Radio România Internațional

Tag: assault

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    Romanian fencers throughout the years scooped 17 medals. The first Romanian athlete to have stepped onto a step of the Olympic podium was Olga Orbán Szabó. In Melbourne, in 1956, Olga won silver in women’s individual foil event. In Tokyo, in 2021, Ana Maria Branza won also silver, this time in the epee event. The record includes 15 other medals, of which four gold.

    The first gold medallist was Ionel Dramba in Ciudad de Mexico, in 1968, in the foil event. Then there was Laura Badea, in Atlanta, in 1996, also in the foil event. Then there were Mihai Covaliu, in Atlanta, in 2000, the sabre event and the women’s epee team in Rio, in 2016.

    In recent years, the seniors’ record was rather lackluster. However, a new generation comes from behind. Recently, at the European Fencing Championships for juniors and cadets in Turkey’s Antalya, Romania has won five medals. In the juniors’ event, the Romanian saber team made of Rosemarie Benciu, Amalia Covaliu, Catinca Dumitru and Anastasia Fusea stepped onto the highest step of the podium.

    In the men’s saber event, Vlad Covaliu won silver. Also silver went to Emma Sont, in the women’s epee event. In the cadets’ competition, Amalia Covaliu won silver in the sabre event, while Natalia Constantin walked away with bronze in the epee event.

    Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Amalia Covaliu the Athlete of the week, since she was the Romanian lineup’s only fencer to have won two medals.

    Amalia Covaliu is the daughter of Olympic champion Mihai Covaliu, the current president of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. She was born on March 25th, 2008. As part of the first European cadets’ championship of her career, hosted by Estonia’s Tallinn, Amalia succeeded her first major performance, walking away with silver. In the final, Amalia Covaliu conceded defeat to Hungarian challenger Emese Domokos, 10-15. In Turkey, in 2025, Amalia again reached as far as the final, sustaining yet another defeat by Italy’s Francesca Lentini, 15-11.

    In the juniors’ team final held in France, Amalia Covaliu was the first one to step on the plank where she was outclassed by Rita Robineaux, 5-3. Amalia’s colleagues Catinca Dumitru and Anastasia Fusea were also overpowered, so France had the upper hand, securing a 20-14 advantage. Amalia Covaliu returned and gave the signal for the team’s vigorous comeback.

    After three more assaults, Romania had the advantage. Until the end, the Romanians won every assault. The last fencer on the plank was Amalia Covaliu, who also set the final score: 45 to 37 for Romania.

  • June 8, 2024 UPDATE

    June 8, 2024 UPDATE

    Elections – More than 40,000 employees of the Romanian Interior Ministry will be mobilized throughout the country to maintain order and public safety and to ensure protection measures at polling stations, on Sunday, when local and European Parliament elections are scheduled. According to the Interior Ministry, the electoral campaign took place under normal conditions, without serious events. The polling stations will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 10:00 p.m. The presidents of the polling stations can decide to extend the vote until 23:59, if there are people who did not have the time to exercise this right, but are inside or in the immediate vicinity of the station. Approximately 19 million Romanians are called to the polls in the nearly 19,000 polling stations in the country. Abroad there will be 915 polling stations, twice as many as compared to the EP elections five years ago, most of them being opened in Italy, Spain and Great Britain. Romania will send 33 representatives to the EP. For the first time, the data on the voter turnout will be presented in real time, online, on the election day, for each separate election, on the website of the Permanent Electoral Authority. We remind you that this year the presidential election is scheduled in September and the legislative elections in December.

     

    European elections – Tens of thousands of people demonstrated, on Saturday, in Germany, the day before the European elections, against the extreme right, AFP informs. ‘Germany is diverse!’, ‘Stop the hate!’, ‘Down with racism!’, were the slogans written on the placards of the demonstrators in Berlin.  Demonstrations also took place in Stuttgart, Leipzig, Dresden, Munich, and Frankfurt. Despite the scandals that marked its campaign for the European Parliament, the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) hopes to achieve its best performance in this election on Sunday. The elections for the 720 members of the European Parliament are already taking place in several states of the EU. In the Netherlands, the vote took place on Thursday, and in Ireland the electoral process took place on Friday. The Czech Republic voted on Friday and Saturday. Voters from Italy, Latvia, Malta and Slovakia also went to the polls. At the level of the European Union, more than 370 million voters are expected to go to the polls.

     

    Weather – Areas in southern Romania, including the capital Bucharest, will come under a Code Orange alert for scorcher and severe thermal discomfort on Sunday, and the warning is valid until Tuesday morning. Particularly high temperatures will be recorded for this time of the year, with highs ranging between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius. The weather will be scorching which leads to a heightened thermal discomfort, and the temperature-humidity index (ITU) will exceed the critical threshold of 80 units. Meteorologists warn that temperatures will remain particularly high in the coming days, especially in the southern and southeastern regions. Also, the National Meteorological Administration issued for the same period a Code Yellow alert for thermal discomfort and high temperatures in the east, south-east, south-west and center. On Sunday, the sky will be variable, with temporarily heavy clouds, showers, electrical discharges and short-term intensification of the wind, in the northwest and center. There will be torrential rains, storms and hail. The maximum temperatures will generally range between 26 and 37 degrees C, and the minimum between 11 and 22 degrees C.

     

    Denmark – Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s office said on Saturday that she suffered a slight cervical strain following an assault on Friday evening when a man punched her in a market in Copenhagen, Reuters reports. ‘Apart from this, the prime minister is fine, but she is shocked by the incident,’ the official statement said. After the incident, Frederiksen was taken to the hospital for a check-up. All the official events that the Danish PM was supposed to attend on Saturday have been cancelled. The attacker, a 39-year-old man, was detained. The incident took place two days before the Danes went to the polls in the European Parliament elections. Three weeks ago, the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured in an assassination attempt. “I am shocked by the news of the attack on the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Violence has no place in our societies”, the Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, wrote on the X platform. (LS)

  • Current challenges to school safety

    Current challenges to school safety


    Safety in Romanian schools is back in the limelight after a teacher was stabbed on Wednesday in a Bucharest high school. A 10th grader stabbed the teacher in the throat with a pocket knife at the start of the Japanese class, for no apparent reason. The incident has sparked many reactions from both authorities and trade unions. The Education Ministry said the relevant institutions have launched an investigation, saying it will monitor the measures taken by the school both in legal terms as well as support provided to classmates who witnessed the incident. Education Minister Ligia Deca has described the assault as an alarm signal for other situations that highlight the importance of safety in schools. The school needs to be a safe space both for children and teachers, Ligia Deca argued.




    In turn, the “Spiru Haret” Federation of Trade Unions has called on the Government to identify measures to prevent acts of violence in schools and tighten existing legislation. In a press release, the Federation says it is receiving reports of acts of violence and illegal drug consumption in schools on a weekly basis. Schools lack the necessary instruments to take immediate and efficient action in cases of violence targeting school employees, Federation members say. Besides, the current sanctions, which include disciplinary action and downgrading offenders overall school conduct rating, simply dont work. This is why the Federation has called on MPs to also introduce safety measures addressing employees in the system.




    In turn, the Federation of Free Trade Unions in the education system says the incident should sound the alarm for all education system stakeholders. “Schools are already unsafe. Suffice it to look at the latest acts of violence, threats, abuses or illegal substance consumption”, the Federation writes in a press release. Education unionists claim the lack of swift and firm action from the authorities will make teachers afraid of carrying out their activity in schools, while pupils will be negatively impacted by those who violate school regulations. A study of World Vision Romania warned a few years back that 71% of Romanian pupils have been witnesses to or victims of violence on their way to school, during break or even class. Additionally, a World Health Organization report placed Romania in third place in a ranking of 42 European countries where bullying is a growing phenomenon. (VP)




  • February 8, 2022 UPDATE

    February 8, 2022 UPDATE

    COVID-19 36,269 new SARS-CoV-2 infections were
    reported for the past 24 hours in Romania, along with 193 related fatalities,
    the Strategic Communication Group announced on Tuesday. Since the start of the
    pandemic 2 years ago, more than 2 million Romanians have had the disease and
    over 60,000 died. Meanwhile, since the start of the vaccine roll-out in
    December 2020, over 8 million people have received a full vaccination cycle,
    and 2.4 million have also got the booster dose.


    HEALTHCARE The Romanian health minister Alexandru Rafila will take
    part on February 9-10 in a joint conference of EU foreign and health ministers
    on global health and in an informal meeting of health ministers, due in Lyon and
    Grenoble. According to the ministry, the 2 events are organised by the French
    presidency of the EU Council. The participants will discuss the EU measures to
    support developing countries in accessing medicines in the context of the COVID-19
    pandemic, and to strengthen national healthcare systems. The informal meeting
    of health ministers will focus on the intervention and resilience of public
    health systems in case of crises, and on the joint development of policies to
    create a ‘Union of health.’


    TROOPS A first unit of US troops, deployed in order to strengthen
    the security of Eastern European Allies amid the Ukraine standoff has reached
    Romania, the defence minister Vasile Dîncu announced. He explained that around
    100 experts have arrived in order to prepare the deployment of a larger
    contingent. Early this month, the US announced it would send an additional
    3,000 troops to NATO’s eastern flank, 1,000 of them due to be stationed in Romania.
    France also voiced willingness to send troops to Romania.We will get involved in new missions and take all
    responsibility, with enhanced presence especially in Romania, should this
    decision be made. I reaffirm our solidarity with our European friends in NATO,
    president Emmanuel Macron said. A NATO member since 2004, Romania is already
    hosting 900 troops from the US, 140 from
    Italy and 250 from Poland.


    POLITICS The Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Tuesday that a
    criminal investigation was initiated with respect to Monday’s incident in
    Parliament, where the Romanian energy minister Virgil Popescu was assaulted by
    the co-president of the nationalist opposition party AUR, Deputy George Simion.
    Popescu had previously filed a criminal complaint against Simion. While
    attending a Chamber of Deputies meeting on Monday, the Liberal minister Virgil
    Popescu was insulted and assaulted by Simion. The meeting was suspended, and
    subsequently resumed with only the opposition MPs from AUR and USR in attendance.
    Prosecutors are also investigating Călin Georgescu, rumoured to become the
    honorary president of AUR party. A criminal case was opened against him for
    promoting fascist views and individuals convicted for genocide and war crimes,
    following televised statements Georgescu had made concerning the fascist leader
    Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and the former head of state Ion Antonescu.


    MOLDOVA
    The number of supporters of
    the R. of Moldova’s union with Romania is growing, according to an opinion poll
    quoted by Radio Chişinău on Tuesday. Over 34%
    of the respondents in Moldova would vote in favour of the union, says the poll
    commissioned by IDIS Viitorul in Chișinău and the Institute of Political
    Sciences and International Relations with the Romanian Academy. This is a
    record-high number of union supporters, over 10 times higher than in 2010. According
    to the same poll, which focused on citizens’ perception of the relations
    between Moldova and Romania, over 62% of the people with dual citizenship would
    vote for the union. However, in the case of new tensions similar to the one in
    Ukraine, more people would back a military alliance with Russia (22.5%) than
    with Romania (12.5%). (A.M.P.)

  • February 8, 2022

    February 8, 2022

    COVID-19 36,269 new SARS-CoV-2 infections were
    reported for the past 24 hours in Romania, along with 193 related fatalities,
    the Strategic Communication Group announced on Tuesday. Since the start of the
    pandemic 2 years ago, more than 2 million Romanians have had the disease and
    over 60,000 died. Meanwhile, since the start of the vaccine roll-out in
    December 2020, over 8 million people have received a full vaccination cycle,
    and 2.4 million have also got the booster dose.


    MOLDOVA
    The number of supporters of
    the R. of Moldova’s union with Romania is growing, according to an opinion poll
    quoted by Radio Chişinău on Tuesday. Over 34%
    of the respondents in Moldova would vote in favour of the union, says the poll
    commissioned by IDIS Viitorul in Chișinău and the Institute of Political
    Sciences and International Relations with the Romanian Academy. This is a
    record-high number of union supporters, over 10 times higher than in 2010. According
    to the same poll, which focused on citizens’ perception of the relations
    between Moldova and Romania, over 62% of the people with dual citizenship would
    vote for the union. However, in the case of new tensions similar to the one in
    Ukraine, more people would back a military alliance with Russia (22.5%) than
    with Romania (12.5%).




    POLITICS The Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Tuesday that a criminal
    investigation was initiated with respect to an incident in Parliament, where
    the Romanian energy minister Virgil Popescu was assaulted by the co-president
    of the nationalist opposition party AUR, George Simion. Popescu had previously filed
    a criminal complaint against Simion. While attending a Chamber of Deputies
    meeting on Monday, the Liberal minister Virgil Popescu was insulted and
    assaulted by Simion. The meeting was suspended, and subsequently resumed with only
    the opposition MPs from AUR and USR in attendance.


    POLLUTION Romanian authorities have today launched 2 programmes, RABLA Clasic and
    RABLA Plus 2022, with a combined budget of around 240 million euros. Under the
    2 programmes, the Government provides subsidies for scrapping old and heavily
    polluting motor vehicles. The same rules apply as in previous years, but
    novelties have also been introduced. One of them is the option of using 2
    vouchers obtained through scrapping used vehicles for the purchase of a hybrid
    or electric vehicle.


    UKRAINE The president of France Emmanuel Macron discussed with the Russian
    leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday about the need for dialogue in the
    context of the Ukraine standoff. At the end of the meeting, Emmanuel Macron said
    all parties should behave responsibly in this crisis. He pleaded for
    maintaining the current system of agreements concerning European security, and
    suggested that a system of concrete security guarantees be put together for all
    stakeholders. In turn, Putin said a number of ideas and proposals put forth by
    the French president may pave the way for the de-escalation of the current
    crisis over Ukraine. Vladimir Putin also added that Russia and France have
    shared concerns regarding security in Europe. Today the French president meets
    his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, in the first official
    visit of a French president to that country in 24 years. Macron has repeatedly
    discussed the need to deescalate tensions and to find diplomatic solutions to
    the situation in the east of Europe, and emphasised that finding a political
    way out of the standoff was his priority. Meanwhile in Washington, following
    talks at the White House with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US president
    Joe Biden said diplomacy remains the best way to settle the Ukraine crisis. He warned
    however that the US and NATO will be prepared in case Russia attacks Ukraine. (tr. A.M.P.)

  • June 18, 2014 UPDATE

    June 18, 2014 UPDATE

    ECONOMY– The Romanian Government on Wednesday endorsed a draft law introducing a 5% reduction in employer social security contributions, as of October 1st. The aforementioned draft will be submitted to Parliament for debate and adoption in an emergency procedure. The draft is aimed at easing taxation on labour. Although the decision has not been green-lighted by Romania’s international lenders, Prime Minister Victor Ponta has given assurances there is enough money for this measure to be introduced. He has also said that the implementation cost will stand at around 191 million euros in the last quarter of this year and that the Romanian state will reach all macro-economic goals established jointly with the IMF, among which maintaining the same budget deficit. The Cartel ALFA National Trade Union Confederation however, argues that the government’s measure will in fact increase the multinational companies’ net profit and will decrease contributions to the pension fund. Therefore, Cartel ALFA asks for the 5% cut to be applied to employees and not to employers. The decision has been termed by the opposition as a populist one, given that 2014 is an election year in Romania.



    UKRAINE CRISIS– Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday made public his decision to order a unilateral ceasefire in the east of the country to allow pro-Russian insurgents to lay down weapons. Poroshenko made the announcement following a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, after two Russian journalists got killed in eastern Ukraine, a region ravaged by separatism. Russia has warned that none of the murders against Russian citizens will go unpunished. The UN Security Council condemned, in a declaration, the killing of two journalists and called for opening an investigation into violence against reporters, FP reports. The declaration also makes reference to the killing in May, of an Italian photojournalist, actually the first journalist to be killed since the start of the pro-Russian separatist uprising in Ukraine. In another move, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Wednesday asked again for the “immediate and unconditional” release of its observers who have been detained for several weeks now in eastern Ukraine. The OSCE accuses Russia of further sending paramilitary troops and guns to Ukraine.



    IRAQ-The Iraqi Government on Wednesday made an official request to the US to launch air strikes against the Jihad fighters who unleashed a flash offensive in Iraq, foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari has announced. The request was made after Jihadi fighters on Wednesday laid siege to Iraq’s largest oil refinery, some 200 kilometres away from the capital city Baghdad, and set oil reserves on fire. Earlier, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on Iraqi people to stay united against militants. Since June 9, the Government in Baghdad (with a Shia majority membership) has been faced with an offensive by the Sunni radical group “The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant”, which took control of some important regions in the north, east and west of the country, in a bid to create an Islamic state in the area. In another move, Iranian President Hossan Rohani, whose country is inhabited by a predominantly Shia population on Wednesday warned he would do anything it takes to protect Shia Islamic Holy Places in that country from the fundamentalist threat posed by the “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant”.



    VISIT- The minister delegate for the Romanians Around the World, Bogdan Stanoevici will pay a visit to the United States, between June 19th and 23rd. The Romanian official will have talks with Mrs.Loretta Sanchez, member of the House of Representatives (D-California) and co-chair of the Congressional Romania Caucus. Bogdan Stanoevici will also meet in New York with representatives of the Romanian community and the Romanian language press. The minister will also attend the 15th edition of a festival entitled “Romania’s Day on Broadway”.



    ASSAULT-The Romanian Foreign Ministry has asked the French authorities to clarify as soon as possible the circumstances in which a young Romanian of Roma origin was assaulted by a group of people on the outskirts of Paris. The Ministry believes that such extremely violent acts against European citizens, Romanians included, are to a certain extent the result of a public display of a xenophobic and often racist attitude by some politicians from the community area. A young Romanian of Roma origin was abducted on Friday in an improvised camp on the northern outskirts of Paris by 12 people who beat him until he became unconscious and then abandoned him. French authorities have publicly condemned the violence and opened an attempted murder investigation.



    MADRID-King Juan Carlos on Wednesday promulgated the organic law of abdication, which put an end to his 39-year long reign, news agencies report. On Thursday, June 19, Crown Prince Felipe of Asturias will be proclaimed King of Spain before the plenary sitting of Parliament.