Radio România Internațional

Tag: Stockholm attack

  • April 9, 2017 UPDATE

    April 9, 2017 UPDATE

    UNIFIED PAY LAW – The unified pay law for state sector employees will be submitted to Parliament on Sunday, for debate, so it may take effect as of July 1. The bill creates equal conditions for all those who carry out the same activity and have the same seniority. Another principle is that of creating a scale, a hierarchy, for heads of institutions not to have smaller salaries than their subordinates. The bill also sets a timetable for the pay- rises to be made in the following years. The ratio between the smallest and the highest salary in the Romanian state sector will be 1/12. The political opposition in Bucharest contests this unified pay law drafted by the coalition Government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, saying it is unrealistic, as there is not enough money to cover all pay rises. In turn, the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, says the pay-rises are necessary but they should be kept in check, given that Romania managed to secure the current economic and financial balance at high costs.



    STOCKHOLM ATTACK VICTIM – Bishop Macarie Dragoi, the representative of the Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe on Sunday visited the Romanian woman who got injured in Fridays Stockholm attack. The woman, 83, was hit by fragments of concrete projected by the truck which rammed into a group of people. She suffered a double leg fracture. The Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe writes in a communiqué that bishop Macarie has encouraged the woman and assured her of his entire support. 4 people got killed and 15 others were wounded in the Stockholm attack. The Romanian Foreign Ministry firmly condemned the attack and reiterated Romanias commitment to the effort of combating all forms of terrorism.



    HOLY WEEK – Christian believers the world over, among which those in Romania, a country with a majority Orthodox population, on Monday enter the Holy Week, the week immediately before Easter. The Holy Week, was preceded by Palm Sunday, which celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, thousands of Orthodox and Catholic believers attended the traditional Palm Sunday processions, carrying icons, willow tree branches and flowers. This year, orthodox and Catholic believers will celebrate Easter at the same time.



    ROAMING CHARGES – As of June 15, roaming charges will no longer be applied to European citizens travelling to another EU member state. Thus, the Europeans will be able to call, text and go online in another EU country without paying extra-charges. European mobile users will thus be charged the same price for using their phone while abroad as they pay in their country of residence. The European Commission has taken action for 10 years to reduce and finally eliminate extra-charges imposed by telecommunication operators, and last week, the European MPs eliminated the last obstacle in the effort to completely eliminate roaming charges.



    ROAD TAXES – The National Road Company of Romania intends to notify the European Commission relative to the new system of cashing in road taxes instated by Bulgaria. Sofia eliminated the possibility of purchasing the road vignette from petrol stations, a move which results in long queues of trucks at the Giurgiu-Ruse border checkpoint between Romania and Bulgaria. According to the company, the Bulgarian side has so far rejected all proposals made by Romania in an effort to ease traffic. Giurgiu-Ruse is the main border checkpoint between Romania and Bulgaria, and is transited by over 1,000 trucks a day.



    CHURCH BOMBINGS – The Islamic State Jihadist group has claimed responsibility for Sundays church bombings in Egypt, which left scores of dead and over 100 others injured. The bombings hit two Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, respectively, while the believers were celebrating Palm Sunday. Coptic believers are making up the largest Christian community in the Middle East, accounting for some 10% of the total population of 92 million Egyptians.



    SYRIA – Russian and Iranian Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rohani, respectively, on Sunday had a phone conversation, condemning the recent US strikes on a Syrian air-base. The US cruise missile strikes came in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in north-western Syria.Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rohani have underlined the US aggressive actions against a sovereign state are unacceptable and running counter to the rule of law. The two presidents called for an objective investigation to be made in order to cast light on the circumstances in which the chemical attack occurred. Russia and Iran are the main supporters of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has said on CNN that President Donald Trump does not rule out the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia and Iran for the support they provide to the Syrian leader. Washington made public its intention to launch further attacks if need be, but it expressed hope this will not be necessary.

  • April 7, 2017 UPDATE

    April 7, 2017 UPDATE

    STOCKHOLM ATTACK – The
    Romanian Foreign Ministry is harshly condemning the Stockholm terror attack on
    Friday, when a truck rammed into pedestrians, in a main shopping street,
    leaving dead and wounded. The Romanian Foreign Ministry sends a message of
    condolences to the families of the victims and expresses solidarity with the
    Swedish people. Also, the ministry reiterates Romania’s firm commitment to
    combating all forms of terrorism. Swedish PM     Stefan
    Löfven has said there are many elements, which indicate the incident was a
    terror attack. The city centre was secured and subway traffic was brought to a
    halt in Stockholm on Friday.



    LONDON – Romanias ambassador to London has confirmed the death of the Romanian national who sustained serious injuries in the attack on the 22nd of March in the British capital and who had been in hospital for two weeks. The 31-year-old woman fell into the River Thames when the perpetrator of the attack rammed his car into pedestrians on the Westminster bridge. Her partner, who was the second Romanian national wounded in the incident, was released from hospital soon after the attack. The Romanian woman is the fifth victim of the attack. The British-born attacker, who became an adherent to radical Islam, was shot dead by the security forces near the British Parliament. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

    SYRIA – The United States launched cruise missiles on a Syrian airbase in response to a chemical weapons attack a few days ago which killed tens of civilians in north-western Syria, and which Washington blames on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The airbase, from where the chemical attack is believed to have been launched, was almost entirely destroyed. US President Donald Trump said he ordered the strike because the Assad regime used chemical weapons against innocent people, violating international conventions. The great powers reacted differently to the US action. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said the US military strikes in Syria are an act of aggression against a sovereign state and will hinder the creation of an international coalition to combat terrorism. Also, Russia announced it suspended the air-safety deal with the US, an agreement aimed at minimizing risks of in-flight incidents between Russian and US-led-coalition aircraft in Syria and an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was held at Russia’s request. Several countries, including Britain, France and Israel, have announced support for the US intervention. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said President Bashar al-Assad carries full responsibility for the US air strikes. In Brussels, the EU has announced that it will work with the US to end the brutalities in Syria. In turn, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said the US’ action is a firm reaction to the chemical weapon attack and reiterated Romania’s solidarity with its allies and partners.


    PRESIDENCY – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Friday sent a letter to the two Speakers of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament, in which he requests to address a plenary session of Parliament, on May 9. In the letter, the President underlines that he would like to send a message on the 140th anniversary of the proclamation of Romanias state independence, and also on the occasion of the Europe Day. The previous address by the President in Parliament was made in February and it was devoted to the state budget.

    DIPLOMACY – Romanian foreign minister, Teodor Melescanu, paid
    a two-day official visit to Bratislava as of Thursday, on the invitation of his
    Slovak counterpart, Miroslav Lajčák. The Romanian officials was also received
    by President Andrej Kiska and met with the president of the Slovakia-Romanian parliamentary
    friendship group, Jana Laššáková. The Romanian foreign minister underlined the importance
    of strengthening the politic-diplomatic bilateral dialogue. The agenda of the
    talks also included European issues of common interest, such as the future of
    the EU, Brexit, energy security and the migration crisis.



    BORDER SECURITY – The Romanian border police on Friday tightened controls on entering and exiting the country, with all persons crossing the border being checked against relevant national and international databases. The measure comes after the enforcement of the changes to the Schengen Border Code adopted by the European Parliament and the European Council and meant to improve the security of the European Union and its citizens. The Romanian border police say they have taken every measure to reduce waiting time and ensure operative control and strike a balance between citizen security and the traffic flow.



    CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRACY – Law
    experts from Romania, France, Greece, Hungary, Georgia, Poland and Turkey
    attending an international conference on democracy in Bucharest on Friday
    discussed the relationship between the political majority and the opposition,
    on the second and final day of the conference. The around 100 participants
    presented their own countries’ experience in managing the most difficult aspects
    of the interaction between the majority and the opposition and analysed the
    democratic instruments and processes. At the end of the conference, the Venice
    Commission drew up a report containing guidelines on how the political majority
    should behave and interact with the opposition. The event was organised by the
    Presidential Administration and the Venice Commission, with support from the
    Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly.

  • April 7, 2017 UPDATE

    April 7, 2017 UPDATE

    STOCKHOLM ATTACK – The
    Romanian Foreign Ministry is harshly condemning the Stockholm terror attack on
    Friday, when a truck rammed into pedestrians, in a main shopping street,
    leaving dead and wounded. The Romanian Foreign Ministry sends a message of
    condolences to the families of the victims and expresses solidarity with the
    Swedish people. Also, the ministry reiterates Romania’s firm commitment to
    combating all forms of terrorism. Swedish PM     Stefan
    Löfven has said there are many elements, which indicate the incident was a
    terror attack. The city centre was secured and subway traffic was brought to a
    halt in Stockholm on Friday.



    LONDON – Romanias ambassador to London has confirmed the death of the Romanian national who sustained serious injuries in the attack on the 22nd of March in the British capital and who had been in hospital for two weeks. The 31-year-old woman fell into the River Thames when the perpetrator of the attack rammed his car into pedestrians on the Westminster bridge. Her partner, who was the second Romanian national wounded in the incident, was released from hospital soon after the attack. The Romanian woman is the fifth victim of the attack. The British-born attacker, who became an adherent to radical Islam, was shot dead by the security forces near the British Parliament. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

    SYRIA – The United States launched cruise missiles on a Syrian airbase in response to a chemical weapons attack a few days ago which killed tens of civilians in north-western Syria, and which Washington blames on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. The airbase, from where the chemical attack is believed to have been launched, was almost entirely destroyed. US President Donald Trump said he ordered the strike because the Assad regime used chemical weapons against innocent people, violating international conventions. The great powers reacted differently to the US action. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said the US military strikes in Syria are an act of aggression against a sovereign state and will hinder the creation of an international coalition to combat terrorism. Also, Russia announced it suspended the air-safety deal with the US, an agreement aimed at minimizing risks of in-flight incidents between Russian and US-led-coalition aircraft in Syria and an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was held at Russia’s request. Several countries, including Britain, France and Israel, have announced support for the US intervention. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said President Bashar al-Assad carries full responsibility for the US air strikes. In Brussels, the EU has announced that it will work with the US to end the brutalities in Syria. In turn, the Romanian Foreign Ministry said the US’ action is a firm reaction to the chemical weapon attack and reiterated Romania’s solidarity with its allies and partners.


    PRESIDENCY – Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, on Friday sent a letter to the two Speakers of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament, in which he requests to address a plenary session of Parliament, on May 9. In the letter, the President underlines that he would like to send a message on the 140th anniversary of the proclamation of Romanias state independence, and also on the occasion of the Europe Day. The previous address by the President in Parliament was made in February and it was devoted to the state budget.

    DIPLOMACY – Romanian foreign minister, Teodor Melescanu, paid
    a two-day official visit to Bratislava as of Thursday, on the invitation of his
    Slovak counterpart, Miroslav Lajčák. The Romanian officials was also received
    by President Andrej Kiska and met with the president of the Slovakia-Romanian parliamentary
    friendship group, Jana Laššáková. The Romanian foreign minister underlined the importance
    of strengthening the politic-diplomatic bilateral dialogue. The agenda of the
    talks also included European issues of common interest, such as the future of
    the EU, Brexit, energy security and the migration crisis.



    BORDER SECURITY – The Romanian border police on Friday tightened controls on entering and exiting the country, with all persons crossing the border being checked against relevant national and international databases. The measure comes after the enforcement of the changes to the Schengen Border Code adopted by the European Parliament and the European Council and meant to improve the security of the European Union and its citizens. The Romanian border police say they have taken every measure to reduce waiting time and ensure operative control and strike a balance between citizen security and the traffic flow.



    CONFERENCE ON DEMOCRACY – Law
    experts from Romania, France, Greece, Hungary, Georgia, Poland and Turkey
    attending an international conference on democracy in Bucharest on Friday
    discussed the relationship between the political majority and the opposition,
    on the second and final day of the conference. The around 100 participants
    presented their own countries’ experience in managing the most difficult aspects
    of the interaction between the majority and the opposition and analysed the
    democratic instruments and processes. At the end of the conference, the Venice
    Commission drew up a report containing guidelines on how the political majority
    should behave and interact with the opposition. The event was organised by the
    Presidential Administration and the Venice Commission, with support from the
    Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly.