Radio România Internațional

Tag: Champions League

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

     

    There are 2 rounds left in the group stage of the women’s handball Champions League. Of the 3 Romanian teams in the competition, only one, CSM Bucharest, has already secured its qualification for the quarter-final play-offs. At the moment, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud and Rapid are ranking 7th in their groups and need good results in the last games to move forward. CSM are in 3rd place in Group A, after a spectacular comeback. After a defeat at the start of 2025, against the very leader of Group A, the French team Metz, the Romanian champions won the following 3 games. It was not enough to hope for one of the top 2 places in the standings, which ensures direct qualification for the quarter-finals, but it has definitely improved their chances to move into the play-offs.

     

    A 3rd place in Group A would have CSM face the 6th-ranking team in Group B, which could even be Rapid Bucharest. The Romanian champions took an important step in this direction in Bucharest on Sunday, when they defeated the team in 4th place in the standings, Podravka Koprivnica, 31 to 30. The Romanian team’s top scorer was, once again, Cristina Neagu, with 8 goals. She was designated Athlete of the Week by Radio Romania International.

     

    In addition to contributing to the team’s success, in the game against Podravka Cristina Neagu achieved a remarkable individual performance: she scored goal number 1200 in the Champions League, a record for the competition. She is best placed to become the competition’s all-time top scorer, followed by two other veterans: the Montenegrin Jovanka Radicevic, from Krim Ljubljana, with 1,164 goals, and Serbia’s Andrea Lekic, currently playing for Ferencváros Budapest, with 1,063. The race will probably end after this season, as Neagu and Radicevic have announced their retirement, and Lekic is already 37 years old, and has been playing in the Champions League for 18 years.

     

    Cristina Georgiana Neagu was born in Bucharest, on August 26, 1988. In 2006, she joined Rulmentul Brașov, then she moved to Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea. In 2010, with Oltchim, she reached the Champions League final. After the team in Vâlcea was disbanded, she transferred to Buducnost Podgorica, with which she won the Champions League in 2015. Since 2017, she has been playing for CSM Bucharest. In 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2018, the International Handball Federation named her the best player in the world. (AMP)

  • Sports UPDATE

    Sports UPDATE

    SPORTS CS Gloria 2018 Bistrita Nasaud, a women’s handball side from northern Romania, was outperformed by Slovenian side Krim Ljubljana 28-25 on Saturday in an away match counting towards group A of the Champions League. After that game, Gloria has few chances to qualify for the play-offs. In the competition’s group B, Rapid Bucharest was outperformed 24-30 by Ludwigsburg of Germany in an away game. In tennis competitions, the Romanian-Italian pair Jaqueline Cristian/Angelica Moratelli has conceded defeat to Magali Kempen of Belgium and Ana Siskova of the Czech Republic in the doubles finals of the tennis tournament Transylvania Open (WTA 250), a competition hosted by Cluj-Napoca, in north-western Romania, with more than 275 thousand dollars in prize money.

    (bill)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

     

    The Australian driver Daniel Sanders won this year’s Dakar Rally in the motorcycle section. The Romanian Emanuel Gyenes came in 20th, but he won the Original by Motul category, where participants compete without technical assistance. This is the second time the Satu Mare born athlete has won this category, after 2020. In 2011 and 2015, he won the Marathon class. His best overall ranking in 15 annual competitions remains the 14th place won in 2016.

     

    At the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, Gabriela Ruse and Marta Kostiuk qualified for the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles event. In the round of 16, the Romanian-Ukrainian pair defeated the 12th-seeded Hanyu Guo of China and Alexandra Panova of Russia 7-5, 4-6, 7-6. The match lasted 3 hours and 14 minutes. Ruse and Kostiuk have played 2 Grand Slam women’s doubles semifinals together, one in Melbourne in 2023 and another at Roland Garros in 2024. Now, they have secured a check for 142,000 Australian dollars and 430 WTA doubles points. In the quarterfinals, they will face the third-seeded Su-Wei Hsieh (Taiwan) and Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia).

     

    In the women’s handball Champions League’s Group A, CSM Bucharest defeated the Slovenian team Krim Ljubljana 36-23 at home on Saturday, while Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud were defeated in Croatia by Podravka Koprivnica 26-25. CSM are in 3rd place in the standings and will play the against Danish team Nykøbing Falster on Sunday. Gloria are in 6th place and will take on the Hungarian team Ferencváros at home on Saturday. In Group B, Rapid suffered another defeat: 25-42 at home against the Danish side Odense, and remains in 7th place in the group. The Romanian vice-champions will also play the next match at home, against another Danish team, Team Esbjerg, on Sunday. The Norwegian team Vipers Kristiansand withdrew from the competition.

     

    In the EHF European League’s Group A, on Saturday, Dunărea Brăila defeated the Norwegian team Larvik 27-24 away from home and will play on Sunday against Thüringer (Germany). In Group B, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea beat the Danish team Ikast, at home, 27-26. On Saturday they are facing the Norwegian team Sola at home. Both Romanian teams lead the standings in their respective groups.

     

    We end with football. Over the weekend, games counting for the 22nd round of the Romanian Super League took place. On Friday, in Clinceni, Unirea Slobozia defeated Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe 3-2, and in Bucharest, FCSB tied 1-1 with Hermannstadt. On Saturday, in Cluj, Universitatea beat Gloria Buzău 2-1, and in Galaţi, Oţelul drew 0-0 with Petrolul Ploieşti. On Sunday, FC Botoşani played at home against CFR Cluj, and Universitatea Craiova took on Dinamo Bucharest on home turf. Both matches ended in 1-all draws. Monday sees the last two games in this round: Farul Constanţa vs UTA Arad and Rapid Bucharest vs Poli Iaşi. Universitatea Cluj top the standings, with 40 points, followed by FCSB with 38. (AMP)

  • January 19, 2025

    January 19, 2025

    UNIONS Romanian trade unionists ask the politicians in power to talk directly with the people, because social tensions are high, and the powder keg could explode at any moment. This warning was issued by the Cartel Alfa federation in a statement that says political decision-makers have abandoned open communication with Romanians. The budget deficit must be corrected by improving collection, but the government refuses to take any measures outside of recipes that have proven ineffective for years, Cartel Alfa also says.

     

    JOBS Nearly 33,000 positions are declared vacant by employers in Romania, the National Employment Agency announced. Most of them, over 20,000, are intended for unskilled applicants or primary and secondary school graduates. Another 10,000 jobs require high school, post-secondary school or vocational education. A little over 1,900 jobs require a degree, including positions as engineers in various sectors, computer programmers, financial and accounting experts or veterinarians. Also, employers from the European Economic Area offer employment through the EURES Romania network; 100 jobs are available in Germany and Spain, and another 27 in Austria, Ireland and Malta.

     

    ECONOMY The World Bank has revised downward its outlook for the Romanian economy this year, mainly due to the fiscal consolidation measures recently announced by the government. In its latest global economic outlook report, the World Bank lowers its estimate for Romania’s economic growth rate to 2.1% this year, as against 3.8% forecast in June 2024. Also, in 2026, Romania’s GDP growth is expected to be 2.6% compared to 3.8%, as estimated in June. On the other hand, economic growth in Central Europe is expected to recover to 2.8% in 2025 and 3% in 2026, thanks to robust private demand. Export growth in Central Europe is expected to remain modest due to slow progress in the Euro area. The level of investments, especially in Poland and Romania, is expected to improve, thanks to structural reforms and EU funding.

     

    MILITARY Hundreds of British military vehicles are on their way to Romania by ferry, in order to take part in a major NATO exercise, London announced. 2,400 British soldiers with 730 military vehicles will form the main battle group, supported by troops from five other NATO countries, with the United Kingdom assuming command of the land component. The new Allied Reaction Force (ARF) replaced the NATO Response Force (NRF) last year, and aims to respond quickly and effectively to any threat in times of peace, crisis or conflict.

     

    MIDDLE EAST A senior Israeli official said that Israel received a list of hostages in Gaza who are to be released today by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has resigned to protest the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israeli media reported today. Ben-Gvir’s far-right and ultranationalist party will leave the ruling coalition. After months of deadlock in the 15-month war in Gaza, a three-stage agreement was reached earlier this week. During an initial six-week ceasefire, 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza are to be released in exchange for 1,904 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, while the Israeli army is to pull out of densely populated areas in Gaza. Meanwhile, however, the army carried on its attacks in Gaza, where at least five people were killed.

     

    HANDBALL The women’s handball team CS Rapid Bucharest face today at home the Danish side Odense Handbold, in the Champions League Group B. The day before, in Group A, the Romanian champions CSM Bucharest defeated the Slovenian side Krim Mercator Ljubljana 36-23, also at home. In the same group, Gloria 2018 Bistriţa-Năsăud were defeated, away from home, by the Croatian team RK Podravka Vegeta Koprivnica, 26-25. In the group standings, CSM are in 4th place, with 10 points, and Gloria are in 6th place, with 6 points.

     

    TENNIS The Romanian-Ukrainian pair Gabriela Ruse/Marta Kostiuk qualified for the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles event at the Australian Open on Sunday, after defeating Hanyu Guo (China) / Alexandra Panova (Russia) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10/6). Ruse and Kostiuk have played two Grand Slam women’s doubles semifinals together, one in Melbourne in 2023 and one at Roland Garros in 2024. In the quarterfinals, they will take on Su-Wei Hsieh (Taiwan) and Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia). (AMP)

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

     

     

    Romania’s football champions, FCSB, Thursday begin their autumn European season. The Bucharest team coached by Elias Charalambous (Cyprus) plays in Europa League, after 4 qualifier rounds.

     

    They first took part in the qualifier rounds of the top-tier continental competition, the Champions’ League, defeating the San Marino champions, AC Virtus Aquaviva, 7-1 away from home and 4-0 on home turf in the first round. In the next round, they outplayed the Israeli champions Maccabi Tel-Aviv, 1-1 in Bucharest and 1-0 away from home, in Hungary. The 3rd round of the Champions’ League qualifiers saw FCSB’s first defeat, to the Czech champions, Sparta Prague, after 1-1 in Prague and 2-3 at home. This sent the Romanian side to the Europa League playoffs, in which they beat the Austrian team LASK Linz, 1-1 in Austria and 1-0 on home turf.

     

    On Thursday, FCSB play their first match in Europa League, with a new format as of this year. In the competition’s main group stage, the Romanians will play against 8 teams, four of which will travel to Bucharest.

     

    The first match will be against the Latvian team Riga Futbols Skolas (RFS). The Baltic team also reached the competition’s main group after having lost to Bodø/Glimt (Denmark) in the Champions League qualifiers, and in the Europa League playoffs they defeated Apoel Nicosia (Cyprus).

     

    FCSB are next to play on home turf against Midtjylland (Denmark) on November 7, Olympiakos Piraeus, on November 28, and Manchester United on January 30, 2025. As for their away matches, the Romanian champions will take on PAOK Thessaloniki (coached by the Romanian Răzvan Lucescu) on October 3, against Glasgow Rangers on October 24, against Hoffenheim on December 12, and Qarabag (Azerbaijan) on January 23.

     

    Worth mentioning is also that by the end of last week FCSB had managed to sell around 34,000 sets of tickets for their home matches in Europa League. According to gsp.ro, this means profits of some EUR 3.4 million for the Bucharest-based team. (AMP)

  • September 19, 2024

    September 19, 2024

    B9 NATO has to react to Russia’s incursions into the airspace of the member countries, in the context of the war in Ukraine – Romania’s Defence Minister, Angel Tilvar said at the B9 meeting of the defence ministers of the allied countries in NATO’s Eastern Flank, held in Bucharest on Wednesday. In turn, the Polish representative said that next month, the allied defence ministers would be tackling the destruction of the drones violating the airspace of NATO. Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovakia are part of the B9 initiative. Talks on security in the area but also assistance in defending the independence of Ukraine through Romania’s decision to donate a Patriot system to the neighboring Ukraine were also hold by Romania’s Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu, who received in Bucharest her Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha.

     

    POLL Most of the Romanians believe the immigrants who come to work in Romania are rather an opportunity than a threat to employment in that country, a recent poll says. Roughly 68%  of the interviewees says the immigrants are actually helping the economy by taking over the vacant jobs whereas 25% believes they are taking the jobs of the Romanians, who have thus to leave the country for a better job. The most tolerant seem to be the young people up to 20 years old, people with higher education and Bucharesters. The poll says that 67% of the interviewees have agreed with the financial incentives aimed at bringing back the Romanians in the Diaspora whereas 31% is against the idea.

     

    HANDBALL On Wednesday night Romanian handball side Dinamo Bucharest clinched a 28-26 away win against Polish side Orlen Wisla Plock in Group A of the Champions League. The Romanian champions have obtained two wins out of the competition’s two legs. Dinamo will be taking on Macedonian side Eurofarm Pelister Bitola in a home match on September 26.

     

    CSAT Romania’s Higher Defence Council (CSAT) has been summoned by the country’s president Klaus Iohannis for talks in Bucharest on the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine and its implications for Romania. The CSAT members are also tackling the opportunities offered by the new geopolitical context for the consolidation of the strategic partnership with the ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova in order to ensure the irreversibility of its European roadmap. Last, but not least, the CSAT is expected to tackle the national plan of fitting the Romanian armed forces with proper equipment.

     

    TALKS The government in Bucharest is focusing on the country’s reindustrialization and is working on the national Plan aimed at streamlining the country’s main industry. The plan, which is worth 2 billion Euros, will be centred on three main pillars; support for the strategic investment in the processing industry, state aid for the big companies, with investments aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption and support for the companies producing raw materials. According to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu the Executive wants to strengthen the model of investment-based economic development.

     

    RISK According to the Romanian Institute of Hydrology the Danube’s level on its entry into Romania is expected to rise significantly until September 24thmore than double than the multiannual average of the month of September. However, authorities have given assurances the Iron Gates dam is ready to take over and transit the waters resulted from the heavy rainfalls in central Europe. The risk of flooding in eastern Romania, heavily affected by Cyclone Boris, remains high with orange and yellow alerts in place.

    (bill)

     

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

     

     

    The Romanian tennis player Miriam Bulgaru won the WTA 125 tournament in Bucharest, which ended on Sunday. She won the final against Kathinka von Deichmann, of Liechtenstein, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4. This has been Bulgaru’s best performance so far, for which she was rewarded with USD 15,000 and 125 WTA points.

     

    Saturday and Sunday saw matches in the second round of the women’s handball Champions League. In Group B, Romanian vice-champions Rapid Bucharest Sunday managed a notable performance, with a 30-30 draw away from home against the Norwegian side Vipers Kristiansand, last year’s League champions. Top scorers for Rapid were Albertina Kassoma with 6 goals and Eliza Buceschi (5 goals). In the next round, Rapid will take on Ludwigsburg (Germany), on Sunday in Bucharest.

     

    In Group A, on Saturday, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud lost their away game against the French team Metz, (26-28). Top scorer for the Romanian side was Danila So Delgado with 8 goals. On Sunday, in Bucharest, CSM won against Storhamar (Norway), 32-28. The Romanian champions’ best player was Elizabeth Omoregie (8 goals). This Saturday, Gloria plays at home against Krim Ljubljana (Slovenia), while CSM Bucharest will face Podravka Koprivnica in Croatia.

     

    The 9th round of the Romanian football Super League also took place this weekend. On Friday, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe won 3-0 on home turf against FC Botoşani, and Dinamo won in Bucharest, 1-0 against Unirea Slobozia. Saturday brought 2 draws: Gloria Buzău vs Otelul Galaţi (0-0) and Petrolul Ploieşti vs Farul Constanţa (1-1). On Sunday, Politehnica Iaşi defeated Universitatea Craiova (2-0), while CFR Cluj and FCSB drew (2-all) in Cluj. The last 2 matches in this round were scheduled for Monday, UTA vs. Hermannstadt and Rapid Bucharest vs. Universitatea Cluj. Universitatea Cluj top the ranking so far, with 18 points, followed by Oţelul Galaţi, with 16 points. (AMP)

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

     

    The qualifiers for the group stages of European football competitions are drawing to a close. This week, the first leg of the playoffs is scheduled both for the Champions’ League and for Europa League and Conference League. At this point, Romania is represented by 2 teams: FCSB, fighting for a place in the Europa League groups, and CFR Cluj, very close to the Conference League group stage. Both Romanian teams are playing on Thursday.

     

    FCSB takes on LASK Linz in Austria. If they win the 2 legs of the playoffs, the team moves up into the Europa League groups. If they lose, they stay in the Conference League competition. The team based in Oberösterreich finished 3rd-placed this past season of Austria’s top league. Their best performance in Europe was in 2020, when they reached the eighth-finals of the Europa League, to be kicked out by Manchester United. LASK also reached the round of 16 in Conference League, in 2022, but was defeated by Slavia Prague. Last season, in Europa League, LASK played in Group E, where it finished last-placed, after Liverpool, Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium, and Toulouse. Also worth noting is that Linz and FCSB played a friendly match early this year in Turkey, where our team won 3-1.

     

    CFR Cluj plays Paphos, of Cyprus, and their first match will be on home turf. The Cypriot team got into the Conference League playoffs after dramatically defeating the Bulgarian side ŢSKA Sofia 1948 in the 3rd qualifying round. In the first round, in Bulgaria, ŢSKA had won 2-1. In Cyprus, the 2 teams drew, nil-all, until 7 minutes into extra time, when Paphos scored, making the result even and pushing the game into an extra 30 minutes, when they increased their lead to 4-0. Previously, Paphos had lost the first qualifying round of Europa League to the Swedish side Elfsborg, and had defeated Žalgiris Vilnius of Lithuania in the Conference League’s second qualifying round.

  • August 7, 2024

    August 7, 2024

    INTEREST RATE – The Central Bank board is today analyzing the possibility of further reducing the monetary policy interest rate, currently standing at 6.75%. According to an internal analysis, consumer loans continue to go up amidst the reduction of interest rates for new loans and the relaxation of loaning terms due to growing competitiveness among banks. According to Eurostat, Romania reported the biggest increase of retail sales at EU level in June 2024 compared to the same period of last year.

     

    NATO – A detachment of the Spanish Air Forces will conduct enhanced air policing missions under NATO command, in partnership with the Romanian Air Forces. Spanish pilots are thus taking over command of the operation from their British and Finnish counterparts at the Air Base in Mihail Kogălniceanu (southeast). For four months, they will be overflying the Black Sea region to ensure the security of Romanian and NATO air space. This is the third rotation for the Spanish Air Forces in Romania, where NATO deployed allied troops in 2014 following the illegal annexation of Crimea, to ensure the security of the Black Sea region, an area facing complex threats in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

     

    MIDDLE EAST – The world’s diplomats are working around the clock to prevent an attack from Iran and its allies on Israel. The United States have called on countries in the region to convince Teheran an attack would not serve its best interests. Foreign Ministers of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are today convening in Teheran to discuss the matter. The situation remains tense, with Israeli authorities on high alert after Iran promised a swift retaliation in response to the recent assassination of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

     

    AID FOR UKRAINE – The EU Council has disbursed the first installment worth 4.2 bln EUR as part of the Ukraine Facility financial assistance plan. Kyiv is bound to receive 50 bln EUR in grants and loans to finance the state budget and stimulate investment. According to Radio Romania’s Brussels correspondent, Ukraine must implement reforms in public finance management, the functioning of state-owned enterprises, the business sector and energy, as part of the Ukraine Facility Plan agreed with the European Commission. Economic recovery, reconstruction and modernization in the wake of the Russian aggression are also key points in the Plan.

     

    UNTOLD – The 9th edition of the Untold Music Festival kicks off on Thursday in Cluj-Napoca (west). Some 250 Romanian and international artists will be holding concerts during the four days, including renowned artists and DJs such as Lenny Kravitz, Salvatore Ganacci, Sam Smith and Burna Boy. The latter is the only African artist with two consecutive sold-out events on London Stadium. Burna Boy will perform on the last day of the festival. Untold is the biggest and most popular music festival in Romania, attracting fans from all over the world every year.

     

    OLYMPICS – Romanian athletes are today competing in athletics, weightlifting, canoeing and wrestling at the Paris Olympics. So far, Romania ranks 16th in the medal standings, with 3 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze. On Tuesday, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation announced it has submitted a notification to the International Gymnastics Federation, calling for an investigation into the faulty examination of Sabrina Voinea’s floor routine in the Olympic gymnastics event. Federation officials have also submitted notifications to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) to restore Sabrina Voinea’s bronze medal, who went to Jordan Chiles of the USA following an inquiry at the end of her routine. Voinea’s routine was rated with a penalty deduction due to the gymnast allegedly stepping out of bounds, something video footage fail to confirm, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee wrote. In turn, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu expressed outrage at the whole affair, announcing he would not attend the closing ceremony as a sign of protest.

     

    FOOTBALL – FCSB and Sparta Prague were tied 1-1 on Tuesday evening in the first leg of the Champions League third preliminary round, played in Prague. The return leg is slated for August 13 in Bucharest. In case of a win, FCSB will play the winner of the match pitting Malmö FF of Sweden against PAOK Thessaloniki of Greece. In case of a loss, FCSB will continue in Europa League, playing against LASK Linz of Austria. (VP)

  • Sports Roundup

    All the Romanian players taking part in the Australian Open have left the competition. Victor Cornea, the last of the Romanians to be outplayed, lost the second round of the mens doubles, in which he partnered with Indias Nsriram Balaji. They were defeated on Saturday 6-3, 6-3 by Marcelo Arevalo (El Salvador) and Mate Pavic (Croatia), seeded no 10. On Friday, the last Romanian in the womens doubles had also been left behind: Ana Bogdan (Romania) and Rebeka Masarova (Spain) lost to seed no 6 Desirae Krawczyk (USA) / Ena Shibahara (Japan), 6-3, 6-1, in the second round. The other Romanian players in the womens doubles, Sorana Cîrstea and Monica Niculescu, had lost in the first round.



    In the womens handball Champions League, Group A, CSM Bucharest Sunday defeated the Swedish side Sävehof, 35 to 26. The Romanian champions are placed 3rd in the group and are due to play away from home against group leader Györ, in two weeks time. In Group B, Rapid lost away from home to the Danish team Ikast, 29 to 30. Three rounds before the end of the group stage, the Bucharest-based team is ranked 7th, and their next game is at home against Hungarys Ferencváros. The top 2 teams in the group go straight into the quarter-finals, while the teams ranking 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th in each group move into the playoff stage.



    In the EHF European Leagues Group C on Saturday, Gloria Bistriţa drew 19-all at home against Nantes. The French side tops the group ranking with 5 points, on a par with second-ranked Gloria, but with a better goal average. Also on Saturday, in Group D, CSM Târgu Jiu took on Sola (Norway). The Scandinavian team won 40 to 29, with CSMs third defeat in a row sending them to the bottom of the group ranking. On Sunday in the competitions Group B, Dunărea Brăila defeated Lokomotiva Zagreb in Croatia, 30 to 29, and stays second in the group ranking, 2 points behind the group leader Thüringer (Germany).



    This past weekend saw matches counting towards the 22nd round of the Romanian football Super League. On Friday in Sfântu Gheorghe, Sepsi beat Politehnica Iaşi 6-0, and in Bucharest Rapid outplayed FC U Craiova 4-3. On Saturday, Universitatea Cluj won at home against Hermannstadt 2-1, and Petrolul defeated Dinamo Bucharest 1-0. On Sunday, bottom-ranking FC Botoşani managed a surprising 1-0 win against second-placed CFR Cluj. It was the Botoşani clubs second victory this championship, and the match cost the CFR Cluj coach Andrea Mandorlini his post. Also on Sunday, Farul Constanţa defeated Universitatea Craiova 2-1 away from home. The rounds last 2 matches take place on Monday: FC Voluntari vs Oțelul Galați and FCSB vs UTA Arad.


    Bucharests FCSB tops the current standings with 44 points, 8 points ahead of the runner-up CFR Cluj. (AMP)


  • January 7, 2024

    January 7, 2024

    Saint John. Orthodox Christians and Greek Catholics celebrate, today, Saint John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament and the only one who knew the Messiah, whose coming he had prepared. The Jews recognized him as a prophet and would come to get baptized in the waters of the Jordan, to repent their sins. The meeting with Jesus also took place in Jordan. John introduced Jesus as the Messiah. Almost two million Romanians are celebrating their name today. Old-style Christians also celebrate Christmas on January 7th.



    Israel. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, was received, on Sunday, in Amman by King Abdullah II of Jordan, who asked him to put pressure on Israel to obtain an immediate truce in the Gaza war against the terrorist group Hamas, FP reports. Blinken arrived in Jordan on Saturday night as part of a new tour of the Middle East in an attempt to prevent an escalation of the conflict. The Hashemite sovereign also emphasized the need to put an end to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The king said that there will be no peace and stability in the region without a just settling of the Palestinian issue, based on the two-state solution, Palestinian and Israeli. From Jordan, Blinken will go to Qatar, the emirate that acted as a mediator between Israel and Hamas since the end of November. From there, the US official will travel to Abu Dhabi, to Saudi Arabia – on Monday – and then Israel. In another move, the Israeli army has announced that it has completed the destruction of the command structure of the terrorist group Hamas in the north of the Gaza Strip. The army spokesman said that Israel had killed about 8,000 militants in northern Gaza and that Israeli forces were now focusing on destroying Hamas in the south and center of the Strip.



    Ukraine. Last night, Russia launched attacks with drones and three cruise missiles at Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force has announced today, adding that their air defense systems destroyed more than 20 of the drones. The Air Force reported that Russia attacked the south and east of Ukraine in particular, Reuters reports. The Japanese foreign minister, Yoko Kamikawa, is visiting Ukraine today, where he will meet his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, as well as other officials. Minister Kamikawa will once again confirm to the Ukrainian side that Japans consistent policies to support Ukraine remain unchanged even in the current difficult international situation, the press service of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, quoted by news agencies.



    Handball. The Romanian womens handball champion, CSM Bucharest, takes on, today, the Montenegrin team Buducnost, in group A of the Champions League. CSM is in the fourth position, and the leader of the group is Gyor (Hungary). On Saturday, the other representative of Romania in the Champions League, Rapid Bucharest, was dramatically defeated by the Slovenian team Krim Mercator Ljubljana, 25-24, away from home, in Group B. Rapid is the penultimate in the group, and in first position is Esbjerg, from Denmark.



    Weather. Precipitations have covered all regions of Romania. It is predominantly raining, but snow will soon take over many regions. A yellow code alert will be in place starting this evening, as meteorologists say there will be strong winds, snow falls and blizzard affecting in particular the east and southeast of the territory. During the night from Sunday to Monday and in the first part of Monday, in the east, south and southeast, there will be mainly rains that will turn into snow falls. Meteorologists have also announced that starting Monday the weather will cool significantly, so that on Tuesday the highs of the day will be negative, ranging from minus 8 to 0 degrees Celsius. Its currently raining in the capital Bucharest, the maximum of the day stood at 10 degrees Celsius. (MI)


  • Sports Weekend


    Arcada Galaţi saw their first win in the group stage of the mens volleyball Champions League. In the competitions Group E on Thursday, the Romanian champions defeated the Czech side Lvi Prague 3-2, at home. On Tuesday, in the other match in the group, the Italian team Civitanova beat the Belgian side Greenyard Maaseik 3-0, away from home. Civitanova tops the group ranking with 3 wins. In a weeks time, Arcada is scheduled to take on Greenyard Maaseik in Belgium. In the first round of the Challenge Cup eighth-finals, the Romanian mens volleyball team Steaua Bucharest lost to Giesen (Germany) 2-3 away from home. The return leg is scheduled next Thursday in Bucharest.



    The sports club Dinamo Bucharest awarded its best athletes of the year 2023. The top performers for the club this year are the rowers Mădălina Bereş, Amalia Bereş and Maria Lehaci Tivodariu. The 3 members of Romanias Olympic team had identical accomplishments in 2023, specifically 2 gold medals each at the European Championships in Bled, and one gold and one silver medal each at the World Championships in Belgrade.



    This weekend, matches are scheduled counting towards the 20th round of the Romanian football Super League. After 2 matches on Friday, FC Voluntari vs. FC U Craiova and Petrolul Ploieşti vs. Rapid Bucharest, Saturday will see UTA Arad take on Farul Constanţa in Sibiu, Universitatea Craiova play at home against Politehnica Iaşi, and FCSB pitted against Hermannstadt on the National Arena in Bucharest. Two other games are scheduled on Sunday: Oţelul Galaţi take on Universitatea Cluj away from home, and Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe play on home turf against CFR Cluj. The last match of this round takes place on Monday, with FC Botoşani facing Dinamo Bucharest. Top of the Super League standings at present are FCSB, with 38 points, followed by CFR, with 33. (AMP)


  • November 18, 2023

    November 18, 2023

    WEATHER The National Meteorology Agency issued code yellow and
    orange alerts for wind, heavy snow fall and snow storms valid in most of
    Romania. A code yellow alert is in place until Sunday morning in the eastern
    half of the country and in the mountains. A code orange alert for heavy mixed
    precipitation is also issued for the south-east and the south. Several flood alerts concern rivers in most of
    the country. The highs range between 2 and 11 degrees Celsius today, with 8
    degrees Celsius reported in Bucharest at noon.

    TERRORISM A young Romanian
    national from Braşov (central Romania) has been taken into custody for
    promoting terrorist propaganda materials, the Directorate Investigating
    Organised Crime and Terrorism Offences announced. The young man praised
    terrorist organisations from the Middle East on his social media account, and
    posted instructions for the production and use of firearms and explosives.


    ISRAEL Palestinian medical sources announced that scores of people
    were killed or wounded today in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip,
    following Israeli air strikes. On Friday Israel had announced it would expand
    military operations in the south, after handing out fliers in Khan Yunis the
    previous day asking civilians to head for the tent camps on the sea coast in
    order to avoid the massive shelling planned by the army. Israel’s ex-PM Ehud
    Olmert told Euronews that the Hamas underground command centre was in Khan
    Yunis, and not at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. In related news, Pope
    Francis will have separate meetings on Wednesday with the families of the
    Israeli hostages in Gaza and with relatives of the Palestinians living there,
    the Vatican announced. The Pope previously said that Every human being, of any
    people or religion, every human being is sacred, is precious in the eyes of God
    and has the right to live in peace.


    CHRISTMAS In the city of Craiova, southern Romania, hundreds of
    people witnessed the nearly 2 million lights of the local Christmas Fair being
    turned on Friday night. This year’s fair is themed around Andersen’s fairy
    tale The Snow Queen, and all the decorations are white and turquoise. A giant
    Christmas tree, a 40m tall merry-go-round and a skating rink are the main
    attractions. Concerts and creative workshops will also be held here until the 2nd
    of January. Sibiu, in central Romania, also opened its Christmas Fair in the
    city’s main square. For the first time this year, the Fair includes the courtyard
    of the Brukenthal Palace, a historical monument built between 1778 and 1788.


    AMBASSADOR The foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Friday received
    the new British Ambassador to Romania, Giles Portman. On this occasion, Mrs.
    Odobescu highlighted the important role of bilateral cooperation in defence and
    security and the significant potential in the field of trade and investments,
    as well as the substantial contribution of the 1.2 million Romanians living in
    UK to strengthening the ties between the two countries. In 2024 Romania will
    host the second Romania-UK Bilateral Forum, after the first edition of the
    event held this March in London.


    SPORTS Romania’s national football team takes on Israel tonight in Felcsut (Hungary), in
    Preliminary Group I of the EURO 2024. In women’s handball, CSM Bucharest plays
    against the Hungarian side DVSC Schaeffler, away from home, in the Champions’
    League Group A, while CS Rapid Bucharest are up against Vipers Kristiansand (Norway)
    in the competition’s Group B. In the first leg of the 3rd
    preliminary round of the EHF European League, CSM Târgu Jiu play at home
    against the Swedish side Onnereds HK. (AMP)

  • July 17, 2023

    July 17, 2023

    SUMMIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis
    takes part on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels in the 3rd summit of
    the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. The main goal of the summit is to revive the partnership
    between the EU and Latin American countries, in the context of current
    geopolitical developments, including Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to
    the Romanian presidency, Mr. Iohannis will highlight the importance of the
    cooperation between the 2 regions for the management of new global challenges,
    of the complex challenges facing both regions, and of the new development
    opportunities that may be capitalised on through enhanced cooperation. The
    Romanian president will also emphasise that Romania’s active commitment to a
    closer cooperation between the 2 regions was reconfirmed in all his meetings
    with his counterparts, during his official visits to Brazil, Chile and
    Argentina this April.


    GOVERNMENT The
    Social Democratic MPs Natalia Intotero and Simona Bucura-Oprescu have been
    appointed by their party leaders today as the new ministries for family and
    labour, respectively. The 2 positions were vacant after the resignation of Gabrielei
    Firea as minister for family and of Marius Budăi as labour minister, following
    a scandal concerning care home abuses in Ilfov County, near the capital
    Bucharest, where prosecutors are investigating organised crime groups exploiting
    vulnerable people. Simona Bucura-Oprescu chairs the Committee on public
    administration and country planning in the Chamber of Deputies. She was elected
    as Deputy for Argeş County as a Social Democratic candidate, first in 2012, and
    then in 2016 and 2020. Natalia Intotero was a minister for the Romanian
    diaspora in 2018-2019 and a state secretary with the Foreign Ministry. She is
    also at her 3rd term in office as an MP, and since December 2020 she
    has been chairing the Chamber’s committee on education.


    TAXATION The government of Romania is looking at a set of
    tax increases to be applied as of September 1 in order to offset the budget
    deficit. The planned changes include a new 1% tax on residential buildings
    worth over EUR 500,000, and higher taxes on tobacco products and gambling. According
    to governmental sources, 2 VAT rates will remain in force, with a 9% tax rate
    for foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and prostheses, and a 19% rate for other
    products and services. The government is also considering the introduction of
    public health insurance contributions for employees in agriculture and
    constructions, thus eliminating current exemptions in these sectors. Additional
    taxes will be charged on transfers by companies that move their profits out of
    the country. As many as 85.8% of the small and medium-sized enterprises are
    against these proposed amendments to the Fiscal Code, the SME Council president
    Florin Jianu says.


    CULTURE This week’s agenda of the Timişoara – European Capital
    of Culture programme includes theatre, performing arts, cinema, exhibitions and
    gastronomy. The world-famous US actor John Malkovich stars in The Infernal
    Comedy staged by the National Theatre in Timişoara, supported by the Vienna
    Academy Orchestra, in 3 sold-out performances on Thursday and Friday. On
    Tuesday, the Revolution Memorial Museum opens an exhibition on The Berlin
    Wall, a border through Germany, and Wednesday sees the first screening of a travel
    documentary by Florin Iepan, entitled My journey to Romania – Letter from
    Timişoara, depicting the city as seen by a Norwegian traveller, Christoffer
    Johansen.


    SPORTS Romanian
    football champions Farul Constanţa take on Sheriff Tiraspol, of the R. of
    Moldova, on Tuesday night, in the Champions League’s first qualifying round. In the first leg, Farul won 1-0 on home
    turf. The winning team is next to play against the winner of the round pitting Maccabi Haifa (Israel) against Hamrun Spartans (Malta), in
    which the Israeli side won the first leg 4-0. Three
    Romanian teams are playing in Conference League as well. In the 2nd
    qualifying round, former champions CFR Cluj take on Adana Demirspor, of Turkey.
    Cup winners Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe are pitting against CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria), while
    vice-champions FCSB (Bucharest) are facing CSKA 1948 Sofia. The first leg is
    scheduled for July 27, with the return leg due a week later. (AMP)

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

    The womens handball team CSM Bucharest has this week taken a big step towards winning the national championship. Coach Adrian Vasiles students beat the defending champions, Rapid Bucharest, 27-26, and went 9 points ahead of them in the ranking.



    The match was quite balanced, with both team taking turns in the lead, but CSM went 4 goals ahead of Rapid in the last 10 minutes of the game. The best scorer for the winning team was Cristina Neagu, with 8 goals, while for Rapid Orlane Kanor scored 6 times. Rapid missed Sorina Grozav, one of the best players of todays generation in Romanian handball.



    After this 14th leg of the championship, CSM ranks first with 40 points, followed by Gloria Bistrița, with 34 and SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, with 32. Rapid only comes 4th, with 31 points.



    This weekend, CSM and Rapid are playing in the Champions League, and SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea in the EHF European League. On Saturday Rapid are taking on Group B leaders Metz in France. This is a critical game for the Romanian champions, as a win would secure their place in the quarter-finals. Metz is currently top of the table with 21 points, followed by 3 teams with 18 points: Győr (Hungary), Esbjerg (Denmark), and Rapid.



    In Group A, CSM play at home on Sunday against another French team: Brest Bretagne. Romanias vice-champions are already qualified into the quarter-finals and top the group with 21 points. Next come Vipers Kristiansand (Norway), with 19 points.



    In EHF European League, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea play at home on Saturday against Thüringer. The German team is currently the leader of Group D, with 6 points in 3 matches. Vâlcea comes second with 2 points, followed by Paris 92 (France), and Vác (Hungary). (AMP)