Radio România Internațional

Tag: swine fever virus

  • November 24, 2018 UPDATE

    November 24, 2018 UPDATE

    RECEPTION – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and
    Romanian Orthodox Patriarch Daniel on Saturday were received by President Klaus
    Iohannis. Patriarch Bartholomew visited Bucharest to attend the consecration of
    the new national cathedral. President Iohannis said the moment represents a
    landmark for Romanian Orthodox believers at home and abroad, steeped in history
    and symbolism. On December 1 Romania marks 100 years since the Great Union.




    BREXIT – Spain and Great Britain on Saturday settled their dispute
    regarding Gibraltar, thus removing the last obstacle in the way of the Brexit
    agreement, which could be finalized on Sunday as part of an emergency European
    Council summit held in Brussels. Previously Madrid threatened to oppose the
    Brexit agreement unless the text provides an amendment in the case of
    Gibraltar, a state under British rule which Spain has claimed. The European
    Union and the United Kingdom consented on a political declaration that sets the
    framework for post-Brexit relations, particularly regarding trade. Romania’s
    President Klaus Iohannis will attend the European Council summit in Brussels on
    Sunday, aimed at voting the Brexit agreement. The President told the General
    Assembly of the European Center for Worker Issues that, for the first time
    since its EU accession in 2007, Romania will have to deal with major challenges
    such as Brexit, the post-2020 multi-annual financial framework and migration as
    president of the EU Council in 2019.




    POLICE – The Romanian Police has taken part in the 16th
    international Rail Action Day – 24 Blue, held by the European Rail Police
    (RAILPOL) all across Europe. Over 400 rail police officers took part in the
    action. RAILPOL is an international association of organizations of EU member
    states in the field of maintaining public order and security in the field of
    rail transport. The main purpose of RAILPOL is to intensify rail policing
    cooperation and ensure the safety of rail travellers.




    SWINE FEVER VIRUS – Over 1,100 outbreaks of African swine fever
    virus are now reported in nearly 300 towns and villages in 17 counties, the
    National Veterinary and Sanitary Authority has announced. So far over 360,000
    pigs have been culled and nearly 8,000 pig farmers have been compensated. The
    Authority says Satu Mare County, where the first case of the virus was reported
    last year, is now virus-free. Romania has called on the EU for support to
    compensate pig farmers.




    PROTESTS – The French Police used tear gas and water cannons to
    disperse the crowd of people protesting in Paris against the increase in fuel
    prices in the second week of street protests. Clashes between the riot police
    and protesters were reported on Champs Elysees. At least one person was
    detained. Protesters chanted anti-Government slogans. Over 300,000 people
    protested last Saturday all over France.




    RADIRO – The International Festival of Radio Orchestras (RaDiRo)
    continued on Saturday with a concert performed by the Orchestra della Svizzera
    Italiana of Lugano, Switzerland. RaDiRo is the only event in Europe and the
    world devoted to radio orchestras. All concerts are broadcast live by Radio
    Romania’s stations, recorded and broadcast by the public television as well as
    members of the European Radio Broadcasting Union.




    RUGBY – The Romanian national rugby
    team on Saturday lost 20-27 to Uruguay in a friendly game. Romania has dropped
    one position in world rankings to 17, after sustaining a bitter 5-31 defeat
    against the United States last week and failing to qualify to the World Cup to
    be held in Japan next year.






    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • September 3, 2018 UPDATE

    September 3, 2018 UPDATE

    PARLIAMENT – The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate reconvened on Monday after the summer recess. The legislative priorities of the majority formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats are the adoption of a new pension law and amending national security laws and the adoption law. The opposition wants a return to a two-round voting system to elect mayors, the elimination of special pensions and a healthcare reform. Parliaments agenda also features finalising the justice laws, which have been challenged in the Constitutional Court, the criminal and criminal procedure codes and the offshore bill regulating the extraction of natural gas from the Black Sea.



    MEETING – The Countrys Supreme Defence Council is to meet on Tuesday to discuss the governments proposals to adjust this years budget of state institutions with responsibilities in the area of national security. The meeting has been requested by the government and the date has been established by president Klaus Iohannis, who has explained that the government could have made budget adjustments in any field with no need for further approval, with the exception of national security. He made this comment after warnings from the government that a possible refusal from the president to hold an emergency meeting of the Countrys Supreme Defence Council to approve the proposed adjustments can jeopardise not only the incomes of the most vulnerable categories, that is pensioners, mothers and children, but also peoples access to medical services.



    HEARING – Bucharest Mayor Gabriela Firea will be deposed on Tuesday by the Prosecutor Generals Office in connection to the August 10 protest in Bucharest. Also on Tuesday Interior Minister Carmen Dan will attend the meeting of the Senates Defence Committee to provide clarifications with respect to the protest. The National Liberal Party will file a simple motion against Minister Dan and wants Prime Minister Viorica Dancila to appear before the Chamber of Deputies. We recall over 450 people, including 35 gendarmes, were injured in the violent anti-government protest in Bucharest.


    SWINE FEVER VIRUS – Romanian pork exports may be temporarily suspended because of the African swine fever, former prime minister of Romania and European commissioner for agriculture Dacian Ciolos has warned. He says the epidemic may destroy the pig farming sector in Romania and lead to an increase in imports, which would result in higher inflation rates. Two new cases of African swine fever were confirmed at the weekend in Romania, where the number of hotbeds is nearing 800. The authorities continue to take measures to contain the spread of the virus, and in the areas where the virus has been confirmed, that is a quarter of all counties in Romania, the pigs are being culled. As a precautionary measure, the authorities have also imposed restrictions on the sale of pork, and road checks are in place on the borders with the counties where the virus has been identified. The government has given assurances that the owners of the culled animals will receive compensations.



    DNA – The first three candidates applying for the position of chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) were interviewed on Monday by Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. The other three candidates will have their interviews on Tuesday. The results will be made public on Thursday. The Justice Minister will submit his nomination to the Superior Council of Magistracy before President Klaus Iohannis can approve it. The job was left vacant after Laura Codruta Kovesi was dismissed by President Iohannis in July in compliance with a Constitutional Court ruling.



    TOURISM – The tourism ministry in Bucharest has established a number of measures to improve activity. These include a reduction in the 5% VAT rate in areas such as: accommodation in the hotel sector and sectors with a similar function, including rental of camping sites, and restaurant and catering services with the exception of alcoholic beverages, others than beer, and sports, recreational and entertainment activities. Tourism will thus have the lowest VAT rate of all economic sectors. Another measure aims at stimulating spa tourism by applying no charges for geothermal and natural mineral water for public use in designated public places. According to the governments estimate, the development of spa tourism requires investments of at least 1 billion euros worth of projects over the next ten years. A third of Europes thermal and mineral springs are to be found in Romania.



    FESTIVAL – More than 100 singers and musicians are participating this week in the World Experience Festival in Bucharest. The events, held under the theme The Music of the World, include many workshops, such as those dedicated to Irish dance, the tea ceremony and the art of wearing a kimono in the Japanese style. Presentations are held of instruments from 30 different countries in the Orient, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The festival also features a food section. The main stage is located in one of the Bucharests parks.



    (Translated by C. Mateescu & V. Palcu)

  • August 2, 2018

    August 2, 2018

    VISIT — British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson is today paying an official visit to Romania. He is meeting with his Romanian counterpart, Mihai Fifor. The two will visit Airbase 57 in Mihail Kogalniceanu, southeastern Romania, where they will meet with the flying and technical crews of the four Typhoon fighter jets of the British Air Forces, as well as with the Romanian military personnel at the base. A British military brigade comprising 160 soldiers is in Mihail Kogalniceanu until late August to undergo air policing missions under NATO command. Mihai Fifor and Gavin Williamson previously met in June on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers hosted by the Alliance’s main headquarters.



    SWINE FEVER VIRUS — The owners of the animals slaughtered for being suspected of carrying the African swine fever virus will be compensated in the amount of 2 euros per kilogram, the National Food Safety Authority president Geronimo Branescu has announced. The authorities have called on the population to cooperate in order to prevent the spreading of this virus, for which no vaccine or treatment has yet been found. The number of swine fever holes is nearing 550, of which only 3 were identified in pig farms, while the remaining in local households.



    EXTREME HEAT — The Romanian Foreign Ministry has issued several travel warnings for Greece, France, Portugal and Spain, currently affected by extreme weather phenomena. Greece, a popular holiday destination for Romanians, will see heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, hail and strong wind. Central and northern Portugal are today under a code red alert against extreme heat, in place until August 4. Temperatures are expected to hit 42 degrees in southern France until August 5. Meteorologists have also announced highs of up to 46 degrees Celsius in southwestern Spain. In Italy too, the Health Ministry has decreed a code red alert against extreme heat for 18 cities, including Bologna, Brescia, Florence, Milan, Rome and Venice. The wave of heat has also hit northern Europe, with Finland reporting the highest temperatures in the last hundred years.



    HOLOCAUST — The “Elie Wiesel” Institute is todaying paying homage to the victims of the Roma genocide during the Holocaust. Over 74 years ago, some 3,000 Roma were exterminated in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. On this occasion, the National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania warns that discrimination and racism are still affecting societies. In 2015 the European Parliament decreed August 2 as the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day.



    UNTOLD — The famous electronic music festival Untold kicks off today in Cluj-Napoca, central Romania. Some 350,000 people from Romania and another 75 countries are expected to attend the festival until August 5. This year organizers have set up 10 stages to host the 250 artists who will perform live, including The Chainsmokers, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Tujamo and Afrojack. Authorities say they have taken all measures in order to make Untold the safest festival in Europe. Over 1,100 gendarmes, police officers, firefighters and medical staff will ensure public safety and provide emergency care. Scores of video surveillance cameras have been set up around the stages.



    FOOTBALL — Romanian champions CFR Cluj have been ousted from Champions League after drawing 1-all against Swedish side Malmo FF in the return leg of the second preliminary round. In the first leg CFR had lost nil-1. Romania’s champions will now play in the third preliminary round of Europa League, where they are expected to play either Sutjeska Niksic of Montenegro or Alashkert of Armenia. Also in Europa League, Romania’s vice-champions FCSB are today taking on NK Rudar Velenje of Slovenia in the second leg of the second preliminary round. In the first leg FCSB had won 2-nil. In the same phase of the competition, Viitorul Constanta is playing Vitesse Arnhem of the Netherlands. The first leg ended 2-all. Romanian Cup winners CSU Craiova will compete directly in the third round.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)