A 5.8 earthquake shook Romania / Romania has reverted to winter time as per DST
EARTHQUAKE - A 5.8 Richter scale earthquake shook Romania on Sunday morning, without producing any victims or material damages. The impact reached as far as Moldova, Ukraine and Bulgaria. According to the scientific director of the National Institute for Earth Physics, Mircea Radulian, the earthquake was a normal phenomenon for Vrancea region. We recall the last major earthquake was reported in Romania on November 22, 2014 and measured 5.7 degrees on the Richter scale. Two weeks ago, Romania hosted the biggest earthquake drill in an EU state in the last 14 years. The most devastating earthquakes were those in 1940 and 1977, both killing over 2,500 people and injuring another 15,300.
DST - Romania on Sunday reverted to winter time as per daylight saving time. Clocks were shifted back, making Sunday night the longest of the year. According to a European survey, 84% of respondents want to keep the standard summer time, claiming the time shift is causing fatigue, haziness, insomnia, focus issues and energy drain. According to the European Commission, member states can decide on their own which time frame they should observe, provided they report their choice by the end of April 2019. Should the Commission's timetable be observed, the March 31, 2019 time shift will be the last one to be compulsory.
ATTACK - US flags were flown on Sunday at half-mast all over the country after a synagogue shooting on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which left 11 dead. The perpetrator shouted "All Jews must die" before opening fire on the crowd. The attacker was indicted on 29 criminal counts, including anti-Semitic crimes and risks the death penalty, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said. According to the BBC, this was the bloodiest attack targeting the Jewish community in the US. President Donald Trump has labeled it a "wicked act of mass murder". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed horror at the attack, while Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel called for increasing efforts to combat anti-Semitic acts of violence worldwide.
SURVEY - Over 37% of Romanians want closer relations with the USA, while 11% say Romania should strengthen relations with France, according to the findings of a recent survey conducted by the Avangarde Group of Social and Behavioral Studies released on Sunday. 59% of respondents say the anti-ballistic missile shield in Deveselu is a good thing, while 20% say it's a bad thing. 33% say that, military-wise, NATO should increase the number of troops in Romania, 53% say it should stay the same, while 14% want NATO to deploy fewer troops to Romania. Asked if the US should remain Romania's strategic partner, 74% of Romanians said yes, 26% said no. The survey also reveals that most Romanians believe the next US ambassador to Romania should continue to support the fight against corruption started by the National Anticorruption Directorate. The study was conducted over October 17-20 over a sample population of some 800 people and an error margin of 3.2%.
ELECTION - Regional elections are being held today in Hessa Land in Western Germany, which could further weaken parties in the Big Coalition in power in Berlin, Reuters reports. The ballot follows two weeks after the historic failure of the Social-Christian Union in Bavaria, the ally of Angela Merkel's Christian-Democratic Union, which grabbed the lowest score in an election since 1950. The result rocked the ruling coalition, threatened by divergences over migration. In case of a failure in Hessa, talks over maintaining Angela Merkel at the helm of the Christian-Democratic Union could intensify at the annual party congress slated for December.
TENNIS - Romanian tennis player Marius Copil, 93 ATP, is today playing Roger Federer in the Basel tournament final. Federer is world number 3 and seeded first in the tournament in Switzerland, totaling some 2 million euros in prize money. This is the first match pitting the two players and Copil's third match against a top-10 player, after ousting Marin Cilic of Croatia in the round of 16 and Alexander Zverev of Germany in the semi-finals. This is also Copil's second final in the ATP circuit, after earlier this year he reached the final match of the ATP tournament in Sofia.
HANDBALL - The Romanian men's handball team is today playing the defending world champions France at home in the 2020 European Championship preliminaries. On Wednesday, Romania lost 13-21 to Portugal away from home. Romania is drawn in Group 6 alongside France, Portugal and Lithuania. The first two teams in each group will advance to the championship, as well as the best-ranked four teams in second position in the group tables. The 2020 European Championship will be hosted by Sweden, Austria and Norway.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
Useful Links
Copyright © . All rights reserved