January 28, 2019

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 28.01.2019, 13:55

FLU – In Romania, 43
people have died from the flu this winter, Romanian authorities have announced.
Some 3 million pupils have resumed school today, after on Friday all classes
were suspended, over flu scare. Education Minister Ecaterina Andronescu has
announced that classes will not be suspended this week, as it is the last in
the first semester of the school year. Authorities will soon decide whether to
declare flu epidemic at national level, given the alarming increase in the
number of cases across the country.

EU COUNCIL – The Romanian Agriculture Minister, Petre Daea,
is attending in Brussels the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, the first
during the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. According to a
communiqué issued by the Ministry, the main topic on the agenda is the Common
Agricultural Policy 2020. ‘The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU aims
to help ensure European convergence and cohesion, with a view to ensuring a
sustainable and fair development for all the citizens of the Member States by
increasing competitiveness and bridging development gaps, the communiqué also
reads.

DATA PRIVACY – The National Supervisory Authority for
Personal Data Processing is organizing in Bucharest today, on the European Data
Privacy Day, the conference titled Ensuring the Observance of the GDPR. The
event is held under the auspices of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of
the EU. The European Data Privacy Day is celebrated on January 28th
by all the countries members of the Council of Europe and celebrates the
adoption in 1981, in Strasbourg, of the Convention for the Protection of
Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data. 43 European
states have joined the international convention, as wells as countries from
other continents. Tiberiu Gandu, the Executive Director of the National
Association of Telecommunications and Internet Providers, has stated that, in
terms of personal data protection, the EU has the strongest regulation in the
world.

BUDGET – Romania’s
consolidated budget at the end of last year registered a deficit of 2.88% of
the GDP, just like in the previous year, according to data published on Monday
by the Finance Ministry. Budget revenues were 17.2% higher than 2017. Budget
spending was 16.8% higher than in 2017, due in particular to staff expenses,
which were 23.7% higher that in the previous year. The 2019 draft budget has
not been presented by the Government yet.

WEATHER – Weather
in Romania is getting warmer, after days of extreme phenomena affecting the
capital Bucharest and 20 counties. According to the latest report, presented
today by the Interior Ministry, some 8,000 fire-fighters, police officers and gendarmes
were deployed across the country to intervene in extreme situations. Some 2,200
trees and 44 electricity poles fell and damaged 360 vehicles. According to a
communiqué issued by the Energy Ministry, there are some 22,000 households still
with no electricity, especially in the south and east of the country. Traffic
has been resumed and is now normal on all motorways and national roads.

MOLDOVA – The
Moldovan branch of Amnesty International has today voiced concern over the high
risk of violation of the electoral law and the international conventions that
the Republic of Moldova is a party to, Radio Chisinau reports. According to an
Amnesty International release, several candidates have reported cases of police
failing to intervene in cases of harassment and aggression perpetrated by alleged
sympathizers of their opponents’ political parties. The announcement has been
made given that parliamentary elections are due in the Republic of Moldova on
February 24th.

TENNIS – The Japanese Naomi Osaka, who has recently
won the Australian Open, is the new number one in the WTA rankings. The
Romanian Simona Halep has stepped down to the third place. Osaka, aged 21, is
the first Asian player to become leader in the tennis professional circuit.
Second in the rankings comes the Check player Petra Kvitova, a finalist in the
Australian Open, with 700 more points that Halep. Romania still has 6 players
in the top 100. In the men’s rankings, the Romanian Marius Copil has gone up to
the 56th position, the best in his career.