Radio România Internațional

Tag: protesters

  • July 21, 2019

    July 21, 2019

    EU PM Viorica Dăncilă sees as fair the view taken by the new president elect of the European Commission, Ursula van der Leyen, who wants a new mechanism monitoring the rule of law in all member states. Dăncilă also said the Romanian Government would carry on talks with the European Commission concerning the lifting of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism with respect to Romania. The head of the Romanian Government added that after the elections for the European Parliament she discussed with the former president of the European Commission and the former first vice-president about the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, and told them that Romania is open to discussion and that each and every aspect must be analysed separately. But, Viorica Dancila added, these talks must involve not only the Justice Ministry. The opinions of judges, prosecutors and magistrate associations must also be taken into account, in order for certain aspects in the CVM to be implemented or to explain why they cannot be implemented in Romania.




    ELECTION Ukraine is holding early legislative elections today, with the party headed by the new president Volodymyr Zelensky standing most chances to win. The newly established party, called ‘Peoples Servant after the name of a TV show in which Zelensky plays a teacher unexpectedly turned president – is ahead of its challengers in polls, with 42% to 52% of the voting intentions. 2,742 candidates from 22 political parties take part in todays legislative election. They are running for 225 seats in parliament, distributed to the parties that make the 5% election threshold. Another 199 MPs will be elected in single-member constituencies. The early parliamentary elections were organised after in his inauguration speech Volodymyr Zelensky announced having decided to dismantle parliament.




    BREXIT Thousands of anti-Brexit protesters rallied in London just days before Boris Johnson is expected to become Tory leader and the new Prime Minister. On Tuesday the Conservative Party is to announce the winner of the race for Theresa Mays replacement. Boris Johnson, former foreign secretary and a Brexit supporter, is seen as the frontrunner in this race.




    MILITARY Romania has taken part, alongside another 11 NATO member countries, in the Sea Breeze 2019 international military exercise held until today in the Bulgarian waters of the Black Sea. More than 2,000 troops from Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, the USA and Turkey were involved. The main goal was to enhance interoperability and interaction between the naval forces of the participating countries. Taking part in the drills were 26 combat and auxiliary vessels, 10 airplanes and helicopters, as well as representatives of various institutions, public and non-governmental organisations.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • 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)

  • November 8, UPDATE

    November 8, UPDATE

    The death toll following the fire in Bucharest’s Colectiv club is rising. Four more people died on Sunday from the injuries they sustained in the fire bringing the death toll to 45. Authorities and doctors have warned that the number of deaths might increase. Around 30 people continue to be in critical condition in Bucharest hospitals, due to severe burns. Tens of patients have been transferred to hospitals abroad, some of them with a NATO aircraft requested by Bucharest. The blaze at Bucharests Colectiv club on October 30 was started by fireworks. The firm contracted to ensure the pyrotechnics show at the club on the night of the tragedy is being investigated, its owners having been arrested. They are also suspected of having tried to destroy evidence. The three club owners are also under arrest, on suspicion of aggravated manslaughter and involuntary bodily harm, as the venue was overcrowded, lacked the required number of emergency exits, and may not have been authorised to hold such a concert. Cristian Popescu-Piedone, the former mayor of Bucharest District 4 where the tragedy occurred is also under arrest, for having issued permits for the club’s functioning in spite of the fact that the club did not qualify. Concerns that safety at the club was compromised because of corruption – a long-standing issue in Romania – have further fuelled public anger against the political elite and triggered the resignation of the left-of-centre government led by Victor Ponta. President Klaus Iohannis, who has recently held talks with parliamentary parties and civil society representatives with a view to appointing a new prime minister, joined protesters at Bucharest’s University Square on Sunday evening.




    The state institutions’ well-functioning is the condition for a state’s freedom and stability, which cannot exist without laws, competence and ethics, King Michael said in a message on Sunday, on the occasion of the Day of St. Michael and St. Gabriel. The former monarch, who was forced to abdicate by Soviet-backed communists more than six decades ago, has mentioned in his message the young people, who have been protesting in Bucharest and several other cities these days, against corruption and for sweeping reforms of state institutions and the political class. In his opinion, having the best possible laws and the most active civil society are not enough to secure a solid institutional life. “I am sure that the young generation will be able to find, in their Romania, the right balance between civic attitude and state institutions,” the King Michael said. “I have lived almost 100 years out of the 150 of the Crown, which entitles me to say to our young people: The time of your Romania has come!” the former monarch also said.




    As many as 140 Romanian tourists were repatriated from the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. The operation was conducted by the Romanian Transport Ministry, with the support of the Romanian Foreign Ministry and the Romanian citizens received consular assistance during the repatriation process. Several countries have decided to repatriate their citizens and restrict flight to and from the Egyptian resorts following information that that it was possible a bomb on board had brought down the Russian plane which crashed last week, 23 minutes after takeoff from the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The crash on Saturday killed all 224 people on board. Russia, which had 78,000 tourists in Egypt and Britain, with around 20,000 tourists, have organised aerial bridges to evacuate holidaymakers as soon as possible. The Russian-Egyptian investigation teams have detected a explosion on board the plane but have said it is too early to say what caused it. A group of Egyptian jihadist have claimed the attack.




    In Moldova’s capital city Chisinau, several supporters of the country’s unification with Romania took part in a march staged on Sunday at the initiative of the National Unity Bloc and the Union Council. ”The tragedy at the Colectiv club in Bucharest clearly shows that Romania needs to change its political class. On the other hand, the social and economic disaster the Republic of Moldova finds itself in, proves without a doubt that a reorganisation of this state as a whole is needed. We have the chance to take a vital step in both Bucharest and Chisinau, so that we can all live in a better Romania: a single government for the two Romanian states,” said Constantin Codreanu, a representtaive of the National Unity Bloc, a coalition made up of 22 NGOs.




    Romanian and British military are carrying out, until November 11, joint training actions with a view to setting joint action procedures during drills to be conducted in Romania’s territorial waters and the Black Sea international waters in the upcoming period. For this purpose, the British destroyer HMS DUNCAN is currently in the Black Sea port of Constanta. The warship is equipped with state-of-the-art radars and anti-aircraft systems. Among the current missions of such warships in international waters are fighting piracy and drug trafficking and granting humanitarian aid to people affected by natural disasters in various parts of the world.