November 2, 2013 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 02.11.2013, 19:29
On Saturday in Bucharest, several thousands physicians, pharmacists, dentists, students and nurses held a protest meeting. The medical staff is generally unhappy with the under funding of the health-care system in Romania and has threatened with collective resignations. Their claims include the allocation of 6% of the GDP to health-care, higher salaries for residents and a salary law that takes into consideration the specificity of the health-care system. Unless claims are resolved until November 14th, protesters threaten to start an all out strike.
The Romanian foreign ministry has not authorized any transfers of armament to Syria, to any natural person or civil society organizations. The clarification was made following some information carried by the Swedish press, according to which a former imam of one of the biggest mosques in Sweden, involved in deliveries of armament to Syrian rebels, sent illegally to Syria weapons that allegedly came mainly from Libya, but also from Bosnia and Romania. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has stated that Bucharest observes all UN, EU and OSCE regulations and is willing to cooperate with Sweden to verify this type of information.
On Saturday morning Radio Romania opened again its doors for all those who wanted to visit its studios, the radio drama department, Rador news agency and the concert hall. Yesterday, on the Open Gates Day, over 2 thousand people came to the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, which celebrated 85 years of broadcasting. With three national and nine regional stations, as well as an international channel with ten languages, Radio Romania stands as a mainstay of public radio worldwide.
The Romanian Environment Minister Rovana Plumb is on a formal visit to Israel, where she will meet her counterpart Amir Perez. The two officials will discuss topics such as the management of emergency situations, water management and pollution control. Mrs. Rovana Plumb will also attend an international conference on women’s leadership, organized under the aegis of the UN.
The biggest agriculture fair in south-eastern Europe, Indagra, continues in Romania’s capital Bucharest. The event has brought together over 450 Romanian and foreign companies . Participants have come with the latest technologies for irrigations, farming equipment and green houses. For the firs time the fair has a special section devoted to ecological agriculture.
Romania is participating in the International Film Festival in Saloniki, which opened on Friday with the screening of Jim Jarmusch’s latest production Only lovers left alive. Romanian directors Corneliu Porumboiu and Tudor Cristian Jurgiu are participating in the Balkan Survey section with their latest films, When night falls over Bucharest or Metabolism and The Japanese Dog. 32 films produced in the regions are screened at the festival. The jury is presided by American Alexander Payne.
The North Atlantic Alliance is testing in Poland and the Baltic countries the comand and control capacity of the Rapid Response Force, in the largest integrated military exercise, which brought together ground, air, se and special forces. 20 NATO member and partners countries are participating in the exercise with a total of 6 thousand people, of which 3 thousand military, 350 armoured vehicles, 12 battle ships and a submarine. This is the largest deployment of NATO forces in times of peace.
The UN Secretary General Bank Ki- moon has called for full participation in the local elections due in Kosovo on Sunday. The OSCE will supervise the ballot, organized in keeping with the Brussels agreement regarding the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, concluded in April under the aegis of the European Union. France Presse reports that the main stake of the election is the participation of Serbians who live in the north of the territory, as they have not recognized the Kosovo authorities. As a first, Serbia, a country that hopes to open EU accession negotiations soon, is encouraging their participation in the elections organized by Pristina. Five EU member countries, including Romania, have not recognized Kosovo’s independence.
