July 15, 2024
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 15.07.2024, 13:55
Weather. The extreme heat wave continues in Romania. A red code alert is in place until Wednesday for most of the country, with the exception of four counties in the northern half, which is under an orange code alert. Thermal discomfort is particularly high, with the temperature-humidity index exceeding the critical threshold of 80 units. Highs of 37 to 42 degrees Celsius are expected, with 36 degrees on the sea coast. The authorities have taken measures to protect the population and road travel has been disrupted. Travel restrictions have been imposed for heavy vehicles, and the Romanian Railways Company says trains will travel at a lower speed. Doctors advise the population to avoid sun exposure and going out at midday. A taskforce to monitor the effects of extreme temperatures was set up at the Bucharest-Ilfov Intervention Management and Coordination Centre from Saturday until the end of the red alert period.
Energy. Energy minister Sebastian Burduja has called for a meeting of the ministerial committee for the energy sector to assess the situation in the national energy system, the impact of weather conditions and the necessary measures, as well as the evolution of short and long term energy consumption and production. Burduja said the national energy system is safe and he is not expecting large-scale interruptions in the electricity supply. He said some problems may appear during the hottest days, but supply operators are ready to step in. In another development, Romania’s primary energy resources dropped by 5% and those of electric power by 2.4% in the first five months of the year compared with the same period last year, according to data published today by the National Institute for Statistics.
Bears. The Chamber of Deputies was summoned to meet in an extraordinary session today to amend the legislation on immediate intervention methods to prevent bear attacks on humans. The meeting was called by prime minister Marcel Ciolacu in the wake of last week’s tragedy, when a 19-year-old young woman died after being attacked while hiking on a mountain route in the Southern Carpathians. Ciolacu said the amendments to the legislation would not give free reign to bear hunting, as some animal rights groups are fearing. Instead, they are aimed at preventing bear attacks on humans and the damages caused by bear attacks and approving the culling of over 400 brown bears for the 2024-2025 period, accounting for the prevention level at national level, and of 65 brown bears accounting for the intervention level at national level.
EU. The Romanian under-secretary in the ministry of agriculture and rural development Adrian Pintea is today attending the agriculture and fisheries council in Brussels. According to a ministry statement, the Hungarian presidency is expected to present its agenda and main priorities in the agriculture and fisheries sector in the next six months. Based on the information provided by the European Commission, agriculture ministers will discuss aspects related to trade in the area. Also, the Council will hold specific talks on ways to improve the long-term viability of rural areas, with a focus on generation renewal and demographic aspects.
Euro 2024. Spain defeated England 2-1 on Sunday night in Berlin in the final of the European Football Championship hosted by Germany. Spain thus become the first team to hold four European titles, having won in 1964, 2008 and 2012. England lost two finals in a row, after being defeated three years ago by Italy at penalty kicks. Romania reached the round of last 16, when it was knocked out of the competition by The Netherlands, who went on to reach the semifinals.
