October 27, 2018 UPDATE

The head of the Canadian Royal Air Force, Alexander Donald Meinzinger, has paid a visit to the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase/ A show inspired by the drama around the fire-ravaged Colectiv nightclub on October 30, 2015, is being performed in Bucharest

Mihai Pelin, 27.10.2018, 18:04

AIR FORCES – The joint training and common missions carried out by the Canadian military dispatched in the area and the Romanian military are unfolding exceptionally well, the head of the Canadian Royal Air Force, general lieutenant Alexander Donald Meinzinger, said on Saturday, soon after he visited the Mihail Kogălniceanu airbase in south-eastern Romania. He met with the head of the Romanian Air Force, general Viorel Pană and with the Canadian unit dispatched at Mihail Kogălniceanu. The 135 strong unit (pilots and technical staff) is carrying out NATO air policing missions, alongside members of the Romanian Air Force. These missions are aimed at developing response and deterrence capabilities, sources with the Romanian Defence Ministry say.

COLECTIV – A show inspired by the drama around the fire-ravaged Colectiv nightclub in 2015 is staged on Saturday and Sunday at the National Dance Centre in Bucharest. Titled “153 seconds, the show starts with the story of a survivor. The project has been coordinated by director Ioana Păun, who has collected testimonies made by the victims and opinions expressed by sociologists and psychologists and then staged a show on resignation and the possibility of making a change. The title “153 seconds comes from the duration of the fire which ripped through Colectiv, taking the lives of 65 people. On Tuesday, October 30, its three years since the tragedy struck the Bucharest-based club. We recall it was followed by massive protests which deplored corruption at the level of the central and local administration and led to the resignation of the Ponta-led cabinet.

EUROPEAN FUNDS – Since joining the EU, back in 2007, Romania has had at its disposal European funds worth over 45 billion Euros to develop the country, says the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Corina Creţu. According to her, the cohesion policy is meant to improve the living standards of the European citizens, and the results are visible in Romania, too. Corina Creţu will pay an official visit to Bucharest next week, when she is due to meet Romanian high ranking officials and to have talks on the future of the European cohesion policy.

POLL – 84% of the Romanians declare themselves patriots with a large number of them saying the disrespect for the national insignia, such as the coat of arms, the flag and the anthem should be punished by imprisonment or administrative fines. The results of the poll conducted by the CURS Polling Institute show 75% of the Romanians say they know personalities and institutions that had a major contribution to the setting up of Greater Romania. Some of the personalities which are mentioned most often include King Ferdinand, the Bratianu family and Marshall Averescu. We recall that this year Bucharest celebrates 100 years since the Great Union of December 1, 1918.

SWINE FEVER – A case of African swine fever was confirmed on Saturday in a household in Vrancea county, eastern Romania, the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority has announced. The area has been isolated, disinfection measures have been taken and the line authorities have set up checking points on the main roads. Over 1,000 African swine fever outbreaks have been confirmed in 15 counties in Romania so far, and no less than 350,000 pigs have been culled. Romania has requested support from the EU to offer damages to the affected farmers.

SUBWAY – The Metrorex trade unionists in Bucharest on Monday will resume negotiations with the management, on the new Collective Labour Agreement which expired on Saturday, October 27. Fridays talks failed to produce results. The unionists are mainly demanding pay rises and better working conditions. They warn to go on an all out strike as from November 10. The Metrorex Management claims a 42% pay rise, as demanded by the unionists, exceeds the limits of the companys budget.

SPORTS – Romanian tennis player Marius Copil (no.93 ATP) on Saturday qualified to the finals of the Basel tennis tournament after winning a surprising victory in the semi-finals against the German Alexander Zverev, second seeded and no.5 ATP, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4. This is the second ATP final in the Romanian players career, after that played in Sofia, earlier this year. Copil will face in the final on Sunday the winner of the match played by first-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland and seven seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia.