August 2, 2018

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Newsroom, 02.08.2018, 13:01

VISIT — British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson is today paying an official visit to Romania. He is meeting with his Romanian counterpart, Mihai Fifor. The two will visit Airbase 57 in Mihail Kogalniceanu, southeastern Romania, where they will meet with the flying and technical crews of the four Typhoon fighter jets of the British Air Forces, as well as with the Romanian military personnel at the base. A British military brigade comprising 160 soldiers is in Mihail Kogalniceanu until late August to undergo air policing missions under NATO command. Mihai Fifor and Gavin Williamson previously met in June on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO Defense Ministers hosted by the Alliance’s main headquarters.

SWINE FEVER VIRUS — The owners of the animals slaughtered for being suspected of carrying the African swine fever virus will be compensated in the amount of 2 euros per kilogram, the National Food Safety Authority president Geronimo Branescu has announced. The authorities have called on the population to cooperate in order to prevent the spreading of this virus, for which no vaccine or treatment has yet been found. The number of swine fever holes is nearing 550, of which only 3 were identified in pig farms, while the remaining in local households.

EXTREME HEAT — The Romanian Foreign Ministry has issued several travel warnings for Greece, France, Portugal and Spain, currently affected by extreme weather phenomena. Greece, a popular holiday destination for Romanians, will see heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, hail and strong wind. Central and northern Portugal are today under a code red alert against extreme heat, in place until August 4. Temperatures are expected to hit 42 degrees in southern France until August 5. Meteorologists have also announced highs of up to 46 degrees Celsius in southwestern Spain. In Italy too, the Health Ministry has decreed a code red alert against extreme heat for 18 cities, including Bologna, Brescia, Florence, Milan, Rome and Venice. The wave of heat has also hit northern Europe, with Finland reporting the highest temperatures in the last hundred years.

HOLOCAUST — The “Elie Wiesel” Institute is todaying paying homage to the victims of the Roma genocide during the Holocaust. Over 74 years ago, some 3,000 Roma were exterminated in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. On this occasion, the National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania warns that discrimination and racism are still affecting societies. In 2015 the European Parliament decreed August 2 as the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day.

UNTOLD — The famous electronic music festival Untold kicks off today in Cluj-Napoca, central Romania. Some 350,000 people from Romania and another 75 countries are expected to attend the festival until August 5. This year organizers have set up 10 stages to host the 250 artists who will perform live, including The Chainsmokers, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Tujamo and Afrojack. Authorities say they have taken all measures in order to make Untold the safest festival in Europe. Over 1,100 gendarmes, police officers, firefighters and medical staff will ensure public safety and provide emergency care. Scores of video surveillance cameras have been set up around the stages.

FOOTBALL — Romanian champions CFR Cluj have been ousted from Champions League after drawing 1-all against Swedish side Malmo FF in the return leg of the second preliminary round. In the first leg CFR had lost nil-1. Romania’s champions will now play in the third preliminary round of Europa League, where they are expected to play either Sutjeska Niksic of Montenegro or Alashkert of Armenia. Also in Europa League, Romania’s vice-champions FCSB are today taking on NK Rudar Velenje of Slovenia in the second leg of the second preliminary round. In the first leg FCSB had won 2-nil. In the same phase of the competition, Viitorul Constanta is playing Vitesse Arnhem of the Netherlands. The first leg ended 2-all. Romanian Cup winners CSU Craiova will compete directly in the third round.

(Translated by V. Palcu)