September 3, 2017 UPDATE
The Romanian Foreign Ministry firmly condemnes the nuclear test conducted by North Korea on Sunday
Newsroom, 03.09.2017, 18:43
Evacuation – Thousands of residents in Frankfurt evacuated their homes early on Sunday ahead of the planned defusing of a massive second world war bomb discovered on a building site in the German city. Around 60,000 people were ordered to leave their residences in what was Germany’s biggest evacuation since the war. The bomb was found last week in the city’s Westend suburb. About 20,000 people were evacuated on Saturday in Koblenz, in western Germany, for a similar operation. More than 2,000 tonnes of live bombs and munitions are found each year in Germany.
North Korea — The Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE) has firmly condemned the nuclear test conducted by North Korea on Sunday, seen as a new major threat to the regional and international peace and security. MAE has also voiced concern over Pyongyang’s continued provocative actions that break the UN Security Council resolutions and increase tensions in the Korean peninsula to unprecedented levels in the past years. Romania will continue to actively support international actions aimed at denuclearizing North Korea through peaceful means, MAE also said. This is the 6th and most powerful nuclear test conducted by North Korea, with the last one reported in September 2016. Pyongyang has disregarded the UN sanctions and the international pressure and has continued to develop its nuclear and ballistic programme.
George Enescu Festival — The “George Enescu” International Festival, one of the most prestigious music events in Europe, opened on Saturday in Bucharest. For 3 weeks, 80 concerts and other events will bring together in the capital and 7 other major Romanian cities more than 3,000 of the best international artists. The honorary president this year is the famous conductor Zubin Mehta, and another conductor, Vladimir Jurowski is the artistic director. Radio Romania is the only media institution in the country to broadcast the concerts live, on its channels Radio Romania Music and Radio Romania Culture. First organised in 1958, 3 years after the famed Romanian composer had died, the “George Enescu” Festival was discontinued in 1971 by the communist regime, and was resumed in 1989. It has been held every 2 years ever since.
Parliament — In Bucharest, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate have convened for the second regular session of the year. At the request of the National Liberal Party, the Chamber of Deputies has decided that on Monday PM Mihai Tudose is to present a report on the national economy, as part of the “Prime Minister’s Hour” series. On Saturday, during a meeting of his party’s National Executive Committee, the Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea announced the priorities of the current parliamentary session. These include laws in the fields of the judiciary, pensions, healthcare, coalmines, the Labour Code, lobbying, land sales, energy, animal breeding and urban planning. As for the referendum on modifying the Constitution in the sense of redefining the concept of “family”, Dragnea said the vote would be held this summer, and to this end the law on the referendum should be endorsed by the Senate’s judicial committee next week.
Football — Romania’s national football team is playing on Monday in Podgorica against Montenegro, in preliminary group E of the 2018 World Cup. On Friday in Bucharest Romania defeated Armenia 1-0, only managing to score in extra time, although their opponents had one player sent out of the pitch. Romania currently ranks 4th in the group, 7 points behind group leader Poland and 4 points behind Denmark and Montenegro. In this qualifying campaign, Romania is for the first time coached by a foreign manager, the German Cristoph Daum, who has been facing growing criticism because of the team’s poor performance.
