September 16, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 16.09.2024, 20:05
AID The government in Bucharest has earmarked a first installment in the direct financial support for the population affected by flooding in eastern Romania. During its special session on Monday, the Executive decided that every family affected would benefit from aids up to 2 thousand Euros and the families of those who lost their lives would get another 2 thousand. The government has allotted a total of 20 million Euros to support nearly 65 hundred households affected by the flood, landslides and other unusual weather phenomena that recently struck the country. According to Prime Minister Ciolacu, mending the houses and other buildings destroyed by the floods and also the other parts of local infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, is a top priority. Ciolacu has announced that the Interior Ministry has already kicked off the procedures of declaring the state of alert in the heavily-affected counties of Galati and Vaslui. According to the Inspectorate for Emergency situations, seven people lost their lives in the recent flooding.
PARTNERSHIP Romania is the first country in Europe to benefit from a 10 million dollars financial assistance from the USA to improve its national system of preventing and combating child trafficking. The governments of Romania and the USA on Monday signed the five-year Child Protection Compact Partnership known as CPC. The Us ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec has said the United States will support Romania in its efforts to develop a victim-centered prevention strategy, to increase protection for child victims of trafficking and to improve investigations in order to prosecute and convict perpetrators of child trafficking. In turn, Romania’s Interior Minister, Catalin Predoiu, said the conclusion of this partnership is proof of the determination of the administration in Bucharest to combat abuse against children in any form, as this kind of abuse has alarmingly increased in recent years.
BORDERS The Romanian Foreign Ministry warns the Romanians traveling to Germany to prepare for longer waiting times. The German government decided to extend, as of Monday, for a period of six months, temporary controls at all land borders, in order to reduce illegal migration. Besides those already existing at the borders with Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland, there will also be controls at the borders with France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. Radio Romania’s correspondent in Germany reports that every person who crosses the border can be stopped and controlled by the federal police, in any border region and at any time. Not only the identity, but also the vehicle may be subject to examination during border controls. The luggage, goods and valuables may also be subject to police checks. Romanians facing special situations can call the embassy’s hotlines in Berlin, as well as the Romanian consulates in Germany.
HANDBALL Romania’s handball champions, CSM Bucharest, defeated Storhamar Handball Elite at home on Sunday, score 32-28 (17-15), in the second match of group A of the Champions League for women’s handball. With the three goals scored in this game, Cristina Neagu collects 1,139 goals in total, in the race for the title of all-time top scorer of the competition, in the last season of her career, being only three goals away from obtaining this title. CSM Bucharest lost the debut match in group A, in Romania, against Gloria Bistriţa, score 26-30. In the third stage, CSM Bucharest will play Podravka (Croatia) away from home, on September 21, and Gloria Bistriţa will play Krim (Slovenia) at home on the same day. Romania’s vice-champion, Rapid Bucharest, also plays in group B of the competition. The first-ranking teams in the two groups qualify directly for the quarterfinals, and the teams on the 3rd to the 6th places will play in the play-off, for the other four places available in the quarterfinals, a phase in which they will fight for the Final Four Tournament in Budapest due between 31 May and 1 June.
F35 The US State Department has approved plans to sell 32 F-35 fighter jets to Romania, in a contract worth nearly 7 billion dollars. The Romanian Defense Ministry has welcomed the decision. The sale must now be approved by Congress. The move will improve the stability of a NATO ally and strengthen stability in Europe. Romania occupies a strategic position in the vicinity of Ukraine and the Black Sea.
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