A roundup of domestic and international news
WEATHER - A code orange alert against heavy snowfall, freezing rain and drizzle is in place until Sunday evening targeting areas in the southwest, center and south. Snowfall was reported on Saturday all across the country, with strong wind reportedly drifting the snow in the mountain areas. The highs on Saturday varied between minus 3 and plus 9 degrees Celsius. Saturday's snowfall also affected rail and road traffic.
SUMMIT - The informal summit of EU member states in 2019 will be held in Sibiu on May 9, Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu announced at the Forum in Doha. The meeting will focus on the future of Europe. The EU is working on organizing a conference to deal with the Gulf crisis, Melescanu went on to say. In June 2017 Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the country of supporting Islamic radical terrorism in cooperation with Iran. The 18th Forum in Doha also tackled issues that have to do with the economy, trade, mass-media, human rights and food safety.
UKRAINE - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday announced the creation of the Orthodox Ukrainian Church free from the Moscow Patriarchy, following a decision of the Reunification Council, made up of Ukrainian clergy. The new church will be headed by Bishop Epifany, aged 39, supported by the current leader of the Orthodox Ukrainian church, Filaret. The Council thus implemented the historic decision of the Patriarchy of Constantinople in mid October to recognize the Orthodox independent church of Ukraine, after a period of 332 years under Moscow's religious rule. In the wake of this decision Moscow will sever ties with Constantinople, press agencies write.
HEALTHCARE - The Sanitary Solidarity Federation in Romania on Saturday threatened to launch new protests before launching an all-out strike if the Government passes an emergency decree to freeze salary income at the level of the month of December, with no salary increase provided for employees in the healthcare sector in 2019. Unionists say the healthcare sector is shocked by the effects of disparaging salary increases for different types of medical staff. We recall the authorities have raised the salaries of medical staff to stop the exodus of Romanian doctors abroad.
KOSOVO - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern after the Kosovar Parliament decided to muster an army and has called on all stakeholders to show restraint. An unofficial meeting of the Security Council was held at the request of Serbia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned the decision of the Parliament of Kosovo to create an army, saying NATO will reexamine its level of commitment with the Security Force in Kosovo. The European Union too has criticized the decision. The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest said efforts to initiate the transition process for the Security Force in Kosovo, despite repeated messages from the NATO and the EU, have had negative impact on the situation in the Western Balkans and the Euro-Atlantic integration of countries in this area. According to the Ministry, all efforts must be directed towards continuing a dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, to avoid declarations and initiatives that risk escalating tensions at regional level. We recall Romania has not recognized the independence of this former Serbian province with a majority Albanian population.
AFRICAN SWINE FEVER - A new outbreak of African swine fever was confirmed on Saturday in southern Romania, raising the number of towns and villages affected to 300 in 18 counties. There are over 1,100 outbreaks and over 400 cases reported in wild animals. Some 51 million euros have to be paid in damages to pig farmers.
VISIT - Romanian Minister for the Business Sector, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Stefan Oprea, met the US Secretary of Trade, Wilbur Ross in the United States. Minister Oprea presented Romania's priorities at the helm of the EU Council, which include promoting trans-Atlantic economic and trade relations. Minister Oprea thanked Washington for its constant and transparent support for Romania's efforts to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The two officials also discussed partnership agreements signed between the two countries' industry sectors, as well as cooperation in the energy field. One of the biggest US investments in the energy field is currently in development in Romania.
PARIS - Thousands of "yellow jackets" protested in Paris on Saturday for the fifth consecutive weekend against the increase in the cost of living, France Press reports. Hundreds were arrested. Over 8,000 members of the riot police were deployed in the French capital city, to try to ease public tension. The Eiffel Tower and other museums remain open as well as general stores. The past weeks' protests were marked by acts of violence, with over 1,700 people arrested nationwide last week alone.
PROTESTS - Hungarian opposition parties have urged participants in Friday's antigovernment protest in Budapest to continue protests, Kossuth Radio reports. The crowd of protesters marched for several hours in downtown Budapest, at times clashing with the riot police. For days people are protesting against Parliament's draft law on increasing the number of additional working hours for employees. Dubbed "the slavery law", the project was allegedly designed to favor car manufacturers, protesters say.
HANDBALL - Romania's handball team is playing the Netherlands in Sunday's bronze final at the European Championship underway in France. On Friday, in the semi-finals, Romania lost to Russia while France won against the Netherlands. Romania and the Netherlands previously played in the main group phase, Romania losing the match. Romania has a chance of matching its best performance at the European championships, namely the bronze medal won in 2010. By qualifying to the semi-finals, Romania has secured qualification to the World Cup in Japan next year. We recall team captain Cristina Neagu sustained a serious injury and will be unavailable for the remainder of the season. The goals scored in this year's edition have earned Neagu the title of all-time top scorer at the European Championship.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
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