October 28, 2018 UPDATE

A 5.8 earthquake shook Romania on Sunday / European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu will be paying an official visit to Romania

Newsroom, 28.10.2018, 18:15

EARTHQUAKE – A 5.8
Richter scale earthquake shook Romania on Sunday morning, without producing any
victims or material damages. The impact reached as far as Moldova, Ukraine and
Bulgaria. According to the scientific director of the National Institute for
Earth Physics, Mircea Radulian, the earthquake was a normal phenomenon for
Vrancea region. We recall the last major earthquake was reported in Romania on
November 22, 2014 and measured 5.7 degrees on the Richter scale. Two weeks ago,
Romania hosted the biggest earthquake drill in an EU state in the last 14
years. The most devastating earthquakes were those in 1940 and 1977, both killing
over 2,500 people and injuring another 15,300.

DST – Romania on Sunday reverted to winter time as per daylight
saving time. Clocks were shifted back, making Sunday night the longest of the
year. According to a European survey, 84% of respondents want to keep the
standard summer time, claiming the time shift is causing fatigue, haziness,
insomnia, focus issues and energy drain. According to the European Commission,
member states can decide on their own which time frame they should observe,
provided they report their choice by the end of April 2019. Should the
Commission’s timetable be observed, the March 31, 2019 time shift will be the
last one to be compulsory.

ATTACK – US flags were
flown on Sunday at half-mast all over the country after a synagogue shooting on
Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which left 11 dead. The perpetrator
shouted All Jews must die before opening fire on the crowd. The attacker was
indicted on 29 criminal counts, including anti-Semitic crimes and risks the
death penalty, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said. According to the
BBC, this was the bloodiest attack targeting the Jewish community in the US.
President Donald Trump has labeled it a wicked act of mass murder. Pope Francis said the attack was
an inhumane act of violence.Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed horror at the attack, while Germany’s
Chancellor Angela Merkel called for increasing efforts to combat anti-Semitic
acts of violence worldwide.

SURVEY – Over 37% of Romanians want closer
relations with the USA, while 11% say Romania should strengthen relations with
France, according to the findings of a recent survey conducted by the Avangarde
Group of Social and Behavioral Studies released on Sunday. 59% of respondents say
the anti-ballistic missile shield in Deveselu is a good thing, while 20% say
it’s a bad thing. 33% say that, military-wise, NATO should increase the number
of troops in Romania, 53% say it should stay the same, while 14% want NATO to
deploy fewer troops to Romania. Asked if the US should remain Romania’s
strategic partner, 74% of Romanians said yes, 26% said no. The survey also
reveals that most Romanians believe the next US ambassador to Romania should
continue to support the fight against corruption started by the National
Anticorruption Directorate. The study was conducted over October 17-20 over a
sample population of some 800 people and an error margin of 3.2%.

VISIT – EU Commissioner for Regional Policy
Corina Cretu on Monday and Tuesday is paying an official visit to Romania. Her
agenda includes meetings with high-ranking Bucharest officials and talks over
the future of the European cohesion policy. The EU official says the cohesion
policy guarantees the quality of life for EU citizens, the effects of which are
also transparent in Romania. Corina Cretu says that Romania has been allotted
over 45 billion euros for its own development since it joined the EU in 2007.

NEGOTIATIONS – Trade unions representing the public
subway service, Metrorex, will resume negotiations over the collective
employment agreement on Monday. The previous agreement expired on Saturday and
Friday’s talks produced no results. Unionists want a 42% salary increase and
better working conditions. They threaten to launch an all-out strike starting
November 10. The Metrorex leadership claims such a salary increase is
impossible as it’s exceeding the company budget, also violating certain legal
provisions. Moreover, Metrorex leaders argue, salaries have been increased by
10% every year starting 2015.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Marius Copil on
Sunday lost 7-6, 6-4 to Roger Federer of Switzerland in the Basel tournament
final, totaling some 2 million euros in prize money. This was the first match
pitting the two players and Copil’s third match against a top-10 player, after
ousting Marin Cilic of Croatia in the round of 16 and Alexander Zverev of
Germany in the semi-finals. This was also Copil’s second final in the ATP
circuit, after earlier this year he reached the final match of the ATP
tournament in Sofia. Following Sunday’s result Marius Copil will be ranked 60
in ATP standings.

(Translated
by V. Palcu)