May 1, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 01.05.2024, 18:30
Holidays. Roads to tourist destinations are busy as Romanians begin an extended break for Labour Day and Orthodox Easter on Sunday. To ease traffic and prevent accidents, 1,600 traffic police forces have been deployed to oversee busy roads. A total of 25,000 police troops, gendarmes and fire fighters will be on stand-by these days to ensure citizens’ safety. Some 4,000 border police troops are carrying out surveillance and control activities on the state border. Resorts on the Black Sea coast, where the summer season has started, are hosting various events, with thousands of people expected to arrive each day.
Workers’ Day. In 2023, 7.1% of the number of employed people in the European Union worked at least 49 hours a week in their main job, according to data published by Eurostat on International Workers’ Day. The biggest share of employed people working at least 49 hours a week was reported in Greece (11.6%), followed by Cyprus (10.4%) and France (10.1%), while the lowest share of employed people working at least 49 hours a week was recorded in Bulgaria (0.4%), Lithuania and Latvia (each with 1.1%) and Romania (1.8%). More likely to work at least 49 hours are week are workers in agriculture, forestry and fishing, as well as managers. In a statement on International Workers’ Day, the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit said teleworking and the right to disconnect are the next pieces of the puzzle as far as employment in the European Union is concerned.
Fugitives. Almost 300 fugitives convicted in a Romanian court were repatriated since the start of the year, said justice minister Alina Gorghiu. She welcomed the favourable report issued by the Senate on a bill known as “the fugitive pays” and said she was expecting a similar vote from the Chamber of Deputies, as this is a bill that benefits the Romanian state, providing that convicted fugitives will cover the costs of repatriation.
Business. Almost 25,000 companies were dissolved in Romania in the first three months of the year, 40% more compared with the same time in 2023, according to the National Trade Register Office. The largest number of dissolutions were recorded in the city of Bucharest and the counties of Dâmboviţa (south), Timiş (west) and Constanţa (south-east) and in sectors like retail and wholesale trade, car and motorcycle repair, agriculture, forestry and fishing.
People trafficking. The Romanian authorities found two other foreign citizens involved in migrant trafficking after an incident on Tuesday night when two Romanian border police officers were stabbed in a car park on the A1 Timişoara-Arad motorway, in western Romania. The Timişoara border police inspectorate says the two foreign citizens are a man from Afghanistan and a woman from Guinea who were involved in the assault. On Tuesday night, eight foreign citizens from Nepal, Syria and Congo were detained as they were trying to cross the border illegally as well as their guide, a man from Nepal. They were caught by the Romanian police and one of the traffickers wounded the two police officers, who have in the meantime been released from hospital. Searches are still ongoing to find the other persons involved in the incident.
Olympiad. Romanian pupils won one gold medal, four silver and one bronze at the Balkan Mathematical Olympiad held in Varna, in Bulgaria. 22 teams took part in the competition, from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, North Macedonia, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Serbia as member states, as well as from the guest countries Algeria, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, France, Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Great Britain.
Handball. The Romanian men’s handball champions CS Dinamo Bucharest reached the semifinals of the EHF European League after beating the Danish side Skjern Handbold 38-34 on Tuesday evening in an away match in the quarterfinals. Dinamo also won the first leg, held in Bucharest, 28-27. Three German sides also made it to the Final Four, Flensburg-Handewitt, Fuchse Berlin and Rhein Neckar. The EHF European League Final Four tournament will take place on the 25th and 26th May in Hamburg, Germany.
