Infinite Unknown

- Emergency food flown into stranded European towns (Idaho Statesman, Feb. 13, 2012):

BUCHAREST, Romania — Military planes and police helicopters flew in tons of emergency food to snowbound villages and ships in the Balkans on Monday, after blizzards so fierce that some people had to cut tunnels through 15 feet (4 meters) of snow to get out of their homes.Since the end of January, Eastern Europe has been pummeled by a record-breaking cold snap and the heaviest snowfall in recent memory. Hundreds of people, many of them homeless, have died in the bitter cold and tens of thousands have been trapped by blocked roads inside homes with little heat.

Authorities declared a state of emergency Monday in eastern Romania, where 6,000 people have been cut off for days. About a dozen major roads were closed, 300 trains canceled and more than 1,000 schools shut down.

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Tags: Blizzards, Climate Change, Environment, EU, Europe, Global News, Government, Military, Politics, Romania, Snow, Snow storm, Winter

- Death toll rises as big cold freezes Europe (DPA/Sydney Morning Herald - ‎Feb 11, 2012‎):

Freezing temperatures left thousands of people stranded without power in the Balkans and elsewhere in Europe on Saturday, as the death toll from one of the coldest winters in years continued to rise.

In Montenegro, the government declared a state of emergency 24 hours into a blizzard that dumped another two metres of snow across the country and cut off access to northern regions. The death toll was expected to rise from three when rescuers reach isolated areas.

In Serbia, the authorities reported three new deaths, raising the overall death toll for the country to 19. An estimated 50,000 people remain isolated in remote villages. The energy situation has become critical, prompting the government to extend a two-day holiday next week to five days, keeping schools closed and cut the power supply to non-essential factories.

In Croatia, an average of 50 centimetres of snow were expected to fall during the weekend, while powerful winds blowing from the sea forced local road authorities to close some sections of the Adriatic highway.

Many villages in mountainous regions in Bosnia have been cut off since the start of the cold spell, nearly two weeks ago.

Temperatures dropped to as low as -32C in Poland’s southern Bieszczady Mountains, while eight people died in house fires, police said.

A further eight people died in Romania, the health ministry said, raising the overall death toll to 65. Tens of thousands of people remained isolated in the south, where the army, police and firefighters were trying to clear access routes and distribute food and water.

Heavy snowfall also hit many parts of Italy – especially its central and southern regions – where six recent deaths have been linked to the cold weather. Several remote villages in the central Marche and Umbria regions remained cut off as a result of unusually high snow levels.

In north-eastern Trieste, at least 10 people were injured when winds with speeds of more than 130 km/h lashed the Adriatic port city. The poor weather forced the cancellation of flights and Serie A football matches.

In northern Bulgaria, trains could not make their way through the deep snow, which the wind has blown on the railways, state radio reported.

The Bulgarian section of the Danube was completely frozen on Saturday, the national Agency for Maintenance of the Danube River said. The Bulgarian Maritime Administration has banned all navigation in the Bulgaria section, including ferries to Romania.

- europe snow blocks in tens of thousands (AFP/Pakistan Daily Times - ‎Feb 11, 2012‎):

* Death toll from Europe’s big freeze rises past 550

BELGRADE: Snow drifts reaching up to rooftops kept tens of thousands of villagers prisoners in their own homes Saturday as the death toll from Europe’s big freeze rose past 550.

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Tags: Bulgaria, Climate Change, Environment, EU, Europe, Global Cooling, Global News, Global Warming, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Snow, Winter

YouTube Added: 10.02.2012

Description:

Villages buried under 4-5 Meters (13-16 feet) of snow. January-February 2012.

Sources:

http://stirileprotv.ro/stiri/actualitate/romania-sub-zapada-30-de-batrani-izo…

http://stirileprotv.ro/stiri/actualitate/imagini-incredibile-din-case-ingropa…

Tags: Climate Change, Environment, Global Cooling, Global News, Government, Politics, Romania, Snow, Society, Winter

YouTube

- Deadly freeze moves west across Europe (Al Jazeera, Feb. 5, 2012)

More than 250 people have been killed across Europe as a potentially worsening week-long cold snap shifts west, blanketing large parts of the continent with snow.

Forecasters on Sunday predicted the deep freeze, which has already forced Bosnia to declare a state of emergency and airports to close, will continue.

The death toll included hundreds of homeless people who have frozen to death in what has become the harshest European winter in decades.

Russian gas exporter Gazprom, which supplies fuel to much of Europe, said it would be unable to meet increased European demands and had reduced supplies “for a few days” to ease the crisis in Russia.

Snow fell on Rome’s Colosseum for the first time in three decades, disrupting air and rail travel, and Venice’s famous canals have frozen over.

About 160,000 people in central and southern Italy were without electricity, and power company Enel said 1,000 workers were trying to fix damaged power lines.

Bodies on the streets

In Ukraine, where at least 122 people have died, the most in Europe, 78 bodies have been found on the streets. Night- time temperatures there have dropped to -33C.

Metro stations in the capital, Kiev, have become sanctuaries of warmth for the homeless.

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Tags: Bulgaria, Climate Change, Environment, EU, Europe, France, Global Cooling, Global News, Global Warming, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Snow, Ukraine, Winter

- Romanians stop paying benefits to anyone who owns gold jewellery (Daily Mail, Feb. 2, 2012):

Romanian officials have denied targeting gypsies under tough new laws introduced to cut back on the amount of benefits paid – by refusing to pay benefits to anyone who owns gold jewellery.

Under the regulations introduced by the Department for Work and Pensions, any person claiming any sort of social benefit will be excluded if they declare that they own jewellery, or have more than 100 grams of precious metal, works of art, porcelain or crystal objects, fur coats or designer products.

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Tags: EU, Europe, Global News, Gold, Government, Politics, Romania, Silver

-163 dead as cold snap grips Europe (AFP, Feb. 2, 2012):

WARSAW — A cold snap kept Europe in its icy grip Thursday, pushing the death toll to 163 as countries from Ukraine to Italy struggled with temperatures that plunged to record lows in some places.

Entire villages were cut off in parts of eastern Europe, trapping thousands, while road, air and rail links were severed and gas consumption shot up during what has been the severest winter in decades in some regions.

In Ukraine, tens of thousands headed to shelters to escape the freeze that emergencies services said has killed 63 people — most of them frozen to death in the streets, some succumbing to the hypothermia later in hospitals.

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Tags: Austria, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Climate Change, Czech Republic, Environment, Global Cooling, Global News, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine

- Romania uses army to save snow-trapped travellers (Reuters, Jan. 26, 2012):

* Temperatures expected to fall to -20C on Friday* PM says priority is to rescue stranded car travellers

* Blizzards also shut towns and port in Bulgaria (Updates rescue numbers, adds protests)

BUCHAREST — Romania has drafted in the army to rescue hundreds of travellers stranded by blizzards that dumped metres of snow on the ground on Thursday, derailing a train and forcing authorities to shut down motorways and ports and cancel flights.

Hundreds of schools were shut and by 2000 GMT dozens of towns and villages were still without electricity, as felled trees and strong winds brought down power lines.

Police and ambulance crews had rescued more than 1,600 people by Thursday evening but more than 1,000 cars were still snowed in on roads, Prime Minister Emil Boc said, and road authority officials were distributing tea and blankets.

Authorities have banned traffic on Romania’s only two motorways and several national roads until weather improved.

“I am asking you to not rest easy until you have made sure people’s lives are not in danger,” Prime Minister Boc told an emergency response meeting late on Thursday before heading out to capital Bucharest’s ringroad to inspect progress.

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Tags: Blizzards, Climate Change, electricity, Environment, Global Cooling, Global News, Government, Politics, Romania, Snow, Winter

- Romanian-Bulgarian border closed due to heavy snow (Romania Business Insider, Jan. 26, 2012):

The border between Romania and Bulgaria was closed due to the bad weather conditions, according to the Bulgarian Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova, quoted by Novinite.com.

The Giugiu-Bucharest border crossing is closed for all vehicles due to the heavy snow. All transit traffic from Greece and Turkey via Bulgaria to Romania has also been stopped, Lilyana Pavlova added.

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Tags: Bulgaria, Climate Change, Environment, Global Cooling, Global News, Government, Politics, Romania, Snow, Winter

- Inside Romania’s secret CIA prison (AP, Dec. 8, 2011):

WASHINGTON — In northern Bucharest, in a busy residential neighborhood minutes from the heart of the capital city, is a secret the Romanian government has long tried to protect.

For years, the CIA used a government building — codenamed “Bright Light” — as a makeshift prison for its most valuable detainees. There it held al-Qaida operatives Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and others in a basement prison before they were ultimately transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006, according to former U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the location and inner workings of the prison.

The existence of a CIA prison in Romania has been widely reported, but its location has never been made public. The Associated Press and German public television ARD located the former prison and learned details of the facility where harsh interrogation tactics were used. ARD’s program on the CIA prison is set to air Thursday.

Tags: CIA, Global News, Government, Politics, Romania, Society, Torture, U.S.

“God has performed a miracle for her, finally Irina is delivered from evil,” AFP quoted the priest as saying.

“I don’t understand why journalists are making such a fuss about this. Exorcism is a common practice in the heart of the Romanian Orthodox church and my methods are not at all unknown to other priests,” Father Daniel added.

Father Daniel says the nun’s death was justified

A Romanian nun has died after being bound to a cross, gagged and left alone for three days in a cold room in a convent, Romanian police have said.

Members of the convent in north-east Romania claim Maricica Irina Cornici was possessed and that the crucifixion had been part of an exorcism ritual.

Cornici was found dead on the cross on Wednesday after fellow nuns called an ambulance, according to police.

A priest and four nuns were charged with imprisonment leading to death.

Orphan

Police say the 23-year-old nun, who was denied food and drink throughout her ordeal, had been tied and chained to the cross and a towel pushed into her mouth to smother any sounds.

A post-mortem is to be carried out, although initial reports say that Cornici died from asphyxiation.

I don’t understand why journalists are making such a fuss about this Father Daniel

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Tags: Church, Crime, Exorcism, Religion, Romania, Society