September 15, 2013
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news.
Ştefan Stoica, 15.09.2013, 12:20
Fresh protests were staged on Sunday in Bucharest and other big cities across Romania, against the project of exploiting gold ores in Rosia Montana, by a Canadian company. The protesters claim the project will have a negative impact on the environment. In another move, protests in favour of gold exploitation were held in Rosia Montana. Supporters of the project claim it will create jobs and solve the economic and social problems in the area. The Rosia Montana project has stirred tension within the ruling Social Liberal Union, after the cabinet led by Social-Democrat Victor Ponta has drafted a project which regulates the exploitation. A special parliamentary committee is to analyse this controversial project.
The situation is still worse in the south-eastern Romanian county of Galati, affected by floods and flash floods, caused by torrential rain over the past few days. Approximately 7,000 people have been evacuated and some 1,900 houses in 30 villages and small towns have been flooded. Crops on 1,000 hectares of land have been submerged. The National Public Health Institute has warned the people in the affected areas not to drink water from the flooded fountains, to keep foodstuffs in adequate conditions and to avoid mosquito bites, in an attempt to prevent the spread of catching diseases. The authorities have promised those left stranded by the floods to rebuild their homes and the roads in the area. The floods took 9 lives.
The 2013-2014 school year kick-starts in Romania on Monday, bringing substantial changes for the approximately 3,200,000 pupils in the educational system. In the effort to identify the children’s deficiencies, national tests will be taken by pupils in the second, fourth and sixth forms, and simulation examinations of the baccalaureate will be taken by 11th graders. The most significant change is brought to the method of calculating the high school admission mark. Consequently, the mark obtained at the national test taken in the 8th form will account for 75% of the final admission mark, whereas the average marks obtained by pupils starting with the fifth up to the eighths forms will account for 25% of the final mark.
Romanian foreign minister, Titus Corlatean, has announced he has called on the European Commission to work out a financial support mechanism meant to compensate the losses registered by the Republic of Moldova, following the embargo imposed by Russia on Moldovan wines. Corlatean has reiterated the appeal launched to Romanian companies and citizens to show solidarity by purchasing Moldovan products dăuring this period. As of September the 10th, Russia has banned Moldovan wine imports, evoking the low quality of wines. The measure was taken shortly after Moscow officials said the trade between Russia and Moldova will be affected, once Chishinau gets closer to the EU.
The Syrian regime, which is held responsible by US, for the chemical attack carried out on August the 21st on the outskirts of Damascus, has hailed the Russian-American agreement on eliminating its chemical arsenal. In turn, the Arab League has said the agreement paves the way for a political solution in Syria. The agreement between Russia and the US, negotiated by Russian foreign minister Serghei Lavrov and US Secretary of State, John Kerry, sets a one week deadline for Damascus to come up with a list of chemical weapons in its possession and sets as ultimate goal the elimination of this arsenal by mid 2014. US president Barack Obama has said the US will further work alongside Russia, Great Britain, France and the United Nations to make sure that this process is under check and has warned any infringement of the agreement by the Assad regime will bear consequences.
The winners of the contest “Radio Romania 85”, organised by RRI, Elena Kurbanova and Igor Paskariov from Turkmenistan arrived in Bucharest on Sunday. They will spend a 10 day stay in Romania and will visit three areas which enjoy radio coverage by regional radio stations of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation: Gorj, Timis and Cluj. The guests have made their first stopover in Craiova, where they visited the studios of Radio Oltenia Craiova. From there, accompanied by an RRI team, they will head for the town of Targu Jiu, to continue their travel in the counties of Timis and Cluj. Apart from visits to the regional stations, the guests will take a tour of the tourist attractions in the aforementioned three areas.
