March 24, 2018
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 24.03.2018, 14:03
PROTEST Trade unions from Romania’s police and penitentiary system have taken to the streets of Bucharest to protest the working conditions and low pay. Romanian policemen and prison staffers are denouncing the stalled social dialogue and the authorities’ lack of interest in the issues currently facing the system. Low salaries, an underfunded Interior Ministry, poor logistics, a delayed adoption of the policeman’s statute, the shortage of personnel and the lack of a real protection for policemen are only a few of the issues mentioned by the protesters.
DST On Saturday night Romanians will be adjusting their clocks forward one hour in observance of Daylight Saving Time. So, three o’clock becomes four o’clock with a three hour GMT difference. March 25th will have only 23 hours in Romania as part of an event, which also involves all EU countries. DST, or Summer time as it is also known, is being observed between the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. First implemented by Germany in 1916, DST was introduced in Romania in 1932 in order to make the most of the evening daylight.
EARTH HOUR Several cities across Romania have this year announced their participation in Earth Hour, a worldwide event annually encouraging individuals, communities and businesses to switch off non-essential electric lights for one hour in the last Saturday of March. Numerous public and private institutions from all over Romania are participating annually in this event, which is believed to be the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment in history. In Romania, a country, which has been observing Earth Hour since 2009, various events have been staged in order to raise environmental awareness among the people. Earth Hour was first staged by World Wide Fund in Sydney, Australia on March 31st 2007.
FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side today takes on Israel in an away friendly. The Romanians’ goal is to obtain after more than 20 years a win against the selection of Israel. On Tuesday, Romania will be up against Sweden, which is currently ranking 19th in the FIFA standings. Romania comes 36th while Israel occupies the 94th position. We recall that Romania failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia this year, which has the selection of Sweden among the participants.
TENNIS Romanian tennis players Simona Halep, the world’s number one, and Monica Niculescu today are playing in the third round of the Miami tennis tournament with roughly 8 million dollars in prize money. Halep takes on Agnieszka Radwanska (WTA 32nd) while Niculescu plays 13th-seeded Sloane Stephens of the USA. Also today in the second round of the men’s competition, Marius Copil of Romania plays Karen Hacianov of Russia.
translated by bill
