August 4, 2017
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 04.08.2017, 14:44
HEAT A quarter of Romania’s territory has been placed under code red alert for extreme heat until tomorrow night; in 12 counties in western Romania temperatures are expected to soar to 42 degrees Celsius. The rest of the territory remains under a code orange alert with temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius. It was 35 degrees in Bucharest at noon and the humidity-temperature index went over 80 and could reach 82-84 units. First-aid tents have been set up in all major cities to provide fresh cold water to the citizens. Mobile ambulance and medical services have been place on high alert and speed restrictions have been imposed on the national railway company as well as on the country’s main roads with a view to avoiding accidents. The drought Romania is currently facing has wreaked havoc on the corn and sunflower crops. According to meteorologists, Romania will stay under the present heat wave well into the next week. Numerous countries in Europe like Italy, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, France and the Republic of Moldova have been affected by this heat wave.
TALKS Romania’s government has today convened in Bucharest for talks on a draft law concerning pensions of retired servicemen. The draft is high on the agenda of the PSD-ALDE cabinet led by Mihai Tudose along other issues such as those concerning the child-rearing benefits and vaccination. The final law on vaccination provides for the parents’ right to get access to high quality vaccines and medical assistance in case their children are suffering from post-vaccination illnesses. Parents can refuse vaccination but have the obligation to visit the family physicians to be informed on the benefits of vaccination, otherwise they can become subject to fines.
HEROES Romania is commemorating its WWI heroes through a series of ceremonies held all over the country these days. Major events are underway in Soveja, western Romania, which hosts a cemetery of over 2,000 Romanian and Russian soldiers. The peak of these events will be on Sunday, when the country marks 100 years since the Battle of Marasesti, a watershed moment for Romania in the Great War. In the summer of 1917 the Romanian soldiers stood their ground against a technically superior and better-trained German army, losing 480 officers and over 21 thousand troops.
FOOTBALL Romania’s vice champions FCSB formerly known as Steaua Bucharest will be playing in the qualifying play-offs for the Champions League Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon. The first game will be played in Portugal on August 15th and the return match in Bucharest in a week’s time. Also today the champions Viitorul will find out their opponent in the Europa League play-off. Romania has only these two sides in the European competitions. Another three Romanian sides, Dinamo Bucharest, Astra Giurgiu and CSU Craiova have been eliminated from the Europa League, after the defeats they conceded on Thursday in fixtures they played away from home. Contender teams for the Romanians were Athletic Bilbao from Spain, the famous Italian squad AC Milan and Ukraine’s Oleksandria.
TENNIS WTA 59th player Romanian Monica Niculescu has won in two sets the game against her compatriot Patricia Tig and has thus qualified for the quarterfinals of the tennis tournament in Washington with more than 226 thousand dollars in prize money. Niculescu, the tournament’s sixth favourite, will be facing the world’s number 40 player Julia Goerges of Germany. Monica has also qualified for the doubles’ next stage together with Sania Mirza of India. In the singles, Romania’s best tennis player Simona Halep has also qualified for the quarters after a three-sets win against Columbia’s Mariana Duque-Marino. Halep will be playing WTA 58th player Russian Ekaterina Makarova for a place in the semis.
