August 3, 2017 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 03.08.2017, 19:40
EXTREME HEAT – Romanian meteorologists have issued a code red alert for extreme heat in place in 12 counties in western Romania until Saturday. The rest of the country continues to be under code orange alert. Minimum temperatures will range from 22 to 25 degrees Celsius, and the highs will go as up as 42 degrees over the weekend. Emergency measures have been put in place in all major cities. The national railroad company has imposed restrictions on rail traffic, to avoid accidents. Vehicles heavier than 7.5 tons cannot circulate on road in the counties under code red and orange alert. Several more countries, such as Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and France have imposed alerts for high temperatures as well. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has issued warnings for travel in Montenegro, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina.
ARMY EQUIPMENT – Romanias Prime Minister Mihai Tudose held talks in Bucharest on Thursday with representatives of the American company Bell Helicopter on the intention to buy attack helicopters for the Romanian army. According to a Government communiqué, the talks were also attended by the Romanian Defence Minister Adrian Tutuianu, the Economy Minister Mihai Fifor, the Army Chief of Staff and the Chief of Staff of the Air Forces. The Romanian Defence Minister signed a letter of intent on the purchase of attack helicopters, which will be submitted to the US Government. In the coming period, representatives of the Romanian Ministry of the Economy and Bell Helicopter will hold extensive talks on the setting up of a joint venture, but also on the technological and know-how transfer needed for the manufacturing of such helicopters in Romania. The decision to purchase attack helicopters is part of the army spending plan recently endorsed by the Higher Defence Council of Romania.
UNTOLD – The third edition of the Untold electronic music festival, the largest of its kind in the country, started in Cluj Napoca, northwestern Romania, on Thursday. The four-day festival features 200 world-renowned artists. Organisers have announced that this years edition is the result of a 10 million Euro investment. In 2016, the event was attended by some 300,000 people from all over the world, with 150 artists performing. More on this after the news.
SAXONS – On Saturday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis will attend in Sibiu, central Romania, the 27th Transylvanian Saxons Meeting, organised under the motto At home in the world, hearts in Transylvania. Iohannis has stated that this years meeting is an opportunity for the young generation of Saxons living in Germany to get to know Romania better, the country of origin of their parents. The event was organised by the Democratic Forum of Germans in Transylvania and the Association of Saxon Communities in Germany. The participants will be representatives of Saxon communities from Romania, Germany, Austria and the US.
CORRUPTION – An international arrest warrant has been issued for the Romanian businessman Puiu Popoviciu, who was not found at home on the day he was supposed to go to jail for seven years, after a definitive sentence for corruption. On Thursday, the Bucharest Court of Appeal issued a European warrant, since there are indications that he actually left Romania in June, when no restrictions had been imposed on him yet. Puiu Popoviciu was sentenced in a case of corruption involving a 224 hectare land in the north of capital Bucharest.
ASF – The Russian Sanitary-Veterinary Authority has imposed temporary restrictions on imports of live pigs and pork products from Romania, as an outbreak of African swine fever was reported in the north-west of the country on Monday. ASF is an infectious disease of pigs, usually deadly. It does not affect humans nor does it affect other animal species other than pigs and wild boars. According to the Romanian line authorities, the African swine fever has nothing to do with the classical swine fever and Romania maintains its status of country free of classical swine fever, which was reconfirmed in May.
TOURISM – The number of foreign tourists in Romania increased by 10% in the first six months of the year, as compared to the same period last year, according to data made public on Thursday by the National Statistics Institute. Most of the foreign tourists were German, 30%, followed by Israelis and Italians. Between January and July 2017, more than 1.2 million foreigners visited Romania.
IAAF – 15 Romanian Athletes are taking part in the IAAF World Championships, hosted by London between the 4th and the 13th of August. Romanian athletes will take part in the following events: triple jump, long jump, marathon, 20 km march, 50 km march, weight lifting, javelin, 1500 m and 400 m. Athletes from 213 out of the 214 countries members of the International Association of Athletics Federations are taking part in this years edition, with the exception of Russia, which is still suspended for doping. Romanian athletes have so far won 23 medals at the world championships: 5 gold, 8 silver and 10 bronze.
