January 8, 2017

Romania hit by frost/ Extreme low temperatures and snowfalls across Europe/ Golden Globes Awards in Beverly Hills/ US soldiers landed in Wroclaw

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Newsroom, 08.01.2017, 12:00

ROMANIA HIT BY FROST — Weather is Romania is still very cold in most regions. Snow has been reported in most regions of the country. Meteorologists have extended until Sunday night the Code Yellow Alert for snowstorm valid for half of Romania’s counties. In the east, southeast as well as in the mountains the wind speed reached 50-60 kms/h. Also a Code Yellow Alert for frost is in place for the whole country until Monday. Temperatures are expected to drop down to minus 16 degrees C during the day and minus 25 degrees C during the night. The noon reading in Bucharest was minus 12 degrees C. Because of the very low temperatures kindergartens, schools and some universities in Bucharest will be closed as well as in several counties affected by the bad weather. Three persons have been killed by the frost. The heavy snows have left many villages without electricity and have disturbed road, rail and maritime traffic. Many roads have been closed down, tens of trains cancelled and several flights have reported big delays. All ports on the Black Sea are closed because of the strong winds. The board of the Bucharest public transport authority has been dismissed due to their failure to properly manage the situation caused by the heavy snowfalls and blizzard in the capital Bucharest.

COLD WEATHER EUROPE — A wave of cold weather has hit the whole of Europe. Following the very low temperatures reported across the continent at least 20 people have lost their lives in the past 2 days, most of the victims being from Italy and Poland. Immigrant and homeless people are among the victims of the frost. A Romanian man from Messina, Sicily died because of the cold weather. Russia has experienced its coldest Orthodox Christmas in 120 years, temperatures dropping to minus 30 degrees C. Very cold weather has also been reported in Germany, France, Switzerland, Greece and Poland. The Adriatic Coast has also been hit by the wave of cold, the coastal region of Split registering the lowest temperature in the past 50 years. Istanbul was also hit by a snowstorm on Saturday, which disturbed air, maritime and road traffic. Romania’s neighbors have also been affected by the wave of cold weather which was caused by a mass of arctic air coming from Scandinavia.

GOLDEN GLOBES — The Golden Globe Awards will be granted Sunday in Beverly Hills. The musical comedy “La La Land” telling the love story between an aspiring actress and a jazz musician is the big favorite of the competition, followed by “Moonlight”, the story of a gay black youth raised by a drug- addicted mother and “Manchester by the sea”. Awarded by almost 90 journalists with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Golden Globes Awards are not indicative of the best films competing for the Oscar Awards to be granted in February.

NATO — The first 250 American soldiers, part of an armored brigade of the US army, landed on Saturday in Wroclaw, in western Poland, in a move included in the plan to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. The purpose of the mission is to maintain stability in the eastern states of the Alliance, following the annexation of Crimea by Russia and Moscow’s support for the separatists in the east of Ukraine. On Friday the first military equipment, including tanks, reached the German port of Bremerhaven. The equipment will be sent to Romania, Poland and the Baltic States. In July 2016 NATO approved a plan meant to consolidate its military presence in Eastern Europe which includes the deployment of thousands of soldiers in Poland and the Baltic States. An allied multinational structure is to be stationed in Romania. Moreover, NATO has taken over control of the anti-missile defense shield system in Deveselu, in the south of Romania, which includes interception equipment. The move has caused Russia’s discontent. (translation by L. Simion)