November 2, 2013
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 02.11.2013, 13:33
Several thousands physicians and medical students from Bucharest and other parts of the country have gathered in the capital today, to attend a silent march of protest. They are unhappy with the under funding of the Romanian health-care sector and have threatened with collective resignation. Protesters demand 6% of the GDP for the health-care sector, double salaries for resident doctors and a salary law to take into consideration the specificity of the sector. Physicians’ Association has decided to support trade union’s decision to resort to an all out strike if doctor’s claims, which authorities have been aware of for over two years now, are not met.
The Romanian foreign ministry has not authorized any transfers of armament to Syria, to any natural person or civil society organizations. The clarification was made following some information carried by the Swedish press, according to which a former imam of one of the biggest mosques in Sweden, involved in deliveries of armament to Syrian rebels, sent illegally to Syria weapons that allegedly came mainly from Libya, but also from Bosnia and Romania. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has stated that Bucharest observes all UN, EU and OSCE regulations and is willing to cooperate with Sweden to verify this type of information.
This morning, Radio Romania opened again its doors for all those who wanted to visit its studios, the radio drama department, Rador news agency and the concert hall. Yesterday, on the Open Gates Day, over 2 thousand people came to the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, which celebrated 85 years of broadcasting. With three national and nine regional stations, as well as an international channel with ten languages, Radio Romania stands as a mainstay of public radio worldwide.
On Sunday evening, the Italian singer Toto Cutugno will give his Romanian fans a grandiose show, made up of two parts. In the first part he will sing alongside his band, made up of seven musicians, and in the second part he will performed accompanied by the Bucharest Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Al Bano, another well known Italian musician. Toto Cutugno performed for the firs time in Romania in 1993, at the Golden Stag international pop music festival.
The Romanian Environment Minister Rovana Plumb is on a formal visit to Israel, where she will meet her counterpart Amir Perez. The two officials will discuss topics such as the management of emergency situations, water management and pollution control. Mrs. Rovana Plumb will also attend an international conference on women’s leadership, organized under the aegis of the UN.
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep is this evening playing in the semis of the tournament in Sofia, against the Serbian Ana Ivanovici. The tournament hosted by neighboring Bulgaria is the one that ends the WTA season, and has 750 thousand dollars in prize money. Halep, who is the tournament’s favorite, ranks 14th in the world standings and has won 5 WTA tournaments in 2013.