Radio România Internațional

Tag: Cirstea

  • March 23, 2024

    March 23, 2024

    ARRESTS The Kremlin announced on Saturday the arrest of 11 people, including four perpetrators of the recent attack at a concert hall on Moscow’s outskirts, claimed by a Jihadist group known as the Islamic State. Assailants dressed up in camouflage suits opened fire with automatic weapons against the people attending the concert. According to AFP and Reuters, the death toll stands at 150 and is expected to rise. Health Ministry sources have announced that 115 people have been admitted to hospitals, including five children. Parliament sources have announced on Telegram, that two suspects have been detained in the region of Briansk after a car chase. Other suspects have taken refuge in a forest nearby.

     

    TENNIS Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea is today taking on US challenger Sloane Stephens in the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, Florida with more than 8 million dollars in prize money. The game was postponed in the first set due to the rain at 5-2 to Cirstea. The other three Romanians in the competition, Simona Halep, Ana Bogdan and Jaqueline Cristian have been eliminated in the first round. We recall that Halep, a former number one, has returned to competitions after a suspension of a year and a half for alleged doping.

     

    BORDER According to the Border Police General Inspectorate over 190 thousand people, Romanian and foreign citizens, as well as 57 thousand vehicles crossed Romania’s borders on 22nd of March. 96,119 people entered Romania yesterday, including 8,489 Ukrainian nationals. Since 10 February 2022, two weeks before the Russian invasion, 7,600,853 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania. According to the same sources, procedures at Romania’s border checkpoints are done under the national and community legislation.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side ended in a one-all draw their friendly against Northern Ireland in Bucharest on Friday. Romania will next play Columbia on neutral ground in Madrid on Tuesday. These are the first two training matches of our squad before EURO 2024 in Germany in summer. In June, Romania will be playing also in friendlies against the selections of Bulgaria and Lichtenstein. At the final continental tournament, our side is part of Group E where it will be playing Belgium, Slovakia and the winner of the tie game on Tuesday pitching Ukraine against Iceland. On Thursday night in the tie semis, Iceland secured a 4-1 win against Israel and Ukraine clinched a 2-1 win in Bosnia.

     

    WEATHER The weather is nice and warm in almost all Romanian regions with highs ranging between 11 and 21 degrees Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was 18 degrees.

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  • February 23, 2024 UPDATE

    February 23, 2024 UPDATE

    Ukraine – Approximately 7 million Ukrainians have left their country since the beginning of the war, 2 years ago, and 77,000 are currently in Romania. Of these refugees, over 80% are women and children. On Friday, at the North Railway Station in Bucharest, a symbolic place where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians entered our country, the Romanian authorities, non-governmental organizations and refugees marked these two years of war. President Klaus Iohannis appreciated, on this occasion, that “it is important for Europe to remain united, despite the difficulties it faces, and to continue providing the help that Ukraine needs”. He also said that “it is necessary for the authorities, together with the international partners, to continue efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and especially for the integration of those who are on the territory of the Romanian state”. Iohannis will go to Paris on Monday to participate in a working meeting on the war in Ukraine and on the intensification of efforts to continue the support given to this country. The meeting is organized by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and it will be attended by a series of NATO leaders.

     

    Meeting – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, and her Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, adopted, in New Delhi, the Joint Declaration on the 10th anniversary of the Romania-India Extended Partnership. The meeting between the two officials took place on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue International Conference. The declaration aims at strengthening Romanian-Indian bilateral relations, as well as cooperation in a multilateral context. It also emphasizes the sectoral priority approach in three areas, namely energy, IT&C and manufacturing, according to a Foreign Ministry press release. Both ministers appreciated the progress made in the development of Romanian-Indian relations and confirmed the common commitment to strengthening collaboration in priority areas, with an emphasis on economic relations and sectoral cooperation.

     

    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea was defeated by the Italian Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 7-6, on Friday, in the semifinals of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), which has total prizes up for grabs worth over 3.2 million dollars. The Romanian was coming after two exhausting matches, with the Croatian Donna Vekic (2 h 15 min) and the Czech Marketa Vondrousova (2 h 41 min), while Paolini benefited, on Thursday, from the absence of her opponent in the quarterfinals, the Kazakh Elena Rîbakina. Cîrstea, who will equal her best ranking in her career, on Monday, when the new WTA ranking is published (21st place), got a check of almost 160 thousand dollars and 390 points.

     

    Government – The Romanian Agriculture Minister, Florin Barbu, is called, next week, to the Senate, at the Ministerial Question Time. From the opposition, Save Romania Union – USR asked him to publicly present to what extent the demands of the farmers who protested in January were resolved, and also to provide explanations regarding, among others, the transit of grains from Ukraine and the increase in food prices.

     

    Moscow – The mother of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has accused the Russian authorities of wanting to bury her son in secret, without a funeral, given that they have so far refused to hand over the body to the family, Reuters reports. Liudmila Navalnaya said that she was blackmailed and threatened to accept a secret burial. Alexei Navalny died last week, at the age of 47, in an Arctic penal colony where he was imprisoned. Just the day before, he had appeared at a trial and seemed healthy and in good spirits. Navalny’s lawyers say that on the death certificate drawn up by the authorities it is written that he died of natural causes. International leaders, family members and Russian supporters of Navalny say that the Russian authorities are responsible for his death, and some have even claimed that he was murdered. In the past, Navalny had survived a poisoning with a neurotoxic agent, which had been previously used by the Russian secret services. (LS)

  • September 2, 2023

    September 2, 2023

    Budget — The European Commission might agree to a higher budget deficit than the one originally assumed by Romania for this year, says the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, after the meeting, in Brussels, on Friday, with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Romania assumed a deficit of 4.4%, but it wants to increase it to over 5%. Marcel Ciolacu also mentioned the package of laws that the government will take responsibility for in Parliament, stating that among the fiscal measures considered, there will not be an increase in the VAT rate over 19%. In Brussels, the Prime Minister Ciolacu also met with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. They reiterated their support for Bucharests accession to Schengen and, on the other hand, they thanked Romania for the strong support offered to neighboring Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.



    Summit — The US President Joe Bidens special envoy on climate issues, John Kerry, is coming to Bucharest. The US State Department announces that, on Wednesday, he will participate in the Summit of the Three Seas Initiative, a diplomatic format that includes 12 member states of the European Union located between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas. John Kerry will talk about how an accelerated transition to clean energy strengthens energy security and resilience in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as about new nuclear technologies, including Romanias role in the construction of small modular reactors. John Kerry was Secretary of State between 2013 and 2017, during the second term of President Barack Obama.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea qualified, for the first time, in the round of 16 of the US Open tournament, the last Grand Slam competition of the year, on Friday, in New York, after her surprise victory over Kazakhstans Elena Rîbakina, with the score 6 -3, 6-7, 6-4. The Romanian (30 WTA) achieved her best performance at Flushing Meadows. In the round of 16, Sorana Cîrstea will face the Swiss Belinda Bencic. Also in New York, in the womens doubles, the Romanian-Ukrainian pair Gabriela Ruse/Marta Kostiuk qualified for the round of 16, after defeating the Russian-Australian pair Irina Hromaceva/Daria Saville 6-2, 6-2. Ruse and Kostiuk reached the semifinals of the doubles event at the Australian Open this year, stopped in the round of 16 at Roland Garros and in the second round at Wimbledon.



    Swimmer – The Romanian librarian Avram Iancu finished, on Friday, his swimming race on the Rhine, through which he wanted to support, in his own way, the importance of Romanias accession to the Schengen Area. A multi-sport athlete, he managed to cover the 1,032 kilometers of the river in 48 days, without a neoprene suit or other aids, making an effort that he described as titanic and unimaginable. In the summer of 2017, Avram Iancu became the first man in the world who managed to cross the Danube River using only the strength of his arms. (LS)

  • September 1, 2023

    September 1, 2023

    SCHENGEN ‘It is in the national
    interest of Hungary that Romania join Schengen as soon as possible’ the
    country’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto’ said firmly asking Austria not to
    block the accession of Romania to Europe’s border-free area this autumn.
    According to the Hungarian news agency MTI, the official in Budapest said the
    decision on accession must be based on facts. According to him, Romania is
    Hungary’s third export market and an investment place very popular with the Hungarian
    investors. The Hungarian Foreign Minister has also mentioned that a minority of
    Romanians is living on the Hungarian territory while a Hungarian minority is
    living in Romania. In December last year, Austria blocked Romania and
    Bulgaria’s access to Schengen invoking that it could not support its enlargement
    as long as this area is not functional.


    VISIT The first formal
    visit, the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has paid to Brussels since he
    took office, kicks off today with a meeting with the European Council president
    Charles Michel. Ciolacu will also have talks with the head of the European
    Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, and with the president of the European
    Parliament Roberta Metsola. ‘Romania is stable politically and economically and
    has seen the second biggest economic growth among the EU members, strongly
    supported by the direct foreign investment. We are going to preserve the
    dynamics of the Romanian economy and the investors’ trust through the reform we
    have been making in the essential fields’, the Romanian Prime Minister went on
    to say. Romania would like to be allowed a budget deficit over 5% and in order
    to convince Brussels, the Prime Minister is expected to propose a series of
    fiscal measures. These include bringing the number of VAT quotas down to only two
    and cancelling a number of facilities. Ciolacu is expected to explain that Romania
    needs a budget deficit of 5% because the country has supported the neighboring
    Ukraine affected by the war.






    DIPLOMACY The
    Romanian diplomacy will continue to support and promote solid partnerships and
    relationships based on democratic values, respect for fundamental freedoms and
    rights, international law and order based on rules – the Romanian Foreign
    Minister Luminita Odobescu said on Friday. In her message on the Romanian
    Diplomacy Day, Mrs. Odobescu recalls that this day is being celebrated ‘in a
    difficult and complex regional context, which jointly with the accelerated
    global developments calls more than ever for a predictable foreign policy,
    coherent, adjusted, dynamic and anticipating.’ Referring to the priorities of
    the Romanian diplomacy, Mrs. Odobescu enumerated the increasing role and
    influence of Romania’s inside the EU and NATO as well as the development and
    deepening of the country’s Strategic Partnership with the USA. And neither will
    the development of the consular services for the Romanian nationals outside the
    country be neglected – the Romanian official went on to say.






    TEAM A team of the European Commission is to visit Romania on
    Friday and Saturday for talks on ways to streamline the local capabilities
    handling the Ukrainian grain exports, after Russia has left the initiative
    regarding these exports through the Black Sea and is presently threatening
    maritime civil transportation. The expert team will be visiting the ports of
    Galati, on the Danube and meet representatives of the Lower Danube
    Administration, port authorities and pilots. The team will also travel to the
    Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta for talks with the representatives of the
    operators, transporters and grain traders here, the European Commission has
    announced.






    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea
    will be up against fourth seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the third
    round of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Cirstea has
    never made it through the third round of this famous competition, which she attended
    in 2009, 2019 and 2020. Last year Cirstea was eliminated in the second round.
    Another Romanian player, Patricia Tig has been eliminated today by the US
    challenger Jessica Pagula 6-3, 6-1.


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  • August 8, 2023

    August 8, 2023

    PENSIONS The
    Romanian MPs are expected to interrupt their summer holidays and resume
    activity in order to amend the special pensions law, after some provisions have
    been deemed as unconstitutional, the country’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu,
    has said. Ciolacu told a private TV channel the requests made by the
    constitutional judges would be subjected to talks in Brussels between the
    Romanian authorities and the European Commission representatives. Ciolacu has pledged
    to fly to Brussels this month to renegotiate several provisions in the
    country’s National Plan of Recovery and Resilience as well as the budget target
    of 4.4%. The government in Bucharest would rather the European Executive accepted
    a target of 5% of the GDP. The Prime Minister has explained that in the absence
    of a plan on curbing budget expenses and raising incomes, the budget would
    exceed 6.2%, which might prompt the EU to cut its funds for Romania.






    PILOTS 100 Romanian pilots, who in the past four months defended the NATO air
    space over Lithuania, are coming back home. There were many situations in which
    Russian Sukhoi warplanes were flying dangerously close to the NATO airspace and
    the Romanian pilots were sent to intercept those planes. The Romanians worked
    together with their colleagues from Portugal and NATO is permanently deploying air-force
    personnel and aircraft to that country as Lithuania doesn’t have its own
    fighter jets. Moreover, the area is notorious for the bold attempts of the
    Russian pilots to violate the NATO airspace. 16 years ago Romanian pilots were
    also involved in air policing missions in Lithuania on their upgraded MIG-21
    Lancers.








    SUPPORT
    Romania is ready to offer specialized assistance and support to the National
    Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking
    country, Romania’s National Defence Minister, Angel Tilvar, said in Chisinau
    during the talks he held on Monday with his Moldovan counterpart, Anatolie
    Nosatîi.
    The Moldovan servicemen have recently received from Romania Kevlar helmets,
    bullet-proof vests and all-terrain vehicles. The donation is part of Romania’s
    ongoing efforts to support the upgrading and streamlining of the defence
    structures in the neighbouring state. According to a press release by the
    Defence Ministry in Bucharest, the two officials have also tackled aspects concerning
    the latest developments in the regional security caused by the aggression war
    Russia is presently waging on Ukraine, with emphasis on the situations caused
    by the latest bombing of Ukraine’s ports on the Danube close to the borders
    with Romania and the Republic of Moldova.






    TENNIS Romanian
    tennis player, Sorana Cirstea, started off on the right foot at the WTA 1000
    tournament in Montreal, Canada with 2.800.000 dollars in prize money. The
    Romanian secured a two-set win 6-4, 7-6, against Varvara Gracheva of France in
    a match, which took place on Monday. In the second round Cirstea will be
    playing the winner of the match pitching Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic
    against Anastasia Potapova. If she won, the Romanian might play in the round of
    16 against top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, who plays Karolina Pliskova of the
    Czech Republic in the second round.






    FESTIVAL The
    24th edition of the international festival Enescu and the World’s
    Music kicks off today in the resort of Sinaia, southern Romania. Concerts are
    being held at the local casino, the city museum, the George Enescu Memorial,
    the Dimitrie Ghica park and the Catholic church. According to the organizers,
    this festival has been devoted to the young people and young orchestras and
    mainly to the winners of national and international contests. The event is also
    devoted to the famous Romanian artists who are involved in the process of
    training the young generation of musicians, as part of this Romanian project.
    The festival is due to end on August 31.


















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  • July 9, 2023

    July 9, 2023

    POLICE Romanian policemen last week enforced 19 European arrest
    warrants and 589 people, who are the subject of alerts in the Schengen
    Information System, have been located on Romania’s territory. According to a
    Romanian police communiqué, 30 documents and 45 vehicles sought by the Schengen
    partners have been seized in Romania to be used as evidence within legal
    procedures. At the same time, 199 people wanted by the Romanian authorities
    have been identified by foreign partners on their territory, the communiqué
    also says.






    DIICOT The situation in several old people’s homes in Ilfov County,
    close to Bucharest, where prosecutors have identified organized crime groups
    who were exploiting and mistreating old and disabled people is being analyzed
    by the government today. The country’s Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is
    having talks with several ministers about the measures needed so that suchlike
    situations may not repeat. According to the DIICOT prosecutors, the residents
    of the aforementioned institutions were forced to do some of the most
    humiliating works and the inspections, which could have ended their suffering,
    used to be announced beforehand by the defendants’ accomplices in state
    institutions. According to DIICOT prosecutors, the group would have siphoned
    off 740 thousand Euros from several social assistance directions in Ilfov and
    Bucharest. Some of those involved have been placed in temporary custody for 30
    days, whereas other defendants in the same file have been placed under house
    arrest or judicial investigation. Prime Minister Ciolacu has called for the
    resignation of the boards of the National Agency for Payment and Social
    Inspection with the Ilfov County Agency and also for checking in old people’s
    homes around the country. Prefect offices have already announced the setting up
    of committees to do the checking.






    SUMMIT Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis will be participating in
    the NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, the presidential
    administration in Bucharest has announced. The summit is to include three
    high-level meetings of the North-Atlantic Council, in formats, which also include
    Ukraine, the European Union as well as NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners. At the
    summit, the Romanian president is expected to underline the fundamental
    importance of continuing the implementation of the Madrid decisions on
    strengthening the allied defence and deterrence posture on the Eastern Flank.
    Iohannis will also reiterate the robust support for Ukraine, including its
    NATO’s accession, as well as for the most vulnerable partners, especially for
    the Republic of Moldova. According to the same sources, the head of the
    Romanian state will be also referring to the need for having the importance of
    the Black Sea region in the Euro-Atlantic security reflected in the allied
    documents and decisions. In Vilnius, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is
    expecting that most allies announce their commitment to increasing defence
    budgets to over 2% of the GDP starting next year. He said in Brussels that 11
    member countries, Romania included, had already fulfilled this commitment.






    TENNIS The Romanian pair, Ana Bogdan/Jaqueline
    Cristian is today taking on Lidia Morozova of Belarus and Ingrid Martins
    Gamarra of Brazil in the second round of the Wimbledon doubles after their
    Saturday’s win against Danielle Collins and Alison Riske-Amritraj of the USA. The
    Romanian-Ukrainian pair, Gabriela Ruse and Marta Kostiuk has also qualified for
    the second round and will take on Miriam Koloziejova and Marketa Vondrousova of
    the Czech Republic on Monday. Romania is no longer represented in the main
    draw, after Sorana Cirstea lost to Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia on Saturday.






    FAIR The Gaudeamus Radio Romania Book Fair is due to end in Brasov,
    southern Romania today. During the five-day event, the almost 40 exhibitors have
    put on displays thousands of books for all tastes and ages, music, educational
    games and self-development books. The event has also included book launches,
    conferences and debates attended by local writers and not only by them. Adrian
    Lesenciuc, poet, prose and essay-writer as well as literary critic has been the
    honorary president of the present edition.


    (bill)

  • July 7, 2023 UPDATE

    July 7, 2023 UPDATE

    TENNIS Romanian tennis player
    Sorana Cirstea has qualified for the third round of the Grand Slam tennis
    tournament in Wimbledon after a three-set win against Jelena Ostapenko of
    Latvia. The WTA 37th Cirstea has never got over the third round of
    the Wimbledon competition, which she reached four times in 2009, 2021, 2017 and
    2021. She will be next up against Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil on Saturday.
    Haddad, a finalist of the Roland Garros tournament a couple of weeks ago, on
    Thursday eliminated Romanian Jaqueline Cristian. Two other Romanian players,
    Ana Bogdan and Irina Begu left the competition on Friday.








    ARRESTS Romania’s Prime Minister
    Marcel Ciolacu has called on the country’s Labour Minister, Marius Budai, to dismiss
    the boards of the National Agency for Social Inspection and its branch in
    Ilfov, southern Romania, following the scandal over the inhuman conditions in several
    old people’s homes in the region. In the meantime, Marius Budai has ordered
    checks and measures from all the directions involved in the case and upon the
    Prime Minister’s request, commissions will be set up in every county. Four
    people have been apprehended so far in the aforementioned file, whereas 11 others
    have been placed under house arrest and six under judicial control. Following
    this case, with a prejudice that exceeds one million euros, inspections have
    been ordered at similar institutions all over the country. Among other things,
    prosecutors are investigating the way in which the aforementioned centers have
    got their operating permits.






    SUMMIT Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis will be participating in
    the NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday and Wednesday, the presidential
    administration in Bucharest has announced. The summit is to include three
    high-level meetings of the North-Atlantic Council, in formats, which include
    Ukraine, the European Union as well as NATO’s Indo-Pacific partners. At the
    summit, the Romanian president is expected to underline the fundamental
    importance of continuing the implementation of the Madrid decisions on
    strengthening the allied defence and deterrence posture on the Eastern Flank.
    Iohannis will also reiterate the robust support for Ukraine, including its NATO’s
    accession, as well as for the most vulnerable partners, especially for the
    Republic of Moldova. According to the same sources, the head of the Romanian state
    will be also referring to the need for having the importance of the Black Sea
    region in the Euro-Atlantic security reflected in the allied documents and
    decisions.






    DEFENCE The Country’s Supreme Defence Council on
    Thursay approved the creation in Romania of a regional centre to train pilots
    flying military F16 aircraft. The centre will initially train Romanian pilots
    and later also pilots from allied and partner states, including Ukraine. The
    Council also approved Romania’s objectives for the upcoming NATO summit in
    Vilnius next week. President Klaus Iohannis will again bring to the fore
    aspects related to the security of the Black Sea region. According to a
    statement from the president’s office, Romania is ready to contribute to the
    allied effort both by hosting NATO multinational structures and by boosting its
    defence spending to 2.5% of GDP from this year. The Council also approved the
    army and interior ministry personnel to take part next year in foreign missions
    and operations, with Romania’s boosting its participation in the EUFOR ALTHEA missions in the Bosnia and Herzegovina
    theatre of operations.




    (bill)

  • July 6, 2023

    July 6, 2023

    BRIDGE Romanian president Klaus
    Iohannis has today said that the suspended bridge over the Danube at Braila in
    south-eastern Romania, is the biggest construction Romania has seen in the past
    tree decades, which proves that major infrastructure projects can be finalised.
    Iohannis added that Romania has access to a significant volume of European
    funds and a good part of it has been devoted to the development of the
    country’s infrastructure. The inauguration ceremony of this bridge, the biggest
    ever built in Romania and the third in Europe, has been attended by the
    country’s president and by its Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu. This is the last
    bridge over the Danube before its flowing into the Black Sea and has been
    designed to last 120 years. The almost 2 kilometer bridge will link the
    south-eastern counties of Braila and Tulcea and raise the area’s economic
    potential. The project’s total value has exceeded 400 million euros, 85% coming
    from European funds.






    CSAT Romania’s Higher Defence Council
    also known as the CSAT is to convene in Bucharest today for talks over the
    country’s objectives at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius. Also high on the
    agenda is the number of troops available for missions and operations outside
    the country’s borders next year. The council last convened on April 11th when
    one of the decisions was the purchase of the state-of-the-art jet fighters
    F-35. Other issues on the agenda included the latest security developments in
    the Black Sea region, against the background of the Russian aggression in
    Ukraine and the external interventions against the democratic process in the Republic
    of Moldova.






    TENNIS The game pitching Romanian
    tennis player Irina Begu and Canadian Rebecca Marino, in the first round of the
    Wimbledon tennis tournament, which was interrupted last night in the second set
    due to the darkness, is to resume today. Begu won the first set and the game’s
    victor will be up against Ana Blinkova of Russia in the second round. Three
    Romanians are playing today at Wimbledon: Ana Bogdan, who comes after a win
    against Liudmila Samsonova of Russia and will meet US challenger, Alycia Parks,
    Jaqueline Cristian who will be playing Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, after her
    win against Italian Lucia Bronzetti and Sorana Cirstea, who yesterday defeated
    Tatjana Maria of Germany and will be next up against Jelena Ostapenko of
    Latvia.








    NEVERSEA The city of Constanta, in south-eastern
    Romania, is hosting the fifth edition of Neversea, the biggest beach festival
    in Europe. The event is expected to bring together music lovers from all over
    the world, from Britain, Germany, the United States, Italy, Bulgaria and
    Israel. Over one thousand policemen, gendarmes, border police, anti-drug
    officers and 700 private security guards are to supervise the festival. Special
    emphasis is to be laid on the prevention and fighting drug consumption and
    trafficking. Neversea organizers are expecting 260 thousand people to attend this
    four-day festival on the Black Sea coast.






    VISIT The Prime Minister of
    Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, paid a two-day visit to Berlin where he held talks
    with the country’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with representatives of the Federal
    Parliament, of the business environment and of the Romanian Diaspora.
    Chancellor Scholz reiterated his country’s support for Romania’s accession to
    the Schengen zone this year. In turn, Prime Minister Ciolacu underlined the
    importance of bilateral cooperation and the significant potential of this
    country, recalling that Germany is Romania’s most important trade partner.


    (bill)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    Today’s sports programme begins
    with good news from ice hockey as Romanian side ACSH Gheorgheni has secured a
    first by winning the regional competition Erste League. The Romanians secured a
    4-3 aggregate win against the Hungarian side Ferencvaros Budapesta. ACSH won the
    decisive home game 2-1 on Friday. Hungarian player Peter Vincze put the hosts
    on the lead, then British Oliver Betteridge leveled the scoring for the
    visitors. Finnish player Matias Petteri Haaranen, who has enjoyed Romanian
    citizenship since last summer eventually sealed the points. This has been the
    fifth title won by a Romanian side after Hockey Club Csíkszereda, in 2009, and Sport
    Club Miercurea Ciuc, în 2011, 2021 and 2022. Miercurea Ciuc has lost three
    finals and Corona Braşov two.




    Romanian tennis player Sorana
    Cîrstea has jumped up 33 places in the world ranking after the excellent show
    she put in Miami. In the aforementioned WTA 1000 tournament with 8.8 million
    dollars in prize money, Cîrstea made it to the semifinals, where she was
    outperformed by the Czech Petra Kvitova 7-5, 6-4. Cîrstea won the first set 5-2
    then she lost five games in a row. In the second round the difference was made
    by a break, Kvitova won in the first game. The Romanian won a check of more
    than 352 thousand dollars and 390 WTA points, which placed her on the 41st
    position in the women’s professional ranking. Kvitova eventually won the Miami tournament
    finals after a 7-6, 6-2 against Elena Rybakina of Kazahstan.




    Romanian gymnast Gabriela Vănoagă became silver medalist in the beam finals of
    the Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Hanyue
    Yu of China won gold and Cristella Brunetti-Burns of Canada got bronze. This
    has been the only medals athletes from Romania won in Antalya.






    In the Romanian Football
    Superleague Farul Constanţa tops the table two points ahead of runner up CFR
    Cluj. In the second leg on Saturday, Farul ended in a one-all draw their match
    against Rapid Bucharest. With the same score ended the game which on Sunday pitched
    Universitatea against CFR Cluj.




    On Friday Petrolul Ploieşti clinched
    a 1-0 away win against FC U Craiova while on Saturday, UTA obtained a 2-0 home
    win against Universitatea Cluj. In Sibiu, local side Hermannstadt and FC Botoşani
    ended their game one-all. On Sunday, FC Voluntari clinched a 2-0 in their game
    against FC Argeş in Piteşti.


    (bill)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    Today’s sports programme begins
    with good news from ice hockey as Romanian side ACSH Gheorgheni has secured a
    first by winning the regional competition Erste League. The Romanians secured a
    4-3 aggregate win against the Hungarian side Ferencvaros Budapesta. ACSH won the
    decisive home game 2-1 on Friday. Hungarian player Peter Vincze put the hosts
    on the lead, then British Oliver Betteridge leveled the scoring for the
    visitors. Finnish player Matias Petteri Haaranen, who has enjoyed Romanian
    citizenship since last summer eventually sealed the points. This has been the
    fifth title won by a Romanian side after Hockey Club Csíkszereda, in 2009, and Sport
    Club Miercurea Ciuc, în 2011, 2021 and 2022. Miercurea Ciuc has lost three
    finals and Corona Braşov two.




    Romanian tennis player Sorana
    Cîrstea has jumped up 33 places in the world ranking after the excellent show
    she put in Miami. In the aforementioned WTA 1000 tournament with 8.8 million
    dollars in prize money, Cîrstea made it to the semifinals, where she was
    outperformed by the Czech Petra Kvitova 7-5, 6-4. Cîrstea won the first set 5-2
    then she lost five games in a row. In the second round the difference was made
    by a break, Kvitova won in the first game. The Romanian won a check of more
    than 352 thousand dollars and 390 WTA points, which placed her on the 41st
    position in the women’s professional ranking. Kvitova eventually won the Miami tournament
    finals after a 7-6, 6-2 against Elena Rybakina of Kazahstan.




    Romanian gymnast Gabriela Vănoagă became silver medalist in the beam finals of
    the Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Hanyue
    Yu of China won gold and Cristella Brunetti-Burns of Canada got bronze. This
    has been the only medals athletes from Romania won in Antalya.






    In the Romanian Football
    Superleague Farul Constanţa tops the table two points ahead of runner up CFR
    Cluj. In the second leg on Saturday, Farul ended in a one-all draw their match
    against Rapid Bucharest. With the same score ended the game which on Sunday pitched
    Universitatea against CFR Cluj.




    On Friday Petrolul Ploieşti clinched
    a 1-0 away win against FC U Craiova while on Saturday, UTA obtained a 2-0 home
    win against Universitatea Cluj. In Sibiu, local side Hermannstadt and FC Botoşani
    ended their game one-all. On Sunday, FC Voluntari clinched a 2-0 in their game
    against FC Argeş in Piteşti.


    (bill)

  • March 30, 2023

    March 30, 2023

    Bill. The leaders of the ruling National Liberal Party and Social Democratic Party in Romania, Nicolae Ciucă and Marcel Ciolacu, have announced that they decided to support the proposal made by the Ministry of Justice regarding the establishment of a threshold of 9,000 lei (about 1,800 euros) up to which abuse of office is decriminalized. The announcements of the two come after the Senate approved a draft law that provides for a value threshold for abuse and neglect in the service in the amount of 250,000 lei. The change caused criticism and a street protest in Bucharest. The opposition Save Romania Union has warned that the value threshold of 50,000 euros for damage to the public budget to be considered a criminal offense was also provided for by the well-known Ordinance 13 of 2017, which the government at the time abandoned after massive street protests.



    OECD. The Secretary of State for Romanias Accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Luca Niculescu, was appointed to the Steering Committee of the new OECD Regional Center in Istanbul. He welcomed the initiative to establish the Center, aimed at encouraging inter-regional cooperation, providing a platform for dialogue on public policies and supporting the states in the region to face the main economic and social challenges. According to a release by the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, Luca Niculescu expressed, at the same time, the availability of the Romanian authorities to contribute with sectoral expertise to the activity of the OECD Regional Center in Istanbul, recalling that Romania provides financial support for the main regional programs of the organization.



    Visit. The Romanian Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, starts a visit to the USA, today, together with the Chief of Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, and other officials. According to the Romanian Embassy in the USA, the delegation will have meetings in Washington with the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, with General Mark Milley, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, as well as at the White House – the National Security Council. Also, meetings are scheduled with the presidents of the Committees on Armed Services of the US Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as with representatives of the American defense industry and of the strategic reflection and expertise environment. On the occasion of the visit, the Romanian delegation will mark 30 years of partnership between the Romanian Armed Forces and the Alabama National Guard. The Romanian officials will travel to the state of Alabama, where, between April 2 and 4, they will have meetings with the governor of the state, the leadership of the Alabama National Guard, as well as with representatives of the local authorities.



    Pensions. The special pension reform project was endorsed by the Bucharest Senate on Wednesday and is now going to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this matter. In the Senate, the document was adopted in the form approved by the specialized commissions, including the amendments initiated by the representatives of the governing coalition. There are changes aimed at the overtaxation of very large special pensions, which the beneficiaries cannot accumulate. The opposition says, however, that it is not enough, that the system of special pensions should be eliminated entirely, and the principle of contribution applied to all pensions. Reforming the law on special pensions is a milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience plan, on which the disbursement of European money depends. Almost 200,000 Romanians currently benefit from special pensions, the majority – over 170,000 – from the defense and public order system. But the highest special pensions benefit former magistrates – judges and prosecutors, who can end up receiving a pension even 10 times higher than the average one granted by the State.



    Education. In Romania, the new education laws have been approved by the Government and will be submitted to Parliament for debate and adoption. The bill has maintained the provision according to which, in addition to the National Assessment, high schools will be able to organize their own admission competition, with specialized tests, for 60% of the places. Also, the Baccalaureate will include an additional test, from the opposite profile to the one studied by the students. The new education laws are based on the “Educated Romania” project, initiated by President Klaus Iohannis, and for the implementation of the reforms stipulated in these laws, more than 3 billion euros will be allocated from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.



    Tennis. Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea (74 WTA) has qualified for the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami Florida, with some 8.8 million dollars in prize money. She defeated the worlds number two, the Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, 6-4, 6-4. This is the second semifinal for the Romanian player, since 10 years ago, in Toronto. At the Miami Open, Cirstea has lost no match, defeating Fernanda Contreras Gomez of Mexico, number four Caroline Garcia of France, the Check Karolina Muchova and Marketa Vondrousova and now Arina Sabalenka. (MI)


  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    The women’s handball sides
    representing Romania in the Champions League obtained some remarkable results
    last weekend. On Saturday, in the competition’s group A, CSM Bucharest secured
    a 35-26 win against Banik Most of the Czech Republic. Cristina Neagu scored
    most of the goals for the Romanian side, nine, helping them to consolidate
    their first position in the group’s ranking with 17 points. They are followed
    by the last year’s winner of the trophy, Norwegian side Vipers Kristiansand
    with 15 points. CSM will be up next against Danish side Odense.




    In group B, Rapid on Sunday
    clinched a 39-29 home win against Montenegrin side Buducnost Podgorica. The
    Dutch Estavana Polman scored six goals for the hosts, pushing them to the third
    place in the group with 16 points, the same number of points as the team on the
    second place, Hungarian side Gyor, and a point less than the group’s leader,
    Metz of France. Rapid will be up against Esbjerg of Denmark on the latter’s
    home turf.




    Romanian side SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea started
    off on the right foot in the European League with a home win against Hungarian
    side Vác, which they defeated 40 – 30, in group D. Iryna Glibko of Ukraine and Asma
    Elghaoui of Hungary were the hosts’ best scorers each with nine goals. Valcea
    will be taking on Paris 92 in an away game on Sunday.




    Australia is these days seeing a
    couple of tennis tournaments in preparation for the year’s first Grand Slam
    tournament in Melbourne. Irina Begu was the best Romanian player in the
    aforementioned tournaments. Begu made it to the semifinals of the Adelaide
    International 1, with more than 826 thousand dollars in prize money. The
    Romanian was stopped in her tracks by Arina Sabalenka of Belarus, who won the
    match in two sets, 6-3, 6-2. Begu won 43, 323 dollars and 185 WTA points while Sabalenka
    eventually won the tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 win against Linda Noskova of the
    Czech Republic. In the Adelaide
    International 2 tournament, Sorana Cirstea of Romania lost in the first round
    to Beatris Haddad Maia. The Brazilian won the match 7-6, 6-1. Irina Begu is
    directly qualified for the competition’s main draw and will be taking on Storm
    Hunter of Australia.




    (bill)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    The women’s handball sides
    representing Romania in the Champions League obtained some remarkable results
    last weekend. On Saturday, in the competition’s group A, CSM Bucharest secured
    a 35-26 win against Banik Most of the Czech Republic. Cristina Neagu scored
    most of the goals for the Romanian side, nine, helping them to consolidate
    their first position in the group’s ranking with 17 points. They are followed
    by the last year’s winner of the trophy, Norwegian side Vipers Kristiansand
    with 15 points. CSM will be up next against Danish side Odense.




    In group B, Rapid on Sunday
    clinched a 39-29 home win against Montenegrin side Buducnost Podgorica. The
    Dutch Estavana Polman scored six goals for the hosts, pushing them to the third
    place in the group with 16 points, the same number of points as the team on the
    second place, Hungarian side Gyor, and a point less than the group’s leader,
    Metz of France. Rapid will be up against Esbjerg of Denmark on the latter’s
    home turf.




    Romanian side SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea started
    off on the right foot in the European League with a home win against Hungarian
    side Vác, which they defeated 40 – 30, in group D. Iryna Glibko of Ukraine and Asma
    Elghaoui of Hungary were the hosts’ best scorers each with nine goals. Valcea
    will be taking on Paris 92 in an away game on Sunday.




    Australia is these days seeing a
    couple of tennis tournaments in preparation for the year’s first Grand Slam
    tournament in Melbourne. Irina Begu was the best Romanian player in the
    aforementioned tournaments. Begu made it to the semifinals of the Adelaide
    International 1, with more than 826 thousand dollars in prize money. The
    Romanian was stopped in her tracks by Arina Sabalenka of Belarus, who won the
    match in two sets, 6-3, 6-2. Begu won 43, 323 dollars and 185 WTA points while Sabalenka
    eventually won the tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 win against Linda Noskova of the
    Czech Republic. In the Adelaide
    International 2 tournament, Sorana Cirstea of Romania lost in the first round
    to Beatris Haddad Maia. The Brazilian won the match 7-6, 6-1. Irina Begu is
    directly qualified for the competition’s main draw and will be taking on Storm
    Hunter of Australia.




    (bill)

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

    Three tennis players from Romania have qualified for the second round of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. The first was Gabriela Ruse, who, on Monday, defeated the Australian of Russian origin Daria Saville, formerly Gavrilova, in the first round. The 24-year-old Romanian, ranked 101 in the WTA classification, obtained the first main-draw win of her career at Flushing Meadows. The Romanian needed two hours and 15 minutes of play, but eventually she defeated 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 a player better placed in the world ranking, i.e. on 58th position. Its worth mentioning that Ruse had suffered surgery on her left wrist at the beginning of the month, and she had played her last game at a tournament in July.



    Sorana Cîrstea (WTA 37) also moves on. On Tuesday, she defeated Germany’s Laura Siegemund, world number 182, 6-4, 6-4. The Romanian player had a more defensive performance only at the beginning of the second set, when Siegemund managed a break and took the lead with the score 4-2, but Cîrstea came back and took control, defeating the German 6-4, after winning four games in a row.



    Irina Begu, world no. 42, needed three sets to defeat the Belgian Elise Mertens (WTA 33). The Romanian player lost the first set 3 to 6. She then came back and won 6-2 in the second set, winning the decisive set with the same score.



    Another two tennis players from Romania were eliminated, on Monday, in the first round. Simona Halep, the tournaments 7th seed, who had won the WTA 1,000 title in Toronto, was defeated, after one hour and 40 minutes, by a 20-year-old player ranked 124th in the world classification, the Ukrainian Daria Snigur, who won in three sets, 6-2, 0-6, 6-4. Jaqueline Cristian, world no. 77, also lost to the tournaments 2nd seed, Anett Kontaveit, from Estonia. (LS)

  • RRI Sports Club

    RRI Sports Club

    Three tennis players from Romania have qualified for the second round of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. The first was Gabriela Ruse, who, on Monday, defeated the Australian of Russian origin Daria Saville, formerly Gavrilova, in the first round. The 24-year-old Romanian, ranked 101 in the WTA classification, obtained the first main-draw win of her career at Flushing Meadows. The Romanian needed two hours and 15 minutes of play, but eventually she defeated 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 a player better placed in the world ranking, i.e. on 58th position. Its worth mentioning that Ruse had suffered surgery on her left wrist at the beginning of the month, and she had played her last game at a tournament in July.



    Sorana Cîrstea (WTA 37) also moves on. On Tuesday, she defeated Germany’s Laura Siegemund, world number 182, 6-4, 6-4. The Romanian player had a more defensive performance only at the beginning of the second set, when Siegemund managed a break and took the lead with the score 4-2, but Cîrstea came back and took control, defeating the German 6-4, after winning four games in a row.



    Irina Begu, world no. 42, needed three sets to defeat the Belgian Elise Mertens (WTA 33). The Romanian player lost the first set 3 to 6. She then came back and won 6-2 in the second set, winning the decisive set with the same score.



    Another two tennis players from Romania were eliminated, on Monday, in the first round. Simona Halep, the tournaments 7th seed, who had won the WTA 1,000 title in Toronto, was defeated, after one hour and 40 minutes, by a 20-year-old player ranked 124th in the world classification, the Ukrainian Daria Snigur, who won in three sets, 6-2, 0-6, 6-4. Jaqueline Cristian, world no. 77, also lost to the tournaments 2nd seed, Anett Kontaveit, from Estonia. (LS)