Radio România Internațional

Tag: New Zealand

  • September 3, 2021

    September 3, 2021

    Dismissal – The Romanian PM, the Liberal Florin Cîţu, on Friday convened a meeting of the governing coalition in order to solve the current political crisis generated by the dismissal of the justice minister, Stelian Ion representing the USR-PLUS Alliance. USR PLUS are asking for the resignation of the prime minister and his replacement with another representative of the Liberals, warning that, otherwise, they will table a censure motion. The Liberals who support Florin Cîţu believe that the solution for overcoming the political crisis is a new proposal from USR PLUS for the Justice Ministry. The representatives of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR (in the governing coalition) consider that, at this moment, there is no alternative to this coalition and hope that a solution will be reached through which the current governmental formula will remain in place. On the other hand, the “Anghel Saligny” Investment Program, which is supposed to have triggered the current crisis in the ruling coalition, will be again on the table of the government on Friday and will be discussed in a meeting which is not going to be attended by the USR PLUS ministers. The interim justice minister, the Liberal Lucian Bode, announced last night that he would approve the project, unlike his predecessor, Stelian Ion. The “Anghel Saligny” program is intended for the local infrastructure and would have a funding of 50 billion lei (about 10 billion Euros).



    Forum – Romania remains a pillar of stability in the Black Sea and Western Balkans region, and one of the priorities is to defend common strategic interests, President Klaus Iohannis said in a message in the opening of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum hosted by Bucharest. The head of state said that “during all this difficult period, Romanias efforts to support its partners in the region are a concrete proof of the fact that only through unity and solidarity crisis situations can be overcome and the best solutions can be found to be able to move forward”. The 5th edition of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum takes place on Friday and Saturday in Bucharest, the Romanian Defense Ministry reports. The forum is organized by the New Strategy Center (NSC), with the support of NATOs Public Diplomacy Division, in partnership with the Defense and Foreign Ministries. NSC is a Romanian think tank founded in 2015, which operates in the field of international relations, security and defense. It organizes various events and publishes specialized studies, especially to promote the strategic importance of the Black Sea region and the Balkans.



    COVID-19 Ro–While interest for vaccination is dropping in Romania, the number of new Covid-19 cases in on the rise. 1,470 new cases were reported on Thursday and 26 Covid-associated deaths. Also on Thursday the authorities announced that almost 11 thousand people have got vaccinated. The coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă said that people should understand that vaccination provides protection to the immunized people and reduces the pressure on the health system. On the other hand, Valeriu Gheorghiţă warns that those who buy vaccination certificates do nothing but waste money and take the risk of getting sick, being hospitalized and even losing their lives. He called for drastic sanctions against these acts and urged doctors who receive such requests to address the authorities. 400 people are being investigated in approximately 200 criminal cases related to false vaccination certificates.



    List – In Bucharest, the National Committee for Emergency Situations has updated the list of countries with an epidemiological risk for visitors. Spain moves out of the red list and enters the yellow list, while Austria moves from the green list to the yellow one, following the increase in the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Israel, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey and Portugal remain in the red zone, and the Netherlands and Bulgaria remain on the yellow list. The new list takes effect on Sunday.



    Football – The Romanian national football team defeated, on Thursday evening, in Reykjavik, the national team of Iceland, in a match from the 2022 World Championship preliminaries. The next matches of the national team will be on September 5, with Liechtenstein in Bucharest, and on September 8, with Northern Macedonia in Skopje. Romania ranks 4th in the 2022 World Cup qualification Group J, with 6 points, being outranked by Armenia, with 10 points, Germany, with 9 points and Northern Macedonia, with 7 points. The first-ranked team is directly qualified, and the second goes to the playoffs.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, seed no. 12, today meets Elena Ribakina from Kazakhstan, in the third round of the US Open tournament, the last Grand Slam of the year. Halep remained the only representative of Romania in the singles competitions. Sorana Cirstea lost, yesterday, in the second round, to the American Shelby Rogers.




    Enescu – The George Enescu International Festival continues today, at the Romanian Athenaeum, with a concert given by the Royal Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Constantin Grigore. Also today, the Palace Hall in Bucharest will host a new concert by the La Scala Theater Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, featuring violinist Julian Rachlin. Friday’s program also includes a concert in Bacău, by the Mihail Jora Philharmonic Orchestra there, under the baton of Jessica Cottis. In Cluj-Napoca, pianist Yeon-Min Park and violinist Valentin Șerban, both winners of the 2020/2021 George Enescu International Competition will give a recital. 32 orchestras from 14 countries are participating in the 2021 anniversary edition of the “George Enescu” International Festival.



    Attack – Six people were injured at a supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand, after an attack with a knife committed by an extremist who was already in the attention of the police. The attacker was a Sri Lankan citizen who had been living in New Zealand for ten years and was shot dead by the police. The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the attacker was a “violent extremist” and described the incident as a “terrorist attack”. The man was allegedly inspired by attacks by the Islamic State jihadist group. Tough restrictions against COVID-19 are in place in Auckland, with only supermarkets and medical centers being open. In May, four people were stabbed in a supermarket in Dunedin, in the south of New Zealand. In March 2019, 51 people were killed in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch by a supporter of the white supremacy. (LS)

  • March 15, 2019

    March 15, 2019

    Budget — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Friday promulgated the 2019 state budget law. He said that he would have liked to promulgate a better budget for Romania and its citizens. President Ioahnnis criticized the fact that the Social Democratic Party, the main force in the ruling coalition, allotted only one day for the re-examination of the budget bill requested by the president and decided to send the bill back to the president without any modifications. President Iohannis labeled the MPs’ gesture as an ill-intentioned act and lack of responsibility. According to Klaus Iohannis the entire Social Democratic governance is a black hole for the Romanian economy and society. On Wednesday the Romanian Parliament adopted in its initial form the 2019 state budget law, which was re-submitted to Parliament by Klaus Iohannis. The Romanian President had previously notified the Constitutional Court over the budget bill but the Court rejected his recommendations. The ruling coalition claims the budget has the necessary resources for all the important domains of the economy.



    Wellington — The Romanian Foreign Ministry officials firmly condemned the terrorist attacks perpetrated on Friday on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, which left behind around 50 dead and many injured. They conveyed a message of condolence to the families of the victims and reiterated Romania’s support in fighting terrorism. The PM of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, described the attack as “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence” adding that the authorities are on maximum alert level. She said 4 extremist suspects were arrested, and none of them were on security watch lists. PM Ardern underlined that New Zealand was a place of diversity, wellbeing and compassion, a home for those who share these values, that cannot be shaken by this attack. Islamic and political leaders from Asia have expressed their abhorrence at the attack, as their fellow nationals were allegedly killed in the attack.



    Prague – The Romanian PM Viorica Dancila is paying an official visit to Prague upon the invitation of her Czech counterpart Andrej Babis. Talks are aimed at consolidating economic and political ties and are focusing on the main files currently negotiated within the EU and on the way in which the Czech Republic could support Romania to reach the key objectives of the presidency of the Council of the EU. The visit agenda also includes meetings with high officials from the Czech Republic, the PM Andrej Babis and the speakers of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate.



    Brexit — European leaders are looking into the request of British MPs for Brexit to be postponed. The British Parliament on Thursday evening passed the motion through which the government headed by Theresa May is asking for a postponement of Brexit that should first be accepted by the European leaders. The president of the European Council Donald Tusk is having talks today with the Dutch premier Mark Rutte, with the German chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Emmanuel Macron. The EU leaders are to meet in Brussels on March 21 and 22, when they are expected to make a decision in relation to extending the deadline for Brexit beyond the current dealine of March 29.



    European summit — The participants in the 8th European Summit of regions and cities on Friday adopted the Bucharest Declaration entitled ‘Building the EU from scratch, together with the regions and cities’. The declaration was officially handed in, on Friday, to President Klaus Iohannis by the president of the European committee of Regions, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, and it represents the contribution of local and regional authorities within the EU to the drafting of the 2019-2024 strategic agenda, which will be presented to the EU leaders in Sibiu on May 9, 2019. The document also includes ten measures aimed at consolidating the democratic basis of the EU and at strengthening the EU actions at local level in order to build a better future for the European citizens. (translation by L. Simion)

  • May 22, 2018

    May 22, 2018

    PENSION FUNDS – President Klaus Iohannis asked the Government to clarify its plans with respect to the privately-managed pension funds known as the “Pension Pillar II. The head of state voiced concerns regarding the situation and said people might begin to question the governments capacity to design and manage the pension system. PM Viorica Dăncilă promised that Pillar II will not be dismantled, but did not rule out possible changes in the laws regulating its operation. Dancila explained there was a draft in this respect put together by the National Strategy and Prognosis Commission but not approved by the Government, and that an analysis will be made on the topic.




    REVOLUTION TRIAL – Romanias former leftist president Ion Iliescu was heard today at the Prosecutor Generals Office, in the case concerning the 1989 anti-communist revolution, in which he is accused of crimes against humanity. Last month the head of state Klaus Iohannis approved the prosecutors request to prosecute Iliescu, the ex-PM Petre Roman and the former deputy PM Gelu Voican Voiculescu. They allegedly plotted a military diversion designed to give them legitimacy as the new leaders after the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu fled the capital city. The diversion resulted in 1,166 deaths, of which more than 800 after Ceausescu was ousted, as well as in losses, damages and injuries.




    EU COMMISSIONER – The European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu carries on her visit to Bacau County, in eastern Romania. Jointly with the Minister for European Funds Rovana Plumb she is taking part today in a dialogue with the citizens, hosted by the Vasile Alecsandri University. On Monday, Corina Creţu and PM Viorica Dăncilă had talks with the mayors of county capitals regarding urban investments financed by European funds. The EU Commissioner once again called on the Romanian authorities to make sustained efforts to reduce the risk of losing European money, and mentioned that procedures should be simplified and project assessment processes should be sped up.




    JUDICIARY – The High Court of Cassation and Justice in Bucharest may pass a ruling today in a case in which Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, the Senate Speaker and president of the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats, in the ruling coalition in Romania, is charged with perjury and encouraging an offender. In the last hearing of the case, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate requested a 3-year prison sentence for the Liberal Democrat leader. According to prosecutors, during investigations into the unlawful return of landed estates near Bucharest, Tăriceanu gave untrue statements while under oath.




    AmCham – Romania had a fairly high investment rate compared to other EU member states in 2001-2016, but the effects of these investments were late in appearing, Anda Todor, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania said in a press conference. In turn, AmCham treasurer Ciprian Lăduncă said Romania should have a national investment plan, a long-term business plan approved by all stakeholders in the Romanian society. Another very important measure for the Romanian economy is to encourage long-term saving, whether through life insurance, private pensions or investment funds, Ciprian Lăduncă added.




    EU TRADE – The trade ministers of EU member countries have today authorised the European Commission to initiate negotiations on free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand. The announcement was made at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council for trade, held in Brussels. Romania is represented by line minister Ştefan Radu Oprea.




    FACEBOOK – The European Parliament holds a meeting today in Brussels with the Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. He will answer questions concerning the illegal use of the personal data of over 87 million users of the social network by the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, specialising in political strategy. The hearing comes ahead of the implementation in the EU, on May 25, of a new regulation on the protection of personal data. The document comprises some of the strictest rules in the world in this respect. In April, Zuckerberg was heard on the same topic in the US Senate.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)