Radio România Internațional

Tag: snowstorm

  • 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)

  • January 6, 2017 UPDATE

    January 6, 2017 UPDATE

    LAW – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, Friday signed into law a bill scrapping 102 charges and fees, after the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this respect, rejected his request to have the bill revised. Previously, the head of state had also challenged the law with the Constitutional Court. The charges in question include the public radio and television license fee, the environment fee charged on second-hand vehicles, a number of consular and citizenship fees, and the ones for the re-issue or the amendment of certain documents.




    LOCAL WEATHER – The east of Romania remains subject to a code yellow alert against blizzard and snowstorms until Saturday. Snowfalls will not be substantial, but the wind is expected to reach 50 – 60 km/h and even 70 km/h in places. Several counties in the east and south-east of the country were subject to red code and orange code alerts against bad weather. The Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, announced that a person died, because the ambulance arrived too late. Tens of national roads were closed down and hundreds of villages and towns were left in the dark by power shortages. Railway traffic was temporarily suspended in the south east, while several other trains, connecting Bucharest to other European capital cities and Romanian destinations were cancelled.



    WEATHER IN EUROPE – Blizzard and extremely low temperatures are also reported in the Republic of Moldova, where a code orange alert against heavy snowfalls is in force, in the centre and the south. Operations in the international commodity and passenger port Giurgiuleşti were suspended and several checkpoints on the Romanian and Ukrainian borders were closed down. The heavy snowfalls and blizzard also disrupted air traffic at the Chisinau International Aiport. Flights from and to Bucharest, London, Istanbul and Moscow reported delays and some were cancelled altogether. The situation is similar in central Europe. Poland is swept by a wave of cold, with temperatures dropping to minus 25 degrees Celsius. Heavy snowfalls are reported in the northern half of Italy and Germany is facing the same situation, with a high risk of flooding. Bad weather is also reported in Denmark, Sweden and Croatia.




    Govt – The Government of Romania Friday approved an increase of the national minimum wage from about 280 euros to 320 euro as of February 1. According to a news release issued by the Government, the measure will raise the economic growth rate by a rough 0.2% and will encourage employment. At the same time, the document reads, the increase will have a notable social impact, helping to raise living standards and bridging social gaps. Also, the salaries of artists and the personnel of performing arts institutions were raised by 50%. The Government also raised public pensions, with the minimum guaranteed social pensions set to reach 115 euros as of March 1.



    STRIKE – The coal workers at the Lupeni pit in the Jiu Valley area in south-western Romania Friday resumed the protest they had suspended on Thursday night, disgruntled with not seeing any of their demands met. Among other things, they want solutions to be found for the supply of strictly necessary materials underground, and want the management to give up plans to idle the employees for a one-week period each. Several miners and trade union leaders are on hunger strike.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)