October 15, 2014
A look at the main headlines in Romania.
România Internațional, 15.10.2014, 00:00
According to an INSCOP poll commissioned by the paper Adevarul and conducted over October 2nd-8th, 59 per cent of Romanians said they would go the polls in the first round of the presidential election due on November 2nd. Over 40 per cent of the respondents who will go to the polls said they would vote for the leader of the Social-Democratic Party and candidate of the ruling Alliance made up of the Social-Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Conservative Party, Prime Minister, Victor Ponta and 30 per cent would vote for the mayor of Sibiu, Klaus Johannis, the leader of the National Liberal Party and candidate of the Christian-Liberal Alliance in opposition. Elena Udrea, leader and candidate of the People’s Movement Party in the pro-presidential opposition ranks third with nearly 7 per cent, being followed by the president of the Senate, former Liberal Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu with 6 per cent. In the runoff, Victor Ponta would win the presidential election with 53.5 per cent of the votes, while Klaus Johannis would get 46.5 per cent of the votes. The poll was carried out on 1,095 people with a maximum error of plus, minus 3 per cent.
20 people who have returned to Romania from West African countries hit by the Ebola epidemic are being monitored by the medical authorities for 21 days, according to international procedures, so that a possible contamination may be detected. The medical staff and the staff at the border customs, on airports and in the Black Sea Port of Constanta have been trained to be protected if they get in touch with a person suspected of suffering from Ebola. The Brussels meeting of EU health ministers on Thursday will focus on the strengthening of airport control in case of passengers coming from West African states. According to the World Health Organization, since the beginning of the year, Ebola has killed more than 4,400 people, mostly in West African states, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea being the countries that are most affected by the epidemic.
In Brussels, the president designate of the European Commission, Jean Claude Juncker continues his efforts to complete his team before the final voting of the European Parliament. Today, Juncker is calling on the member states to accept Violeta Bulc, currently Slovene minister of development as a member of his team, after the first nominee, Alenka Bratusek was rejected by the Euro MPs. Designated as commissioner for regional policy, Romania’s nominee, Corina Cretu has been accepted by the specialized Commission of the European Parliament. The European Commission is to start its new term in office on November 1st.
The US-led coalition has intensified its attacks against the troops of the Islamic State in Kobani, a Syrian town at the border with Turkey, but the Kurds defending the town said that the Islamists’ offensive continued. In another development, Turkish fighter planes have bombarded positions of the Worker’s Party of Kurdistan, which Ankara argues, is in retaliation to an attack mounted by that Party’s militants. For tens of years, the Worker’s Party of Kurdistan had waged a guerrilla war against Turkey, but two years ago, it accepted a ceasefire to carry on negotiations with Ankara. The party leader warned that if a massacre was allowed in Kobani, the peace talks would be compromised. In Iraq, the Islamic State fighters have bombarded Shiite civilians in Baghdad and have continued their offensive in the Western Al-Anbar province.
The authorities in Kiev said that pro-Russian separatists had launched more attacks against the Eastern Ukrainian positions. Attacks have also been reported in the Donetsk airport area, where rebels are trying to storm that strategic target. In another development, the Ukrainian authorities have confirmed the start of the Russian troops’ withdrawal from the common border, a measure recently announced by Russian president Vladimir Putin. In Tuesday’s phone talk, the Russian president and Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko discussed possible measures for the peaceful settlement of the situation in South-Eastern Ukraine. The two presidents also agreed on an agenda and format of a meeting they will have during the ASEM Summit in Milan.
On Tuesday night, the Romanian national football side defeated 2-0 the Finnish side in Group F of the qualifiers for the European Championship due in 2016. The Romanian team have so far defeated Greece 1-0 away from home and ended in a 1-draw their match against Hungary in Bucharest. Also in Group F, Northern Ireland beat Greece 2-0 and Hungary defeated the Faeroe Islands 1-0. Northern Ireland ranks first with nine points and Romania ranks second with seven points.
