June 20, 2016
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 20.06.2016, 12:00
VISIT President of Germany Joachim Gauck has today started a three-day visit to Romania. High on his talks agenda with the Romanian officials are the bilateral political and economic relations, the upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw as well as the latest developments in Europe. After talks in Bucharest with Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and with presidents of the two Parliament chambers, Gauck will accompany Iohannis to Sibiu, in central Romania for talks with local officials and representatives of the German minority in the region. Founded by Saxon settlers in the 14th century, Sibiu is president Iohannis native city, where he was mayor for 14 years. Gauck and Iohannis are expected to meet up with German and Romanian business people on Wednesday for talks over ways of developing economic relations and investment. Germany is Romanias first trade partner and the third investor in Romanias economy.
DECEASED Romanias former Defence Minister between 1990 –1991, gen. Victor Atanasie Stanculescu died at the age of 88 yesterday. He was a key-player of the Romanian anti-communist uprising of 1989, when as a deputy of the then Minister of Defence, was sent to stifle the street protests in Timisoara, western Romania. After dictator Ceausescu and his wife had fled, general Stanculescu ordered the troops to return to their barracks and stop shooting at protesters. However, for the role he played in repressing the revolts in Timisoara, the Supreme Court had Stanculescu condemned to 15 years in prison in 2008. He did five years in prison before being released on medical grounds.
HOLIDAYS Romanians like to travel a lot and make use of their mobile devices to plan and book holiday tickets. According to a survey by an online travel agency, some of the the Romanians have paid up to 1,500 euros for a holiday. London was the top tourist destination of mobile device users last year. Women also prefer holidays in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and Athens, while Athens comes next in the mens preferences followed by Berlin, Rome and Amsterdam. The average age of those booking holiday tickets via mobile devices is 34 years.
WEATHER Bad weather wreaks havoc on Romania. In the centre of the country a two-year-old girl died when a tree broken by storm smashed into the family car. Gale force winds have destroyed hundreds of roofs, including of two churches, as well as many electricity poles, leaving over 10 thousand households without electricity. Thunders killed a man and wounded another in the west of the country. Meteorologists have issued a code yellow alert for bad weather in 12 counties in the north, northwest, centre, west and southwest, valid until Tuesday. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos will be hosting a videoconference tomorrow with the prefects in the affected areas to discuss measures to reduce the effects of the bad weather. The weather remains unsettled for this period, with showers, thunderstorms, gale-force winds and even hailstorms in some places. The countrys south and centre have been plagued by hot weather, where the discomfort index remains above 80. Highs are ranging between 29 and 35 degrees Celsius with a noon reading in Bucharest of 27 degrees.
FOOTBALL Romanias national football side last night blew their chances to qualify for the round of 16 of the European Championships in France after conceding a one-nil defeat to Albania. With only one point Romania ended on the last position in Group A. We recall that Romania was outperformed by France two-one in the tournaments first game, ending in a one-all draw their match against Switzerland. Also last night, the game pitching France against Switzerland ended in a goaless draw. The two sides have qualified for the competitions next stage, while Albania has only theoretical chances. Romanias last participation in a European Football Championship was in 2008, when our side was also eliminated in the groups stage.
AWARDS
Two Radio Romania productions have been awarded prizes
at the New York Festivals World’s Best Radio Programmes 2016. These are two
productions by the National Radio Drama, namely Elise Wilk’s ‘Green Cat’, which
reaped silver and ‘Over the Rainbow’, which got bronze in the Best Drama
Special Section. Radio productions from 30 countries were vying for a place in
the contest, whose jury has selected 296 finalists. Since 1982 New York
Festivals has been awarding the best productions by radio channels, networks
and independent producers from all over the world.
