. (AMP)

  • June 9, 2023 UPDATE

    June 9, 2023 UPDATE

    Protests — A new round of negotiations between the Romanian government and the education trade unions took place on Friday. The trade unionists announced that they received a new offer: an increase by 45% in salaries from January 1, 2024 and not by 40% as it was before, and a bonus of 1,500 lei on October 5, on the International Day of Education, from this year until 2027. The talks took place against the background of the all-out strike and of a new protest rally in Bucharest, in which thousands of teachers participated. Demonstrations also took place in other cities in the country. On Thursday, the government adopted a memorandum on salary increases granted to the education staff through the future salary law – a way in which, it says, it guarantees that this field will be a priority. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă has given assurances that the basic salary of the beginner teacher will be set at the level of the gross average salary, as requested by the trade unionists. Also the memorandum establishes the right of the education employees to a leave allowance calculated according to the basic salary, as well as to increments. The strikers say, however, that Thursdays political declaration has no legal value and that they do not trust the political class in Romania.



    Power plant — The construction of Units 3 and 4 at the Cernavodă nuclear power plant (south-east Romania) receives government support. A support agreement was signed on Friday in Bucharest, and the Finance Ministry will take the necessary steps to finance the project, including by granting state guarantees. Units 3 and 4 at the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant would cover over a third of Romanias energy needs and is a necessary investment for the countrys future, said the Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă. He stated that this project also had social benefits, by maintaining more than 20,000 jobs.



    Diplomacy – The Russian Foreign Ministry labeled the decision of the Romanian authorities to reduce the Russian diplomatic presence in Romania as a hostile act that will not go unanswered. Specific measures will be announced in due time, commented the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zaharova. The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced that the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bucharest was informed, on Thursday, about the decision of the Romanian authorities to reduce the diplomatic and technical-administrative staff of the Russian Federation in Romania by limiting their number to a level close to that of the diplomatic and technical -administrative staff of Romania in the Russian Federation. In 30 days at the most, the diplomats’ positions must be reduced by 21, and the technical-administrative personnel positions by 30. Otherwise, accreditations will be withdrawn. The measure was adopted in accordance with the provisions of the 1961 Vienna convention on diplomatic relations and reflects the current level of bilateral relations drastically reduced by Romania after the Russian Federation launched the war of aggression against Ukraine, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced.



    TIFF – Cluj (north-west of Romania) is, for ten days, the capital of international cinema, hosting a new edition of the Transylvania Film Festival – TIFF. Almost 200 films will be screened, 12 being in the official competition. Famous actors and directors from the country and abroad have announced their presence. Among them the American director Oliver Stone, the Australian actor Geoffrey Rush and the British actor Timotis Splash. Inspired by real events that happened in Sibiu in December 1989, “Libertate”, the latest film made by the Romanian director Tudor Giurgiu, will have its world premiere at TIFF. The Romanian actor Horaţiu Mălăele, who will perform in Cluj, will receive an excellence award during the festival.



    Statistics – The European Union’s economy registered an increase of 0.1% in the first quarter of this year, compared to the similar period of 2022, according to data published by the European Statistical Office, Eurostat. The most significant annual advance was registered by Spain, Cyprus, Malta, with over 3%, and Romania, with 2.8%. Although the European Union managed to narrowly avoid recession, the euro zone, which includes 20 states, registered two consecutive quarters of economic contraction, by 0.1%, thus entering a technical recession. (LS)

  • October 6, 2022

    October 6, 2022

    EPC – Leaders from 42 countries are meeting today in Prague for the first meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), a new structure proposed by the French President Emmanuel Macron in response to Russias war in Ukraine. The Russian invasion generated a total geopolitical rethinking, and the EPC wants to be a platform for cooperation on security issues between EU countries and the partners on the continent, candidates for accession or not. Romania is represented by the president Klaus Iohannis, who, together with the leaders from the countries of the EU bloc, will talk with the presidents of Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population) about the peace and security of the whole of Europe, the economic situation, energy, climate and migration. During the informal meeting of the European Council, which will take place on Friday, also in Prague, the EU leaders will address the situation in Ukraine from the perspective of the European response to Russias moves to escalate the conflict and of the continuation of providing support to Ukraine on the financial, political, military and humanitarian levels. Also, the situation on the energy market will be addressed from the point of view of the impact of the high energy prices on the cost of living and the efforts to ensure the security of energy supply.



    Refugees — The Border Police General Inspectorate (IGPF) informs that on Wednesday, 71,642 people, including 8,486 Ukrainian citizens, entered Romania through border points throughout the country, an increase of about 10% compared to the previous day. According to a communiqué sent on Thursday, starting on February 10, 2022, two weeks before the Russian army invaded Ukraine, 2,508,047 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. Most of them continued their journey to Western European countries, but, according to the Romanian Interior Ministry, more than 4,300 applied for and received asylum in Romania and benefit from all the rights provided by the national legislation. About 70 thousand others have residence permits, for the beneficiaries of temporary protection.



    Moldova – The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet country with a majority Romanian-speaking population) votes, on Thursday, on the request of the pro-Western Government led by Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița regarding the extension of the state of emergency for another 60 days, in the context of the war in neighboring Ukraine. As the prime ministers party, Action and Solidarity (PAS), has about two-thirds of the 101 deputies mandates, the vote would be a simple formality. According to the government, the need to extend the state of emergency, starting on October 7, is caused by the persistent risks regarding the security of the supply of the Republic of Moldova with energy resources, the possible new flows of refugees from Ukraine and the need to ensure security at the border. The state of emergency was introduced on February 27, three days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and was later extended. By introducing the state of emergency, the Parliament cedes part of its powers to the Commission for Exceptional Situations, led by the head of the Government.



    Football — On Thursday evening Romanias football champions, CFR Cluj (north-west), will take on Slavia Prague, away from home, in a match counting for Group G of the Conference League. In the same group, Sivasspor, from Turkey will be up against Ballkani, from Kosovo. After two stages, Slavia takes first place in the group, with 4 points, followed by Sivasspor, 4 points, Ballkani, 1 point, and CFR, 1 point. Also on Thursday and also away from home, the vice-champions of Romania, FCSB, from Bucharest, meet the Danish team Silkeborg, in Group B, in which the match between the Belgians from Anderlecht Brussels and the English from West Ham United is also scheduled. West Ham is the leader, with 6 points, Anderlect has 4, FCSB 1 point, and the Danes have zero points.



    IAEA — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, will try to talk with officials in Kyiv and Moscow about the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the occupied southern Ukraine, the largest in Europe, which the Russians have taken hold of as part of the so-called annexation of the region. For weeks on end, the plant has been the target of intense bombing, for which Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other, and which fueled fears of a nuclear catastrophe. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the military situation will “stabilize” in the annexed Ukrainian territories, where his forces are suffering a series of setbacks against Kievs army. Ukraine had announced that it had again gained ground in the Luhansk region (east), after the successes in Kherson (south) and Kharkov (northeast). In what analysts call a sign of confusion in Russia, the armys failures prompted a senior parliamentary official, deputy Andrei Kartapolov, a former military commander, to ask defense ministry chiefs to “stop lying” about the defeats. (LS)

  • December 25, 2021

    December 25, 2021

    CHRISTMAS The Western rite Orthodox
    believers, the Greek Catholics and Catholics from the world over, including from
    Romania, a country with an Orthodox majority, are today celebrating Christmas,
    the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Christmas holiday invites us to be
    generous, as the magi in the time of Christ, to show love and compassion to all
    around us and offer gifts not only to children but also to the elderly, the
    sick, the lonely and sad’, says Daniel, the patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox
    Church. In turn, president Klaus Iohannis has conveyed a Christmas message, in
    which he referred to the spirit of this holiday at the end of another difficult
    year. The head of the Romanian state wished the Romanians to enjoy this
    holiday, underlining that together we can overcome this difficult period. Christmas
    is marked through special religious sermons in churches and monasteries across
    the country but also through beautiful traditions and rich family dinners. Old
    ritualists, who are a majority in Russia, Ukraine, Serbia and Georgia are
    celebrating Christmas on January 7th.








    COVID-19 The fifth wave of the pandemic, which is most severe as compared
    to the fourth wave is expected to arrive in Romania in less than three weeks,
    the country’s Interior Minister Lucian Bode has announced. The spread of the
    Omicron variant will be accelerated by the Romanian workers from abroad, who
    are to arrive in large numbers for the winter holidays. The number of the new
    infections is still low in Romania with roughly 600 new cases announced on
    Saturday and 29 related fatalities. Since the beginning of the pandemic, almost
    1.8 million Covid infections have been reported in Romania and 58 thousand
    related fatalities. Shortly after the authorization in the USA of the
    anti-Covid drug, Paxlovid, Romania’s health minister, Alexandru Rafila is
    making moves to import the new drug as soon as possible. Rafila has already had
    a series of meetings with representatives of Pfizer, the company that produces
    the vaccine. According to the latest surveys, the drug reduces by almost 90%
    the risk of hospitalization and death. The US has also authorized an anti-viral
    pill produced by Merck.






    OMICRON Airline carriers in the USA
    have been severely affected by the Covid-19 infections driven by the Omicron
    variant, which created greater uncertainty among Christmas holiday travelers.
    According to Flightaware.com a quarter out of the over 4 thousand flights
    cancelled globally is in the United States alone. The situation became possible
    due to the flight crews who tested positive and were forced to go into
    isolation in order to contain the pandemic. The USA, like other countries, has
    seen a surge in the Covid-19 infections and although the Omicron variant is
    less severe than Delta, scientists are worried by the growing number of
    infections. Government data in Britain showed a record tally of more than 122
    thousand Covid infections nationwide on Friday, marking a third day in which
    the number of new cases has surpassed 100 thousand. The government headed by
    Boris Johnson preferred to postpone the tightening of restrictions as Omicron
    poses lower risks than the Delta variant. France has also exceeded the
    threshold of 94 thousand new Covid infections, a record high since the
    beginning of the pandemic. Outdoor mask mandates have again come into effect in
    Greece, Spain and Italy.









    TROOPS Over 10 thousand Russian servicemen that had been deployed close
    to the Ukrainian border returned to their barracks, the Interfax news agency
    announced, quoting sources of the Russian army. They participated in maneuvers
    held close to Ukraine and also in Crimea, a region Russia annexed in 2014. The
    latest Russian military buildup at the borders with Ukraine fuelled concern among
    Ukraine’s and western leaders that Moscow had planned an attack. Russia denied
    all allegations adding that it needs pledges from the West, including from NATO
    that the alliance will not expand towards its borders.








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  • October 23, 2021 UPDATE

    October 23, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 New restrictions take effect on Monday in Romania, as the country is
    struggling with an unprecedented epidemiological crisis. For 30 days, the
    digital COVID certificate will be compulsory in most public places, except for
    food shops and drugstores, face covering will be compulsory in all indoor and
    outdoor public areas, and a ban on outdoor concerts and shows, as well as on
    private events, including weddings, conferences and workshops, will be in place.
    Also on Monday, public and private kindergartens,
    primary, secondary schools and high schools will take a 2-week break.
    After-schools will also be closed, although nurseries will stay open. Companies
    with more than 50 employees will organise shifts or remote work, sports
    competitions will be held without public in attendance, and a night curfew will also be introduced, between 10 pm and 5 am, for
    the unvaccinated. On Saturday the authorities reported 15,261
    new SARS-CoV-2 cases and 446 COVID-related deaths.




    VACCINE An
    efficiency survey on COVID-19 vaccination in Romania indicates that
    immunisation has reduced contamination risks 5 times,
    hospitalisation risks 10 times, intensive care admission risks nearly 14 times
    and COVID-related death risks over 20 times. The data analysed included over 2.7 million
    tests (both positive and negative), collected from over 1.7 million people aged
    over 16 and vaccinated. The survey was run in February – May, when the Alpha
    variant of the virus was prevailing in Romania. Following repeated appeals from
    physicians, for fear of getting infected or simply because they no longer have
    access to various activities without the digital COVID certificate, many
    Romanians previously reluctant to the vaccine seem to have changed their minds.
    According to the latest official figures, over 127,000 people got vaccinated in
    the last 24 hours, most of them (over 91,000) with the first dose. This weekend
    the capital Bucharest is hosting a vaccination marathon. Since the start of the
    vaccination programme in late December, more than 6.3 million Romanians have
    received COVID-19 vaccines, and nearly 5.9 million of them are fully vaccinated.




    GOVERNMENT In Romania, prime
    minister designate Nicolae Ciucă, a retired general, carried on negotiations
    over parliamentary support for his new cabinet. The Democratic Union of Ethnic
    Hungarians in Romania will be the Liberals’ partners in the ruling coalition. The
    head of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, Marcel Ciolacu, Saturday had
    a telephone conversation with the prime minister designate, requesting him to
    come up with a clear, short-term action plan on handling the pandemic and to
    include in his governing programme 10 urgent measures suggested by the Social
    Democrats in the healthcare, economic and social areas. A new discussion will
    be held next week. Unhappy with a possible cooperation with the Social
    Democrats, many Liberals will leave the party and will start a new one jointly
    with the former party leader Ludovic Orban, said an ex-government spokesman, Ionel Dancă. Romania has been faced with a governmental crisis since
    September, when Save Romania Union left the ruling coalition over disagreements
    with PM Florin Cîţu and backed a
    no-confidence motion initiated by the Social Democrats against the Cîţu
    government. The first politician designated by president Klaus Iohannis to form
    a new government, Save Romania Union leader Dacian Cioloş, failed to get
    endorsed by Parliament.




    MOLDOVA The PM of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavriliţă, announced the
    rationalisation of natural gas and other resources during the one-month state
    of emergency declared by Parliament on Friday. She said the government was
    looking for alternative gas sources, due to the lack of a new contract with
    Russia, which has cut supplies by one-third and raised prices to an unacceptable
    level. Russian-Moldovan talks in Moscow ended after 2 days without an
    agreement, and Moldova might see Russian gas supply completely suspended as of
    November.





    TENNIS Raluca Olaru (Romania) / Nadia Kicenok (Ukraine) Saturday
    lost the final of the tennis tournament in Moscow (WTA 500), to 2nd
    seeded Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) / Katerina Siniakova (the Czech Republic) 6-3,
    4-6, 10-8. This was the 24th
    WTA doubles final for Raluca Olaru, who has won 11 titles so far. Olaru and
    Kicenok this year won the tournaments in Sankt Petersburg and Chicago, and lost
    the final in Bad Homburg. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • January 23, 2021 UPDATE

    January 23, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 — As many as 830 thousand people had registered until Saturday on the dedicated vaccination platform as part of the 2nd stage of the vaccination campaign, which mainly includes the elderly and the people with chronic diseases, the disabled and the employees of key sectors. The Prime Minister Florin Cîţu said that the authorities maintain the objective of having at least 1.2 million Romanians vaccinated with both doses by the end of March and 10.4 million by the end of September. He also stressed the importance of continuing to observe anti-coronavirus protection rules everywhere and at all times. Despite the recommendation of the Romania Health Ministry, restrictions generated by Covid-19 will be partially lifted in Bucharest as of Monday – the Municipal Committee for Emergency Situations announced. Theaters, cinemas, restaurants, bars, cafes and gambling halls will be able to operate, but at a capacity of maximum 30%. Official data made public on Saturday show that 2,719 new COVID-19 cases have been identified in Romania following 26.700 tests made. Another 94 people have died from COVID-19. So far, more than 709 thousand cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Romania, and about 90% of the patients have recovered.



    Travel – All persons reaching the US by air will be required to present, upon boarding, a negative SARS-CoV-2 test or a document attesting that they have been infected but have recovered. The negative test should be made 72 hours (3 days), at the most, prior to reaching the USA – the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. The measure, which will apply to all people over the age of 2, including to US citizens, permanent residents and citizens transiting the US, will take effect on January 26. In another move, people in risk areas, including Romania, who travel to the Netherlands by air or sea, should present, starting on Saturday, a rapid test for the new coronavirus, made no later than four hours before departure. France will also require, as of Sunday at midnight, a negative PCR Covid-19 test that needs to be taken with a maximum of 72 hours before the trip. Exempted from the rule are road transporters and cross-border workers.



    Brussels – The European Ombudsman, quoted by Reuters, has announced the launch of an investigation into the way in which the European Commission is managing the contracts for the purchase of the Covid-19 vaccines concluded with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of the EU member states. The EU has spent about 2.5 billion Euros for down payments to buy about 2.3 billion doses of vaccine from six companies that have Covid-19 vaccines approved or in the experimental phase. The prices, delivery deadlines and other important clauses in the contracts are kept secret, the European Commission claiming that confidentiality is essential to obtain the best possible contractual conditions. However, the Ombudsmans inquiry concerns the EC’s refusal to provide public access to those documents. EU states have complained about insufficient vaccine deliveries and uncertain timelines.



    Expo — The Commissioner of the Romanian Section for Expo 2020 Dubai, Ferdinand Nagy, paid a working visit to the United Arab Emirates between January 17-21. He met with Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the chairman of the Expo Dubai 2020 Steering Committee. During the talks, the two stressed the importance of bilateral relations, in the context of the Strategic Economic Partnership concluded in 2018. The Romanian official also had a meeting with Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, both expressing confidence that Romanias presence at Expo 2020 Dubai will attract both the interest of visitors and of the business environment. Romania will participate in the World Exhibition with a national pavilion entitled New Nature. Expo 2020 Dubai will have the theme Connecting Minds, Creating the Future and will take place between October 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022.



    Chisinau – The president of the Committee for International Relations of the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, Konstantin Kosaciov, virulently criticized the recent decision of the Constitutional Court in Chisinau, which declared unconstitutional the law that gave the Russian language a special status in Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. Konstantin Kosaciov considers similar the Moldovan Constitutional Court’s decision and Ukraines decision of 16 January, which introduced the Ukrainian language to the countrys service sector, calling the decisions attacks on the Russian language. The Russian senator makes a link between the two measures and Republic of Moldova’s and Ukraine’s aspirations for European integration. In his opinion Russophobia becomes a systemic element of European policy, encouraged by the European Union in Russias neighborhood. The Romanian Ambassador to Chisinau, Daniel Ioniţă, on the contrary, has appreciated as correct and normal the decision of the Constitutional Court, this being an additional proof that the Romanian language must be known by all the citizens living on the territory of the Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova.



    Moscow – More than one thousand people were arrested by the riot police on Saturday in Russia during the demonstrations in favor of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, according to the OVD-Info NGO, which specializes in monitoring protest movements in the country. The crowd numbering 10,000 people according to France Press and 40,000 according to Reuters, gathered in central Moscow, and journalists witnessed violent arrests and clashes between the police and protesters. Iulia Navalnaya, the wife of the Russian opposition leader, announced that she was detained by the police in Msocow during the demonstration. Alexei Nalvalny was arrested on his return from Germany, where he had been treated after a poisoning attempt, for which he blamed the FSB. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent to Moscow, before the protests, several collaborators of Alexei Navalny were arrested for a several days and fined. The Kremlin labeled the demonstrations as inadmissible. “Russia will be free”, “Putin is an assassin” and “Freedom for political prisoners” — were the slogans the chanted by crowd gathered in Pushkin Square. (tr. L.Simion)

  • Again on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transdniester

    Again on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transdniester

    Forced to deal with an often uncomfortable cohabitation between the pro Russian Socialist president Igor Dodon and the mostly pro-Western government headed by Maia Sandu, the Republic of Moldova is trying to preserve its good relations with Brussels and Bucharest and to normalise the ones with Moscow. The withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory continues to be one of Moldova’s priorities, Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said on Wednesday in Moscow. During his first official visit to Russia, the Moldovan official met with his Russian counterpart, Serghei Lavrov, and hailed Russia’s availability to neutralise its ammunition deposited in Transdniester.



    According to the Radio Romania correspondent, Lavrov said the expired ammunition to be removed from the breakaway region of Transdniester accounts for half of the total 20 thousand tons deposited there. Preparations for the ammunition disposal could take more than a year, Seghei Lavrov said. Previously, Russian defence minister Serghei Soigu had also announced, in Chisinau, Moscow’s availability to discard their ammunition from Transdniester. Pundits are sceptical about these commitments and say that they are mere palliatives.



    Last year, the UN General Assembly adopted by a large majority a draft resolution tabled by the Republic of Moldova, requesting the withdrawal of Russian troops from the pro-Russian separatist region of Transdniester. Ten countries worked on drafting the document, including Moldova’s neighbours Romania and Ukraine, the 3 Baltic states, themselves subject to half a century of Soviet occupation, and key members of the European Union and NATO, such as Britain and Poland. A steady supporter of the independence and integrity of the neighbouring state, Bucharest promptly hailed the adoption of the resolution by a vote of 64 to 15, and 83 abstentions. The US, Germany, France, Canada, Turkey and Japan are among the relevant international players that backed the request for Russia to withdraw its military. Voting against were some of Moscow’s loyal allies, such as Armenia and Belarus, as well as the dictatorial regimes of North Korea, Syria and Cuba.



    The scene of an armed conflict that killed hundreds and only ended following the intervention of Russian troops on the side of the separatists, Transdniester has been outside the control of Moldovan authorities since 1992. In 1999, at the OSCE summit in Istanbul, Russia’s then president Boris Yeltsin undertook to pull out arms and troops from Transdniester. The process was halted 5 years later. (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • June 14, 2018

    June 14, 2018

    VISIT- Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila today begins an official three-day visit to Lithuania and Estonia. She says the political dialogue with the representatives of these two EU member states will focus on the reconfiguration of close bilateral relations, based on a similar journey and common interests, related to European issues and the security of the eastern flank. A major objective is the European agenda and the preparation of Romania’s rotating presidency of the European Council. In the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, prime minister Dancila will have talks with her counterpart Saulius Skvernelis and the speaker of Parliament Viktoras Pranckietis. As for her trip to Estonia, it’s the first by a Romanian prime minister after the re-establishment of diplomatic ties with this Baltic state in 1991.



    INTELLIGENCE – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has proposed the Social Democratic deputy Petru-Gabriel Vlase for the office of Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, according to a communiqué issued today by the presidential administration. Petru-Gabriel Valse is vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies, member of the defence, public order, and national security committee and member of the Joint Special Parliamentary Committee in charge with security legislation review. He is a graduate of higher education institutions in the field of national security and defence, and he has a PhD degree in military science and intelligence. Vlase would replace Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, who resigned in September 2016.



    BANKING – The top management of the National Bank of Romania submits today a new report on financial stability. It comes as the annual rate of inflation in May went above 5.4%, the highest in the last five years, with an exchange rate for the national currency around 4.66 lei per euro, rising deficits and rising public debt. The report analyzes the risks to financial stability and their gravity, as well as the domestic and international economic and financial context, the infrastructure and the regulatory framework. The previous document, issued late last year, revealed that there was no systemic financial risk, but that the plunging confidence of investors in emerging states was deemed a high risk, while rising macroeconomic tensions, personal debt were considered moderate risks.



    MOSCOW — The 21st edition of the World Football Championship kicks off in Russia today. It is the first edition of the championship hosted by a former communist bloc country. Proving their mettle in the final tournament are 32 national teams, while 11 cities across Russia will make the venues for the scheduled fixtures. The opening game will see Russia taking on Saudi Arabia. According to the correspondent of Radio Romania’s News and Current Affairs Channel in Moscow, Russia has invested tens of billions of dollars in the championship’s infrastructure, as well as a significant amount of political capital, hoping the event would bolster Russia’s image around the world. We recall Romania’s national team has failed to make it to the current edition of the World Cup. The World Championship held in France in 1998 was the last edition the national squad took part in.



    HANDBALL — Romanian national men’s handball team’s head-coach, Spaniard Xavier Pascual Fuertes, has amiably terminated his collaboration wit the Romanian handball federation on Wednesday, in the wake of the national team’s playoff fixture against Macedonia, counting towards the qualification for the 2019 edition of the World Championship. The Spanish coach stated he had taken the decision some time ago. We recall Xavier Pascual Fuertes signed a four-year contract with the Romanian Handball Federation, with the stated aim to have the national team qualify for the 2020 edition of the Olympic Games. We recall Romania has failed to make it to the 2019 edition of the World Championships although on Wednesday in Cluj, Romania defeated Macedonia, 26-25. However, our national squad went eight goals down from Macedonia in the first game, so on aggregate they were eliminated form the competition.


  • June 14, 2018

    June 14, 2018

    VISIT- Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila today begins an official three-day visit to Lithuania and Estonia. She says the political dialogue with the representatives of these two EU member states will focus on the reconfiguration of close bilateral relations, based on a similar journey and common interests, related to European issues and the security of the eastern flank. A major objective is the European agenda and the preparation of Romania’s rotating presidency of the European Council. In the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, prime minister Dancila will have talks with her counterpart Saulius Skvernelis and the speaker of Parliament Viktoras Pranckietis. As for her trip to Estonia, it’s the first by a Romanian prime minister after the re-establishment of diplomatic ties with this Baltic state in 1991.



    INTELLIGENCE – Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has proposed the Social Democratic deputy Petru-Gabriel Vlase for the office of Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, according to a communiqué issued today by the presidential administration. Petru-Gabriel Valse is vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies, member of the defence, public order, and national security committee and member of the Joint Special Parliamentary Committee in charge with security legislation review. He is a graduate of higher education institutions in the field of national security and defence, and he has a PhD degree in military science and intelligence. Vlase would replace Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, who resigned in September 2016.



    BANKING – The top management of the National Bank of Romania submits today a new report on financial stability. It comes as the annual rate of inflation in May went above 5.4%, the highest in the last five years, with an exchange rate for the national currency around 4.66 lei per euro, rising deficits and rising public debt. The report analyzes the risks to financial stability and their gravity, as well as the domestic and international economic and financial context, the infrastructure and the regulatory framework. The previous document, issued late last year, revealed that there was no systemic financial risk, but that the plunging confidence of investors in emerging states was deemed a high risk, while rising macroeconomic tensions, personal debt were considered moderate risks.



    MOSCOW — The 21st edition of the World Football Championship kicks off in Russia today. It is the first edition of the championship hosted by a former communist bloc country. Proving their mettle in the final tournament are 32 national teams, while 11 cities across Russia will make the venues for the scheduled fixtures. The opening game will see Russia taking on Saudi Arabia. According to the correspondent of Radio Romania’s News and Current Affairs Channel in Moscow, Russia has invested tens of billions of dollars in the championship’s infrastructure, as well as a significant amount of political capital, hoping the event would bolster Russia’s image around the world. We recall Romania’s national team has failed to make it to the current edition of the World Cup. The World Championship held in France in 1998 was the last edition the national squad took part in.



    HANDBALL — Romanian national men’s handball team’s head-coach, Spaniard Xavier Pascual Fuertes, has amiably terminated his collaboration wit the Romanian handball federation on Wednesday, in the wake of the national team’s playoff fixture against Macedonia, counting towards the qualification for the 2019 edition of the World Championship. The Spanish coach stated he had taken the decision some time ago. We recall Xavier Pascual Fuertes signed a four-year contract with the Romanian Handball Federation, with the stated aim to have the national team qualify for the 2020 edition of the Olympic Games. We recall Romania has failed to make it to the 2019 edition of the World Championships although on Wednesday in Cluj, Romania defeated Macedonia, 26-25. However, our national squad went eight goals down from Macedonia in the first game, so on aggregate they were eliminated form the competition.


  • The Increasingly Intricate Issue of Syria

    The Increasingly Intricate Issue of Syria

    US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a man of no conscience, who wants no peace in Syria, alongside Russia and Iran. The statement was made after a meeting of the UN Security Council called in the wake of the chemical attack in Syria. The meeting ended without a resolution.



    The April 4th attack, qualified by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as an unmatched war crime in its cruelty, took place in the northwestern rebel province of Idleb, leaving dozens dead, including children, as well as over 150 people injured, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.



    ‘We cannot close our eyes to those pictures’, the US ambassador said, speaking to the UN Security Council. Radio Romania’s correspondent to Washington, Doina Saiciuc, relates that Ms. Haley told the Council that the attack bore all the hallmarks of the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons, a regime that had previously used such weapons against its own people.



    The gas left men, women, the elderly, and children, gasping for their very last breath, she said. In addition, she said that if the Security Council fails in its duty to act collectively, the United States would be compelled to take action. That is what happened two days later, with dozens of American cruise missiles striking an airbase in Syria, allegedly the place where the chemical attack originated.



    US President Donald Trump explained that he ordered the attack because the Assad regime used chemical weapons against innocent civilians, in violation of international conventions. Russia, however, does not agree, saying that an attack against a state whose government fights against terrorism plays into the hands of extremists, creating even more threats against regional and global security.



    In addition, Moscow believes that the Syrian government did not use chemical weapons against civilians on April 4th in Idlib. In Moscow, the Russian Ministry of Defense submitted its own version of the incident. According to them, Syrian aircraft bombed a munitions depot in the east of Khan Sheihun housing chemical weapons. These weapons were also delivered to Iraq, where the authorities and international organizations proved they have been used by terrorists.



    They were also used last autumn by Syrian radicals in Aleppo, according to Russian military experts, Moscow says. In Syria, the opposition warned that the attack puts into question the negotiations mediated by the United Nations in Geneva, which so far have led nowhere. Head of European diplomacy Federica Mogherini has been pleading for sustained efforts in mediating peace. We asked Stefan Popescu, international relations expert, about the chances for Syria to stabilize within this complicated situation:



    Stefan Popescu: “Unfortunately, Syria, which was a pole of stability, even into the 1980s, led by Hafez al-Assad, whom everyone praised for his wisdom as a great strategist in the Middle and Near East, has become the epicenter of a long lasting crisis, the focal point of destabilization in the entire Middle East. It is an almost unending crisis, because of so many crisscrossing interests, not only in terms of local actors, but also of neighboring powers and the great powers. It is clear that the Islamic State is not a product of Islamic theology, but of the geostrategy in the Middle and Near East. It is the Sunni wish for revenge against the Shi’a, because as we can see, Sunnis lost power in Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.



    As well as in Iraq, of course. In spite of the general concern for finding a solution, the situation in Syria becomes more and more complicated. That happens, according to analysts, because it is not only about internal conflict between various factions, but also due to regional interests, the geopolitical and geostrategic interests in that area, which are getting worse and worse. The most recent round of talks for peace in Syria, held in late March in Geneva, did not yield any result.


  • March 27, 2017

    March 27, 2017

    ALDE – Daniel Constantin, co-president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE), has lost the political support of his party for the positions of deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister, which he was holding in the leftist government in Bucharest led by Sorin Grindeanu. Gratiela Gavrilescu has been proposed to replace Daniel Constantin. The decision was made after Constantin had contested a decision by some party colleagues that an extraordinary congress be staged next month, the other ALDE co-president Calin Popescu Tariceanu explained. He has also criticized Constantin for his latest political moves. Constantin has rejected the allegations adding the decision runs against the partys status. At present Gavrilescu is minister for the relation with Parliament but ALDE proposed this portfolio be taken over by Viorel Ilie. Social-Democratic Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu on Monday said upon the latest PSD-ALDE session that it would forward the proposals to president Klaus Iohannis.



    CALL – The European Union has called on Moscow to release immediately the several hundred protesters the authorities arrested during the peaceful anti-graft rallies in Russia on Sunday. Famous anti-Putin campaigner Aleksei Navalny is reportedly among those arrested. Tens of thousands protesters all over the country have chanted anti-government slogans asking for the resignation of Prime Minister Medvedev whom they accuse of corruption. Navalny, who is a lawyer, has been denouncing high-level corruption in Russia for years now and has made public his intention to run in the presidential election in 2018.




    CELEBRATION – Bucharest and other big cities across Romania are today hosting events aimed at celebrating 99 years since the union of Bessarabia with Romania, an event recently declared a national holiday by the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest. On Sunday in Chisinau, hundreds of people attended a rally in support of the national flag, where they unfolded a 100-meter long flag chanting unionist slogans. On March 27th 1918, after the dismantling of the Czarist Empire, the countrys legislative body, which convened in solemn session, ruled with an absolute majority the union of Bessarabia with the Romanian kingdom after 106 years of Russian occupation. Through an ultimatum in 1940, Soviet Moscow annexed both Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, territories today belonging to the former soviet republics of Moldova and Ukraine.




    TALKS – A new round of talks is taking place in Bucharest between the authorities and representatives of the policemen discontented with their low salaries. Interior Minister Carmen Dan said she would try to identify solutions together with trade unionists so that policemen may benefit from bonuses of 40% and 100% if they work during the weekends and other legal holidays. The minister of Public Consultations and Social Dialogue, Gabriel Petrea has explained that pay differences and other flaws in the system cannot be settled without affecting the budget. The policemen claim a 20% pay rise as well as bonuses for difficult work conditions, night shifts, for working on weekends and other legal holidays.



    GAME Romanias national eleven ended in a draw their home fixture on Sunday against the Danish side in qualifying group E for the next years World Cup in Russia. Also on Sunday Montenegro conceded a 1-2 defeat to Poland and Armenia outperformed Kazahstan 2-0. The qualifyiers next leg is due on June 10th when Romania will be up against Poland in an away match. On the same date Kazahstan will be playing Denmark and Montenegro takes on Armenia. Poland tops the groups table with 13 points followed by Montenegro and Denmark both with 7, Romania and Armenia each with 6 and Kazahstan with 2 points. We recall the Romanian national side is for the first time in its history led by a foreign selector, German Cristoph Daum, who came to the helm in autumn upon the teams lackluster play at Euro 2016 in France.




    TENNIS The worlds fifth tennis player, Romanian Simona Halep, today takes on Australian Samantha Stosur (WTA19) in the round of sixteen of the tournament in Miami, Florida, a competition with 6.9 million dollars in prize money. In the third round on Sunday the Romanian secured a two-set win 6-3, 6-0 against Estonian Anett Kontaveit. Another Romanian playing in Miami Patricia Tig has conceded a two-set defeat, 6-3, 6-0, to Venus Williams of the USA.

    (translated by: Daniel Bilt)