Radio România Internațional

Tag: CSM

Sports roundup

Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest on Saturday secured a 32-27
win against Russian side CSKA Moscow in the first round of the Champions
League’s quarter finals. The best players of the Romanian side were Cristina
Neagu and Slovenian Barbara Lazovic, each with 6 goals scored. The goal-keeper
of the Bucharest side, Croatian Jelena Grubisic, also put up a good show saving
12 goals, which means 32% of the shots. The return game is due in Moscow on April
11th.

We continue with the
latest from women’s handball as in the European League, Romanian side Minaur Baia
Mare managed to qualify for the semifinals after a double win against Dunărea
Brăila. In the first round, a week ago, Minaur secured a 31 – 24 away win. During
the home match Minaur won 27 – 25, Serbian player Jovana Kovacevic managed to
score the largest number of goals for the hosts, 7.

Athletes from Romania
walked away with three gold medals, four silver and one bronze from the
European Weightlifting Championships in Moscow. Monica Csengeri became gold
medalist in the 49 de kilogram category. She won the snatch contest with 86 kg,
after two failed attempts at 90. She also compelled international recognition
in the clean & jerk where she managed 103 kg, and won the total with 189
kg.

Last weekend saw the
games counting towards the 29th leg of Romania’s first football
league, the last but one of the regular season. On Friday in Clinceni, local
side Academica secured a 2-1 win against Poli Iași and the game pitching Gaz
Metan Mediaș against Astra Giurgiu ended in a goaless draw. On Saturday, FC
Hermannstadt clinched a 4-1 win against FC Argeș, in a match held in Mediaș,
central Romania.

Sunday saw three games; FC Botoșani obtained a 1-0 home win against Viitorul
Constanța, while UTA, also at home, outperformed Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe 2-0. FCSB
and Universitatea Craiova ended in a goaless draw their game in Giurgiu,
southern Romania. Chindia Târgoviște is up against FC Voluntari while CFR Cluj takes
on Dinamo București in the leg’s last two games on Monday. FCSB ranks first in
the standings with 64 points, followed by CFR with 60 and Craiova with 57.

(bill)

5 April 2021
Sports roundup

Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest on Saturday secured a 32-27
win against Russian side CSKA Moscow in the first round of the Champions
League’s quarter finals. The best players of the Romanian side were Cristina
Neagu and Slovenian Barbara Lazovic, each with 6 goals scored. The goal-keeper
of the Bucharest side, Croatian Jelena Grubisic, also put up a good show saving
12 goals, which means 32% of the shots. The return game is due in Moscow on April
11th.

We continue with the
latest from women’s handball as in the European League, Romanian side Minaur Baia
Mare managed to qualify for the semifinals after a double win against Dunărea
Brăila. In the first round, a week ago, Minaur secured a 31 – 24 away win. During
the home match Minaur won 27 – 25, Serbian player Jovana Kovacevic managed to
score the largest number of goals for the hosts, 7.

Athletes from Romania
walked away with three gold medals, four silver and one bronze from the
European Weightlifting Championships in Moscow. Monica Csengeri became gold
medalist in the 49 de kilogram category. She won the snatch contest with 86 kg,
after two failed attempts at 90. She also compelled international recognition
in the clean & jerk where she managed 103 kg, and won the total with 189
kg.

Last weekend saw the
games counting towards the 29th leg of Romania’s first football
league, the last but one of the regular season. On Friday in Clinceni, local
side Academica secured a 2-1 win against Poli Iași and the game pitching Gaz
Metan Mediaș against Astra Giurgiu ended in a goaless draw. On Saturday, FC
Hermannstadt clinched a 4-1 win against FC Argeș, in a match held in Mediaș,
central Romania.

Sunday saw three games; FC Botoșani obtained a 1-0 home win against Viitorul
Constanța, while UTA, also at home, outperformed Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe 2-0. FCSB
and Universitatea Craiova ended in a goaless draw their game in Giurgiu,
southern Romania. Chindia Târgoviște is up against FC Voluntari while CFR Cluj takes
on Dinamo București in the leg’s last two games on Monday. FCSB ranks first in
the standings with 64 points, followed by CFR with 60 and Craiova with 57.

(bill)

5 April 2021
Sports Weekend

Last week saw the matches of the Romanian Football Cup’s round of 16. On
Tuesday, second leaguer Petrolul Ploiești clinched a 3-0 home win against Poli
Iași. On Wednesday, Chindia Târgoviște defeated Farul Constanta 3-0 on the
latter’s home turf. Another second leaguer, Universitatea Cluj secured a 2-1
win against UTA Arad, while Dinamo Bucharest obtained a 1-0 victory against archrivals
FCSB. On Thursday, Viitorul Pandurii Târgu Jiu, also from Romania’s second
football league, defeated at home Gaz Metan Mediaș 1-0 while Astra Giurgiu obtained
a 2-1 away victory against Politehnica Timișoara. Universitatea Craiova outperformed
FC Botoșani 1-0 in an away game. Second leaguer Dunarea Calarasi has qualified
for the quarters after the withdrawal of Turris – Oltul Turnu Magurele.

This weekend will see a series of football games counting towards the 23rd
leg of Romania’s first football league. Only one game on Friday when FC Arges
is pitted against Viitorul Constanta. On Saturday, Chindia is up against UTA in
Buftea, southern Romania, while Dinamo Bucharest, at home, will be playing
Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. On Sunday, Astra Giurgiu will be playing in Iasi,
northern Romania, local side Poli. Universitatea Craiova will be up against
Academica Clinceni while the city of Medias will be hosting the game opposing
Hermannstadt and FCSB.

Monday will see the leg’s last two games: FC Botosani versus Gaz Metan
and CFR Cluj against FC Voluntari. FCSB ranks first in the standings with 48
points followed by CFR with 47.

Romania’s water polo side
is in the Netherlands attending a qualifying tournament for Tokyo Olympics. Our
team is part of the C group together with Croatia, Olympic champions in 2012
and vice-champions in 2016, Germany, Russia the Netherlands and France. Romania
will take on Croatia on Sunday in their first game. The quarterfinals have been
scheduled for February 19th the semis a day later and the finals on
21st February. The first three sides are qualified for the Olympic
Games.

The Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest will be playing French
side Metz in the Champions League’ group A on Saturday. A day later in group B,
SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea plays on their own ground another French side Brest
Bretagne. These are the last games the Romanian sides will be playing in the
group stage. Last week, the European Handball Federation amended the
regulations allowing all the sides in the groups to qualify for the round of
16. In the European League Dunărea Brăila will be up against Fleury Loiret of
France. After four games Dunarea is ranking 3rd in their group.

(bill)

12 February 2021
Sports Weekend

Last week saw the matches of the Romanian Football Cup’s round of 16. On
Tuesday, second leaguer Petrolul Ploiești clinched a 3-0 home win against Poli
Iași. On Wednesday, Chindia Târgoviște defeated Farul Constanta 3-0 on the
latter’s home turf. Another second leaguer, Universitatea Cluj secured a 2-1
win against UTA Arad, while Dinamo Bucharest obtained a 1-0 victory against archrivals
FCSB. On Thursday, Viitorul Pandurii Târgu Jiu, also from Romania’s second
football league, defeated at home Gaz Metan Mediaș 1-0 while Astra Giurgiu obtained
a 2-1 away victory against Politehnica Timișoara. Universitatea Craiova outperformed
FC Botoșani 1-0 in an away game. Second leaguer Dunarea Calarasi has qualified
for the quarters after the withdrawal of Turris – Oltul Turnu Magurele.

This weekend will see a series of football games counting towards the 23rd
leg of Romania’s first football league. Only one game on Friday when FC Arges
is pitted against Viitorul Constanta. On Saturday, Chindia is up against UTA in
Buftea, southern Romania, while Dinamo Bucharest, at home, will be playing
Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe. On Sunday, Astra Giurgiu will be playing in Iasi,
northern Romania, local side Poli. Universitatea Craiova will be up against
Academica Clinceni while the city of Medias will be hosting the game opposing
Hermannstadt and FCSB.

Monday will see the leg’s last two games: FC Botosani versus Gaz Metan
and CFR Cluj against FC Voluntari. FCSB ranks first in the standings with 48
points followed by CFR with 47.

Romania’s water polo side
is in the Netherlands attending a qualifying tournament for Tokyo Olympics. Our
team is part of the C group together with Croatia, Olympic champions in 2012
and vice-champions in 2016, Germany, Russia the Netherlands and France. Romania
will take on Croatia on Sunday in their first game. The quarterfinals have been
scheduled for February 19th the semis a day later and the finals on
21st February. The first three sides are qualified for the Olympic
Games.

The Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest will be playing French
side Metz in the Champions League’ group A on Saturday. A day later in group B,
SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea plays on their own ground another French side Brest
Bretagne. These are the last games the Romanian sides will be playing in the
group stage. Last week, the European Handball Federation amended the
regulations allowing all the sides in the groups to qualify for the round of
16. In the European League Dunărea Brăila will be up against Fleury Loiret of
France. After four games Dunarea is ranking 3rd in their group.

(bill)

12 February 2021
January 9, 2021 UPDATE

DECISION The government in Bucharest is expected to pass an emergency
ordinance to grant additional money to the medical personnel involved in the
anti-Covid National Vaccination Campaign. Under the draft, physicians are to
receive 20 Euros per hour and nurses 10, Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu said.
Family physicians are also going to get more money as they are considered an
essential pillar in the immunization campaign. Roughly 100 thousand people have
been immunized since the onset of the campaign; out of these only 314 reported
minor side effects. The latest report provided by the Strategic Communication
Group indicates 44 hundred new infections in the past 24 hours in Romania and
86 people died, bringing the death toll since the onset of the pandemic to
roughly 16,600. 11 hundred people are in intensive care. Nearly 670 thousand
people have been infected in Romania since the beginning of the pandemic and
90% of them have been cured. The number of the Romanian nationals infected
abroad is 7145, and the death toll stays at 132.

HANDBALL Romania’s vice-champions in
women’s handball, CSM Bucharest lost to Hungarian side Ferencvaros Budapest 31-27
their first match counting towards the Champions League Group A. The first game
went to the Romanians 25-19. CSM ranks second in the group with 11 points
whereas Ferencvaros comes fourth with 8. On Sunday in the Champions League’s
Group B, Romanian champions, SCM Ramnicu Valcea are taking on another Hungarian
side, Gyor, in a home match. Another Romanian side Minaur Baia Mare on Saturday
clinched a 33-29 win against the Norwegians from Storhamar Handball Elite. Dunarea
Braila also from Romania will be up against French side Fleury Loiret on
Sunday.

LIST Bucharest has
updated its list of high risk countries for Covid infection whose citizens must
comply with the latest quarantine measures. The new provisions are in force
starting January 9th. The list comprises 40 countries, including Britain,
Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the neighboring Republic of Moldova, whose
citizens must be quarantined for two weeks after their arrival. Those who stay
in Romania less than three days and can produce a negative test do not have to go
into isolation. Those who want to stay more can take a test in their 8th day
and can get out of quarantine in the 10th day of their stay. According to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Romania, all the people coming to Germany from
the risk areas must produce a negative RT-PCR test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus or
take such a test in Germany, shortly after their arrival.

REPATRIATION The Romanian sailor kidnapped from the Agisilaos ship off the
shores of Togo has been released and is to be repatriated in the following
days, the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest announced on Saturday. According to the
same sources, in order to settle the incident, the Crisis Management Cell set
up on this occasion, has taken a lot of action working jointly with the company
which hired the Romanian and other international partners. On November 30th
2020, sources with the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest announced that Minister
Aurescu had summoned an inter-institutional crisis management cell to address
the incident in Togo involving the Agisilaos, where several sailors, including
a Romanian citizen, had been kidnapped.

(bill)

9 January 2021
November 19, 2020

COVID-19 Romania Thursday reported 10,108 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of cases so far up to 394,000. Nearly 70% of them have so far recovered. The most cases were reported in Bucharest and the counties of Constanţa (south-east) and Cluj (north-west). Another 167 coronavirus-related deaths were also reported, and the number of patients in intensive care is 1,131. The pandemic has put the spotlight on the long-standing structural flaws of Romanias healthcare system, president Klaus Iohannis said. On Wednesday he met with officials and experts involved in the management of medical equipment, who presented reports on the infrastructure and failures in the national healthcare sector.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu takes part today in an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers held online. According to the Foreign Ministry, Bogdan Aurescu will voice support for strengthening the EU-USA partnership, emphasising that only by consolidating trans-Atlantic ties can current and future global challenges be managed properly. The Romanian official will also emphasise that efficient multilateralism relies on compliance with international law and democratic values, and on the cooperation between countries that share the same views. Aurescu will also present an assessment of the presidential election in the Republic of Moldova, with a focus on the victory of the pro-European candidate Maia Sandu and its implications for the relation between the EU and Chisinau.

EU BUDGET The European Parliament announced it would make no concession as regards the rule of law, on which the allocation of EU funding will depend as of next year. This is a response to proposals from some member states regarding a compromise with Hungary and Poland, which are disgruntled with the new conditions. On Monday they vetoed the endorsement of the Unions multiannual budget and the economic recovery plan post-COVID-19. Polands PM Mateusz Morawiecki explained that his countrys position on making funds conditional on compliance with the rule of law is designed to avoid arbitrary measures. In turn, the Hungarian PM Viktor Orban spoke about Brussels blackmailing the countries that oppose immigration. The EU budget for the forthcoming 7 years and the economic recovery plan are discussed today by the EU heads of state and government. The combined financial effort amounts to over 1,800 billion euro.

PANDEMIC The total number of COVID-19 cases worldwide is over 56.6 million, and the death toll exceeds 1.3 million, according to worldometers.info updates. The US reports over one-fifth of the total number of deaths (over 250,000). As the healthcare community focuses on producing a vaccine, the final assessments run by the US company Pfizer and the German company BioNTech point to a 95% protection rate. The head of the World Health Organisation Emergencies Programme, Mike Ryan, warned however that the vaccine will not be available in time to fight for the second wave of the pandemic. Meanwhile, UNICEF Thursday called for averting a lost generation as COVID-19 threatens to cause irreversible harm to childrens education, nutrition and well-being.

SPORTS Romanias national football team last night drew 1-all with Northern Ireland in Belfast, in the last match in the UEFA Nations League. Romania came out 3rd in Group B, meeting its goal of being allocated in Pot 2 of the 2022 World Cup qualifying draw. Romanias U-21 team managed to qualify for the 2nd consecutive time in the final tournament of the relevant European Championship. In womens handball, CSM Bucharest take on Russian side Rostov on Don at home tonight, in the Champions League Group A. CSM and Rostov currently top the group rankings. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

19 November 2020
Statul de drept şi legile justiţiei

Mai multe amendamente la legile
justiţiei din 2018 şi 2019 continuă să ridice îngrijorări în privinţa
impactului lor asupra independenţei sistemului judiciar, relevă capitolul
despre România din primul raport privind statul de drept în UE, publicat de
Comisia Europeană. Documentul evaluează patru teme principale, extrem de
importante pentru respectarea statului de drept – sistemele naţionale de
justiţie, cadrele anticorupţie, pluralismul şi libertatea mass-media, precum şi
alte aspecte instituţionale legate de sistemele de control şi echilibru.

În
aprilie anul trecut, o serie de amendamente la Codul Penal, Codul de Procedură
Penală şi legea specială privind corupţia au fost adoptate în procedură de
urgenţă de Parlamentul de la București, dar au fost primite cu critici ample şi
în cele din urmă au fost declarate neconstituţionale în iulie 2019. Sarcina de
a aduce Codurile în linie cu deciziile Curţii Constituţionale este una încă în
aşteptare, prin urmare, incertitudinea legală şi riscul care planează asupra
sustenabilităţii luptei împotriva corupţiei rămân prezente, notează documentul.

În raport se
menționează că România are un cadru strategic naţional anticorupţie bazat pe o
participare largă a unor actori instituţionali, asigurând implicarea voluntară
a unei mari părţi din administraţia publică, companiilor de stat, organismelor
de aplicare a legii, parchetelor, tribunalelor şi societăţii civile. Deşi
Constituţia prevede că adoptarea de OUG-uri este posibilă numai în cazuri
excepţionale sau de urgenţă, guverne succesive au folosit acest instrument
pentru a legifera în numeroase domenii, stârnind preocupări asupra calităţii
actului de legiferare şi a respectării separaţiei puterilor, mai notează
raportul, care menţionează, în acelaşi timp, că societatea civilă a avut un rol
important în apărarea statului de drept.

În același timp, nivelul de
implementare a strategiei naţionale anticorupţie a crescut şi acţiunile
preventive sunt continuate atât la nivel local, cât şi naţional. În prezent,
menţionează documentul, Ministerul Justiţiei evaluează strategia pentru a o
întocmi pe următoarea.

Chiar în ziua în care la Bruxelles era dat publicității
raportul Comisiei Europene, la București, ministerul Justiţiei a lansat în
dezbatere publică propunerile de modificare a legilor justiţiei. Anunţul a fost
făcut de ministrul Cătălin Predoiu, care a precizat că aceste modificări, pe
care le-a enumerat, asigură transpunerea în legislaţie a recomandărilor
organismelor europene:

Întărirea rolului CSM în organizarea şi
desfăşurarea concursurilor şi examenelor prin intermediul Institutului Naţional
al Magistraturii, profesionalizarea procesului de selecţie a magistraţilor prin
eliminarea oricăror modalităţi de intrare în magistratură fără concurs. De
asemenea, am prevăzut eliminarea schemei de pensionare anticipată a
magistraţilor; întărirea principiului independenţei procurorilor în activitatea
judiciară, revenirea la normele care consacrau accesul în funcţia de judecător
la Înalta Curte prin concurs; desfiinţarea Secţiei pentru investigarea
infracţiunilor din justiţie.

De la început, implementarea acestora a
generat îngrijorări legate de presiuni asupra judecătorilor şi procurorilor,
precum şi asupra independenţei, eficienţei şi calităţii sistemului judiciar.

1 October 2020
Sports Roundup

Romanian tennis players Irina Begu and Simona Halep will be playing
against each other in the second round of the Roland Garros tennis tournament.
In the first round on Sunday, Begu secured a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win against Jil
Teichman of Switzerland. Also on Sunday, Halep outperformed the Spanish
challenger Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-0. The two have so far met in
competitions seven times and Halep has won every match.

In the Champions League women’s competition, SCM Ramnicu Valcea has registered
the third consecutive defeat. The team coached by Florentin Pera on Saturday was
outperformed by CSKA Moscow 30-20 and are currently ranking last in Group B. In
Group A, CSM Bucharest was supposed to play on Sunday against another Russian
side, Rostov-Don but the match was postponed due to some cases of Covid-19
infections in the Russian side.

Romania’s delegation won 7 medals, five gold and two silver on Sunday at
the European Rowing Junior Championship, held in Belgrade. Romania had 10 teams
in the finals and occupied the first place in the nations standings. The gold
medalists were the women’s and men’s pairs, the women’s and men’s fours and the
women’s eight.

Last weekend saw the games counting towards the fifth leg of Romania’s
first football league. On Friday, Sepsi secured a 2-1 away win against FC
Voluntari and so did Univestitatea Craiova against FC Arges. On Saturday,
Academica Clinceni obtained a 2-0 home win against Gaz Metan Medias and
Viitorul Constanta thrashed Astra Giurgiu 4-1. CFR versus Chindia Targoviste ended
in a goaless draw in Cluj on Sunday. Dan Petrescu, the hosts’ coach spared some
of his players for the game against Finish side Kuopio in Europa League on
Thursday.

Universitatea Craiova ranks first in the standings with 15 points
followed by CFR with 11.

(bill)

28 September 2020
Sports Roundup

Romanian tennis players Irina Begu and Simona Halep will be playing
against each other in the second round of the Roland Garros tennis tournament.
In the first round on Sunday, Begu secured a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win against Jil
Teichman of Switzerland. Also on Sunday, Halep outperformed the Spanish
challenger Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-0. The two have so far met in
competitions seven times and Halep has won every match.

In the Champions League women’s competition, SCM Ramnicu Valcea has registered
the third consecutive defeat. The team coached by Florentin Pera on Saturday was
outperformed by CSKA Moscow 30-20 and are currently ranking last in Group B. In
Group A, CSM Bucharest was supposed to play on Sunday against another Russian
side, Rostov-Don but the match was postponed due to some cases of Covid-19
infections in the Russian side.

Romania’s delegation won 7 medals, five gold and two silver on Sunday at
the European Rowing Junior Championship, held in Belgrade. Romania had 10 teams
in the finals and occupied the first place in the nations standings. The gold
medalists were the women’s and men’s pairs, the women’s and men’s fours and the
women’s eight.

Last weekend saw the games counting towards the fifth leg of Romania’s
first football league. On Friday, Sepsi secured a 2-1 away win against FC
Voluntari and so did Univestitatea Craiova against FC Arges. On Saturday,
Academica Clinceni obtained a 2-0 home win against Gaz Metan Medias and
Viitorul Constanta thrashed Astra Giurgiu 4-1. CFR versus Chindia Targoviste ended
in a goaless draw in Cluj on Sunday. Dan Petrescu, the hosts’ coach spared some
of his players for the game against Finish side Kuopio in Europa League on
Thursday.

Universitatea Craiova ranks first in the standings with 15 points
followed by CFR with 11.

(bill)

28 September 2020
Sports Weekend

Romanian tennis player Sorana
Cîrstea has qualified for the third round of US Open after a 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 win
against Johanna Konta of Britain. The 77th WTA Romanian player
needed 2 hours and 49 minutes to outperform an opponent with a better position
in international ranking. We recall that Konta comes 13th in the
world standings and was seeded 9th in US Open.

Cîrstea managed to save two
break points as her opponent pushed for the advantage at both 4-4 and 5-5 and
the Romanian seized her chance in the tie-break, clinching her set point with
an ace. In the third set Cirstea managed a break at 3-3, which proved decisive
in a game that was also her first win against the British challenger.

The two first met three
years ago in the second round of the Eastbourne tournament when Konta obtained
a two-set win 6-2, 6-2. Cirstea has now equaled her best performance in US Open
namely a qualification for the third round, which she also managed in 2009 and
2019. The win brought her 163 thousand dollars and 130 WTA points.

The Romanian will be up
against 30th-seeded Karolina Muchova in the next round; the 26th
WTA Czech player comes after a 6-3, 7-6 win against Ana Kalinskaya of Russia
and after a first-round 6-3, 7-5 victory against Venus Williams.

Another Romanian player in
the US Open, Patricia Tig has been outperformed by Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2,
6-1. Having qualified for the second round has brought the Romanian a check of
100 thousand dollars and 70 WTA points.

And now the latest from
handball. Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest has qualified for the
Romanian Cup semifinals after a 34-17 win against CSM Slatina.

This has been the first
official handball game played in Romania after a 6-month recess imposed by the
Covid-19 pandemic. SCM Ramnicu Valcea versus HC Dunarea Braila was also
supposed to take place on Thursday, but HC withdrew from competition after nine
of its players tested positive for the novel coronavirus. SCM will be up
against Rapid Bucharest in the semis on Saturday while CSM takes on Gloria
Buzau. The finals is due on Sunday.

(translated
by bill)

4 September 2020
Sports Weekend

Romanian tennis player Sorana
Cîrstea has qualified for the third round of US Open after a 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 win
against Johanna Konta of Britain. The 77th WTA Romanian player
needed 2 hours and 49 minutes to outperform an opponent with a better position
in international ranking. We recall that Konta comes 13th in the
world standings and was seeded 9th in US Open.

Cîrstea managed to save two
break points as her opponent pushed for the advantage at both 4-4 and 5-5 and
the Romanian seized her chance in the tie-break, clinching her set point with
an ace. In the third set Cirstea managed a break at 3-3, which proved decisive
in a game that was also her first win against the British challenger.

The two first met three
years ago in the second round of the Eastbourne tournament when Konta obtained
a two-set win 6-2, 6-2. Cirstea has now equaled her best performance in US Open
namely a qualification for the third round, which she also managed in 2009 and
2019. The win brought her 163 thousand dollars and 130 WTA points.

The Romanian will be up
against 30th-seeded Karolina Muchova in the next round; the 26th
WTA Czech player comes after a 6-3, 7-6 win against Ana Kalinskaya of Russia
and after a first-round 6-3, 7-5 victory against Venus Williams.

Another Romanian player in
the US Open, Patricia Tig has been outperformed by Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2,
6-1. Having qualified for the second round has brought the Romanian a check of
100 thousand dollars and 70 WTA points.

And now the latest from
handball. Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest has qualified for the
Romanian Cup semifinals after a 34-17 win against CSM Slatina.

This has been the first
official handball game played in Romania after a 6-month recess imposed by the
Covid-19 pandemic. SCM Ramnicu Valcea versus HC Dunarea Braila was also
supposed to take place on Thursday, but HC withdrew from competition after nine
of its players tested positive for the novel coronavirus. SCM will be up
against Rapid Bucharest in the semis on Saturday while CSM takes on Gloria
Buzau. The finals is due on Sunday.

(translated
by bill)

4 September 2020
RRI Sports Club

The Golden Boot is awarded to the players
who scored most goals in the European leagues based on a ranking that takes
into account the number of goals scored and the coefficient of their league. When
the award was first established in the 1960s, the only criterium was the number
of goals scored. The first ever winner of the Golden Boot, back in 1968, was
the Mozambique-born Portuguese player Eusébio, from Benfica, with 43 goals.

In 1975 and 1977, the Golden Boot even made it to Romania, thanks to Dudu
Georgescu, the striker of Dinamo Bucharest. Born on 1st September
1950, Georgescu made his debut with the Bucharest side Progresul, where he
played his first Division A matches, aged 18. He later moved to CSM Resita, and
then to Dinamo. In the 1973-1974 season, his first at Dinamo, Georgescu scored
21 goals in 33 matches. The following year he scored 33 goals, becoming Europe’s
top goalscorer. Two years later, he scored 47 goals, winning as a result his
second Golden Boot trophy.

It took another ten years for the trophy to return to Romania, thanks to
Rodion Camataru, again from Dinamo Bucharest. He scored 44 goals that year,
with the runner-up, the Austrian player Toni Polster, scoring only 39. Camataru’s
title was, however, challenged, being considered an arrangement at the highest
level. Let us just say that he scored 20 goals in the last six championship
legs. Another Dinamo player, Dorin Mateut, won the Golden Boot trophy in 1989,
with 43 goals, and this time there was no controversy surrounding his
achievement. Dinamo was a strong team at the time, with Steaua their only
nemesis. It was in fact that same year that Steaua made it to the final of the
European Cup.

The Golden Boot continued to stir controversy, so L’Équipe stopped awarding
this trophy between 1991 and 1996. Since 1997, it has been awarded based on a ranking
system that allows players from top divisions to win even if they score fewer
goals than a player from a weaker league.

16 July 2020
Sports roundup

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

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

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

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

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

(translated by bill)

22 June 2020
Sports roundup

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

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

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

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

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

(translated by bill)

22 June 2020
Impozitarea pensiilor speciale, contestată

În calitate de
for decizional, Camera Deputaților de la București a dat, miercuri, vot
favorabil unui proiect de lege privind instituirea unei taxe pe indemnizațiile
și veniturile pentru limită de vârstă. Proiectul fusese adoptat de Senat în
2019 și a fost susținut în plen de toate grupurile parlamentare. Este un demers
pentru dreptate socială, spun parlamentarii, în condițiile în care
discrepanțele dintre pensiile civile și cele instituite prin legi speciale
sunt, în unele cazuri, amețitoare.

Cel mai mediatizat caz este cel al pensiei
de peste 15.000 de euro – cea mai mare, de altfel, din România, pe care o
primește un fost procuror comunist, care a exercitat funcția de comandant al
unui penitenciar. Aceasta, în condițiile în care pensia medie în România este
puțin mai mare de echivalentul a 250 de euro. De acum încolo, conform unui
amendament formulat de PSD şi USR, din opoziție, și PNL, aflat la guvernare,
parlamentarii au decis că pensiile cu valoare de până la 2.000 de lei (circa
410 euro) inclusiv nu se impozitează, cele cuprinse între 2.000 şi 7.000 (circa
1450 de euro) se impozitează cu 10%, iar pensiile cu o valoare de peste 7.000
lei se impozitează cu 85% pentru ceea ce depăşeşte suma de 7.001 lei.

În
rândul celor care beneficiază în România de așa-numitele pensii speciale sau de
serviciu se regăsesc, între alții, judecătorii și procurorii, parlamentarii și
primarii. De asemenea, un regim aparte au și pensiile
militare.

Proiectul adoptat miercuri nu îi includea, însă, și pe senatori și
deputați, în cazul cărora era necesară modificarea statutului, iar, joi,
parlamentul a revenit asupra legii de modificare a Codului fiscal și a adoptat
impozitarea progresivă și în cazul parlamentarilor.

În dezacord cu majoritatea
şi în zadar, USR a pledat pentru introducerea unui proiect de lege pentru
abrogarea pensiilor speciale ale parlamentarilor, explicând faptul că
impozitarea acestora prin Codul Fiscal nu trebuie supusă plenului reunit. Acest
fapt va duce la respingerea de către Curtea Constituţională, pentru că, de
fapt, aceeaşi lege s-a votat de două ori – în Camera Deputaţilor, ca for
decizional, iar în plenul reunit, ca o modificare a Codului Fiscal, spune Dan
Barna. El a acuzat că, cităm: este exact ca într-un film unde băgaţi un pachet
de dinamită la temelia constituţională a acestei legi, asigurându-vă că
respectiv Curtea Constituţională va respinge această lege.

De celalaltă parte,
PSD şi PNL au explicat că există decizii ale CCR prin care se impune ca
modificarea statutului parlamentarilor să aibă loc în şedinţa comună a
legislativului. Ambele
formaţiuni au reiterat că măsura înseamnă dreptate socială şi s-au declarat
surprinse de faptul că USR s-a opus.

Previzibil, Curtea Constituțională a fost
sesizată, de Înalta Curte de Casaţie şi Justiţie şi de Avocatul Poporului.
Instanţa supremă critică faptul că sunt ignorate decizii succesive ale Curţii
în domeniu, că nu a fost consultat CSM şi consideră că sunt încălcate mai multe
principii, printre care cel al impunerii fiscale juste şi echitabile şi cel al
independenţei judecătorilor.

CCR a mai respins luna trecută un act normativ de
abrogare a pensiilor speciale, admiţând două sesizări depuse de Înalta Curte şi
de Avocatul Poporului.

19 June 2020