Radio România Internațional

Tag: snowfall

  • February 19, 2025

    February 19, 2025

    MEETING Romania will be represented by the interim president Ilie Bolojan today, in the second meeting on Ukraine hosted by France, political sources told AGERPRES. The countries invited to take part are Norway, Canada, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Romania, Sweden and Belgium. On Monday, leaders from Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark met in Paris, at the invitation of president Emmanuel Macron, alongside the leaders of the European Union and the NATO Secretary General, to discuss the latest developments related to Ukraine, in the context of the peace initiatives launched by the new American administration. ‘Romania, in its dual capacity as the EU member country with the longest border with Ukraine and the country that has consistently and from the very beginning provided multidimensional, humanitarian, economic and military support to its neighbour, has a direct interest in carrying on the collective European and Euro-Atlantic support for Ukraine, in response to the brutal and illegal war of aggression by the Russian Federation,’ stated the Romanian foreign ministry. On the other hand, president Bolojan Tuesday told the ambassadors accredited to Bucharest that Romania believes in the future of the EU and remains a pro-Atlantic state and a responsible ally.

     

    ELECTIONS The ruling coalition in Bucharest convenes today to complete the steps to set up an electoral alliance comprising the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, which will back the former Liberal leader Crin Antonescu in the presidential elections due in May. Asked whether he would withdraw from the presidential race in favor of the interim president Ilie Bolojan, Crin Antonescu ruled out this possibility. The new alliance is to be registered with the Central Electoral Bureau on Thursday. The 5 supreme court judges who will be part of the Bureau will also be designated by a drawing of lots at that time.

     

    BRANCUSI Every year on February 19 the National Day of Constantin Brâncuși is celebrated in Romania. The Romanian Cultural Institute organises in the coming period, both in the country and abroad, events marking the 149th birthday anniversary of the great Romanian sculptor. In 2024, the monumental ensemble “The Path of Heroes”, created by Constantin Brâncuși in Târgu Jiu, was included on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. That same year, an important exhibition devoted to the Romanian artist was organised at the Pompidou Center in Paris. Most of his works belong to the Pompidou Center, as a legacy left to the French state, but many other famous works by Brancuși are hosted by major museums in the world.

     

    FOOTBALL Romanian football champions FCSB will play on Thursday evening at home against the Greek side PAOK Thessaloniki in the decisive leg of the play-offs for the round of 16 of the Europa League. In the first leg against the Greek team coached by the Romanian Răzvan Lucescu, FCSB won 2-1 away from home last week.

     

    WEATHER At the 2 Bucharest airports, “Henri Coandă” and Băneasa, flights may experience delays due to the need to de-ice aircraft. According to the Bucharest Airports National Company, no flights have been canceled because of the weather conditions, the runways and taxiways are operational, and planes are landing and taking off safely. The roads in 12 counties, especially in southern and central Romania, as well as in the capital city Bucharest, have been affected by heavy snowfalls in recent days, and dozens of collisions and skids have occurred, as some roads are partly covered with snow. According to meteorologists, as the sky clears, temperatures will drop more and more by the end of this week and at the beginning of next week, possibly reaching minus 15 degrees Celsius, including in Bucharest.  (AMP)

  • January 10, 2021 UPDATE

    January 10, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the total number of coronavirus infections in Romania has passed 671,000 and the total death toll has reached over 16,600, after over 3,000 new cases and 62 deaths were reported on Sunday. 1,065 people are currently in intensive care. The largest number of cases, 825, was reported in the capital Bucharest. Since the start of the vaccination programme in Romania on December 27, more than 100,000 people have received the anti-COVID-19 vaccine. Mild and common side effects have been reported in 350 cases, mostly headaches, muscle pain, fever, asthenia or rashes. The next stage in the vaccination campaign, addressing the elderly and chronic patients, is scheduled to start at the end of next week. The Government is to pass an emergency order granting bonuses to the personnel involved in the anti-COVID National Vaccination Programme, the health minister Vlad Voiculescu announced. Family physicians, who are regarded as a vital element in the immunisation campaign, will also be paid.



    FILM colectiv / “Collective, the Romanian documentary by Alexander Nanau covering a journalist investigation into the corruption in Romanian healthcare, won the award for best foreign-language film of the US National Society of Film Critics. The documentary colectiv is Romanias nomination for the 2021 Oscars in the “best international feature film, previously known as best foreign film. This is the first time that Romania submits a documentary in the competition for the Academy Awards.



    BANKS As of Monday, all banks in Romania are to submit to the National Tax Agency (ANAF) all data on the accounts held by private individuals and business, under an emergency order which transposes a European directive. The new legislation is designed to help the authorities fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. An electronic tax registry will become operational, containing banking and payment accounts identified by International Bank Account Number. The Agency will thus be able to monitor money circuits in Romania and to identify money laundering attempts.



    SCHOOLS Romanian students resume online classes on Monday, for the last 3 weeks of the first half of the academic year. A one-week vacation follows, and the second semester, beginning on February 8, might bring Romanias 3 million primary, secondary and high school students back into schools. This is one of the options considered by the authorities, depending on the latest COVID-19 developments. Another option is for only pre-schoolers and primary school students to resume face-to-face classes, while in a third scenario 8th and 12th graders might also get back to school.



    EMPLOYEES 1.25 million people were working in public institutions in Romania in November 2020, over 64% of them in the central public administration. According to the Finance Ministry, nearly 600,000 of these jobs are entirely funded from the state budget. The largest number of jobs is reported in public education (almost 300,000), followed by the Interior Ministry (125,000). Local public administration units had 450,000 employees in November, more than half of them in jobs fully financed from the state budget.



    COMPLAINTS Almost half of the complaints filed in 2020 to the European Consumer Centre in Romania concerned the transport sector. People were unhappy with the services received from air, road, railway and naval transport companies, as well as from car rental companies. Other complaints concerned clothing and footwear, restaurants and hotels, as well as entertainment and cultural activities, the National Consumer Protection Authority says.



    WEATHER A code yellow alert for heavy snowfalls is in place until Monday afternoon in the south and south-west of the country and the capital Bucharest. A layer of 10-20 cm of snow is expected in these areas. Snowfalls, glaze and temperatures of up to 2 degrees Celsius are forecast in Bucharest for the next 4 days. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • 19 – 25 March

    19 – 25 March

    Harsh winter in early spring



    After a mild winter, Romania is struggling, at the end of March, with extremely unsettled weather. Early this week meteorologists issued a code yellow alert for rainfalls, wind and low temperatures, valid in the eastern part of the country. Temperatures were considerably below the season average, so the rain quickly turned to sleet and snow. The freezing rain caused black ice to form, particularly in the south of the country, and disrupted road, railway and air traffic. Problems were reported at the Henri Coanda Airport in Bucharest, where freezing rain kept aircraft from taking off for hours. Many trains were also delayed because of the bad weather, some for as long as hundreds of minutes, and several national road segments were closed down. In turn, hydrologists issued code yellow and code orange alerts for floods, including along the Danube, and warned that after temperatures go up, the situation will be even worse.



    Towards the end of the week, weather experts launched code yellow and orange warnings against snow falls and snow storms in the southern part of the country. In Bucharest and several counties in the south, schools were closed down on Friday. Scores of trains were cancelled, speed restrictions were imposed for safety reasons, and some national and county road sectors were closed.



    Romania marks Francophonie Day



    On Tuesday, Bucharest marked the International Francophonie Day, and PM Viorica Dancila said Romania was recognised in Central and Eastern Europe as a flagship of La Francophonie. She also emphasised that the group of French-speaking countries was one of the first international structures that Romania joined after 1989. Romania will remain part of La Francophonie, because it is closely tied to its values, Romanian officials said in a conference on “The Francophone cultural model of 100-year old Romania, devoted to the celebration of 25 years since Romania joined the organisation.



    The event was organised jointly with the OIF Central and Eastern Europe Regional Bureau and the University of Bucharest. In 1991, Romania became an observer and in 1993 it got full membership of the International Organisation of La Francophonie. In September 2006 it hosted a summit of the international group.


    Between December 2018 and July 2019 the Romania-France Cultural Season will take place, a large scale joint project focusing on contemporary culture as well as on areas such as education, economy, sports and tourism.



    The Chamber of Deputies passes the modified justice laws



    The bills on the organisation of courts, the status of magistrates and the functioning of the Higher Council of Magistracy, amended to comply with Constitutional Court rulings, were adopted by the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday. The ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania backed the modifications, whereas the opposition voted against, claiming that they were an attempt to politicise the judiciary.




    A major change is that the president of Romania no longer has a role in the procedures to appoint the chiefs of the supreme court, the decision-making power being transferred to the Higher Council of Magistracy. The bills are to go next to the Senate for the final vote.


    Some of the changes originally operated on the justice laws sparked massive street protests, as well as criticism among magistrates.




    Romania is preparing for the adoption of the single currency


    The Government of Romania on Wednesday passed an emergency ordinance concerning the setting up of a special committee which will draft a national plan for adopting the European currency. According to the Government, the committee will come up with a roadmap for Romanias joining the mechanism for the switch to the single currency, and will define all the measures required in order to get the Romanian economy and society ready for this move. By November 15, the committee will make public both the roadmap and the action plan, which will have to get political endorsement.




    The committee will comprise members of governmental agencies, the presidential administration, the National Bank of Romania, trade union and employer confederations, as well as NGOs, and it will be chaired by the Prime Minister and the president of the Romanian Academy. The two deputy chairs will be the central bank governor and a deputy PM.



    The Romanian government takes over the majority stake in the Mangalia Shipyard


    The Romanian state and the Dutch company Damen have made a deal on taking over the shipyard in Mangalia, south-eastern Romania, one of the largest in the region, from the current owner, the South-Korean group Daewoo. Alexandru Macoveiciuc, spokesman for the Economy Ministry, has announced that a joint venture will be set up, in which Damen will hold 49% of the stock and the Economy Ministry 51%.


    It is the first time since the post-communist revolution in 1989 that the state takes control over a previously privatised strategic industrial unit.




    Damen is the largest ship builder in the Netherlands and it can secure new clients for the Mangalia shipyard. The authorities have promised that no jobs will be lost. Still, employees are worried, because their incomes have dropped since they stopped being required to work extra hours, and the companys financial situation forced over 700 people to leave. The Mangalia Shipyard has been in difficulty since 2016, when Daewoo Group decided to divest, in a larger-scale effort to restructure its international operations.


  • Romania hit by snow and blizzard

    Romania hit by snow and blizzard

    After a mild winter with spring-time
    temperatures, the end of February has brought frost, snowfalls and blizzard all
    across Romania. According to the National
    Meteorology Administration, from Monday until Thursday, half of Romania will be
    under a code orange alert for frost. The alert is valid for the east, south and
    southeast of the country, for the Eastern Carpathians and the Southeastern
    Carpathian range. Meteorologists say that such weather phenomena are unusual
    for this time of the year and temperatures are expected to be 10-15 degrees C
    lower than normal. Maximums will range between minus 12 and minus 8 degrees C
    and minimum temperatures will drop to between minus 22 and minus 12 degrees C.
    According to weather experts, the strong gusts of wind will make people feel
    much colder.




    A code yellow alert for cold weather has been
    issued for the region of Transylvania, in central Romania. It’s worth
    mentioning that the lowest temperature ever recorded in Romania dates back to
    January 1942, in the village of Bod, Brasov county, when thermometers read
    minus 38.5 degrees C. A code orange alert for heavy snowfall and blizzard was
    also issued on Monday for several counties in the south and southwest where it
    will snow heavily and winds will reach speeds of 45 up to 55 km per hour. The
    alert is also valid for Tuesday and snowfalls will gradually cover all the
    regions of the country.




    The authorities in the regions with bad weather
    alerts in place are prepared to warn and protect the population. A first
    measure was to close down schools and kindergartens on Monday and Tuesday, in
    Bucharest and several counties in the south and southeast of the country.
    Classes were also suspended at the National School of Political and
    Administrative Studies in Bucharest and at the Stefan cel Mare University in
    Suceava, on Monday and Tuesday, given the bad weather alerts and the problems of
    the city’s centralised heating system.




    Traffic on national roads is normal for the
    winter period but rail traffic has been disrupted. The National Railway
    Authority has cancelled tens of trains in the south of the country due to bad
    weather. Also, the Railway Authority announced they would reduce the number of
    trains on certain routes to allow for intervention with snow removal equipment.
    Trains arrived in and left Bucharest’s North Station with big delays, of
    hundreds of minutes. The Black Sea ports have been closed due to strong winds.

  • October 28, 2017 UPDATE

    October 28, 2017 UPDATE

    SPAIN Romania reiterates its firm support for Spain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, vehemently and irrevocably rejecting Catalonia’s unilateral declaration of independence, the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest says in a communiqué. Spain is Romania’s major ally and strategic partner, the communiqué also says, and the legitimacy of any process or action related to interior order should be according to the fundamental law and the legal order in that state. The Romanian Foreign Ministry reiterates Bucharest’s consistent stand in favour of complying with the international law, which rules out any territorial changes without the accord of the state involved. The main Western chancelleries have also voiced support for the authorities in Madrid. We recall that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has announced the sacking of the regional government, the dismantling of the Catalan Parliament and that regional elections are to be held on December 21st. The decisions were made on Friday evening, after the Catalan Parliament had voted in favour of a unilateral declaration of independence and the proclamation of the Catalan republic. The chief the Catalan police has been sacked and the region will be administered by Spanish vice-premier Soraya Saenz de Santamaria and controlled by 33 thousand agents, the BBC reports. The dismissed Catalan leader, Carles Puigdemont, on Saturday called for democratic opposition against Spain’s formal takeover of the region. In a televised address on Saturday, the separatist leader said that Madrid’s decision to suspend the province’s autonomy and appoint the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister as its provisionary head runs against the will of the people.



    TENNIS The world’s best tennis player Simona Halep of Romania is going to end the year in the first position of WTA rankings. Halep managed this performance after Danish Caroline Wozniacki had outperformed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the semis of the WTA Finals tournament in Singapore. Pliskova was the only one who could have outrun the Romanian player in the WTA standings had she won the Singapore tournament. In the finals on Sunday Wozniacki will be up against Venus Williams of the USA, who comes after a win against Caroline Garcia of France.



    USR MP Dan Barna is the new president of the opposition Save Romania Union (USR), the third largest political group in Parliament. With 127 votes, Barna has outrun his opponent Vlad Alexandrescu who gets only 50 votes during the party’s extraordinary session in Poiana Brasov, central Romania. We recall the former USR leader and founding father, Nicusor Dan, has left the group after it decided through an interior referendum to take a stand against a controversial initiative of the Pro-Family Coalition who campaigned for a Constitution amendment, which defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman. The initiative, which got support from 3 million Romanians, has been contested by NGOs who campaign for human rights in general and the right of sexual minorities in particular.



    DEMOTION Romania has been relegated from Group One of the Davis Cup’s Europe-Africa Zone after the Israeli pair made up of Dudi Sela and Jonathan Erlich on Saturday outperformed Romanians Vasile Antonescu and Bogdan Borza. After the first two days Israel is leading Romania 3-0 in the tie-matches hosted by Ramat Hasharon. This has been Romania’s first demotion since 1993. Sunday will see the last singles pitching Dudi Sela against Dragos Dima and Edan Leshem against Nicolae Frunza.



    WEATHER Romanian weathermen on Saturday issued a code orange alert for snowfalls and blizzard in the mountains and code yellow alert for gale-force winds and cold weather in almost all Romania until Monday night. Mixed precipitations are expected in the country’s north, centre and east. Maximum temperatures are to range between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius.


  • January 9, 2017

    January 9, 2017

    BAD WEATHER – In Romania, traffic has been resumed today on the motorway connecting the capital city to the Black Sea coast and on the national roads that had been closed after the heavy snowfalls of the past few days. Black Sea and Danube ports were also reopened, except for Drobeta Turnu-Severin, but transport on the Danube, where ice blocks have formed, is still affected. Checkpoints on the Bulgarian border remain closed down. We remind you that heavy snows severely disrupted road, railway and naval transport at the end of the week. The most severely hit was the south-east of the country, where many localities experienced power outings. Across the country, scores of trains have been cancelled and some flights delayed. Because of the extremely low temperatures, schools and kindergartens are closed today in 21 counties, particularly in the south and the east, Bucharest included. The measure will stay in place on Tuesday in 16 counties and the capital city. Nine universities in Bucharest, Constanta and Oradea have also suspended classes today and tomorrow. Authorities have announced that schools in Bucharest might remain closed on Wednesday as well, unless weather improves.



    COLD WAVE, EUROPE – Extreme cold has hit the entire continent and has made at least 36 victims in the last few days, mostly in Italy and Poland. Italy is the worst affected, with temperatures reaching 60-year lows. One of the people who died in Italy because of the cold is a Romanian man living in Messina, Sicily. Greece was also hit by strong wind and heavy snows, which reached as far south as the Aegean islands and tested the refugees camped in Lesbos. Those who had been sleeping in tents were temporarily moved to heated accommodation or received blankets and sleeping bags. In Moscow, temperatures plummeted to negative 30 degrees Celsius, and in France to minus 20. Bad weather was also reported in Germany, Switzerland, and Poland, as well as on the Adriatic Sea coast, particularly around the Croatian town of Split, where the lowest temperatures in 50 years were reported. Biting cold has also gripped Hungary, Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The episode seems to have been caused by a glacial Polar Continental air mass which advanced south-westwards from Scandinavia.



    PARLIAMENT – The Parliament of Romania convenes in a special meeting today, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and head of the Social Democratic Party Liviu Dragnea announced. He explained that the decision was needed in order to enable the government appointed by the Social Democrats and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats to issue government orders. The National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Union, in opposition, sent the bill enabling the Cabinet to issue government orders during parliamentary recess to the Constitutional Court. The two opposition parties argued that the bill allows the Cabinet headed by the Social Democrat Sorin Grindeanu to amend organic laws by means of government orders, which comes against the Constitution. The Power on the other hand believes the Government activity would be otherwise hindered.



    UNEMPLOYMENT – In Romania, the unemployment rate for November was 5.7%, the National Statistics Institute announced on Monday. The number of unemployed people reached 521,000, down both since the previous month and since the corresponding month of 2015. The unemployment rate stood at 6.5% among men and 4.7% for women, the National Statistics Institute also reported.



    GOLDEN GLOBES – The film La La Land directed by Damien Chazelle was the great winner of the Golden Globes awarded Sunday night in Los Angeles. The musical won 7 trophies, in all the categories where it had been nominated, including best picture – comedy or musical, best screenplay, best director, original song, original soundtrack. The feature film Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins, won the award for “best picture – drama. Cassey Affleck walked away with the award for the best actor, for the part in Manchester by the Sea, and Isabelle Huppert won the “best actress, drama category. The Golden Globe award for lifetime achievement went to Meryl Streep.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Snowfalls and blizzard in Romania

    Snowfalls and blizzard in Romania

    Weather changed dramatically in Romania this past week. In mid November, winter set in, with a wave of cold sweeping the national territory. On Saturday, downpours were reported across Romania, with rainwater exceeding 20-25 litres per square meter in the west, southwest, north and northeast and even 50-60 litres per square meter, in places, in the mountains and the east.



    On Sunday, rain showers turned into sleet and snow in the north, northeast and the centre as well as in places, in the west. Gale force wind was reported in all regions of the country. Meteorologists issued code orange and yellow alerts for snow and blizzard, valid for the north, centre and eastern Romania, whereas the south was swept by gale force wind.



    Tens of small towns were left without electricity and traffic on many national and county roads has been disrupted because of massive snow falls. Road traffic is still heavy in places. Gusty wind exceeding 90 – 100 km/h was reported in the mountains. Fire-fighters intervened promptly in 17 counties to rescue people and to remove uprooted trees which fell on roads or on cars, as well as damaged lampposts or various structures which collapsed during the storm.



    In the south-western mountain resort of Parang, 20 children accommodated in a mountain chalet were assisted by mountain rescuers and gendarmes to go down the mountain. Another 200 tourists were isolated in guesthouses in Alba County, in the centre, and Caras Severin, in the south-west, until the line authorities managed to remove the snow from all access routes. The first massive snow fall produced havoc, as usual, on the national roads. Cars without winter tires and gears waited long hours for the snow-removing vehicles to clear the roads.



    People in urban areas queued at car services to have their tires replaced. In exchange, in the south, including the capital city Bucharest, the east and the centre, gusty wind produced extensive damage, but made no victims. All activities were brought to a halt in the Romanian Black Sea ports because of gale force wind, and traffic on the Danube-Black Sea Canal has been heavily restricted.



    Many flights have been cancelled because of unfavourable weather conditions and others reported significant delays. In the capital city and the surroundings, gale force wind uprooted tens of trees, which fell on roads and cars. Several street banners, roofs, balconies and scaffolds have been blown by the wind. Meteorologists say it will further be colder than usual on Monday and Tuesday, and temperatures will not exceed plus 7 degrees Celsius. (Translated by Diana Vijeu)