Radio România Internațional

Tag: Bucharest

  • Forced landing in central Bucharest

    Forced landing in central Bucharest

    A US Army Black Hawk helicopter was forced to land on Thursday in central Bucharest, in Charles de Gaulle Square, bringing down 2 lamp posts during the procedure.



    The aircraft was part of a group of 6 helicopters training for the Romanian Air Forces Day on 20 July, and for a ceremony the following day to mark the end of Romanias nearly 20-year long military participation in the international mission in Afghanistan.



    The images shot by eyewitnesses indicate that the helicopter, which had reported technical problems, suddenly lost altitude and flew over the vehicles moving on one of Bucharests main boulevards, before landing in a roundabout cleared by the police in time to avoid a possible tragedy. Two cars were damaged, but nobody has been injured.



    Because of the incident, the military parade on Air Forces Day will not include aircraft flights, and Hercules and Spartan aircraft having taken part in the missions in Afghanistan will take part in the 21 July ceremonies. The decisions were made by the Romanian defence ministry, which cancelled the training flights scheduled for these days over Bucharest for the 2 events. “Citizen safety is very important to us, which is why measures have been taken to prevent such incidents in the future, the ministry said.



    The military prosecutors office started a criminal investigation in this respect, according to spokesman Florin Bobin:



    Florin Bobin: “A criminal case has been opened, to investigate the incident. Most likely we are talking about a violation of Art. 349 – 350 Criminal Code, failure to take and failure to observe workplace safety and security measures. We are complying with all the relevant regulations, including the Treaty regulating the presence of the US military forces on Romanian territory.



    The US Embassy in Bucharest announced it was closely monitoring the incident involving the American helicopter, and said it was working with the Romanian authorities to address the situation.



    Black Hawk is a 2-engine military helicopter produced by the US company Lokheed Martin. Romania plans to purchase 12 such helicopters for around 270 million euro, with the funding coming from the state budget and EU sources. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • July 2, 2021 UPDATE

    July 2, 2021 UPDATE

    LAW – Criminal liability for human trafficking and exploitation, sexual assault, and torture in children is no longer subject to time limits in Romania, under a law signed on Thursday by president Klaus Iohannis. The act, which amends the Criminal Code, also increases punishments for failure to report a crime, while also criminalising the failure to report human trafficking and exploitation and sexual offences against child victims.



    TENNIS – Romanian-Ukrainian pair Raluca Olaru / Nadia Kichenok on Friday made it to the eight finals of the womens doubles in the Wimbledon tennis tournament, the years third Grand Slam competition. The two can meet Romanians Andreea Mitu and Monica Niculescu provided the latter pair qualifies for the next stage of this prestigious sporting event. Irina Begu lost in two sets 6-1, 6-0 to Iga Swiatek of Poland in the competitions third round. Sorana Cirstea is the only Romanian in the singles contest and is to take on Emma Raducanu, a British player of Romanian descent on Saturday.



    PANDEMIC – The number of Covid-19 infections is on the rise in Europe. Portugal, currently facing an increasing number of infections with the Delta variant, initially discovered in India, has decided to impose a night curfew in 45 cities, including in capital Lisbon. The Health Ministry in Spain has this week reported the highest daily rate of infection since April, partially because of the Delta variant. 38% of Spains population has been vaccinated. According to a survey conducted by the Pasteur Institute, France is expecting a fourth wave of the pandemic this autumn, also due to the Delta variant.



    COVID – 37 new new infections have been reported in Romania in the past 24 hours out of 25 thousand new tests conducted. Only one person died in the same period and the highest number of infections has been reported in the counties of Cluj and Bucharest. No case has been reported in 21 counties around Romania in the past 24 hours, but 418 people are still being treated in hospitals around the country. On July 1st Romania entered a new stage of easing restrictions but authorities urge citizens to get immunized and warn against a new wave of infections.



    COIN – The National Bank of Romania will issue on 7 July a new silver coin to mark 100 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Japan, the institution announced in a news release. The obverse of the coin features Caraiman Peak in the Bucegi Mountains, while the reverse features a traditional Japanese gate, tori, overlapping the image of Mount Fuji reflected in the Kawaguchi lake.


    (bill)


  • Big league football comes to Bucharest

    Big league football comes to Bucharest

    The 2020 edition of the European Football Championship kicks off on Friday.
    Postponed a year ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will be held, for
    the first time, in several cities members of UEFA. Overall, 11 cities will be
    hosting matches, from Glasgow to Baku, from Saint Petersburg to Seville. The opening
    match, hosted by Rome, will be pitting Italy against Turkey in Group A. Sunday,
    June 13, will see the first match hosted by Bucharest. Austria will be playing
    North Macedonia in Group C, a group also including the Netherlands and Ukraine.
    In total, Bucharest will host 4 matches. Ukraine will play North Macedonia on
    June 17, then on June 21 Ukraine will take on Austria. The other matches in
    Group C will be played in Amsterdam. The last match hosted by Bucharest will be
    in the round of 16, to be played on June 28.

    All games will be played on
    National Arena Stadium, the largest in Romania, with a total capacity of 55,600
    seats, of which a maximum of 13,000 will be made available for the match. For EURO
    2020, the stadium has undergone certain changes. Several technical areas have
    been modernized and the playing field was changed. The authorities also rennovated
    three stadiums in Bucharest where teams will be carrying out their pre-match
    training sessions: Steaua stadium, a place of legend for Romanian football fans,
    Triumphal Arch Stadium, which usually hosts matches of the Romanian national rugby
    squad, and finally, Valentin Stănescu stadium, the home
    stadium of Rapid Bucharest, which is still undergoing modernization works. North
    Macedonia will train on Steaua Stadium, Austria on Triumphal Arch stadium and
    Ukraine will be training on Anghel Iordănescu Stadium in Voluntari, close to Bucharest.

    Let us further note that had
    it qualified to EURO 2020, Romania would have played at least two of its
    matches in front of its own fans. Romania failed to qualify after ranking 4th
    in preliminary Group F. They were outranked by Spain, Sweden and Norway, but
    finished ahead of the Faeroe Islands and Malta. Following the results our team
    obtained in Nations League, the new European inter-nation competition, Romania had
    another shot at securing qualification to EURO 2020 by playing a playoff match
    against Iceland. Our team lost 2-1. Big-league football will come to Bucharest,
    but unfortunately, Romanians will be watching from the stands or in front of
    their TVs. (VP)



  • Fresh anti-Covid regulations for those entering Romania

    Fresh anti-Covid regulations for those entering Romania


    The worlds countries are in an incessant race in an attempt to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus, particularly its new more contagious strain. Immunization, the main pillar in the prevention strategies, seems to be only partly effective due to the delays and interruptions in the vaccine production and deliveries. The other measure states resort to consists of increasingly tougher entry restrictions. The latter method was tested last year and since it proved functional wasnt totally scrapped not even after the virus had given deceitful signs of remission. Although the EU zone has always promoted and implemented the free circulation, countries in the bloc cannot avoid the global measures aimed at containing the spread of the dreadful virus.


    Romania has a daily number of infections relatively small, the situation is stable and infections with the mutating virus are just a few. However, a scenario under which the country is spared by the more aggressive strain of the virus is not plausible. For this reason, authorities in Bucharest decided to enlarge the list of high-risk countries in the so-called yellow zone and toughen entry conditions for those travelling to Romania.


    Starting February 12th, people coming to Romania from the yellow zone must produce a Covid-19 negative test taken 72 hours before their entry. Furthermore, they will be subjected to a 14-day quarantine with the possibility to break it in the 10th day, if they are willing take another RT-PCR test on the 8th day and that proves negative. There are a few categories exempted from the rules though, such as children under three, those who can prove they have taken an anti-SARS-Cov-2 vaccine and that ten days have passed since they took the booster dose as well as those who got infected 90 days before their entry into Romania.


    Also exempted are truck drivers with the authorized carrying capacity over 2.4 tons, drivers of transport vehicles with more than 9 passengers as well as drivers whose job implies travelling from their country of residence to another EU member irrespective of their travel means. The list also includes flight crews, members of various diplomatic missions, consular offices and other diplomatic representations accredited to Bucharest as well as crew members of Romanian ships who are repatriating and foreign workers coming to Romania from the neighboring countries like Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine or the Republic of Moldova.


    (bill)




  • Victor Babeș Memorial House in Bucharest

    Victor Babeș Memorial House in Bucharest

    In the north of Bucharest, on the then outskirts of the city, there emerged, in the inter-war period, a stylish residential district built for the then middle class. This is the place where the diplomat Mircea Babeș, the son of the famous Romanian scientist and bacteriologist Victor Babeș had his house built. The house is now a Memorial Museum to honor Victor Babeș. Born in Vienna in 1854 to a Romanian father from the Romanian region of Banat, in the southwest, and to an Austrian mother, Victor Babeș became famous at the age of 30, as a co-author of the first treaty on bacteriology in the world.



    Oana Panait is a museum curator with the Victor Babeș Museum within the Bucharest History Museum and she will tell us more about the scientific activity of Victor Babeș: “He published more than 1,300 works, which are critical for the infectious diseases domain. But the most important of all is the treaty on bacteriology issued in Paris when the young Victor Babeș had not turned 31 yet. He published the work ‘Bacteria and their role in the anatomy and histology of infectious diseases written in 1885 together with the French scholar André Victor Cornil. The treaty set the basis of bacteriology as a science. It is the first treaty on bacteriology in the world and comprises about all that the scientific world needs to know about bacteria. Louis Pasteur himself noticed the contribution of Victor Babeș and proposed him for the most prestigious prize granted by the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, the Montyon Prize. After receiving the prize, Victor Babeș became famous all over the world and was invited by Robert Koch to work in Berlin although Louis Pasteur wanted to keep him in Paris. Fribourg University from Switzerland also invited Victor Babeș to teach there. Even the US invited the Romanian scientist to go there and work as a researcher. As he was struggling with indecision, Victor Babeș received a letter from Dimitrie Sturdza, the Romanian minister of culture at the time, in which he was invited to Bucharest. This is how Victor Babeș reached Bucharest, where he was appointed head of a new institute of bacteriology. Besides benefiting from laboratories and an amphitheater for teaching, he and his family were offered permanent residence. Therefore, after 1886, Victor Babeș and his wife moved to Bucharest. He also taught at the medicine faculty in Cluj, whose leadership decided to honor the great scientist by naming it Babeș-Bolyai University.



    For the entire period spent in Bucharest, Victor Babeș lived at the Institute of Bacteriology where he died on October 18, 1926 during the night. He had previously felt sick when working at his microscope in the lab. Subsequently, this microscope was exhibited in his sons house, which the scientist never visited, and which became a museum in the 1950s.



    Here is Oana Panait with more details: “The house of Mircea Babeș was turned into a museum in two stages. The first stage occurred in October 1956. One year before, Constantin Parhon, an epidemiologist who was the disciple of Victor Babeș, suggested to Mircea Babeș that the ground floor of the house be turned into a museum, while the son of the Romanian scientist and his wife were to live upstairs. People often ask if, in 1929, Mircea Babeș, who had returned from a diplomatic mission in Ottawa, had considered, even for a second, turning the house into a museum. But as far as I know, and from what I found out in his memoirs, he never had that intention. As of 1956, the ground floor of the house became a museum, with Mircea being a curator until his death in 1968. His widow, Mrs. Sofia Babeș, continued to live upstairs. In 1986, Sofia Babeș made a testamentary donation under which the entire house became a museum, and was to be included in the patrimony of the Bucharest city hall.



    Today, those who visit the house of Mircea Babeș and his wife Sofia, will discover objects that marked the life and activity of the famous Romanian scientist Victor Babeș. Oana Panait is back at the microphone with more: “The villa was built in 1929 after the blueprints of some Viennese architects, in an eclectic style with neo-Romanian tendencies, in the style of the Romanian architect who created this style, Ion Mincu. It is a single-storey house. In 1929 Mircea Babeș brought from his fathers institute several objects which he would showcase at the villas ground floor. Those who visit the museum can see these objects – furniture and decorative objects – dating back to the late 19th century. They will admire the favorite mahogany desk of Victor Babeș, which was made in Munich, and a very beautiful table made of Sevres porcelain with gilded bronze decorations. This table has a very beautiful story. It was bought by Victor Babeș and his wife from Paris in 1912 after he had published a book on rabies. With the money earned from the sale of this book, which had a great success all over the world, the scientist bought this small Sevres porcelain table with gilded bronze decorations. Visitors of the museum can also admire numerous decorations, medals and insignia which the famous Romanian scientist Victor Babeș received from the world scientific community. Victor Babeș also received various decorations from the Royal House of Romania. Even Queen Elisabeth, the wife of King Carol I, offered Victor Babeș several medals.



    Recently restored, the Victor Babeș Museum in Bucharest was re-opened for the public at large, with a section dedicated to children, to familiarize them with the sciences. (tr. L. Simion)

  • Burgher’s house in Bucharest

    Burgher’s house in Bucharest

    Although Bucharest is a relatively
    old city, being first mentioned in historical documents in 1459, its oldest surviving
    buildings date from the second half of the 19th century. You do,
    find, the odd exception, though, such as a house located on one of the city’s
    oldest streets called Șerban Vodă Road and which experts believe dates from
    around 1790. Voina House, as it is known, after the name of its last owner, is quite
    special because it is the only burgher’s house from the 18th century
    to survive in Bucharest and because its architecture is a mixture of Romanian
    traditional elements and Balkan influences. Not to mention that it is located
    on a street of great historical importance, Șerban Vodă Road or The Beylik’s Bridge
    as it was once known. Iozefina Postăvaru, an art historian at the National
    Heritage Institute, will be making a foray into the history of this street:




    Ruler Radu Șerban, who reigned
    between 1602 and 1611, issued a decree referring to a small road which ran from
    the Old Court, or the Princely Court in the historical centre of present-day Bucharest,
    to the south, all the way to Giurgiu and then further, to Constantinople. The
    ruler ordered that this road be paved with wood. Because of this measure, the
    street would be named after him: Șerban Vodă Road. Later, however, during the
    Phanariot rule, the street was known as Beylik’s Bridge, because it was
    transited by the diplomatic envoys from Constantinople or Istanbul to Bucharest
    and further to Europe. Whenever a new Phanariot ruler would be appointed, or dismissed,
    as the case may be, his procession would pass through this street. The processions
    accompanying the arrival of a new ruler were prepared in detail and involved a lot
    of pomp and ceremony. We can just imagine the locals attending enthusiastically
    and following the new ruler’s procession all the way to the princely court, all
    the more so as it was customary on such occasions to toss coins into the crowds.




    The name Beylik’s Bridge came from
    the word bey, which is the title given by the Ottoman Empire, which had
    control of Wallachia, to high-ranking officials it appointed as provincial governors,
    a title also held by the rulers in Bucharest. The latter would enter the country
    by the road built by Radu Șerban. In time, new neighbourhoods mushroomed on
    either side of this road, such as the Slobozia Domnească Mahalla, the St. Spyridon Mahalla,
    and the Flamânda Mahalla. It is in this somewhat hilly part of the city, which
    in the old times used to be covered by woods and vineyards, that a new social category
    would be born. Art historian Iozefina Postăvaru explains:




    It was an economically and socially mixed area. It was
    an important street, and boyar residences stood side by side with the homes of the
    petty nobility and those of craftsmen and merchants. The area would, however
    gradually come to be dominated by a new social category, namely that of townspeople,
    burghers, or the early bourgeoisie of Bucharest, which was largely comprised of
    builders. Some of them were brought over by the rulers to work on various new church
    structures. A genuine school was formed around these builders, for construction
    and other professions. Merchants also formed part of this new social category,
    as well as people who didn’t have a specific profession but who were definitely
    not farmers.




    Casa Voina was the home of one such burgher. City records
    show that it saw a number of alterations in time for which its owners asked
    permission from the city authorities. For example, around 1890, the building underwent
    a change in its external appearance to be more in tune with the style fashionable
    at the time. This is why, if viewed from the street, the house is no different
    than other buildings in the area whose facades are decorated in 19th
    century style, with sombre Neo-classical elements. It’s when we step inside the
    garden that we notice it dates from a different era. Art historian Iozefina Postăvaru explains:




    Once we enter the courtyard it’s like stepping a further
    hundred years back in time, for the side of the house facing away from the
    street has been unchanged from 1790. I’m referring to two facades surrounded by
    a porch with wooden columns and carved capitals supporting trefoil arches. It’s
    similar to Manuc’s Inn from the historical centre of Bucharest, except for this
    row of columns. This type of building is typical of Balkan vernacular or
    traditional architecture and is also reminiscent of the brâncovenesc style seen in Wallachia,
    with the trefoil arches supported by pillars being characteristic to this style
    that developed during the reign of Constantin Brâncoveanu.
    The house was nationalised in 1950 and then rented out to various small craftsmen’s
    workshops, including a tapestry workshop at some point. But the building was
    not looked after and in the 1970s it was completely abandoned.




    In the early 1990s, the burgher’s house on Șerban Vodă Road, which had in the meantime been
    declared a historical building, came under the administration of what is today
    the National Heritage Institute. Restored in 1998, it still needs further
    maintenance works. As for its future use, there are plans to establish here a
    cultural heritage information and promotion centre.

  • Local elections in Romania

    Local elections in Romania

    Strict healthcare protection rules, including face covering, hand disinfection on entering and leaving the polling stations and physical distancing of at least one metre, were for the first time in history implemented for the local elections held on Sunday in Romania.



    The COVID-19 had already disrupted the calendar of local elections, originally due in June and postponed over the pandemic. All local elected officials saw their terms in office extended by 6 months, which fuelled voters eagerness to refresh local administration.



    In all, 41 county council chair positions, over 1,300 county councillor and 40,000 local councillor seats and around 3,200 mayor offices were up for election. The turnout at national level was 46%, which is only 2% lower than in the previous elections, when people were not facing coronavirus infection fears.



    The least interested in the vote were the citizens of the capital city Bucharest: only 37% of them voted, which is still more than 4 years ago. Bucharest accounts for one-tenth of Romanias voters, and except for the president of the country, the mayor of Bucharest is the one who gets voted by the largest number of people.



    The capital city is the richest in the country, with economic and social indicators above the EU average, and the most dynamic, in terms of demographics, and as such, the Bucharest mayor post is a trophy desired by all political parties.



    The new mayor of Bucharest is mathematician and civil rights activist Nicuşor Dan. The NGO he founded years ago, Save Bucharest Union, is the seed that gave rise to todays Save Romania Union, the third-largest party in Parliament. Somewhere along the way, for ideological reasons, Dan left the party he had started, but his candidacy was backed both by its former colleagues and by the Liberals in power.



    After he lost the 2016 ballot for the same post, Dan now won by a comfortable margin, defeating the outgoing Social-Democratic mayor Gabriela Firea. A high-profile anchor for a left-wing TV station, 4 years ago Firea was the first woman and also the first Social Democrat to win the Bucharest mayoralty.



    She ran for re-election on Sunday backed by the strongest party in Parliament, but with an image affected by a rather modest performance while in office. Bucharest is suffocated by pollution, paralysed by traffic congestion, with a bankrupt heating agency and still inadequate infrastructure.



    Along with Gabriela Firea, all 6 Bucharest sectors elected Social Democratic mayors 4 years ago. This year however, the candidates backed by the Liberals and Save Romania-PLUS won half of these seats.



    The competition between the 2 main political forces was tight across the country as well. Whereas the Social Democrats managed to keep many of their strongholds in the south and east of the country, the Liberals did the same in the west. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania remains the top player in the centre, where ethnic Hungarians make up a majority of the population.



    Voted by one-third of the people of Bucharest, which is equal to what the Social Democrats got and almost double the Liberals score, Save Romania-Plus won a few county capitals as well: Timişoara (west), Braşov (centre), Bacău (east).



    Although mocked by many, ex-president Traian Băsescus attempt to return as mayor of Bucharest at nearly 70 years of age and almost 2 decades after leaving this office did a lot of good to his party, the Peoples Movement, which went above the 5% threshold in Bucharest.



    Local election scores are, according to analysts, a starting point in designing the strategies political parties will adopt for the parliamentary elections due this December.


    (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • Local elections in Romania

    Local elections in Romania

    Strict healthcare protection rules, including face covering, hand disinfection on entering and leaving the polling stations and physical distancing of at least one metre, were for the first time in history implemented for the local elections held on Sunday in Romania.



    The COVID-19 had already disrupted the calendar of local elections, originally due in June and postponed over the pandemic. All local elected officials saw their terms in office extended by 6 months, which fuelled voters eagerness to refresh local administration.



    In all, 41 county council chair positions, over 1,300 county councillor and 40,000 local councillor seats and around 3,200 mayor offices were up for election. The turnout at national level was 46%, which is only 2% lower than in the previous elections, when people were not facing coronavirus infection fears.



    The least interested in the vote were the citizens of the capital city Bucharest: only 37% of them voted, which is still more than 4 years ago. Bucharest accounts for one-tenth of Romanias voters, and except for the president of the country, the mayor of Bucharest is the one who gets voted by the largest number of people.



    The capital city is the richest in the country, with economic and social indicators above the EU average, and the most dynamic, in terms of demographics, and as such, the Bucharest mayor post is a trophy desired by all political parties.



    The new mayor of Bucharest is mathematician and civil rights activist Nicuşor Dan. The NGO he founded years ago, Save Bucharest Union, is the seed that gave rise to todays Save Romania Union, the third-largest party in Parliament. Somewhere along the way, for ideological reasons, Dan left the party he had started, but his candidacy was backed both by its former colleagues and by the Liberals in power.



    After he lost the 2016 ballot for the same post, Dan now won by a comfortable margin, defeating the outgoing Social-Democratic mayor Gabriela Firea. A high-profile anchor for a left-wing TV station, 4 years ago Firea was the first woman and also the first Social Democrat to win the Bucharest mayoralty.



    She ran for re-election on Sunday backed by the strongest party in Parliament, but with an image affected by a rather modest performance while in office. Bucharest is suffocated by pollution, paralysed by traffic congestion, with a bankrupt heating agency and still inadequate infrastructure.



    Along with Gabriela Firea, all 6 Bucharest sectors elected Social Democratic mayors 4 years ago. This year however, the candidates backed by the Liberals and Save Romania-PLUS won half of these seats.



    The competition between the 2 main political forces was tight across the country as well. Whereas the Social Democrats managed to keep many of their strongholds in the south and east of the country, the Liberals did the same in the west. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania remains the top player in the centre, where ethnic Hungarians make up a majority of the population.



    Voted by one-third of the people of Bucharest, which is equal to what the Social Democrats got and almost double the Liberals score, Save Romania-Plus won a few county capitals as well: Timişoara (west), Braşov (centre), Bacău (east).



    Although mocked by many, ex-president Traian Băsescus attempt to return as mayor of Bucharest at nearly 70 years of age and almost 2 decades after leaving this office did a lot of good to his party, the Peoples Movement, which went above the 5% threshold in Bucharest.



    Local election scores are, according to analysts, a starting point in designing the strategies political parties will adopt for the parliamentary elections due this December.


    (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    We
    begin with good news from handball. The Romanian women’s side CSM has received
    a wildcard to participate in the next edition of the Champions League due to
    unfold in a new format. Only SCM Ramnicu Valcea initially qualified for the
    League after they had ended on the first position in the championships. Brest
    Bretagne, TSK Moscow, Ferencvaros Budapest, Bietigheim, Podravca Koprivnica and
    Krim Ljubljana have also received wildcards.






    Romanian men’s side Dinamo
    Bucharest also hoped for a wildcard for the Champions League, as they had been
    edged out of the present edition without any defeat. However, their dreams have
    been shattered by the European Federation whose decision allows Dinamo to play
    in the new continental competition the European Handball League directly in the
    groups’ stage.






    The Dutch Martine Smeets,
    one of the world’s best left wings, has been transferred to CSM Bucharest. A
    world champion and bronze medalist in the European Championship with the Dutch
    side, Smeets comes after a season at French team Metz. She is the fourth player
    to have joined the Romanian side for the future season, after French Siraba
    Dembele, Spanish Alexandrina Cabral Barbosa and Barbara Lazovic of Slovenia. On
    the other hand Norwegian player Nora Mork has announced her departure from CSM
    Bucharest.




    Last weekend saw the matches
    counting towards the championship of Romania’s first football league. On Friday
    Universitatea Craiova secured a 2-1 win against Astra Giurgiu and CFR Cluj on
    Saturday clinched a 2-0 away win against FC Botosani. On Sunday in Bucharest
    FCSB and Gaz Metan Medias ended in a draw their game, two-all. CFR tops the
    table in the first league with 36 points followed by Craiova with 29.






    On Sunday FC Voluntari
    secured a 1-0 home win against Poli Iasi while Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe managed a
    3-1 away win against Dinamo Bucharest.

    (translated by bill)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    We
    begin with good news from handball. The Romanian women’s side CSM has received
    a wildcard to participate in the next edition of the Champions League due to
    unfold in a new format. Only SCM Ramnicu Valcea initially qualified for the
    League after they had ended on the first position in the championships. Brest
    Bretagne, TSK Moscow, Ferencvaros Budapest, Bietigheim, Podravca Koprivnica and
    Krim Ljubljana have also received wildcards.






    Romanian men’s side Dinamo
    Bucharest also hoped for a wildcard for the Champions League, as they had been
    edged out of the present edition without any defeat. However, their dreams have
    been shattered by the European Federation whose decision allows Dinamo to play
    in the new continental competition the European Handball League directly in the
    groups’ stage.






    The Dutch Martine Smeets,
    one of the world’s best left wings, has been transferred to CSM Bucharest. A
    world champion and bronze medalist in the European Championship with the Dutch
    side, Smeets comes after a season at French team Metz. She is the fourth player
    to have joined the Romanian side for the future season, after French Siraba
    Dembele, Spanish Alexandrina Cabral Barbosa and Barbara Lazovic of Slovenia. On
    the other hand Norwegian player Nora Mork has announced her departure from CSM
    Bucharest.




    Last weekend saw the matches
    counting towards the championship of Romania’s first football league. On Friday
    Universitatea Craiova secured a 2-1 win against Astra Giurgiu and CFR Cluj on
    Saturday clinched a 2-0 away win against FC Botosani. On Sunday in Bucharest
    FCSB and Gaz Metan Medias ended in a draw their game, two-all. CFR tops the
    table in the first league with 36 points followed by Craiova with 29.






    On Sunday FC Voluntari
    secured a 1-0 home win against Poli Iasi while Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe managed a
    3-1 away win against Dinamo Bucharest.

    (translated by bill)

  • May 23, 2020 UPDATE

    May 23, 2020 UPDATE

    COUNTER-PROPOSAL Austria, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands have
    submitted a counter-proposal to the French-German initiative for a European
    Union recovery plan against the coronavirus, DPA reports quoted by Romanian
    news agency Agerpress. The four countries support the idea of a unique
    emergency fund to strengthen the EU economy and have made it clear they will not
    agree to consolidate the debt and increase the Community budget. German
    Chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron have recently
    proposed a 500-billion-euro recovery plan for the countries affected by the
    crisis. The German Chancellor said that the countries most affected by the
    crisis should be the first to benefit the plan. The French president and the
    German Chancellor agreed the funds should be provided as grants.










    PROTESTS Spain will be opening its borders to
    tourists starting July this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced.
    According to Sanchez, the first league of the Spanish football championship is
    due to resume on June 8th, when all the provinces in this country
    are going to be in the last stage of the restrictions imposed by the
    coronavirus pandemic. Saturday saw a series of protests in several Spanish
    cities staged by the far-right party VOX against Socialist premier Pedro
    Sanchez whom they blame for having inappropriately handled the corona crisis and
    are calling for his resignation. Spain has been one of the most affected
    European countries by the pandemic with over 235 thousand infections and over
    28 thousand fatalities.










    COVID 19 Another 4 people have been killed by the new coronavirus in Romania
    raising the total number of fatalities to 1170. The number of deaths caused by
    the new coronavirus has constantly dropped this week and the number of people
    cured is higher than the number of infections. Nearly 11200 people have been
    cured out of the 17850 infected, which accounts for 63 percent. The number of
    quarantined has gradually diminished by one third since the beginning of the
    week. However, the number of those in home isolation has significantly grown
    against the relaxation measures for the Romanian nationals who lived abroad and
    now are coming back to Romania. The national test rate stood at 10 thousand
    tests a day. Bucharest city hall has recently launched an online platform part
    of a free campaign aimed at testing people for the new coronavirus. A first
    group of 11 thousand Bucharesters will be tested as part of this campaign and
    the municipality is to commence a medical survey during which another 10,500
    Bucharesters will be invited to take the test.










    REACTION The Romanian authorities have described as completely unacceptable the
    latest statements by Ion Chicu, the Prime Minister of the Romanian-speaking
    Republic of Moldova against Romania. In a Facebook post in which he rejects
    criticism of the way in which he is handling the medical crisis and delayed
    reforms, Chicu describes Romania as ‘having the biggest corruption in Europe’.
    In turn, Romania’s Foreign Ministry says such statements are all the more so
    inadequate as Romania has recently sent substantial medical aid to the Republic
    of Moldova to help the latter deal with the pandemic. According to the same
    sources, the statements are denoting a profound lack of respect for Romania,
    for the privileged bilateral relations of strategic partnership for the
    country’s European integration. Romania has pointed out that the implementation
    of the reforms assumed through the Association Agreement with the European Union
    is not only an obligation for the Republic of Moldova but also a guarantee of
    prosperity for its citizens, which can be ensured only through sustained
    efforts of implementing the rule of law and through democratic institutions.










    INQUIRY The National Anti-Corruption Directorate in Bucharest has this week
    announced it has been working on 33 files on the organization, distribution and
    execution of public procurement contracts in the medical field during the
    coronavirus pandemic. Prosecutors have observed ex officio in 25 cases.
    According to chief prosecutor Crin Bologa, the cases involve decision-makers in
    the institutions playing a major role in the procurement of medical equipment
    and materials. An inquiry has been launched against some private companies and
    state institutions.










    (translated by bill)

  • Young People and Civic Engagement

    Young People and Civic Engagement


    Over
    February 1st
    2019 and January 31st
    2020 the ‘Young Initiative’ Association implemented a programme
    entitled ‘United We Stand for European Values’. Funded through
    the European Solidarity Corps, the project was aimed at developing
    critical thinking in young people coming from disadvantaged
    environments in the Bucharest – Ilfov region as well as their civic
    empowerment through non-formal learning contexts so that they may
    become more actively involved in society and in the situations
    concerning them. Here is Eliza
    Vaş, vice-president of the ‘Young Initiative’ Association with
    more on the aforementioned project, drawn up by young people for
    young people.


    Eliza
    Vaş: This
    is the first project of this kind implemented by the volunteers of
    the ‘Young Initiative’ Association, which we carried out by means
    of the funds we got through the European Solidarity Corps. Our goal
    was to develop critical thinking in young people from the
    Bucharest-Ilfov area and help them get more involved in society. We
    mainly addressed young people with ages between 14 and 25,
    high-schoolers, students or those interested in non-formal education
    contexts. More than 250 young people got involved with the project
    during one year of implementation; they participated in 15 events,
    such as interactive workshops, debates or decision-making simulations
    at the level of European bodies. We even had a board game of
    community involvement, which we named ‘United’.




    All
    the participants in the ‘United
    We Stand for European Values’ project were brought together and
    guided in every moment of their activity by members of the ‘Young
    Initiative’ Association. Nevertheless, the impact of their actions
    was being assessed in the end and every participant was able to
    understand how important is for an individual to get involved at
    community level.





    Eliza
    Vas: My
    role during the project was to be a coach, which means that I was
    training in a way or another the team of volunteers. I helped them
    develop and put into practice the activities that are part of the
    project. To use an illustration from football, I was like a headcoach
    standing beside the pitch and watching how the players are putting
    into practice the strategy previously discussed. Then we had
    locker-room talks about what was good and if there is room for
    improvement. The idea is that non-formal education lays very much
    emphasis on reflection in the learning process. The people involved
    become more aware of the knowledge they get and the abilities they
    develop. But most importantly they become aware of the impact they
    produced through their activity.




    The
    project United
    We Stand for European Values is first and foremost focusing on the
    solidarity and the general overview of the young Romanians as
    European citizens. The largest number of debates and workshops were
    staged around the European community values. Here is Elena
    Şelaru, from the International Relations Department of the ‘Young
    Initiative’ Association




    Elena
    Şelaru:
    Practically
    we as an organizing team prepared various workshops and debates on
    issues of European interest to create a framework to be able to talk
    about our rights as European citizens, European values and the
    opportunities of European mobility. My involvement in this project
    consisted in staging a workshop on circular economy and climate
    change for ninth graders of the Technical Energy College in
    Bucharest. I got involved in a simulated decision-making process like
    those in the European Parliament, during which I acted as a
    facilitator. I wanted to make sure my participation was interactive
    and that all participants would be able to express their ideas in a
    safe environment.




    It
    is very important for the young people in the Romanian society to
    have initiative in their fields of interest. Any idea or small action
    can create large-scale projects or activities aimed at improving the
    life of the community they are part of. So the team of the ‘Young
    Initiative’ Association is encouraging such initiatives as they
    themselves are people with initiatives. Here is Elena
    Şelaru at the microphone again.





    Elena
    Selaru:
    I
    believe that if you have initiative it means that you can think for
    yourself and maybe solve some issues or situations other people don’t
    think they need to be dealt with. I believe in our time, many people
    have initiatives and get involved with the local community. And it is
    this involvement that adds the value that makes the difference. And I
    am thinking here of my colleagues from the ‘Young Initiative’, as
    a lot of projects started from their initiatives.


    For
    Elena Şelaru, the working experience with the project ‘United
    We Stand for European Values’ had a special impact not only at the
    professional level. What do the young people who choose to get
    involved in suchlike activities gain actually? Well, they are
    boosting their self-image.




    Elena
    Selaru:After
    the funds had been approved, I had a short time of training, prepared
    the next activities and then started to implement them. Getting
    involved with this project was for me a personal accomplishment as I
    got a series of skills in the process of staging various activities
    and I learnt what assuming responsibility on long term was like.




    The
    solidarity team of ‘United
    We Stand for European Values’
    had 8 people (Elena Şelaru, Andrei Dobrea, Cristina Cautiş, Maria
    Balea, Simona Baciu, Andreea Boieriu, Dragoş Dănilă, Marius
    Ghiţă), six volunteers (Ana Maria Andronache, Maria Baciu, Irina
    Dobreanu, Vlăduţ Ene, Claudiu Brotea) and an experienced trainer
    with the European projects, Eliza Vaş. (Translated by D.B.)

  • Bucharest National Opera House invites music fans to online performances

    Bucharest National Opera House invites music fans to online performances

    Over the past few years, we have enjoyed many premieres, with guests from major international opera houses, with internationally acclaimed directors and impressive stage sets. And because the Bucharest National Opera House, the countrys biggest lyrical music establishment, could not abandon its public, the institution decided to post its performances online. We talked with Stefan Ignat, the director general of the Bucharest National Opera House:



    Stefan Ignat: “We are not sure how long this crisis will last, but for the forthcoming period we have recordings of the performances staged over the past 2 years. I will only mention a few of them—Don Carlos, Tosca, The Troubadour, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Carmina Burana, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nut-Cracker. We have very good recordings of Balliadera, Ludwig Minkus ballet. And we would love for the general public to see them online. This is a difficult period and opera should remain visible. We are planning to post two performances a week, on Mondays and Thursdays at 18.30. We hope the quality of the posts will be appropriate, and if not, we apologize in advance.



    And because the National Opera House means to stay loyal to its public while at the same time winning over new fans, the management is working on a second plan as well, as the director general Stefan Ignat tells us:



    Stefan Ignat: “Over the next period we intend to record brief performances with soloists and orchestra members, arias from their repertoires if possible. We expect the audience to love this, and we are happy to respond to their suggestions. And we also seek to provide the best-quality experiences that we can.



    Every week, the Bucharest National Opera House will post online 2 of its most popular performances. We invited Stefan Ignat to give us a few details about the platform on which we can access these performances:



    Stefan Ignat: “Each performance will be available on the institutions Facebook account. We figured this is a good time for people to learn more about the Bucharest Opera House and about other activities that we carry out. In the coming 2 months, we will probably be able to post all the 13-14 premieres that we have recorded recently.



    The online season started with Giuseppe Verdis Don Carlos. The performance was recorded on February 18, 2018. Stefan Ignat, the director general of the National Opera House in Bucharest, also sent people a personal message:



    Stefan Ignat: “All I want is for people to stay at home, to keep safe from this invisible threat, to stay at home and to listen to us on the online platform.



    In recent years, the National Opera House in Bucharest has delighted us with many premieres. The 2018-2019 season, for instance, concluded with a premiere of “The Troubadour by Giuseppe Verdi, staged by the Italian director Mario de Carlo. Before the premiere, we asked the director to give us a few details about the novelties in his new work, for which he also designed the stage sets, costumes and lights:



    Mario de Carlo: “Its a surprise, so I wouldnt want to ruin it, but I will give you a clue: the Romanian public, the opera lovers in Bucharest, are familiar with my approach. I have a lot of respect for what the composer and librettist have done. As a director, I try to give the common opera-goers what they like. In ‘The Troubadour, I look at not only the superficial contrast, between 2 individuals or 2 souls, but also at a much deeper conflict. Its like a battlefield where 2 world views, 2 ways of living clash. On the one hand, there is Count di Lunas bleak, strict world with rigid rules, and on the other hand there is Manricos world, a light, free world that cannot accept any rules.



    So stay at home, but dont forget to check out the opera shows available on the official Facebook page of the National Opera House in Bucharest, and at www.operanb.ro/operaonline, available to the public on Mondays and Thursdays at 6.30 p.m.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    This weekend matches counting for the 25th leg of Romanias top football league are scheduled, accounting for the last but one stage in this regular season. Two matches on Friday, Chindia Targoviste vs FC Voluntari, in Ploiesti, and CFR Cluj vs Viitorul Constanta in Cluj, will be followed on Saturday by a game pitting Academica Clinceni against Gaz Metan Medias. Also on Saturday, Politehnica Iasi take on Universitatea Craiova. On Sunday, Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe face FC Botosani, while later in the evening the traditional Romanian derby between Dinamo Bucharest and FCSB takes place on the National Arena.



    This is the 176th match between the two Bucharest clubs, and we cannot help noticing the perfectly even score in direct matches so far: each team has won 59 games, and the other matches ended in draws. In terms of championship matches, Dinamo have a slight advantage, with 48 wins against 43, whereas in Romanias Cup FCSB have so far won 15 games and lost 8 of its matches against Dinamo.



    The first time the 2 sides met in the Romanian League One was in November 1948, when Dinamo beat the Army Sports Club, as the team was called at that time, 1-nil. The most recent match was in October 2019, and was a 1-all draw. Dinamo has not won any direct matches against FCSB for almost 3 years, more specifically since May 1, 2017.



    Sundays match comes at a time when the 2 sides are widely apart in the championship standings. FCSB is ranked 3rd at the moment and targets a new champion title. Dinamo, on the other hand, ranks 9th, stands no more chances to move up into the playoffs and, for the 3rd consecutive year, will stay in the play-outs. Still, this is the one match in which the players drive and sense of competitiveness might overturn any previous mathematical estimates.



    We should also mention that the 25th championship leg will end on Monday with a game in Sibiu, pitting FC Hermannstadt against Astra Giurgiu.



    Topping the charts at present are CFR Cluj with 48 points, followed by Craiova and FCSB with 43 points each.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    This weekend matches counting for the 25th leg of Romanias top football league are scheduled, accounting for the last but one stage in this regular season. Two matches on Friday, Chindia Targoviste vs FC Voluntari, in Ploiesti, and CFR Cluj vs Viitorul Constanta in Cluj, will be followed on Saturday by a game pitting Academica Clinceni against Gaz Metan Medias. Also on Saturday, Politehnica Iasi take on Universitatea Craiova. On Sunday, Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe face FC Botosani, while later in the evening the traditional Romanian derby between Dinamo Bucharest and FCSB takes place on the National Arena.



    This is the 176th match between the two Bucharest clubs, and we cannot help noticing the perfectly even score in direct matches so far: each team has won 59 games, and the other matches ended in draws. In terms of championship matches, Dinamo have a slight advantage, with 48 wins against 43, whereas in Romanias Cup FCSB have so far won 15 games and lost 8 of its matches against Dinamo.



    The first time the 2 sides met in the Romanian League One was in November 1948, when Dinamo beat the Army Sports Club, as the team was called at that time, 1-nil. The most recent match was in October 2019, and was a 1-all draw. Dinamo has not won any direct matches against FCSB for almost 3 years, more specifically since May 1, 2017.



    Sundays match comes at a time when the 2 sides are widely apart in the championship standings. FCSB is ranked 3rd at the moment and targets a new champion title. Dinamo, on the other hand, ranks 9th, stands no more chances to move up into the playoffs and, for the 3rd consecutive year, will stay in the play-outs. Still, this is the one match in which the players drive and sense of competitiveness might overturn any previous mathematical estimates.



    We should also mention that the 25th championship leg will end on Monday with a game in Sibiu, pitting FC Hermannstadt against Astra Giurgiu.



    Topping the charts at present are CFR Cluj with 48 points, followed by Craiova and FCSB with 43 points each.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)