What the newspapers say: April 23, 2008

The headlines on Wednesday show it clearly: the summer is nearing and the Easter Holiday is just the prelude for a long time without any major news. Still, it may be just the silence before the storm, being an electoral year. The fact is that news today refer mainly to an airplane incident without any casualties, an entertainment vintage train and the eternal problems of the Romanian state.

„Dracula Express” is the latest Romanian attraction for railway fans and trainspotters. It will circulate between Brasov and Zarnesti, with two stops, at Rasnov and Cristian. The train is pulled by two locomotives – a German one, made in 1922, the last in Europe still working, and a Romanian one, made in 1933. The tree coaches are: the Royal coach, made for King Carol II in 1934, the „Air Force One” of its time, the second is made in Milan in 1924 and has been part of the Orient Express, the last being a coach that circulated between Bucharest and Paris between the two World Wars, Evenimentul Zilei and most other newspapers inform.

For those on the Otopeni airport yesterday, the train may look as an inspired idea: a Carpatair flight coming from Timisoara was thrown off the strip after the landing by the strong winds, losing half of its landing gear. Fortunately, no one was injured, same Evenimentul Zilei reads.

In the financial area, the International Monetary Fund may shut its office in Bucharest, as well as in most East European countries, maintaining only a regional office in Warsaw, most newspapers note.

Gandul adds that Romania is unlikely to adopt the European currency before 2015, according to a poll conducted by Reuters among financial analysts. Bulgaria and Hungary may make the move in 2014, while Slovakia may be the only new member to adopt the euro in 2009.

Speaking of money: the Romanian state received an offer from SAAB for the airplanes factory in Craiova, but rejected it. SAAB intended to buy less than the 80.9% of the stock opened for bid by the state, but still holding the majority, so that the state would still be involved in the future plans, Cotidianul reads.