April 22, 2017
Emergency alert drill indicates siren signal coverage is below 50% of Romanian territory
Newsroom, 22.04.2017, 13:40
SIREN WARNING DRILL – The outcomes of the alarm drill carried out in Romania this week indicate that the coverage of siren signal is below 50% of the total national territory. According to data provided by the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, hundreds of sirens could not be tested because of breakdowns or of a shortage of siren operators. In the capital city Bucharest, less than a quarter of the sirens were operational during the drill. Under these circumstances, the Inspectorate, jointly with the Communications Ministry, is analysing the option of setting up a complementary citizen information system for disaster situations. Mobile phone texting is one of the options, which will be discussed until mid-May with telecoms operators, said the Communications Minister Augustin Jianu.
EARTH DAY – On April 22nd, every year, International Earth Day is celebrated. This year the event is held under the motto Environmental and climate literacy, launching a 3-year world education campaign, according to a UN resolution. In Bucharest, Earth Day is marked with an open door day at the National Geology Museum. Special activities for children, concerts and street art events are also organised, and in other cities in Romania people are also invited to take part in events, competitions and exhibitions on environmental topics.
MILITARY – Romanian troops from Battalion 307 Marines are taking part, until April 30th, in a multinational exercise in Latvia, called “Summer Shield. Alongside the Romanian troops, over 1,000 military from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the US, Canada, UK, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland are taking part. Air defence, exploration and artillery support exercises will be held, as well as weapons of mass destruction defence, anti-tank defence and military engineering exercises. “Summer Shield has been held in Latvia since 2004. Starting 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, the exercise became part of NATO manoeuvres. As many as 1,300 troops took part in it in 2016.
FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – Thursday nights attack on police forces on Champs-Élysées Boulevard in Paris was the main topic of the last hours of election campaign in France, upsetting the agendas of the candidates and bringing the fight against terrorism back to the forefront of the debate. A poll run after the Champs-Élysées attack finds Emmanuel Macron at the top of voter preferences, with 24.5%, followed by the far-right leader Marine Le Pen, with 23%, and François Fillon and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who share the third place, with 19% each. Over 50,000 police and gendarme are working to ensure safety and order during the presidential election period, PM Bernard Cazeneuve has announced.
TENNIS – Romanias womens tennis team is playing the UK at home, in the playoffs for the Fed Cup World Group II. The games are scheduled for April 22 and 23, in the Black Sea coast resort of Mamaia. Romanias team is made up of Simona Halep (5 WTA), Irina-Camelia Begu (33 WTA), Monica Niculescu (47 WTA) and Sorana Cîrstea (61 WTA). The British team has 2 players in the world top 100: Johanna Konta (10 WTA) and Heather Watson (72 WTA). Romania and Britain have so far played against each other in Fed Cup five times, with Romania winning four of them. Meanwhile, Romanias FED Cup captain, the former world no 1 player Ilie Nastase, has caused a scandal ahead of the play-off tie, through reportedly racist comments about Serena Williams and inappropriate conduct in relation to the British team captain Anne Keothavong. The ITF has begun an investigation.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
