October 28, 2017

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Newsroom, 28.10.2017, 13:45

SPAIN Romania reiterates its firm support for Spain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, vehemently and irrevocably rejecting Catalonia’s unilateral declaration of independence, the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest says in a communiqué. Spain is Romania’s major ally and strategic partner, the communiqué also says, and the legitimacy of any process or action related to interior order must be according to the fundamental law and the legal order in the certain state. The Romanian Foreign Ministry reiterates Bucharest’s consistent stand in favour of complying with the international law, which rules out any territorial changes without the accord of the state involved. The main Western chancelleries have also voiced support for the authorities in Madrid. We recall that Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has announced the sacking of the regional government, the dismantling of the Catalan Parliament, and that regional elections are to be held on December 21st. The decisions were made on Friday evening, after the Catalan Parliament had voted in favour of a unilateral declaration of independence and the proclamation of the Catalan republic. The operational head of the Catalan police has been sacked today and the region will be administered by Spanish vice-premier Soraya Saenz de Santamaria and controlled by 33 thousand agents, the BBC reports.

DST Romania will tonight adjust clocks backward for Daylight Saving Time. So, 4 o’clock will become 3 o’clock (GMT + 2 hours) while Sunday, October 29th, is to become the year’s longest day with 25 hours. The move is meant to offset the reversed procedure in spring when clocks were adjusted forward in order for the evening daylight to last longer. Romania will again revert to the summer time in the last Sunday of March. Daylight Saving Time is used in over 100 countries and Romania adopted it back in 1932.

COMMEMORATION Hundreds took to the streets of Bucharest on Friday night to participate in a march in memory of the victims of the devastating fire that ripped through nightclub Colectiv in the capital city on October 30th 2015 when 64 people were killed and 100 wounded. Radio Romania is to broadcast a programme inspired from the tragedy, which is symbolically entitled ‘64’. We recall that the club’s owners and representatives of the company that had provided the pyrotechnic devices for the concert hosted by the club have been sent to court for manslaughter and violation of fire safety regulations. The former district mayor has also been sent to court for abuse of office along with employees from the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations for having failed to sanction the club for the absence of a fire safety certificate. We recall the tragedy sparked off large-scale anti-corruption rallies, which forced the Social-Democratic cabinet led by Victor Ponta to step down.

USR The opposition Save Romania Union, the third largest political force in Parliament in Bucharest is electing a new president during the extraordinary congress that is taking place in Poiana Brasov, central Romania. There are two candidates, Vlad Alexandrescu and Dan Barna, MPs and USR vice-presidents. The former USR leader and founding father, Nicusor Dan, has left the group after it decided through an interior referendum to take a stand against a controversial initiative of the Pro-Family Coalition who campaigned for a Constitution amendment, which is to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman. The initiative, which got support from 3 million Romanians, has been contested by NGOs who campaign for human rights in general and the right of sexual minorities in particular.

TENNIS An Israeli pair made up of Dudi Sela and Jonathan Erlich will today be taking up on Romanians Vasile Antonescu and Bogdan Borza in a Davis Cup match for remaining in Europe-Africa group one. The match is hosted by the Israeli city of Ramat Hasharon and the hosts are leading two-one after the first singles held on Friday, when Dragos Dima was defeated by Edan Leshem and Dudi Sela outperformed young Nicolae Frunza. Sunday will see the games pitching Sela against Dima and Leshem against Frunza. If it loses, Romania will be demoted from group one for the first time since 1993.