July 27, 2019

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 27.07.2019, 14:00

CARACAL SCANDAL – The head of the Romanian Police Ioan Buda was sacked by Interior Minister Nicolae Moga for the way he handled the case of the missing girl in Caracal, southwestern Romania. The Minister explained drastic measures need to be taken in this case. In turn, President Klaus Iohannis called on the Interior Minister and the head of the Special Telecommunications Service to handle the investigation with extreme celerity. The president expects a first official report at Mondays meeting of the countrys Supreme Defense Council. In turn Prime Minister Viorica Dancila called for the resignation of the Olt County Prosecutor General and the head of the Olt County Police Inspectorate. We recall a 66-year old man from Caracal was arrested on Friday after a search at his home revealed human remains and jewelry, allegedly belonging to a 15-year-old girl who went missing on Wednesday. On Thursday the girl called the emergency service three times, giving details as to where she was being detained. The special unit investigating justice-related crimes has also opened an investigation into this matter.

VOTE – Romanians in the Diaspora can register on the online platform www.votstrainatate.ro as of Sunday. The website was created by the Election Authority to get better idea of the number of Romanians living outside the countrys borders, so they may be better informed regarding the voting process ahead of the presidential election due in November. The Ministry of Romanians Worldwide has recently announced over 5 and a half million Romanians have left the country. The total number of Romanians living abroad is ten million, including those in historic regions. Any Romanian who chooses to vote abroad will fill an online form, including his name, personal identification number, the city and state where they want to vote, also attaching a scanned copy of their ID. An additional polling station can be set up upon written request from a minimum 100 citizens from the same area. Any voter who wants to register for postal voting needs to fill an online form, including his name, personal identification number, home address, e-mail address, as well as whether he wants to submit his vote at home or at the diplomatic representation. The voter also needs to attach a scanned copy of his ID and of his stay permit.

AGREEMENT – US President Donald Trump has congratulated British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for obtaining this position, also announcing he is preparing a free trade agreement between the two countries which will be crucial post-Brexit. The White House leader was an overt critic of outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May, for the way she handled Brexit. Donald Trump pointed out that the United States was so far prevented from trading more with Britain due to their relations with the EU, and that two-way trade with the UK can increase five times, France Press reports. Trump and Johnson also tacked the Gulf crisis and Irans seizure of a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, expressing excitement ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit due next month in France.

TOURISTS – Tens of thousands of tourists are spending the weekend on the seacoast, attending concerts, runs, car races or theatre shows. The weeknd started with a concert given by Stefan Banica Jr. and VH2 in Constanta. On Saturday Voltaj, 3 Sud Est, Connect-R and Antonia climbed on stage while on Sunday Cristi Minculescu and the band Celelalte Cuvinte will perform live. The city of Navodari will also host music concerts. Sports lovers are invited to visit Constanta to take part in the Aqua Chellenge, the sea swimming marathon which includes a special race for children. Also on Saturday the The Color Run Love Tour kicked off, with runners wearing white outfits and getting sprayed with a different color for every new kilometer they run. The Ford V Rally Raid was also held in northern Constanta. Also scores of events were held in southern Black Sea Coast, such as theatre plays in Jupiter, Saturn and Mangalia.

MEDAL – Bianca Andreea Costea has won a new gold medal in the swimming competition at the European Youth Olympic Festival hosted by Baku. Costea won the 50-meter freestyle event. So far Romania has won 12 medals in Baku – four gold, five silver and three bronze. A total of 103 athletes are representing Romania in the European Youth Olympic Festival.

HALEP – President Klaus Iohannis signed the decree for decorating tennis player Simona Halep with the Star of Romania National Order in rank of knight. The head of state has conveyed this distinction as a sign of “appreciation and recognition for winning the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, for the outstanding career-long results, for achieving the top position in womens singles as well as for the talent, devotion and professionalism invested in helping Romanian sports achieve international recognition and promoting sport among young people”. The decoration ceremony will be held on Tuesday. Currently in 4th place in WTA standings, Simona Halep was world no. 1 two times between 2017 and 2019. She held onto this position for 64 weeks, becoming the tenth player in the WTA circuit to do so. Apart from Wimbledon she is the winner of another Grand Slam, Roland Garros in 2018.

We are experiencing technical difficulties with one of our shortwave transmitters located in Tiganesti, close to Bucharest. As a result, the DRM broadcast of certain RRI programmes will also be affected. Some of our broadcasts are temporarily being transmitted by our transmitter in Saftica. Radiocom, our national transmitter service, said the faulty equipment will take several weeks to replace. During this time, our listeners are kindly asked to use the second frequency available on our website to listen to RRIs broadcasts.

The following frequencies are being affected

(Translated by V. Palcu)