17 April, 2016

President Klaus Iohannis sends message of condolence to Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe following devastating earthquakes.

Newsroom, 17.04.2016, 13:45

President Klaus Iohannis has sent a message of condolence
to Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, saying his thoughts go to the people
affected by the devastating earthquakes that have hit Japan in recent days. The
foreign ministry has also sent its condolences to the families of the people
killed in the quakes and those who were injured. Tens of people have died and
around 1,000 have been wounded in two earthquakes that struck south Japan and which
damaged buildings and bridges, as well as water and electricity supply
networks. Japanese officials say it is difficult to establish the
magnitude of the disaster because the most affected areas are located in inaccessible
mountain regions. In Ecuador, an earthquake measuring 7.8 degrees on the
Richter scale killed dozens and wounded several hundred.

The International Monetary Fund has revised Romania’s economic growth
forecast for this year from 3.9 up to 4.2%. According to the Fund, with 5%,
Ireland is the only other country in Europe to see a higher economic growth
rate than Romania this year. The International Monetary Fund has warned,
however, that Romania’s growth rate will slow down next year, to 3.6%. Even so,
Romania will see some of the highest growth rates in Europe in 2017.

The Romanian
foreign ministry has welcomed the lifting of labour restrictions for Romanian
and Bulgarian workers in Switzerland as of June 1st. The ministry
says this measure will consolidate political and economic cooperation between
Romania and Switzerland. The Swiss government has said that if the inflow of
Romanian and Bulgarian workers exceeds the average of the last three years by
10%, it may activate a safeguard clause in 2017 or 2018 and impose new
restrictions on its labour market that would remain in place until May 31st
2019.

Every tenth citizen of
the Republic of Moldova also holds a Romanian passport, according to official
figures made public by the National Citizenship Bureau in Bucharest. Starting
in 2002, Romania has granted Romanian citizenship to 385,000 Moldovan
nationals, which accounts for 10% of this country’s population. A few years
ago, the Romanian government implemented a special programme that has made it
easier for Moldovan nationals to receive Romanian citizenship. A former Soviet
state with a majority Romanian speaking population, the Republic of Moldova was
partly created on Romanian eastern territories annexed by the former Soviet
Union in 1940, following an ultimatum. Opinion polls indicate 70% of Romanians
and 20% of Moldovans support the idea of a reunification of the two states.

Pope Francis returned to Rome with 12 Syrian migrants
after visiting the refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday. The
island is one of the first destinations for refugees and migrants trying to
reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean. Thousands of people are currently
stuck on Lesbos. The pope met the refugees together with Patriarch Bartholomew
I of Constantinople and the Archbishop of Athens Ieronymos II. He urged for
more global action to solve the refugee crisis and said his offering shelter to
the 12 refugees is a humanitarian, not political, act.

Romania’s Fed Cup team has been eliminated from the World
Group after losing 1:3 to Germany on Sunday in Cluj Napoca, north-western
Romania. In the final singles match, Romania’s Monica Niculescu lost to Andrea
Petkovic in three sets. Earlier, in the first match of the day, Romania’s best
ranked player, world no. 6 Simona Halep lost to world no. 3 Angelique Kerber in
straight sets. On Saturday, Kerber also defeated Irina Begu, while Halep
defeated Andrea Petkovic.