May 3, 2014
A rounup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 02.05.2014, 12:54
Global press freedom has fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, according to a Freedom House report released on 1st May. The decline was driven in part by major regression in several Middle Eastern states, including Egypt, Libya, and Jordan, marked setbacks in Turkey, Ukraine, and a number of countries in East Africa and deterioration in the relatively open media environment of the United States. The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden were rated the world’s top-performing countries. Romania is considered to be among the countries with partial press freedom.
Rescuers in Afghanistan continue to look for survivors for a second day after a landslide that is feared to have buried at least 2,000 people. The UN said more than 350 bodies had been recovered in the remote northeast Afghan province of Badakhshan. Hundreds of homes were buried on Friday when a section of a mountain collapsed following torrential rain. Emergency teams of various NGOs are taking part in the rescue operations, local authorities announced. Washington has also offered its support.
The United States and the European Union have warned that new sanctions might be imposed on Russia. U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Russia on Friday it would face additional sanctions against key sectors of its economy if Moscow disrupts Ukraines plan to hold elections on May 25. Obama and Merkel said they were determined the elections would go off peacefully and as scheduled so Ukraine could begin rebuilding its economy. Washington has also called on Kiev to investigate the tragedy in Odessa where tens of people lost their lives and around 200 were injured in the clashes between supporters and opponents of an united Ukraine. Head of the Ukrainain presidential administration, Serhi Pasinski has said the violence in Odessa is a provocation staged by Russia’s Federal Security Service and has accused the Russian intelligence service of having supplied separatists with weapons. Moscow authorities, however, say they are not involved in the violene in Odessa. On the other hand, an envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Donetk region, Vladimir Lukin, has announced that the 7 OSCE observers seized by pro-Russian separatists in the Ukrainian town of Sloviansk were freed on Saturday morning.
Meteorologists have issued a code yellow alert for torrential rain and storms to be expected in 22 counties in southwestern, central and northern Romania, valid as of Saturday evening until Monday morning. According to Romanian weather authority. precipitation will exceed 20-25 litres per square meter and 40-50 litres per square meter locally. Meteorologists warn that rain might be accompanied by hailstorms and gusty wind, especially in mountain areas.
