National Press Review, 4 September

What are the results of the tête-à-tête between the Romanian president and the leader of the White House that lasted less than 30 minutes? "United States of America seen as a more powerful shield", the România Liberă writes.

Because, besides concluding the agreement on the anti-missile shield, one of the most important stakes of the visit was the establishment of a new strategic partnership for the 21st century with the Americans.

Moreover, the issue concerning the visa liberalisation was also debated and might actually be solved, according to well-informed sources cited by the România Liberă.

Writing about the same meeting held in the Oval Office, the Evenimentul Zilei reports that it was a "Black day for news channels caught off guard", since the Obama-Băsescu meeting was not included in the programme. However, not only the Romanian television networks but also the American newspapers were caught on the wrong foot.

If you are asking yourself what it is so hot in the middle of September, you will find the meteorologist’s answer in the Adevărul: because of the tropical breeze of North Africa.

Unfortunately, the plus 30-degree temperatures and the lack of rain will have terrible consequences on the autumn crop production. And not only this, the low water level is affecting the water transport and the rate of the power produced by hydro-electric plants.

The same newspaper draws some saddening conclusions: "Romanian people have touched bottom".

They have either lost their jobs or had their wages cut. Those who work abroad, in Spain and Italy, sent in the first six month of this year sums of money that were half the size of the sums they sent three years ago.

"Traditional products in supermarket? You can find out from the România Liberă why the senators have answered no. Apparently the measure of favouring national producers by giving shelf space to their products is against the European legislation and we must avoid receiving a yellow card from the European Union, according to the senators.

"Sex of foetus kept a secret". The Jurnalul Naţional offers details on the draft resolution of the European Council. Medical staff will be instructed not to tell expectant parents whether they will have a boy or a girl in order to prevent selective abortions, a practice which has reached alarming proportions in some former Soviet states.

The Ziarul Financiar writes that the Ford company will reduce the employment target in Craiova: the vice president of Ford Europe said that 5 000 positions would be made available instead of 7 000 like the American constructer announced when the plant was privatised.

The Curierul Naţional writes that the weather of summer attracted more tourists to the seaside resorts, but, surprisingly, less money: the beaches were full of tourists, but the hotels were not because people could not afford to spend the night at a hotel.

Translated by: Raluca Mizdrea
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University