August 25, 2015
For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.
Newsroom, 25.08.2015, 12:00
STOCK MARKETS –The worlds stock markets on Tuesday fell sharply as fears of a Chinese economic slowdown continue to hunt investors. The market in Shanghai on Monday shrinked by 8,5%, the biggest drop in the last eight years, despite the authorities attempts to re-launch exports and economic operations and thus dispel investors concerns. Meanwhile the Euro on Monday hit its record-high value this year, exceeding the 1,17 threshold against the US dollar. The price for oil also dropped below the 40-dollar mark for the first time in the last six and a half years.
STRIKE – Air traffic controllers announced they would go on an all-out strike starting September 1 because the companys board did not respect any of the agreements previously agreed upon. Only a third of daily flights will be monitored during the strike. On July 15, air traffic controllers called a two-hour strike, unprecedented for Romania. Air Traffic Administration (ROMATSA) employees are unhappy with the collective employment agreement. The ROMATSA board said the protests and threats were ungrounded, given that 12 of the total 14 demands put forward so far have been resolved. ROMATSA currently employs 1,500 people, monitoring up to 3,000 flights transiting Romania every day.
MOLDOVA – Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Thursday will visit the Republic of Moldova to mark Independence Day. Joined by a delegation of Cabinet members, Ponta will meet with his Moldovan counterpart Valeriu Strelet, sworn in last month at the helm of a pro-Western Government, with President Nicolae Timofti and with Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu.
VISIT – Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Nicolae Ciuca is as of today paying a two-day visit to Germany, responding to the invitation extended by his German counterpart Volker Wieker. According to the Romanian Defence Ministry, todays agenda includes visits to several military units. General Ciuca will present floral tributes to the Bundeswhr Memorial, a monument built in Berlin in 1955, bearing testimony of the German Armys sacrifice to safeguard fundamental liberties and peace.
TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Irina Begu, ranked 28th in WTA standings, will play Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the round of last 16 of the New Haven tournament in the US, totalling 690 thousand dollars in prize money. This will not be the first encounter with WTA sixth-ranked Safarova, who is seeded fourth in the competition and who played the Roland Garros final this year. Last year in Moscow Irina Begu knocked out Safarova in the semi-finals. Simona Halep decided to withdraw from the New Haven tournament due to a left thigh injury. Halep last Sunday lost the Cincinnati final to the worlds no. 1 player Serena Williams of the United States.
AGRICULTURE – The Agriculture Committee of the Chamber of Deputies is convening today to discuss the effects of the prolonged drought this season. Attending will be Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin and representatives of farmers associations. Farmers demand compensations to avoid bankruptcy after a severe drought this season, which brought them losses worth 2 billion euros.
BACCALAUREATE – The autumn session of the Romanian Baccalaureate exam continued on Tuesday with the mother tongue test for high school graduates who have studied in their mother tongue. The results will be made public on August 31 and students may contest them on the same day. The final results will be revealed on September 3. Some 55,000 students have enrolled in the autumn session of the Romanian Baccalaureate.
