October 30, 2016
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 30.10.2016, 12:00
ITALY QUAKE – Several people have been injured and many buildings have collapsed following the 6.5 magnitude quake that hit central Italy this morning, the authorities announced. The epicenter of the quake was 68km southeast of the regional center of Perugia and close to the small town of Norcia, similar to August’s quake that killed almost 300 people. Today’s quake was followed by several aftershocks and was felt in the capital Rome. The Romanian Embassy in Italy informs that they have not received any request for assistance so far. The Romanian diplomatic mission has taken the necessary steps to gather information on the consequences of the tremor as well as on the existence of Romanian citizens among possible victims.
COLECTIV CLUB FIRE – A rally will take place Sunday in Bucharest to commemorate the young people who died on October 30 2015 in a fire at the Colectiv club in Bucharest during a rock concert. 64 people died and more than 100 were wounded. A rock music festival was held in Bucharest meant to pay homage to the dead and to raise money for the people injured to be able to continue their treatments. President Klaus Iohannis went to the place of the tragedy and said he expected that the authorities had already discovered those guilty for the Colectiv club fire. Three files have been opened at civil and military courts in this case. Under investigation are the owners of the club, the owners of the company that provided the pyrotechnic devices that caused the fire, the former mayor of the sector where the club was located as well as employees of the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations who are supposed to have known of the irregularities of the club. Last year’s fire at the Colectiv club triggered off large-scale protests which denounced the corruption in the administrative system. Following the street’s pressure the then leftist government led by Victor Ponta resigned.
MOLDOVA ELECTIONS – The first round of the presidential election is taking place on Sunday in the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. Over 3 million people are expected to the polls to elect their president through direct vote, after 16 years during which the president was appointed by parliament. Analysts say the vote has a crucial importance for Moldova’s geopolitical orientation in the context in which the pro-Russian Socialist leader Igor Dodon was given as favorite by most opinion surveys. His main challenger is the former reformist education minister, Maia Sandu, who is advocating for the reform of the state and for European integration, and who also enjoys the support of other pro-western candidates who withdrew from the presidential race.
WINTER TIME – Romania has passed to Winter Time, as Daylight Saving Time ended on October 30. Thus when local daylight time was about to reach Sunday, 30 October 2016, 04:00:00, clocks were turned backward 1 hour to Sunday, 30 October 2016, 03:00:00 local standard time instead, with a 2-hour difference from GMT. Therefore, Sunday October 30 will have 25 hours, being the longest day of the year. Romania will return to Daylight Saving Time on the last Sunday of March next year.
CETA – The Canadian PM, Justin Trudeau, is signing today in Brussels the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the EU, which the sides have negotiated for 7 years. The signing of the agreement was postponed by the opposition shown by the Belgian region of Wallonia, but divergences were solved on Friday, the BBC reports. On Saturday the Belgian foreign minister, Didier Reynders, signed the EU-Canada agreement on behalf of his country. We recall that Bucharest was opposed to CETA until Ottawa agreed with the gradual lifting of visas in 2017 for the Romanian citizens traveling to Canada. At present the Romanians and Bulgarians are the only EU citizens who still need visas to travel to Canada. (translation by L. Simion)
