September 23, 2017
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 23.09.2017, 13:55
ALERT SYSTEM – A text-message alert system advising people of potential dangers due to adverse weather conditions in Romania will be ready within a few weeks according to specialists in the field. The warnings, to be issued by the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations or by local inspectorates are meant to reach both locals and tourists in the affected areas. The authorities have decided to speed up the process of putting in place such a system following the powerful storms that hit Romania last Sunday, killing 8 people and wounding 140.
INVICTUS GAMES – The Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor and the General Chief of Staff Nicolae Ciuca are attending the opening of the Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Defense Ministry, the two officials will attend the ceremony alongside the 15 military athletes that make up Invictus Team Romania. They will also attend the teams training sessions and part of the sporting events. The Chief of Staff will also attend the conference of the chiefs of staff of the countries that are taking part in the Invictus Games. The 15 soldiers who are competing in these Paralympic games have been wounded in theatres of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. They will take part in six individual events: archery, athletics, indoor rowing, power lifting, cycling and swimming. Also, the Romanian team will take part in the sitting volleyball competition. Photos posted on social media show the Romanian Invictus team meeting with Prince Harry of Great Britain, the one who established the competition.
GERMAN ELECTIONS – Parliamentary elections are due in Germany on Sunday. Angela Merkel is hoping for a fourth term as Chancellor, even if her party, the Christian Democratic Union, is not likely to get majority and will therefore have to bring in partners to form a coalition. According to the latest opinion polls, Mrs. Merkels party and its Bavarian branch – the Christian Social Union – would get 36% of the votes. Second, with 23%, comes the Social Democratic Party, headed by the former President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz. Angela Merkel is preferred by 48% of the voters, while Martin Schulz is supported by only 22% of the voting population.
MIGRATION – At least 21 people died yesterday when a boat carrying migrants sank in the Black Sea, off the Turkish coast, France Presse reports. 70 people were on board the boat which was heading for Romania, most of them Iraqi citizens. According to France Presse, some 570 illegal migrants have reached Romania since August following the Black Sea route, which allows them to avoid Greece. If found in Greece they run the risk of being returned to Turkey, under the agreement concluded between the EU and the Turkish government.
FRENCH ELECTIONS – A Romanian-born ethnic Roma, who graduated from the Sorbonne, is running for a seat in the French Senate. The elections for 348 senators are due tomorrow. Anina Ciuciu, aged 27, was invited to run for the ecologists. She militates for free access of all children to education and is a fierce fighter against discrimination and police brutality.
GEORGE ENESCU FESTIVAL – The George Enescu International Festival, held every two years in Romania, is drawing to an end. Today, on the last but one day, there are seven events on the festivals agenda, including a concert by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam and the famous Jordi Savall. Some three thousand artists have been invited to participate in this years edition of the festival held over September 2nd – 24th. The first edition of the George Enescu Festival was held in 1958. In 1971, the communist regime decided to put an end to it, and the festival was only resumed after the fall of the regime in 1989.
