Radio România Internațional

Tag: weather alert

March 14, 2025

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – Candidates for the presidential election in May have two more days to register with the Central Election Bureau, the deadline being March 15 at midnight. So far, only two candidates are officially enrolled in the race, their candidacies having been validated by the Constitutional Court: Crin Antonescu, supported by the PSD-PNL-UDMR ruling coalition, and the Bucharest Mayor General, Nicuşor Dan, who runs as an independent candidate. Deputy Victor Ponta also registered his candidacy as an independent candidate, for which he was excluded from the Social-Democratic Party. On the other hand, the Constitutional Court’s decision to definitively reject the candidacy of independent candidate Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russian extremist who unexpectedly won the first round of last year’s presidential election, has prompted the parties that supported him, AUR and POT, to prepare a new electoral strategy. Thus, the leaders of the two parties, George Simion and Ana-Maria Gavrilă, announced they would both submit their candidacies for the presidential election, and one of them will withdraw once their candidacies are validated. The leader of USR, Elena Lasconi, who advanced to the second round last year, Diana Şoşoacă (from SOS Romania), who expressed confidence her candidacy would be upheld this time, as well as and MEP Cristian Terheş from the Romanian National Conservative Party, also submitted their candidacies.

AID – The Government on Thursday adopted an additional 160-Euro financial aid for 2.5 million pensioners, more specifically those reporting incomes below 520 Euro. The aid will be disbursed in two installments, the first in April, the second in December, says Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

STATISTICS – Romania’s active population stood at 8.17 million people at the end of 2024, of whom 7.7 million were employed, the National Statistics Institute reports. The employment rate is by 20% higher in the male segment and very low for youth. The unemployment rate at national level was 5.9%, with young people aged 24 and below accounting for 25% of the total number of unemployed.

TRADE DEFICIT – Romania’s trade deficit increased by 38% in January, compared to the same period last year, the National Statistics Institute reports. In 2024, Romania exported goods worth €92.6 billion, while its imports stood at €133.4 billion. Romania’s deficit remains significant, especially in relations with China, Germany and Poland, while recording surpluses with the UK, the Republic of Moldova and the USA, although in smaller volumes. Trade in agricultural products and foostuffs remains vulnerable, as Romania mainly exports raw materials and imports end products. To reduce the €5 billion trade deficit in this area, experts recommend a strategy focused on the export of value-added products and more efficient use of statistical data for better-founded economic decisions.

WEATHER ALERT – Meteorologists have issued a code yellow alert against strong wind, in place today for the west, southwest and center. On Thursday, storms were reported in Bucharest and several counties, with a code red alert against thunderstorms in place for several hours. The storm killed a man, injured another two people and caused significant material damages. Rooftops were torn off, electricity poles snapped and power outages were reported in over 35 settlements. In Bucharest and the neighboring Ilfov County over 60 trees were felled, constructions elements came loose and a pole was knocked down by the wind. Dozens of cars were damaged. Variable skies and temperatures ranging between 16 and 24 degrees Celsius are reported for today, with possible showers and thunderstorms announced in most regions.

FOOTBALL – UEFA has handed FCSB a 30,000-Euro fine for the incidents reported in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16, played in Bucharest. Parts of the stadium will also be closed for the next match in EU competitions. The penalties were awarded due to the racist or discriminatory abuse by fans. The club will have to pay an additional 1,500 Euro for torches lit in the stands. FCSB lost the first leg 3-1 in Bucharest last week as well as the second leg played yesterday away from home to Olympique Lyon of France. (VP)

14 March 2025
August 26, 2024 UPDATE

TAXES – The government does not plan to increase taxes, but will focus on accelerating the digitalization of National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF), increasing budget collection and reforming public expenditure. The announcement was made by Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, after Monday’s meeting with the Concordia Employers’ Confederation. He promised that, starting next year, there would be consultations with the business environment regarding the tax reform and that no decision would be made in this respect without discussions with the entrepreneurs. The representatives of the executive and those of the business environment also discussed the implementation of the e-Invoice, e-VAT, e-Transport systems, the RetuRO guarantee-return system, the preparation for the implementation of the European minimum wage, as well as the problems in the Romanian tourism.

SURVEY – The candidates of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL), Marcel Ciolacu and Nicolae Ciucă, respectively, would enter the second round of the presidential election in Romania, if elections were held next Sunday, according to the results of a CURS survey published on Sunday. Regarding the parliamentary elections, the PSD leads in the preferences of the electorate, followed by its ruling partner, the PNL. The survey, about which we talk in detail after the news, was conducted between August 6-22, on a sample of 1,067 respondents, with an error margin of plus/minus 3%.

POLITICS – The PSD – PNL ruling coalition in Romania can work in the future as well, according to the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, the leader of the Social Democrats. He believes the future government could be sworn in before Christmas, on December 23rd. In his opinion, despite the acid statements coming from both sides amid the launch of candidacies for the presidential election this fall, the current government in Bucharest will function until the general elections, scheduled for December 1st, Romania’s National Day. In this context, the prime minister said that he would like Romania’s budget for 2025 to be approved soon after that date, by the current Government and Parliament makeup. Ciolacu also said that, given the context, PSD sees no other ruling coalition in the future than the one with the National Liberal Party.

DROUGHT – The Romanian government will discuss, this week, the first set of measures for the farmers affected by the drought. The agriculture minister Florin Barbu and the farmers’ representatives have recently discussed granting compensations for the damage caused by the drought and for a new package of measures to combat the effects of the drought, a package that the minister is going to present to the government members. The authorities are also considering the creation of a mechanism agreed with the Financial Supervisory Authority for state insurance of an area of about 7 million hectares, with an insurance premium of 3,000 lei (600 Euros) for each hectare. Installing local irrigation systems and forest curtains is also considered.

WEATHER – Almost all of Romania is in the grip of a heat wave and severe thermal discomfort, with weather alerts in place as temperatures rose to 38 degrees Celsius. In the northwest, center-west, partially in the east and south, there is a code yellow alert for heatwave and high thermal discomfort. The temperature-humidity index will exceed the critical threshold of 80 units. In the coming days, the heat wave will subside and the atmospheric instability will increase.

VISAS – The US administration is to announce, on October 15, a decision regarding the visa waiver for Romanians, which would apply starting from 2025, Romanian government sources stated. During this period, the Romanian executive is carrying out the “We qualify Romania” campaign, which aims at including the country in the American Visa Waiver program and at exempting it from obtaining travel visas to the US. As part of the campaign, launched on July 18, Bucharest undertook to meet the technical criteria for joining the Visa Waiver by September 30, 2024, the date on which the American fiscal year ends. Among them is a refusal rate below 3% of US B1 and B2 visas for business and tourism granted to Romanian citizens during the fiscal year 2024. In this sense, the government, through the Foreign Ministry, urges as many Romanian citizens as possible to renew their US visa by September 30.

GRADUATES – More than 260 young Romanians graduated, on Monday, from the National Training School for Penitentiary Officers in Târgu Ocna (east). Attending the event, the Minister of Justice Alina Gorghiu has said that the graduates will work in various prisons in the country. She had previously announced that the penitentiary system in Romania has a deficit of about 3,000 jobs and that, in this sense, she will submit a memorandum to the Government. Also, the minister encouraged young people to enroll in the school in Târgu Ocna, which soon starts a new series of prison ward courses. She also said that salaries in the penitentiary system are good, having been increased this year. (EE)

26 August 2024
September 3, 2023 UPDATE

REPORT – The head of
the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, on Sunday made public the
preliminary report detailing the firefighters’ intervention following last
week’s explosions at an illegal LPG filling station in Crevedia, which killed
three people. According to the report, the firefighters first sent intervention
robots to cool down the gas tanks, secured the perimeter and evacuated the
civilians, thus avoiding a larger number of casualties among both civilians and
emergency responders. Raed Arafat complained about the disinformation and
manipulation of media outlets regarding the coordination of the intervention.
Three people died and 56 were injured in the wake of the blasts. Some of the
patients in critical condition were transferred to burn clinics abroad. Some 10
houses were completely destroyed by the blasts. The Prosecutor General’s
Office, the Military Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anticorruption
Directorate have launched investigations, while the authorities are inspecting
all LPG stations across Romania.

DEFENSE -
Russia’s attack on the Ukrainian port of Reni on the Danube River does not pose
a direct military threat to Romania or its territorial waters, the Defense
Ministry in Bucharest announced. Defense officials say its internal structures
have had real-time oversight of last night’s Russian drone attacks. The Defense
Ministry gave assurances that it has taken measures to increase the vigilance
of land, maritime and air defenses and to consolidate defense and deterrence
postures on the eastern flank, in line with national and NATO operative plans.

ARREST -
Mining tycoon Beny Steinmetz, who was handed a five-year prison sentence in
Romania, has been detained on Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus under a
European arrest warrant issued by Romanian authorities. It is unclear whether
Steinmetz will be handed over to Romanian law enforcement considering other
European states, including Greece and Italy, have refused to do so in the past.
Greece refused to put Steinmetz into Romanian custody, after local authorities
believed Steinmetz was denied a fair trial. Beny Steinmetz received a final
sentence in December 2020 for property fraud. Steinmetz is also wanted in
Switzerland, where a tribunal passed a five-year prison sentence in his name
for bribing several public servants to win lucrative mining licenses in Guinea.

ACCIDENT -
Two climbers, one Romanian the other German, died on Sunday morning in the
Italian Alps after a member of their group slipped and fell, dragging three
other party members, according to ANSA news agency. The Romanian was 35 and was
living in Italy, while the German climber was 46 and lived in Munich. Another
two people were injured in the accident on Mount Ortler (3,905m) in
northeastern Italy, both medevaced from the area. The climbers were moving in
single file on a rather easy segment of their track, which is why some of the
members were not using safety gear at the time of the accident, ANSA reports.

TENNIS -
Romanian tennis player Andreea Mitu on Sunday won the ITF tournament in Prague
after defeating fourth-seed Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 in
the final. Ranked 450 in WTA standings, Mitu won her most important ITF title
of her career. Bejlek (213 WTA) had ousted Irina Bara of Romania in the
quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-4. Another Romanian tennis player, Bogdan Pavel (1,585
ATP) won the Tennis Club Bucharest Trophy after defeating third-seed Juan Pablo
Paz (590 ATP) in the finals, 7-5, 6-4. This is the first ITF title in the men’s
singles for Pavel, who previously won three ITF doubles tournaments.

WEATHER – A code yellow alert against thunderstorms is in
place until Monday in northwestern Romania. Heavy rainfall, thunderstorms,
strong wind and hail are expected during the interval in widespread areas.
Thunderstorms are also expected in isolated areas in regions in the south and
southeast. The weather remains sunny and warm in the other regions, with
maximum temperatures ranging between 20 and 34 degrees. (VP)

3 September 2023
September 3, 2023

PARLIAMENT -
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said the Government will assume responsibility
for a law that will contain a plan for combating tax evasion, reforming local
administration and measures to curb the budget deficit. He made the announcement
at the end of the Social-Democratic National Political Councail held on Saturday, which set the party’s
priorities ahead of Parliament’s autumn session due to start on Monday. The
Social-Democrats want to finalize the new pension law, modify the legislation
on the prevention and combating drug trafficking and abuse and introducing
harsher sanctions for driving under the influence. The Romanian Prime Minister
also announced an extension of the cap on foodstuffs until the end of the year.
USR in opposition said it would call for a vote of no-confidence if the
government assumes responsibility for the fiscal modifications. USR leader
Cătălin Drulă said increasing taxes is not a viable solution.

REPORT – The head of
the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, on Sunday made public the
preliminary report detailing the firefighters’ intervention following last
week’s explosions at an illegal LPG filling station in Crevedia, which killed
three people. According to the report, the firefighters first sent intervention
robots to cool down the gas tanks, secured the perimeter and evacuated the
civilians, thus avoiding a larger number of casualties among both civilians and
emergency responders. Raed Arafat complained about the disinformation and
manipulation of media outlets regarding the coordination of the intervention.
Three people died and 56 were injured in the wake of the blasts. Some of the
patients in critical condition were transferred to burn clinics abroad. Some 10
houses were completely destroyed by the blasts. The Prosecutor General’s
Office, the Military Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anticorruption
Directorate have launched investigations, while the authorities are inspecting
all LPG stations across Romania.

EUROIUDAICA – The city of
Oradea in northwestern Romania is as of Sunday hosting the Euroiudaica
International Festival, celebrating Jewish culture and traditions. For the next
seven days, the festival offers theatre, dance and music performances, book
launches, conferences and exhibitions featuring special guests from at home and
abroad. Some of the events will be hosted by local synagogues. Jewish music is
also celebrated in all its forms, featuring guests from Romania, Poland,
Hungary, Slovakia and Argentina. On the sidelines of the Euroiudaica Festival,
five theatre shows will be staged by companies from Romania, Poland and
Hungary.

US OPEN -
Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea on Sunday is playing Belinda Bencic of
Switzerland in the round of 16 at US Open. Cîrstea leads 2-1 head-to-head. We
recall Sorana Cîrstea qualified for the first time in her career to this phase
of the competition after ousting Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, world no. 4.
Another Romanian player, Gabriela Ruse, is competing in the women’s doubles
alongside Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.

WEATHER – A code yellow alert against thunderstorms is in
place until Monday in northwestern Romania. Heavy rainfall, thunderstorms,
strong wind and hail are expected during the interval in widespread areas.
Thunderstorms are also expected in isolated areas in regions in the south and
southeast. The weather remains sunny and warm in the other regions, with
maximum temperatures ranging between 20 and 34 degrees. (VP)

3 September 2023
July 11, 2023

SUMMIT – The president of Romania,
Klaus Iohannis, is attending the NATO Summit in Vilnius on Tuesday and
Wednesday. The head of state will reiterate support for neighboring Ukraine,
also in terms of this country’s efforts to join NATO. Klaus Iohannis will also
call for support for NATO’s most vulnerable partners, in particular the
Republic of Moldova.

ENERGY – EU Energy Ministers are
convening in Valladolid, Spain for a two-day meeting to discuss challenges
linked to creating an integrated energy single market and digitizing the energy
sector, interconnection projects and managing demand and storage. Romania will
be represented by Dan-Dragoș Drăgan, State Secretary with the Energy Ministry.
The meeting will address reforms of the electricity market with a view to
ensuring stable and competitive prices for end users and consolidating the
development of sustainable energy sources. Additionally, participants will
tackle topics such as developing electricity interconnections and will discuss
the adoption of the sixth list of energy projects of joint interest.

NURSING HOMES SCANDAL – The
authorities are conducting searches in centers addressing vulnerable categories
of people all over the country. Prosecutors are coordinating their efforts with
representatives of the relevant public institutions. So far, inspectors have
verified nearly 500 such nursing homes, shutting down 4 and suspending the
activity of another 22. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has demanded inspections
in every nursing home across the country, after the National Directorate for
Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) launched an investigation
into three nursing homes in Voluntari and Afumați (Ilfov County) that applied
ill-treatments to their beneficiaries.

AGEING – Population ageing is a
growing phenomenon in Romania, the National Statistics Institute reports. In a
press release marking World Population Day, the Institute expects the young
population of Romania, consisting of pre-school and school children, to
continue to drop, reaching 3.12 mln people in 2030 and only 2.15 mln in 2060.
At present, Romania’s pre-school and school population totals 3.47 mln people.
On January 1, 2022, Romania’s permanent resident population stood at
approximately 19 million inhabitants. According to Eurostat, Romania ranks 6th
at EU level in terms of the size of the resident population. Germany has the
largest population – over 83 million inhabitants, while Malta lies at the
opposite end with a population of 520 thousand people.

BEER – The beer market has
shrunk by 9% in the first five months of the year compared to the same period
of 2022, the Romanian Brewers Association announced today. The waning
purchasing power and economic difficulties caused by soaring inflation and the
increase in raw material prices are some of the causes, the Association
reports. Rising construction costs also remain an issue, despite a leveling-out
of energy expenses. At national level, 97% of production and trading is carried
out locally, while 50% of ingredients used in brewing beer originated from
local agriculture. The beer-making industry also consists of 60,000 jobs, each
generating another 11 further up the value chain: two in agriculture, three in
retail, three in hospitability and three in distribution. The sector’s added
value stands at some 700 mln EUR per year.

FESTIVAL – The Ceau, Cinema!
Festival is running until Sunday in Timișoara as part of the European Capital
of Culture programme for 2023. Dozens of screenings will be held, featuring 20
guests from at home and abroad, in addition to debates, workshops, an
anniversary exhibition and book launches. Having reached its tenth edition this
year, the Festival will ooepn with a film-concert. Petre Ionuțescu will be
performing live the soundtrack he composed for The Bridal Party in Hardanger directed by Ramus Briestein. The 1926
film is considered a masterpiece of the silent film era in Norway.

HEATWAVE – Meteorologists
have issued an alert against a heatwave expected to affect Romania until
Friday. Highs will range between 34-37 degrees Celsius. Thermal discomfort will
be particularly amplified in the lowlands, where the temperature-humidity index
(THI) will exceed the critical 80-unit mark. Extreme heat is also reported
today in Bucharest, where the forecast also includes isolated thunderstorms.
The noon reading in Bucharest was 30 degrees. (VP)

11 July 2023
May 20, 2021

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Prime Minister
Florin Cîţu gave assurances that a new series of anti-COVID restrictions will
be lifted starting next month. The Romanian official said this will clearly
depend on meeting the target of 5 million people who’ve taken the anti-COVID
vaccine by June 1. The coordinator of Romania’s immunization campaign, Valeriu
Gheorghiţă, said it is highly unlikely the target will be met by the end of
May, but rather by mid-June. 618 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the
last 24 hours in Romania, following some 31 thousand tests. 61 related
fatalities were reported during the interval and 663 patients are still in
intensive care. Over 4 million Romanians have taken the anti-COVID jab. Romania
ranks 7th at European level and 19th globally in terms of
the number of people who’ve completed the COVID vaccination scheme. Right now,
vaccination is available without prior appointment. People can get vaccinated
in any center upon presenting their ID. Tens of thousands of people have been vaccinated
these days in drive-through centers and as part of vaccination marathons across
the country.

PNRR – Romania’s Prime
Minister, Florin Cîţu, is today scheduled to attend an online meeting with
European Commission vice-president, Margaret Vestager, as well as to meet with
the leader of the Social-Democratic Party in opposition, Marcel Ciolacu, to
discuss the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The meeting follows
the Social-Democrats’ repeated requests to be consulted over the document, which
they want the Prime Minister to present before Parliament. Social-Democrat
president Marcel Ciolacu said he would be accompanied by a number of
Social-Democrat experts, as well as representatives of SMEs and trade unions.
The Social-Democrats want to implement a number of changes and have warned they
could vote against the ratification of the European Treaty based on which the
recovery plans of member states are due to be enacted. PNRR was thoroughly
analyzed in yesterday’s Government meeting. The Government has promised to
submit Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan to Brussels by the end
of the month.

EUROSTAT – The population of
urban areas will increase in 15 EU Member States over 2019-2050, and will drop
in nine member states, including Romania, the latest demographic survey
published by Eurostat shows. Malta, Ireland and Sweden will report the highest
increases in urban populations until 2050. Romania, Latvia, Greece and Poland
are at the opposite pole. During the same interval, the Eurostat estimates that
rural population will increase in Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium.
Conversely, Romania is one of the 20 EU member states whose rural populations
are expected to shrink. National Statistics Institute data shows that Romania
had a population of 22 million people on January 1, 2021, of which 12.5 million
in urban areas.

GAZA – Israeli air raids
continued in Gaza last night as well, despite preliminary information that both
parties were close to signing a ceasefire agreement. A Hamas official said he
expects Israel and Gaza militants to reach a ceasefire agreement in a couple
of days, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed
determination that air strikes should continue for as long as it takes to
restore calm for all Israeli citizens, the BBC reports. On Wednesday, US
president Joe Biden had a new round of talks with Benjamin Netanyahu,
expressing hope for a de-escalation of the conflict. Over 200 Palestinians,
half of whom were women and children, were killed in Gaza, according to the
local Health Ministry. Israeli authorities have announced that 12 people,
including two children, have been killed in Israel since the conflict started.

USA-RUSSIA RELATIONS – Russia’s Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov said the talks he attended on the sidelines of the Artic
Council in Reykjavik, Iceland, jointly with US Secretary of State, Antony
Blinken, were constructive. According to the Russian official, the two parties
agree on the need to overcome the unhealthy situation that developed between
Moscow and Washington in previous years. The Russian official said the two
sides will ready proposals for developing dialogue on strategic stability head
of the US-Russia top-level summit. Sergey Lavrov added this is a major objective,
which raises concerns amidst the international community. On the other hand,
according to a press release of the US State Department, Secretary of State
Blinken expressed deep concern with the Russian military build-up on the
Ukrainian border. Antony Blinken also expressed the US’s concern with the
health of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the repression of
opposition organizations.

WEATHER – Meteorologists
have issued a code orange alert against heavy rain and strong wind in counties
in the west, center and east of Romania, in place until Friday morning, and a
code-yellow alert against heavy rain for most counties in the west and
northwest. Hydrologists expect flash floods in several river basins in the west
and east. (VP)

20 May 2021
July 12, 2020

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Another 456 new infections were announced
in Romania on Sunday by the Group for Strategic Communication, taking the total
number of infected to 32.535. 23.387 people infected with COVID-19 have
recovered, while 1.884 people have died. 243 patients are now in intensive
care. Liberal Prime Minister Ludovic Orban says the state is virtually
incapacitated in dealing with the pandemic, after the Senate on Saturday
postponed the debate and vote on a Government bill on isolation and quarantine.
On Thursday, the Chamber of Deputies passed the law in a heavily modified form.
The Social-Democrats in opposition claim the law infringes on citizens’ rights
and liberties, calling on the Prime Minister, Justice Minister and
representatives of the Superior Council of Magistracy and human rights
associations to attend the debate in the Senate.

RESTRICTIONS – Greek
authorities have suspended until Tuesday the electronic platform for traveller
registration, ahead of changing border crossing regulations for land entries.
As of Wednesday morning, Romanian tourists will have to provide proof of a
negative test against COVID-19, no older than 72 hours. The documentation must
be in English and contain the traveller’s identification data. The Romanian
Foreign Ministry recalls this test does not exclude the obligation of
completing the online form or being subject to random testing at the border.
Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has called on the 120 centers doing corona testing
in the country to take priority in testing tourists with planned holidays in
Greece. On social media many Romanians have already announced their readiness
to give up their holidays, mostly due to the expenses associated with voluntary
testing. Other EU countries have announced restrictions for Romanian citizens.
People with holiday plans in Austria need documents proving they tested
negative for SARS CoV2, which must be no older than 4 days at the time of
entry. The document needs to be translated into German and English and be
accompanied by proof of accommodation in this country. Anyone failing to
provide the said documentation will be placed in isolation for 14 days. As of
Monday, Lithuania will deny access to Romanians, with the exception of people
on transit to Romania.

MIGRANTS – Two Serbian
nationals, who helped 13 Syrians illegally cross into Romania, were picked up
on Saturday night by the Romanian border police and are now being investigated
for migrant trafficking. The Syrian citizens, nine men and four women, are aged
17-30. The Serbian drivers were planning on taking them to Western Europe in
exchange for €900. The Romanian Border Police has advised citizens against
transporting unknown people in border areas and to notify the authorities
whenever they are presented with such requests.

WEATHER ALERTS – The National Meteorological
Administration has issued a code yellow alert against extreme weather phenomena,
in place until Sunday night for three quarters of Romania’s territory. During
the interval, the west, north and center of the country will see heavy
rainfalls, thunderstorms, strong wind and hail. Meteorologists expected flash
floods in these areas as well.

TENNIS – Tennis
player Simona Halep, world no. 2 has confirmed her participation in the WTA
tournament in Palermo, Italy, the first in the WTA circuit after the long
hiatus caused by the coronacrisis. In a video posted on social media, she said
she would take part in the competition in Sicily, which will be played on clay
court over August 3-9. Halep played her last match in February, in the final of
the tournament in Dubai, which she won against Elena Rybakina of Khazakstan. Oliveiro
Palma, the director of the tournament in Palermo, said Halep’s
participation is exceptional news, it had been decades since Palermo last
hosted a former No.1.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

12 July 2020
June 20, 2020

COVID-19 IN
ROMANIA – The number of daily COVID infections continues to rise, exceeding
300 new cases. Pressure on hospitals keeps mounting, as the number of sick who
recover continues to drop. According to the latest update, 1.500 people died to
the virus since the beginning of the outbreak. 23.730 infections have been
confirmed in the country, while 16.735 people have recovered. 190 patients are
in intensive care, nearly 1.330 people are in institutionalized quarantine and
another 80.000 are in home isolation under medical observation. 3.531 Romanians
living abroad have tested positive for SARS CoV2 and 115 have died.

COVID-19 IN
THE WORLD – The World Health Organization has warned that the COVID-19
pandemic has entered a new and dangerous phase. WHO director, Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyessus has warned that the virus remains lethal, continuing to spread
rapidly. According to the WHO official, the daily number of new cases has hit a
record high globally, over 150.000, most of which are reported in North and
South America, the Middle East and South Asia. Brazil has reported nearly
55.000 new infections in only 24 hours, totaling over 1 million infections,
making it the second-most affected country in the world, after the United
States, Reuters informs. The virus has killed nearly 463.000 people around the
world, infected 8.7 million people, of whom 4.6 million have recovered, the
latest data published on the worldometers.info platform reveals.

ONLINE FORM – Air
passengers entering the country via Henri Coanda airport must file an online
form stating their epidemiological status. Available as of Friday, the form is
aimed at reducing waiting times and boosting the flow of arrivals, with the
overall purpose of preventing the SARS CoV2 virus from spreading. The form can
be accessed on bucharestairports.ro.

REPATRIATIONS – The Foreign Ministry announced the repatriation of
another 339 Romanian citizens from France and Great Britain on Thursday, as a
result of a joint effort of the Transport and Interior Ministries. The people
in question were affected by COVID measures and flight restrictions. The
authorities also helped 19 French, 2 Canadian, 1 Tunisian and 1 American return
to Romania. A number of British and French citizens were also returned to their
home countries.

BEACHES – Romania has four Blue Flag beaches, after last year only
three beaches got this rating, commonly used to signal a number of high
environmental and quality criteria necessary to obtain certification, such as
water quality, cleanliness and safety. Neighboring Bulgaria got Blue Flag
certification for 15 of its beaches this year. At global level, over 4.500 beaches
got certified for 2020. Spain ranks 1, with 590 beaches, followed by Greece,
Turkey, Italy and France.

REACTION – The Foreign Ministry has dismissed the
statements of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó as ungrounded and
disrespectful, after the latter has labeled President Klaus Iohannis an
extremist, anti-Hungarian politician in a Facebook post. The Hungarian official
said the President’s decision to challenge the constitutionality of a law on
opening a new crossing point on the Hungarian border goes against efforts to
bring the two countries closer together. The Foreign Ministry says the
President attacked the law because it violated the principle of separation of
state powers, and never meant to take action against Hungary or the Hungarian
minority in Romania. The Government already has an agreement in place with
Hungary to open a new border crossing point, which is why the Foreign Ministry
was surprised at the Hungarian official’s reaction, which it deems unjustified,
disproportionate and out of context.

WEATHER ALERTS – Meteorologists on Saturday have
issued a code orange alert for three quarters of Romania, in place until Sunday
morning, and a code yellow alert for the rest of the country. The weather will
be unstable during the interval, with hail, thunderstorms and heavy rainfall
expected to trigger massive floods in the target areas. A code red has been
called for Caras-Severin, Timis, Mures and Harghita counties. The latest heavy
rain has wrought havoc in scores of towns and villages, particularly in the southwest
and center of the country, brigades of firefighters being called to pump water
out of dozens of households.

(Translated by V. Palcu)

20 June 2020
Snow and blizzard grip part of Romania

On March 23, 2018, on World
Meteorological Day, more than half of Romania was under weather alerts for
heavy snow, blizzard and low visibility. The World Meteorological Organization
has already warned over the effects of climate change, such as blizzards and
very low temperatures, tropical cyclones, heat waves and drought. According to
the meteorological calendar, spring begins on March 1st , and if we
go by the astronomical calendar, it
starts on March 20.

Nevertheless, in the past week Romania has been under
yellow and orange code alerts for snow, blizzard and flooding and has also been
affected by freezing rain, which produced glaze ice on roads and
railways, hampering traffic. On Friday, traffic on the southern Romanian
motorways was affected by blizzard and low visibility. Traffic was also
disrupted on several national and county roads in the same area, where entire
road sections had to be closed because of the blizzard, heavy snow and fallen
trees. Also, dozens of trains were cancelled. The bad weather caused schools
and kindergartens to close down on Friday in the capital Bucharest and in
several counties in the south. Over 13 thousand policemen, firelighters and
gendarmes are ready to intervene if case of emergency.

Here is the Interior
Minister Carmen Dan: I have
called on the citizens to comply with the authorities’ recommendations and not
venture into the roads closed due to blizzard and snow, given that rescue
operations are restricted to the rescuers’ action area and the fact that by
doing that they would put the very life of their rescuers in danger.

In turn, the Health Minister Sorina Pintea has called on
the public health departments to be ready to cope with the special situations
that may emerge under bad weather conditions. The bad weather will stay until
the end of the week and will mostly affect southeastern Romania, where the
strong wind will amplify the cold, says Elena Mateescu, head of the National
Meteorological Administration:

Only on Monday and
Tuesday we will see a slight increase in temperatures, of 6 to 10 degrees
Celsius in most regions and 14 or 15 degrees in the south, with precipitations
likely to be present in the second half of the week.

Experts with the General
Inspectorate for Emergency Situations have warned that after this cold snap, we
should brace for another extreme weather phenomenon – flooding. The Danube’s water level is on the rise, so
authorities have decided to suspend ferryboat transit at the Bechet border
checkpoint between Romania and Bulgaria due to the high water level and the
flooding of the access way to the ferry.

23 March 2018