21 September 2017

Government to decide amount of financial compensation for damage caused by weather. President Klaus Iohannis to visit Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Newsroom, 21.09.2017, 13:37

Bad weather. The government is to decide the amount of
financial compensation for the damage caused by bad weather in western Romania.
According to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, Wednesday’s
rainfalls and strong winds caused damages in the capital Bucharest and 38 towns
and villages in 15 other counties. 3 people were also killed. More than 4,000
troops from the army’s fire service and 1,000 pieces of equipment were on duty
in the last 24 hours to help limit and eliminate the effects of bad weather,
including evacuating the water from flooded homes and courtyards and removing
felled trees. Tens of roofs were partly or completely damaged. Road travel was
temporarily disrupted because of trees that fell on the streets.

US trip. Romania’s president Klaus
Iohannis today travels to Philadelphia to visit the Independence Hall, a
symbolic venue in American history and one with historical significance for the
affirmation of the statehood of the countries in Central Europe, including
Romania. President Iohannis will also meet members of the Romanian community in
the area. He arrived in the United States on Sunday to attend the UN General
Assembly in New York. He held an address on Wednesday calling for the need to
create an international court for terrorism. He also said Romania was expecting
the UN to boost its contribution to global efforts in the area of international
migration.

Defence. The Romanian defence minister Mihai Fifor on Wednesday met
senator Joni Ernst, the president of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the
Committee on Armed Services. The two officials discussed the security situation
in the Black Sea area, ways to consolidate the Romania-US strategic partnership
and bilateral cooperation with a view to achieving the operational capabilities
of the Romanian Army to allow interoperability with other NATO allies. Mihai
Fifor presented his government’s priorities in the area of defence following
the allocation of 2% of the GDP to defence spending. Senator Joni Ernst
reiterated her country’s commitment to the development of military cooperation
with Romania and hailed this country’s constant efforts in international
theatres of operation and missions. Also on Wednesday, the Romanian minister
attended a working meeting held by the American-Romanian Business Council with
representatives of the US defence industry.

Ukraine law. Romania’s delegation to the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly is to call on this body to hold a debate next month to
adopt a resolution on monitoring the way in which Ukraine respects the rights
of ethnic minorities. The announcement was made by the head of the delegation
Titus Corlatean, who said Romania supports Ukraine’s efforts to join the
European Union while warning that this country will have to fulfil the
accession criteria. On Wednesday, the Senate and Chamber of Deputies in
Bucharest passed a joint declaration on Ukraine’s new education law saying it
drastically limits the right to education in their mother tongue for ethnic
Romanians in Ukraine.

Tennis. The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea, world
no. 52, has defeated the American player Nicole Gibb to reach the quartefinals
of the WTA tournament in Seoul worth almost 227,000 dollars. Cirstea will next
face Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum for a place in the semifinals. Cirstea will also
play the doubles semifinals together with Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, where they
will face the British-Australian pair Katy Dunne and Priscilla Hon.

Invictus Games. The team of Romanian military injured in
operations left for Toronto, Canada, today to take part in the Invictus Games.
The 15 members of the team will compete in six individual sports disciplines:
archery, athletics, indoor rowing, weightlifting, cycling and swimming.

Enescu Festival. On day 20 of the George Enescu
International Festival, Orchestra dell’Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa
Cecilia conducted by Antonio Pappano are giving a performance at the Palace
Hall, while the St. Petersburg Russian Chamber Philharmonic conducted by Juri
Gilbo take to the stage of the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. Timisoara, in
western Romania, will see a performance by the Banatul Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Rumon Gamba.