October 1, 2013
For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.
Ştefan Stoica, 01.10.2013, 13:39
Bucharest and other eight counties in the southeast are under a code orange alert for heavy rain until Wednesday. Another code yellow alert for heavy rain and strong wind targets 13 counties in the south. Storms have flooded households and streets, caused blackouts and uprooted trees. Road traffic was disrupted in Bucharest while uprooted trees injured two people. In the mountains the snow layer now measures 5 centimetres on the roadway. 17 rivers are under a code orange alert for flooding, along 7 of which there is a high risk of flooding. All ports were shut down on the Black Sea Coast due to strong wind. The highs of the day range between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius. The temperature reading in Bucharest was 7 degrees at noon.
The Superior Defence Council today is holding a meeting chaired by president Traian Basescu. The agenda of the meeting includes such items as the strategy of the national security industry and the draft law on establishing and maintaining a minimum oil and mineral oil supply. Romania will focus on the exploitation of natural gas deposits other than those already belonging to the energy companies OMV Petrom and Exxon, Romanian Minister Delegate for Energy Constantin Nita has announced. OMV Petrom, owned by the Austrian oil and gas company OMV and the US-based Exxon company have announced the discovery of new natural gas deposits in the Black Sea of as much as 84 billion cubic metres, tantamount to six times Romania’s annual consumption.
Some 450,000 Romanian university students resume classes today. Of these 340,000 have enrolled in state universities in both state-funded and self-supported programmes, while the rest have chosen private universities. Prime Minister Victor Ponta said the Government would continue to support universities. Ponta admitted the Romanian education system was confronted with many shortcomings, despite some progress. The Government has also stepped up its EU fund absorption rate, which may bring in additional funding to higher education units, given that state subsidies are still low, the Prime Minister also said.
The first edition of the Grand Prix Nova International Radio Drama Festival hosted by Radio Romania continues in Bucharest. Competing are 60 productions from 22 countries. The festival is held under the high patronage of Crown Princess Margaret of Romania and marks 85 years since the foundation of the Romanian Broadcasting Corporation.
The US Government early on Tuesday shut down for the first time in the past 17 years after Congress failed to vote the 2014 budget before the midnight deadline, France Press news agency reports. The shutdown will affect some 800,000 nonessential federal workers, who will have to stay at home with no pay as of Tuesday. The White House ordered government agencies to stop all activity after lawmakers again failed to break the political stalemate. Government agencies will maintain only minimum staff to provide vital maintenance and support, passport and visa processing of applications will be halted while state museums will shut down. NASA will also suspend most of its activity. According to a Bloomberg analysis, the shutdown may shave as much as 1.4% of US economic growth in quarter four of this year.
The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly is today voting the proposal of Iulia Motoc as Romania’s new representative at the European Court of Human Rights. After hearing the three Romanian candidates, the special committee of the Parliamentary Assembly chose Iulia Motoc, a Constitutional Court judge as their recommendation for office. Pundits say Iulia Motoc’s international experience weighed heavily on her appointment. Motoc worked as a UN expert in Africa’s areas of conflict. The mandate of Romania’s current representative at the European Court of Human Rights, Corneliu Barsan, is due to expire in December.
Romanian football champions Steaua Bucharest is today taking on English side Chelsea London in a match counting towards Champions League Group E. In the first round Steaua lost 3-nil to Schalke 04 of Germany, while FC Basel of Switzerland produced a big surprise by pulling a 2-1 away win against Chelsea. Schalke and Basel rank 1st and 2nd in the group tables, each with 3 points. In Europa League, Pandurii Targu Jiu will be taking on Pacos Ferreira of Portugal on Thursday.
