August 20, 2022

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 20.08.2022, 13:55

Inflation — In Romania, the annual inflation rate will have minor fluctuations until the end of September and then it will take a downward path for 3 quarters, according to the National Bank of Romania – BNR. It expects the inflation rate to reach 13.9% in December. On the other hand, the BNR warns that the forecasts regarding the economic activity for next year are significantly revised downwards. According to the Central Bank, next year Romania will experience a significant drop in private consumption, under the influence of the gradual increase in interest rates on the population’s loans and deposits. The government has recently adopted the first budget rectification of 2022, a positive one, which takes into account an economic growth of 3.5%, the budget revenues for the first six months and the budget execution during this period. The Finance Minister, Adrian Caciu, claims that the budget deficit can be kept under control and that the target of 5.84% for the end of the year is achievable. The Fiscal Council, an independent body that analyzes the sustainability of fiscal and budgetary policies, warned that the rectification could lead to a figure exceeding the target deficit of 7% of GDP, because the government allegedly overestimated the receipts and underestimated part of the expenses.

Fires – This years fires affected 150,000 hectares in Romania, i.e. ten times more than the average for the period 2006 – 2021, the former head of the Environmental Guard Octavian Berceanu has warned. He drew attention, in a Facebook post, to the fact that the ash resulting from the fires risks affecting the inhabitants of the cities, given the lack of protective curtains and green belts of the localities. There have been 715 fires in Romania this year, in the context of a previous multi-year average of 49. The biggest number of fires this year (266 in one week) occurred at the end of March, when more than 61,000 hectares were affected. Romania, with 0.63% of the countrys area affected by fires, ranks second in Europe, after Portugal (0.95%), and Spain and Croatia (0.56%).

Marathon – 250 runners from ten countries have registered for the most difficult ultra-marathon in Romania, 2X2 Race, which will take place today, at Bâlea Lac, in the Făgăraş Mountains, at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters. The race is one of the most difficult mountain ultra-marathons in the world. The 2X2 Race takes place entirely at over 2,000 m, which makes it unique in Europe and one of the few in the world. This year, runners from Romania, Moldova, Hungary, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France, Israel and Russia have entered the competition. The competitors will run on some of the most technical routes in the Carpathians, reaching the second highest peak in Romania, Negoiu (2,535 m). Such competitions take place on rugged terrain, from dirt paths through forests and alpine plains, to ridges and cliffs.

Customs — At least 346 thousand people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with over 86 thousand means of transport, crossed Romania’s border points on Friday, the Border Police informed. Almost 142 thousand people, of whom 12,500 Ukrainian citizens (down by 0.6% as compared to the previous day) entered Romania. Thus, as of February 10 (the pre-conflict period), until July 15, at national level, more than 2 million Ukrainians entered Romania. Control at the border crossing points upon entering Romania is being carried out promptly, in accordance with the provisions of the national and community legislation, with the Border Police working at the maximum capacity, as allowed by the infrastructure of the border-crossing points.

Rushdie — Hundreds of people gathered in New York on Friday to express their solidarity with the writer Salman Rushdie, who survived an assassination attempt a week ago. Fellow writers read excerpts from his works on the front steps of the Manhattan Public Library. Passages from his controversial novel “The Satanic Verses”, considered by some Muslims as a blasphemy, were also read. The novel was banned in India, was burned at some demonstrations in the United Kingdom, and caused violent riots in Pakistan. On August 12, Salman Rushdie was going to speak at a conference in New York when a young man went on stage and stabbed him several times, in the neck and abdomen. Arrested immediately after the incident, the attacker, a 24-year-old American of Lebanese origin, pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder and assault charges in a first court appearance. Born in India in 1947, Salman Rushdie lived in New York for twenty years, becoming an American citizen in 2016. In 1989, Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, a decree requiring all good Muslims to kill Rushdie or help with his and his publishers’ assassination.

Ukraine — The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the restoration of full security at the Zaporozhe nuclear power plant – under the control of Russian forces – may begin with the international mission, warning that if the Russian blackmail with radiation continues, this summer could go down in the history of various European countries as one of the most tragic. The Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed with inspectors from the International Energy Agency visiting the plant, still operated by Ukrainian personnel. It remains close to the front line and has been hit by shells several times in recent weeks, raising fears of a nuclear disaster. Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the bombings in and around the nuclear reactor complex in the south. On the ground, Kyiv reports that, on Friday, the Ukrainian air forces struck several times the positions of the Russian occupiers in the south of the country. At the same time, the city of Nikopol (south) was bombed by the Russians this morning. Explosions were also heard in Yevpatoria, a city in Crimea, and also in Dnipro (center). Meanwhile, Cyprus and Greece are rallying behind Germany to oppose blocking visas for the Russian tourists who want to visit the EU, rejecting Ukraines call for such a ban. At the same time, the mayors of Marseille, Lyon, Athens, Florence, Helsinki, Oslo, Riga and Tirana signed, on Friday, in Kyiv, an agreement protocol for the sustainable reconstruction of Ukrainian cities. (LS)