Romania Wins Ten Medals At 2016 Tuymaada International Olympiad In Russia
Romanian students won ten awards (two gold medals, five silver medals, two bronze medals and one mention) at the 23rd multidisciplinary Tuymaada International Olympiad organized in Yakutsk, the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, between July 15 and 23.
The students won medals in all four sections of the competition, namely Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science and Physics, according to a statement of the Romanian Education Ministry.
Anamaria Leonescu and Cristian Tudor Cozma won silver in the Chemistry section, while Daniel Cristian Ungureanu won bronze. Lenca-Iarina Cuturela won gold in the Math section, while Andrei Ghigheci won silver. Costin Andrei Oncescu won gold in the Computer Science section, Alexandru Petrescu won silver and Laura Ioana Georgescu won mention. Petru Cotrut (clasa a X-a) won silver in the Physics section, while Anca Dragulescu won bronze.
Over 150 students from six countries took part in the competition. (Adevarul)
Number Of High School Graduates Halved In Just Eight Years
The number of students graduating from high school in Romania halved in just eight years.
Figures provided by Romania’s leading universities ahead of university entrance exams reveal a worrying aspect: fewer and fewer teenagers are willing to become doctors, and most of them want to become police officers.
The serious problems in the Romanian healthcare system, corroborated with the poor results at the high school graduation exam and with doctors’ low wages keep students away from medical schools. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Romania And Bulgaria Speed Up Construction Of Natural Gas Pipeline Under Danube
Romanian and Bulgarian authorities are speeding up construction works on a natural gas pipeline under the Danube river, being pressured by the European Commission which started an investigation at Romanian companies in the natural gas sector.
Romanian Energy Minister, Victor Grigorescu, and his Bulgarian counterpart, Temenuzhka Petkova, said the construction of the gas pipeline would be completed this autumn.
The pipeline has a length of 25 kilometres, of which 2.1 km under the Danube and its annual maximum capacity will be 1.5 billion cubic metres. (Evenimentul Zilei)
Fitch Ratings Downgrades Romania’s Long-Term Local Currency (LTLC) IDR to ‘BBB-‘
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Romania’s Long-Term Local Currency (LTLC) IDR to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BBB’ and affirmed the Long-term Foreign Currency (LTFC) IDR at ‘BBB-‘. However, the Outlooks are stable, the rating agency announced in a press release.
The issue ratings on Romania’s senior unsecured foreign currency bonds have been affirmed at ‘BBB-‘. Romania’s senior local currency bonds have been downgraded to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BBB’. The country ceiling has been affirmed at ‘BBB+’ and Short-term Foreign Currency (STFC) IDR at ‘F3′. Fitch has assigned a new Short-term Local Currency (STLC) IDR rating of ‘F3′. The assignment of a STLC IDR of ‘F3′ to Romania is consistent with Fitch’s approach to assigning ST ratings by using its LT/ST Rating Correspondence table to map the STLC IDR from the LTLC rating scale.
Romania’s ‘BBB-‘ LTFC IDR balances a favourable economic growth outlook, against fiscal risks from increased pro-cyclical fiscal policy and upcoming elections in November this year. In addition, a larger net external debtor position than the ‘BBB’ median and structural weaknesses in the economy remain constraints on the rating. Fitch’s 2016 and 2017 fiscal deficit forecasts, at 3% and 2.9% of GDP, respectively, remain unchanged from six months ago.
However, Fitch continues to highlight the negative pressures on medium-term fiscal sustainability as a result of sizeable tax cuts under the Fiscal Code. In the rating agency’s view, the vulnerability of public finances is also heightened in light of the current electoral cycle, which in H1 of 2016 saw the approval of several populist measures, including a new public wage bill due to come into effect August 2016 increasing government spending, as well as a legislative initiative promoted by parliament for further social security contribution cuts. (Puterea)
President Iohannis Voices Out Stand On Public Health
Romanian President said individual health cannot be separated from a healthy environment, adding there currently are threats to public health.
“Individual health cannot be separated from a healthy environment. Recent examples are suggestive. From Zika virus infections to diseases caused by uncontrolled food, we are facing ever more challenges to public health,” Iohannis told a debate entitled ‘Dialogue on health and environmental policies in Romania,’ held last Friday.
“If we want a healthier population, if we want more safety in terms of public health, and if we want a wealthy society, there is only one answer: health in all policies. This involves an integrated and multidisciplinary approach, which is no longer related only to the health of individuals and of the population, but also to the health of the ecosystem,” Iohannis also said. (Puterea)