3 November 2018

A roundup of the main stories in Romania today.

Newsroom, 03.11.2018, 14:12

Reception. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will
be meeting the British prime minister Theresa May on the 14th of November in
London, news agencies cite official sources as saying. On that same day,
Iohannis will attend Prince Charles’ 70th birthday party at the
Buckingham Palace, following an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II.

Visit. The Romanian prime minister Viorica Dancila
today begins a visit to Oman to attend the opening of the Romanian embassy and
the honorary consulate in the sultanate. She will travel next to Qatar. The
talks with high-ranking officials from the region aim to consolidate bilateral
relations, both diplomatic and economic, Dancila said. During her previous tour
of the Middle East last month, she travelled to Turkey, the Arab Emirates and
Kuwait. On Friday, she met her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on the
sidelines of a regional meeting in neighbouring Bulgaria.

Sibiu. The Romanian health minister Sorina Pintea says
the city of Sibiu, in the centre, is not ready in terms of hospital standards
to host the European summit scheduled for next year. She promised that, apart
from the funds already allocated, the city’s emergency hospital will benefit
from additional financial support. 400 officials and more than 1,000
journalists are expected to attend an EU summit in Sibiu on the 9th
of May next year, during Romania’s 6-month presidency of the EU Council and the
first after the official date for Brexit.

Journalists. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said
in a Twitter post that freedom of expression and information are basic values
of democracy. Today we honour the journalists who risk their
lives in the service of truth. Freedom of expression and information are
fundamental values of democracy and we must protect them. We have a
responsibility to hold to account those who commit crimes against the media,
said the president. The UN General Assembly proclaimed 2nd November
the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. The date
was chosen in commemoration of two French journalists who were assassinated in
Mali in 2013.

Earthquake. Bucharest’s mayor Gabriela Firea has
asked the government and parliament to urgently amend the legislation on
buildings at high risk in case of an earthquake so that they could be
consolidated without the signatures of the tenants who are opposed to
evacuation. She says there are almost 350 buildings at high risk in Bucharest,
where 9,000 people live, and that the City Hall has begun to consolidate 96,
which involved the temporary evacuation of 1,000 people. If one owner refuses
to give approval in writing, the building cannot be consolidated, the mayor
also says. A week ago, Romania was shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.8
degrees on the Richter scale, which caused no victims or damages. On 4th
March 1977, an earthquake of 7 degrees on the Richter scale caused the death of
1,570 people, mostly in Bucharest, and caused material damages estimated at the
time at more than 2 billion dollars. 230,000 homes were destroyed or seriously
damaged. The earthquake triggered an economic and social crisis which,
according to historians, the communist regime was unable to overcome until its
collapse in 1989.

Fair. The INDAGRA agricultural fair is under way in
Bucharest. The biggest event of its kind in this country, is brings together
hundreds of producers from 25 countries, including 380 from Romania. The
exhibits include farming equipment and tools, traditional food products,
organic products, seeds, trees, flowers, and food and wine tasting events. 15
years after the death of the local tractor production, the first such vehicle
was presented at the fair. The tractor was entirely designed in Romania and 80%
of its components were made here.

Tennis. The Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau and Jean
Julien Rojer are today playing the doubles semifinal at the ATP World Tour
Masters in Paris against the all-American pair Mike Bryan and Jack Sock.
In the quarterfinals on Friday, Rojer and Tecau defeated Raven Klaasen from
South Africa and Michael Venus from New Zealand in straight sets. They thus
qualified for the second time in the semifinals of a Masters 1000 tournament
this season, in which the Romanian player has been plagued by injury.

World Cup. Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia are considering a
possible joint application to hold the World Cup in 2030, said the Bulgarian
prime minister Boiko Borisov after talks with his counterparts from Romania and
Greece and the president of Serbia. The countries in this region never hosted a
World Cup. Only the former Yugoslavia, which was dismantled in 1991, hosted the
European championships in 1976. Romania will host four matches as part of the
2020 European Championships on its National Arena stadium in Bucharest.