August 6, 2015 UPDATE
A roundup of news from Romania
România Internațional, 06.08.2015, 12:15
The governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, on Thursday warned the authorities once again on the economic imbalances that could be created by further fiscal relaxation measures. He said that for a sustainable economic growth, problems related to productivity and jobs should first be solved. On Tuesday governor Isarescu had pointed out that he was not opposed to fiscal relaxation or to the new Fiscal Code, but that he was concerned with the simultaneous application of several measures that could have a significant impact on the budget. Risks also come from the exterior, given the extended uncertainty related to Greece and the economic developments in China, Mugur Isarescu also added. Also on Tuesday the head of the IMF mission to Romania, Andrea Schächter and the IMF resident representative Guillermo Tolosa recommended to the Romanian authorities to be moderate in applying the fiscal relaxation measures provided for in the new Fiscal Code and to revise the expenditure plan.
A great part of Romania’s territory will be under yellow code alert for scorching heat as of Friday. The highs will range from 28 to 37 degrees C. Due to the prolonged drought the level of the Danube will remain low and traffic on the river is difficult. According to experts the situation on the Danube river in the affected areas will remain the same in the coming days.
The US Senate has approved the appointment of Hans Klemm as ambassador to Romania, shows the site of the American Congress quoted by news agencies. Romania is a friend and a strategic partner of the USA- said Klemm before the members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He pledged to consolidate bilateral relations and support anticorruption efforts. The previous ambassador to Bucharest was Mark Gitenstein, who ended his mandate in December 2012, after which interim ambassadors headed the US diplomatic mission.
A new stage in the multinational Black Sea Rotational Force exercise started on Thursday at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in Constanta county, southeastern Romania, for the next six months. Black Sea Rotational Force is an annual military exercise led by the US Navy Command in Europe and Africa held in the Black Sea, the Balkans and the Caucasus. Its goal is to raise the interoperability level among troops, training military personnel with a view to participating in peacekeeping missions and counter-insurgency operations. Between February and August 2015, 9 multinational exercises and 45 bilateral operations have been staged in 16 countries of the US European Command.
Romania’s football team climbed one position as compared to last month being now ranked 7th with 1,166 points in the FIFA classification made public on Thursday. This is the best position of the Romanian eleven in the FIFA classification of the past 17 years and 8 months, shows the Romanian Football Federation. The previous time when the Romanian football team was placed 7th in the FIFA ranking was in December 1997. Romania’s adversaries in the preliminaries of the 2016 European Championship are ranked on inferior positions: Hungary is ranked 35th, Northern Ireland 40th, Greece 44th, the Faroe Islands 75th and Finland 89th. With 4 victories and 2 draws in 6 matches the Romanian team is the leader of Group F of the preliminaries, with 14 points, being followed by Northern Ireland with 13 points and Hungary with 11 points. The group matches will be resumed in autumn when Romania will meet Hungary and the Faroe Islands in away matches and Finland and Greece on home turf. The last time Romania participated in a European final tournament was in 2008.
Orthodox and Catholic believers marked Thursday the Transfiguration of Jesus. On Mount Tabor, where Jesus and three of his apostles Peter, James and John went to pray, Jesus began to shine with bright rays of light. Christian theology interprets the Transfiguration as a further revelation of the identity of Jesus as the Son of God to some of his disciples. Besides its religious significance the Transfiguration has been assimilated by the people with a change in the weather- leaves start to dry, water becomes colder and migratory birds start preparing their departure.
