Radio România Internațional

Tag: UN Security Council

April 1, 2017 UPDATE

GAS PRICE – The purchase price of natural gas for domestic consumption was liberalized as of April 1st, and the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) has already announced a 2% increase in the coming invoices. Also as of April 1st, domestic consumers can choose their provider of natural gas. The ANRE President Niculae Havrilet has stated for Radio Romania that the price liberalization for domestic consumption will bring more competitors into the market and will eventually lead to domestic consumers paying less.

PROTEST – On Friday evening, dozens of people gathered in front of the Russian embassy in Bucharest, in solidarity with the anti-corruption protesters who took to the streets late last week in Moscow and in other big cities in Russia. Hundreds of Russian citizens, including opposition leader Aleksei Navalny were arrested last Sunday for protesting without an authorization. We recall that in the past two months, hundreds of thousands of Romanians protested in Bucharest, across the country and abroad against the Romanian Governments attempt to amend the criminal codes under an emergency decree. According to the protesters, the amendments would have decriminalized some corruption acts and would have exonerated big names in the Romanian politics from criminal liability.

COMMEMORATION – The village of Fantana Alba, in the Cernauti region, western Ukraine, on Saturday hosted events commemorating the victims of the massacre committed by the Soviet troops on April 1st, 1941, when some 2,000 ethnic Romanians were executed for attempting to find refuge in Romania. There are some 500,000 ethnic Romanians currently living in Ukraine, most of them along the common border, on the territories annexed in 1940, following an ultimatum given by Stalins regime, and then taken over by Ukraine in 1991, as a successor state.

MOLDOVA – The European Commission encourages the Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet country with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, to use the mechanisms provided by the Association Agreement with the EU in order to develop regional projects. The message was conveyed to the Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip by the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu, during a meeting held in Brussels. The pace and quality of implementation of the reforms undertaken by Chisinau is the barometer of the relationship between the EU and the Republic of Moldova, the Romanian Commissioner said. According to a communiqué, Mrs. Cretu stressed the importance of Moldovas taking active part in the territorial cooperation programmes, including the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. We recall that, while the pro-West Government headed by Pavel Filip promotes European integration, the president of the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Russia socialist Igor Dodon, wants the cancellation of the association and free-trade agreements with Brussels, and a reorientation towards the Eurasian Economic Union.

UN SECURITY COUNCIL – On April 1st, the US took over the monthly presidency of the UN Security Council, and the new US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikky Haley announced she would put human rights on the agenda of the council. According to our correspondent in Washington, Mrs. Haley is determined to bring the issue of human rights under debate, and this might render relations with China and Russia tenser. Moscow and Beijing insist that such discussions should only be held at the UN Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, a forum which Washington has announced it might leave.

FILM – The 7th International Experimental Film Festival is underway in Bucharest until Sunday. The most innovative cinematographic experiments of the past year are being screened at the festival, productions signed by visual artists who usually display their works in museums and art galleries, and not so much in cinema halls. This years edition is a rare opportunity for the Romanian audience, as they can watch some of the most challenging productions short listed by major film festivals such as the ones in Berlin, Cannes, Rotterdam or Amsterdam. One of them is the event-film Manifesto, in which the famous Cate Blanchett plays 13 different characters.

WRESTLING – The Romanian athlete Krista Incze (aged 20) on Friday won the bronze medal in the 63 kg category of the Under-23 European Wrestling Championship hosted by Szombathely, Hungary. She defeated the Turkish Sinem Topcu. Incze is a Balkan and European junior champion and winner of a golden medal at the World University Championships. At this years edition of the European Championship, she won the second bronze medal, after the one won on Thursday by Alexandra Nicoleta Anghel, in the 69 kg category.

1 April 2017
April 1, 2017

GAS PRICE – The liberalization of the purchase
price of natural gas for domestic consumption has come into force today, and
the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) has already announced a 2%
increase in the coming invoices. Also as of today, domestic consumers will be
able to choose their provider of natural gas. The ANRE President Niculae
Havrilet has stated for Radio Romania that the price liberalization for
domestic consumers will bring more competitors into the market and will
eventually lead to domestic consumers paying less.

PROTEST – On Friday evening, dozens of people gathered in
front of the Russian embassy in Bucharest, in solidarity with the
anti-corruption protesters who took to the streets late last week in Moscow and
in other big cities in Russia. Hundreds of Russian citizens, including
opposition leader Aleksei Navalny were arrested last Sunday for protesting
without an authorization. We recall that in the past two months, hundreds of
thousands of Romanians protested in Bucharest, across the country and abroad
against the Romanian Government’s attempt to amend the criminal codes under an
emergency decree. According to the protesters, the amendments would have
decriminalized some corruption acts and would have exonerated big names in the
Romanian politics from criminal liability.

COMMEMORATION – The village of Fantana Alba, in the Cernauti
region, western Ukraine, is today hosting events commemorating the victims of
the massacre committed by the Soviet troops on April 1st, 1941, when
some 2,000 ethnic Romanians were executed for attempting to find refuge in
Romania. There are some 500,000 ethnic Romanians currently living in Ukraine,
most of them along the common border, on the territories annexed in 1940,
following an ultimatum given by Stalin’s regime, and then taken over by Ukraine
in 1991, as a successor state.

MOLDOVA -
The European Commission encourages the Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet
country with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, to use the
mechanisms provided by the Association Agreement with the EU in order to
develop regional projects. The message was conveyed to the Moldovan Prime
Minister Pavel Filp by the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina
Cretu, during a meeting held in Brussels. The pace and quality of
implementation of the reforms undertaken by Chisinau is the barometer of the
relationship between the EU and the Republic of Moldova, the Romanian
Commissioner said. According to a communiqué, Mrs. Cretu stressed the
importance of Moldova’s taking active part in the territorial cooperation
programmes, including the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. We recall that,
while the pro-West Government headed by Pavel Filip promotes European
integration, the president of the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Russia socialist
Igor Dodon, wants the cancellation of the association and free-trade agreements
with Brussels, and a reorientation towards the Eurasian Economic Union.

UN SECURITY COUNCIL – The US has taken over
the monthly presidency of the UN Security Council, and the new US Ambassador to
the United Nations Nikky Haley has announced she will put human rights on the
agenda of the council. According to our correspondent in Washington, Mrs. Haley
is determined to bring the issue of human rights under debate, and this might
render relations with China and Russia tenser. Moscow and Beijing insist that
such discussions should only be held at the UN Human Rights Council, based in
Geneva, a forum which Washington has announced it might leave.

WRESTLING -
The Romanian athlete Krista Incze (aged 20) on Friday won the bronze medal in
the 63 kg category of the Under-23 European Wrestling Championship
underway in Szombathely, Hungary. She defeated the Turkish Sinem Topcu. Incze
is a Balkan and European junior champion and winner of a golden medal at the
World University Championships. At the current edition of the European
Championship, she has won the second bronze medal, after the one won on
Thursday by Alexandra Nicoleta Anghel, in the 69 kg category.

1 April 2017
October 6, 2016

BUCHAREST FORUM – High-ranking officials, representatives of the business sector and global experts are today taking part in the 2016 Bucharest Forum conference, the largest-scale international public event devoted to geopolitics and geoeconomics hosted every year by Romania. This years topic is “A Fulcrum of Strategic Changes. The event brings together over 350 participants from Europe, America, the Black Sea region, the Caucasus and Central Asia, including the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu. The 2016 Bucharest Forum is organized by the Aspen Institute of Romania and the Bucharest branch of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, with support from the Romanian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

MEETING – The Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc is today holding talks in Bucharest with his Dutch counterpart Jeanine Hennis, whos on an official visit to Romania. The agenda for talks will focus on migration, NATO operations and security in the Black Sea region, in the context of a growing Russian military presence in the region. The two officials will also sign a letter of intent on expanding cooperation between the Romanian and the Dutch military. The Dutch official is also giving an address at the Bucharest Security Forum.

UN – The UN Security Council is today officially voting on the appointment of former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres as the new UN Secretary General. Aged 67, Guterres on Wednesday got 13 of the 15 votes of the Security Council, at the end of a selection process started in July and comprising six rounds of voting. Politician and career diplomat Antonio Guterres was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees until last December. His candidacy needs to be formally adopted by the members of the UN General Assembly, comprising representatives of 193 countries and territories. The former Portuguese Prime Minister will thus replace the current UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, whose second term in office ends on December 31, 2016.

BANKING – During the five months since the give-in-payment law came into force, the National Bank of Romania has reported over 5,300 cases of applications. Of these, 70% were challenged in court by representatives of the lending institutions, who claim that there have been cases where people decided to hand their homes over to the bank simply because they got tired of paying their rates. Banks say some 62% of credits are 90 days overdue, with the exception of some 2,000 credit holders whose outstanding debt is shorter than 90 days. On October 11 the Constitutional Court will examine the constitutionality appeal filed by several banks who have been notified by their clients regarding the giving-in-payment of their real estate properties. We recall that under this law, people with outstanding credit debt can hand over their homes to the bank in exchange for having their debt written off.

EBCG – The European Border and Coast Guard is today being inaugurated on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, to better protect the EUs external borders and to boost unity when dealing with migration challenges. The European leaders have symbolically chosen this border for the setup of the new agency, which is a rework of the FRONTEX agency. The Bulgarian-Turkish border is an important point of crossing for the migrants heading to Europe via the Mediterranean. The new European agency is designed to assist countries with most migrant arrivals in the case of a massive flow of asylum-seekers. The new structure will have its own border police staff and will be able to use an additional 1,500 staff on standby provided by member states. The setup of the new agency was accelerated in order to play down criticism over the EUs lack of action in this matter.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player WTA 5th ranked Simona Halep is today playing Shuai Zhang, 36 WTA, in the round of 16 at the WTA tournament in Beijing, totaling some 5,5 million dollars in prize money. In the only direct encounter with the Chinese player this year Halep lost 0-2 in the opening round at the Australian Open. In the event she qualifies to the quarterfinals, Halep will next play Johanna Konta of Great Britain, who knocked out Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the round of 16.

FOOTBALL – Romanias national team is training for the away games against Armenia, on October 8, and Kazakhstan on October 11, as part of the 2018 World Cup preliminaries. Last month Romania drew 1-all on home turf, the first match with German coach Cristoph Daum on the bench. In other Group E fixtures, Denmark won 1-nil against Armenia at home, while Poland drew 2-all against Kazakhstan away from home. Romania will also play Poland on November 11.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

6 October 2016
February 20, 2016

EUROPEAN UNION – British Premier David Cameron has said he will announce a date for the referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU later today, after a meeting of his Cabinet. The agreement on renegotiating the UKs EU membership was announced by European Council president Donald Tusk. After two days of talks in Brussels with other EU leaders, Cameron said the EU provided the concessions he sought, including assurances that the other nations wont try to make Britain part of a “European superstate.” According to the British premier, there will be tough new restrictions on access to his country’s welfare system for EU migrants. World leaders praised the deal, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying the EU leaders clearly wanted Britain to stay. President Klaus Iohannis, who represented Romania at the summit, has said that Romanians currently working in the UK will not be affected by the deal, which only affects workers that will enter the British labour market after its enforcement.

LAW – The Romanian Justice Ministry jointly with the Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA), the Direction for the Investigation of Organized Crimes and Terrorism (DIICOT) and the General Prosecutor’s Office are working on a bill allowing public bodies to further access private communications. The Constitutional Court has recently ruled that several provisions of an article in the Criminal Procedure Code violate the fundamental law, such as the ones allowing the Romanian Intelligence Service to tap suspects’ phone calls. Justice Minister, Raluca Pruna, has said that the bill will be ready by the time the Court publicly motivates its ruling, so that there will be no legislative gaps with negative effects on the ongoing criminal investigations.

HEALTHCARE – The haemolytic uremic syndrome in a 1-year old from eastern Romania, currently treated in a hospital in Iasi, has not been confirmed, Romanian health authorities announced. On Friday, the Romanian PM, Dacian Ciolos, and the healthcare minister, Patriciu Achimas Cadariu travelled to Arges County, in the south, where several cases of serious digestive problems had been reported among children. On Thursday two foreign experts came to Romania in an attempt to identify the source of the bacteria that caused the digestive problems in children. We recall that three children died this month due to serious digestive infections followed by major complications and seven children are being treated in a Bucharest hospital, having been diagnosed with the haemolytic uremic syndrome.

UNITED NATIONS – Russia regrets the fact that the United Nations Security Council rejected its bid to halt Turkeys military actions against Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He has given assurances that Moscow will continue supporting government forces against what it calls “terrorists.” Russia considers such cross-border shelling that Turkey is carrying out as unacceptable, Peskov also said. Turkey has intensely bombed areas in the northern province of Aleppo, controlled by the Kurds, which it sees as responsible for Wednesday’s bloody attack in Ankara. Turkey has pleaded for the international coalition’s ground military intervention in Syria.

FILM – The feature film “Illegitimate” directed by Romanian Adrian Sitaru has a final screening today at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film, which had its world premiere late last week, has received big hands of applause from the public and appreciative reviews by international journalists. “Illegitimate”, one of the most daring and thought-provoking Romanian films in recent years, tells the story of two brothers and their illegitimate love. The Berlin International Film Festival started on February 11 and runs until February 21.

HANDBALL — Romania’s vice champion women’s handball team, HCM Baia Mare, on Friday qualified to the Champions League’s quarter finals, after defeating, on home turf, the German team Thuringer HC, 38-27, in the main Group 1 of the Champions League. In the same competition, but in the 2nd main Group, the champions CSM Bucharest will take on the Danish team FC Midtjylland, on Sunday, in an away match.

(Translated by Elena Enache)

19 February 2016
February 7, 2016 UPDATE

ROMANIA— Romania is doing surprisingly well at the moment and has a healthier political system than Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria, and “the economic growth rate compares very favourably to that in the rest of Europe”, says US pundit and writer Robert D. Kaplan, in an interview with the AGERPRES news agency. He said he is aware that Romanians still complain about many things that are not going well and that there is still a certain amount of corruption in the country, but “the point is that Romanian people are concentrating on the right things.“ Kaplan also believes that Romania and the United States “are as close now as one could hope for,” and this closeness is also owed to the fact that “Romania is one country in East-Central Europe that does not have a pro-Russian party, a pro-Russian faction.”

COSAC — The Chair of the European Affairs Committee with the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Ana Birchall, is attending in the Hague, the Netherlands, the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC). The focal points of the talks are the priorities of the Dutch presidency of the EU Council, which include migration, tightening EU border security, EU and Euro zone finances, strengthening the European domestic market and the relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom. The Netherlands is currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2016.

SECURITY — The UN Security Council convened in an emergency meeting in New York on Sunday, after North Korea launched a long-range missile overnight, apparently to place a satellite on orbit. The meeting had been requested by the US and Japan, members of the Council, alongside South Korea, which claim that it was actually a ballistic test carried out by Pyongyang. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has called on North Korea to halt provocative actions. The international community has condemned Pyongyang’s ballistic test, which comes just a month since the latest nuclear test carried out by North Korea. Heavy international sanctions have already been imposed on Pyongyang, following its ballistic firing and carrying out three nuclear tests in October 2006, May 2009 and February 2013, respectively.

TENNIS– The Czech Republic defeated Romania 3-2 in the first round of the Fed Cup World Group. In the last match Andreea Mitu and Raluca Olaru lost to Karolina Pliskova-Barbora Strycova in two sets. Simona Halep (WTA’s no.3) battled past Petra Kvitova, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, in the western Romanian city of Cluj Napoca on Sunday, in a first round match of the Fed Cup World Group. In another match, Monica Niculescu (WTA’s no.37) lost to Karolina Pliskova (WTA’s no.13), in three sets. The Czech Republic boasts four Fed Cup titles, in the past five years.

RUGBY– Romania’s national rugby team on Saturday scored a clear victory, 39-14, on home turf, in the city of Cluj Napoca, north-western Romania, against Portugal, in a new edition of Rugby Europe Championship, the second ranking continental competition, after the famous RBS 6 Nations Tournament. In the next leg, due next Saturday, Romania will meet Spain, in Madrid. In March, Romanian rugby players are pitched against Russia, Germany and Georgia. In autumn, under the guidance of Welsh coach Lynn Howells, Romania participated in the World Cup final tournament in England, where it defeated Canada, in the group stage, and lost to France, Ireland and Italy.

(Translated and edited by Diana Vijeu)

7 February 2016
February 7, 2016

SECURITY – The UN Security Council convenes today in New York, in an emergency meeting, after North Korea overnight launched a long-range missile, apparently to place a satellite on orbit. The meeting has been requested by the US and Japan, which are members of the Council, alongside South Korea, which claim that it was actually a ballistic test carried out by Pyongyang. The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has called on North Korea to halt provocative actions. The international community has condemned Pyongyangs ballistic test, which comes just a month since the latest nuclear test carried out by North Korea. Heavy international sanctions have already been imposed on Pyongyang, following its ballistic firing and carrying out three nuclear tests in October 2006, May 2009 and February 2013, respectively.

MIGRATION-French President, François Hollande, and German
Chancellor, Angela Merkel, are to attend an informal dinner in Strasbourg, at
the invitation of the European Parliament President, Martin Schulz. Prior to
that, the French and German leaders will have a bilateral meeting to tackle
such issues as the migrant crisis and its impact on the Schengen area, and the
key demands made by Great Britain to remain in the EU, respectively. The
meeting is held just days ahead of a European summit due in Brussels on
February 18-19, when Hollande and Merkel exert new pressure regarding the
redistribution of refugees in Europe. As regards the referendum in Great
Britain, Paris and Berlin are not willing to make further concessions to Prime
David Cameron, other than those offered by the head of the European Council,
Donald Tusk.

COSAC – The Chair of the European Affairs Committee with the Romanian Chamber of Deputies, Ana Birchall, is today attending in the Hague, the Netherlands, the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC). The focal points of the talks will be the priorities of the Dutch presidency of the EU Council, which include migration, tightening EU border security, EU and Euro zone finances, strengthening the European domestic market and the relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom. The Netherlands is currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council, in the first half of 2016.

EARTHQUAKE – In Taiwan, rescue teams in the town of Tainan are going ahead with the operations of rescuing survivors after several buildings and blocks of flats collapsed in the wake of Saturdays powerful quake which measured 6.4 degrees on Richters scale. At least 24 people lost their lives, some 500 others sustained injuries and 120 are reported missing. So far, over 350 survivors have been taken out from the buildings reduced to rubble.

TENNIS– In the north-western Romanian city of Cluj Napoca, Simona Halep, WTAs no.3, is today meeting Petra Kvitova, WTAs no.9, on the second day of matches being played by Romanias and the Czech Republics tennis teams, in the first round of the Fed Cup World Group. Also today, Monica Niculescu, WTAs no.40, is facing Karolina Pliskova, WTAs no.13. After the simple tennis matches played yesterday, Romania and the Czech Republic are at a 1:1 draw. In the first matches, Halep was defeated by Pliskova, whereas Niculescu defeated Kvitova. A possible double tennis match will oppose the pair Andreea Mitu/Raluca Olaru to Denisa Allertova/Barbora Strycova. The Czech Republic is the best performing Fed Cup team in recent years, being the holder of 9 titles, including that of 2015.

RUGBY– Romanias national rugby team on Saturday scored a clear victory, 39-14, on home turf, in the city of Cluj Napoca, north-western Romania, against Portugal, in a new edition of Rugby Europe Championship, the second ranking continental competition, after the famous RBS 6 Nations Tournament. In the next leg, due next Saturday, Romania will meet Spain, in Madrid. In March, Romanian rugby players are pitched against Russia, Germany and Georgia. In autumn, under the guidance of Welsh coach Lynn Howells, Romania participated in the World Cup final tournament in England, where it defeated Canada, in the group stage, and lost to France, Ireland and Italy.

(Translated and edited by Diana Vijeu)

7 February 2016
November 21, 2015

Another person injured in the fatal fire of October 30th at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest died on Saturday in a hospital in the Romanian capital city, raising the death toll to 59. According to the Health Ministry, 40 patients were still hospitalised, ten of whom are in a critical condition. Around 30 others are receiving care in foreign clinics. A tribute was paid to the victims of the fire, on Friday night, when hundreds of people gathered for a concert in University Square in Bucharest.

The new Government of Romania, headed by the independent Dacian Cioloş convened on Saturday in an informal meeting. The talks focused on next year’s public budgets, the sector priorities for the coming months, the improvement of the institutions that manage the European fund absorption and on outlining the principles for an administrative reform. According to the PM, such informal meetings will be held on a regular basis, at the weekend, and will focus on the priorities in the governing programme. The technocratic cabinet headed by Dacian Ciolos was sworn in early this week.

The Gaudeamus International Book Fair, organised by Radio Romania, carries on today with tens of book launches and cultural events. The fair will end on Sunday. This year’s edition is held under the motto “The Most Read Book Fair from the Most Listened to Radio.” Gaudeamus brings together over 300 publishers and 700 events. The guest of honour in this year’s fair is the Group of Francophone Embassies, Delegations and Institutions in Romania.

The Brussels metro was shut on Saturday after the Belgian authorities raised the terrorist alert status to the highest level, warning people to avoid crowds because of a “serious and imminent” threat, news agencies report. One week after the Paris attacks, perpetrated by ISIS members, and with one of the suspects, based in Brussels, still at large, the city was placed on the top level, 4, of the government’s threat scale. The decision was taken hours after a suspect arrested in Belgium was placed under terrorism charges in relation to the attacks that killed 130 people in Paris on November 13th.

The UN Security Council Friday unanimously approved a resolution introduced by France, which calls on all nations to strengthen and coordinate actions to prevent further terror attacks from the IS group and other terrorist organisations. The resolution describes the IS jihadist group as an unprecedented global threat to the international security and peace. The document authorises UN member states to use any means to dismantle the shelters the terrorists have established in a sizeable part of Iraq and Syria. The Resolution also calls on the international community to block the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria and to crack down on terrorist financing, the Radio Romania correspondent in Washington reports.

The Romanian Florin Mergea and Indian Rohan Bopanna Saturday qualified in the finals of the London ATP World Tour, after defeating Ivan Dodig / Marcelo Melo (Croatia/Brazil), 6-4 / 6-2. In the other doubles semi-final, another Romanian, Horia Tecau, and his partner, Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands), are facing the No 1 seeded American twins Bob and Mike Bryan. It is for the first time that Romania has two players in the ATP World Tour Finals, which has 7 million US dollars in prize money and brings together the best-ranking 8 players of the season and the top 8 men’s doubles teams.

(Translation by: Ana Maria Popescu)

21 November 2015