Radio România Internațional

Tag: Final Four

  • Athlete of the Week on RRI – Handballer Cristina Laslo

    Athlete of the Week on RRI – Handballer Cristina Laslo

    The Romanian women’s handball club Minaur Baia Mare qualified for
    the second year in a row to the Final Four of the EHF European League. The
    tournament was held in Viborg, Denmark, at the end of last week. The German
    team Bietigheim won the tournament, after defeating the host team Viborg 31-20
    in the final. Minaur ranked 4th after losing the bronze final to
    Herning-Ikast of Denmark, 29-28 at the penalty shootout. In the first matches,
    on Saturday, Minaur had lost to Viborg 24-28, whereas Bietigheim had won 34-33
    against Herning-Ikast.


    In Denmark, the Romanian club put on an impressive display of
    handball, despite losing both games. In the first match against Viborg, Minaur
    played well, despite the pressure from the stands. The difference was made on
    the court however, particularly on the defense. Goalkeeper Anna Kristensen
    saved 14 throws, which is tantamount to a 37% save percentage. On the
    offensive, the Romanian handballers played well, Cristina Laslo being the
    team’s topscorer with 7 goals. In the second match against Herning-Ikast, Laslo
    scored another three goals, raising her goal number to 10 in the Final Four.
    Asuka Fujita of Japan also scored 8 goals for Minaur, followed by Yaroslava Burlachenko
    of Ukraine and Jelena Lavko of Serbia, who scored 7 goals. For her remarkable
    performance in the European League, we have designated Cristina Laslo Athlete
    of the Week on RRI.


    Cristina Laslo was born April 10, 1996 in Cluj, where she also made
    her debut for the local youth club. She spent her first years as a pro playing
    for Universitatea Cluj. In 2014, she was named captain of Romania’s youth team,
    with which she won the gold medal at the World Championships in Macedonia. She
    was designated the best center in the competition. Two years later, at the
    Youth World Cup in Russia, she was again designated best center, while Romania
    scooped bronze. In 2017, she was signed by Buducnost Podgorica of Montenegro,
    witch which she reached the Champions League quarterfinals in 2018 and 2019.
    She returned to Romania to play for Corona Brașov until 2020, when she got transferred to Minaur.
    She has already signed a deal with Gloria Bistrița and will move to her new
    club at the end of the season. (VP)



  • May 13, 2018

    May 13, 2018


    VISIT Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, currently on a visit to the Vatican, has talked on the phone with His Grace Siluan, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop to Italy, who is currently on a visit to Paris to participate in the Congress of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Western and Southern Europe. The Romanian Prime Minister has highlighted aspects related to her visit to the Holy See and the excellent bilateral relations at political, cultural and educational levels. Viorica Dancila has appreciated the support offered by the Romanian Orthodox Church to the communities in the Diaspora, mainly in Italy, and has mentioned the importance the church has in the life of the Romanians living abroad. The Romanian Prime Minister has also underlined the importance the Romanian authorities attach to the observation of the rights of the Romanian communities and the role of religious denominations in keeping spiritual and linguistic identities. On Saturday Dancila met the Romanian students in the Catholic universities in Italy and was received by Pope Francis. Her visit to the Vatican comes against the background of excellent bilateral relations and in the year when we celebrate 100 years since the unification of the Romanian principalities, an event to be also marked at the Holy See through a series of major cultural and academic events.




    RALLY Thousands took to the streets of Bucharest on Saturday and other major cities across Romania to participate in a protest rally under the title ‘We want Europe not Dictatorship!’ The participants have accused the ruling PSD – ALDE coalition of having failed to meet the pledges it made in the election campaign trying to keep Romania away from European and democratic standards throwing it into a regime where only political interests prevail. According to the organizers, among the anti-democratic actions of the PSD-ALDE coalition are the amendments to the penal codes, the fines abusively imposed by the Romanian gendarmes, as well as the politicians’ attempt to amend laws without public consultations. The Romanians abroad have announced their solidarity with the protesters.




    TENNIS Several Romanian players are on the main draw of the tennis tournament in Rome with 3.3 million dollars in prize money, a competition that is to kick off on Monday. The world’s number one Simona Halep will play directly in the competition’s second round against the winner of the game pitching Victoria Azarenka of Belarus against Naomi Osaka of Japan. Mihaela Buzarnescu will be playing Shuai Zhang of China whereas Irina Begu will be up against Shuai Peng also from China. Sorana Carstea will play against a player coming from the qualifying rounds where Monica Niculescu of Romania will be meeting Russian Natalia Vikhlyantseva. In the last year’s edition Halep lost the finals to Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. The tennis competition in Rome is the last before the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament in Paris.




    HANDBALL Romania’s champions in women’s handball, CSM Bucharest takes on Russian side Rostov Don today in Budapest for the third place in the Champions League. The finals is pitching local side Gyor against Vardar Skopje of Macedonia. CSM lost the semifinals to Gyor 26-20 while Vardar secured a 25-19 win against Rostov Don. We recall that CSM Bucharest won Final Four in 2016. In another development on Friday, Romanian women’s handball side SCM Craiova won the EHF Cup after a 30-25 win against the Norwegians from Vipers Kristiansand. The Romanians lost the first game 22-26. This is the first European trophy won by SCM Craiova and the first EHF Cup secured by Romania’s women handballers. We recall that back in 1984 and 1989, when the competition was named the IHF Cup, Romanian side Chimistul Ramnicu Valcea emerged as winner, while Rapid Bucharest, also from Romania secured the title in 1993.




    DRILL Resolute Castle 2018 is a multinational drill that has kicked off at the shooting range in Cincu, central Romania. The six-month exercise has brought together troops from Romania’s Ground Forces and the South Carolina National Guard. The US and Romanian troops will get involved in infrastructure projects aimed at modernizing the training facilities in the Cincu shooting range. Resolute Castle 2018 is an exercise focusing on streamlining the training centers in Poland and Romania allowing the US troops to quickly mobilize and hold exercises jointly with their multinational partners in order to prove their deterrence capability in a complete security environment.



    (translated by bill)




  • May 11, 2018

    May 11, 2018

    VISIT – The Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă is on a visit to the Vatican until Sunday. On Friday the PM was received by Pope Francis. The agenda of the visit also includes a meeting with his Holiness Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, with the Grand master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, and with the president of the Community of SantEgidio Marco Impagliazzo. According to a news release issued by the Government of Romania, the PMs visit to Vatican comes against the backdrop of very good bilateral relations, in a year when Romania celebrates the Centennial of the Great Union, which will be marked at the Holy See through a number of academic and cultural events.




    CORRUPTION – Liviu Dragnea, the head of the Social Democratic Party, in power in Romania, told the Associated Press that in Romania the fight against corruption has gone too far, and that there has been a shift from a time when no politician in power was probed into, to a situation where all politicians are accused, prosecuted and indicted, and their careers are ruined by trials. Dragnea also said that Romania will find a fair, legal way to tackle corruption. AP mentions that Liviu Dragnea could not become a PM after his party won the election because he had been convicted for vote rigging, and that he is currently facing 2 other charges, namely embezzling European funds and official misconduct. The American news agency also mentions that the attempts by the ruling coalition to amend the countrys criminal laws triggered massive protests at home and criticism abroad. In the interview, Liviu Dragnea also said his party supports the EU concept, but that both Romania, and other Eastern European member states are concerned and preoccupied about a “two-speed Europe that leaves poorer nations behind while the wealthier ones benefit.




    LEGISLATION – The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis Friday notified the Constitutional Court of Romania on a change in the law regulating the operation of the Higher Council of Magistracy, the Presidential Administration announced. The President criticised the separation of the Councils powers by departments. Early this month the President decided to send back to the Constitutional Court the 3 justice laws, on the status of judges and prosecutors, on the organisation of courts and on the Higher Council of Magistracy, after they had been rushed through Parliament in the form drafted by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Democrats and Liberals. Iohannis also announced he would send the bills to the Venice Commission for review.




    MILITARY – The opening ceremony for the multi-national exercise Resolute Castle 2018 takes place today at the military firing rage in Cincu, central Romania. This is a six-month exercise involving troops of the Romanian Land Forces and the South Carolina National Guard. Until September, the Romanian and American military will conduct infrastructure works and arrange the training platforms at the Cincu range. Resolute Castle 2018 is an exercise focusing on the construction and strengthening of training centres in Poland and Romania. This enables US military units to rapidly deploy troops, to rotate troops with allies and multi-national partners and to prove their determent capacity in a complete security environment.




    ART – Works put at some 10 million euros, from important private collections, from the Pompidou Museum in Paris as well as from the collection of the former communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu are on display, as of today until May 20th, in Art Safari, the largest art event in Romania, hosted by a central Bucharest square. The most valuable piece on display is a Brancusi from a private collection and estimated at “a seven-digit number as the director of Art Safari Bucharest, Ioana Ciocan has put it. The Art Safari exhibition has reached its 5th edition this year.




    ECONOMY – The GDP of the European Union amounted to 15,300 billion euros in 2017, according to data made public on Friday by the Eurostat. Romanias GDP was nearly 188 billion euros, accounting for 1.2% of the GDP of the bloc, and ranking as the 16th economy in the EU. According to Eurostat, Romanias GDP was slightly higher than Greeces 178 billion euros, but below the GDP of the Czech Republic, 192 billion euro. More than half of the GDP of the EU was generated in 2017 by just 3 countries: Germany, UK and France. With nearly 3,300 billion euros last year, Germany strengthened its position as the top economy of the Union, accounting for 21% of the Unions GDP. At the opposite pole, 11 EU member states produced less than 1% of the blocs GDP: Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Hungary.




    EUROVISION – The band The Humans, representing Romania in the Eurovision 2018 Song Contest in Lisbon with the song “Goodbye, has failed to qualify on Thursday into the Grand Final. The Republic of Moldova, on the other hand, managed to get past the semi-finals. A total of 20 countries will take part in the finals. Apart from the host country Portugal, the top 5 contributors to the Eurovision, namely Germany, Italy, France, the UK and Spain, take part in the final by default. Last year, Portugal won the Eurovision with a song performed by Salvador Sobral.




    HANDBALL – The Romanian womens handball team SCM Craiova is playing at home on Friday against the Norwegian side Vipers Kristiansand, in the second leg of the EHF Cup finals. In the first leg, last Saturday, the Norwegians won 26-22. Meanwhile, Romanian champions, CSM Bucharest, will face on Saturday the Hungarian team Gyor ETO, in the so-called Final Four, the Champions League semi-finals. If they get into the final, CSM will play on Sunday against the winner of the match pitting HC Vardar, of Macedonia, against Rostov-Don, of Russia. CSM Bucharest won the Final Four in 2016.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • May 10, 2018 UPDATE

    May 10, 2018 UPDATE

    VISIT – The Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă is on a visit to the Vatican until Sunday. On Friday the PM will be received by Pope Francis, followed by a meeting with his Holiness Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The chief of the Romanian government will also hold meetings with the Grand master of the Sovereign Order of Malta and with the president of the Community of SantEgidio. According to a news release issued by the Government of Romania, the PMs visit to Vatican comes against the backdrop of very good bilateral relations, in a year when Romania celebrates the Centennial of the Great Union, which will be marked at the Holy See through a number of academic and cultural events. The agenda of the visit also includes a meeting with the Romanian students attending the programmes of the “Pio Romeno Pontifical Romanian College.




    JUDICIARY – The High Court of Cassation and Justice Thursday ruled to drop charges against the former PM and president of the Social Democratic Party Victor Ponta in the Turceni-Rovinari case, in which he was tried for forgery, aiding tax evasion and money laundering. The former transport minister Dan Şova, who was charged in the same case with aiding abuse of office, forgery, tax evasion and money laundering, was also acquitted. Thursdays ruling is not final, and it can be challenged by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. In the last hearing of the trial, the Anti-Corruption Directorate requested that the former PM Victor Ponta and former Senator Dan Şova, both of them accused of corruption-related offences, should serve time in prison. The prosecutors said that in 2007 – 2008, Victor Pontas law practice received from another law firm, ”Şova şi Asociaţii”, around 39,000 euro, allegedly for work performed jointly, which in fact had never been performed. According to prosecutors, this was a form of repaying Victor Ponta for contracts awarded by the state-owned energy companies Turceni and Rovinari to “Şova şi Asociaţii.




    SUMMIT – The historic summit between the US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un will take place on June 12 in Singapore, Trump confirmed on Twitter. “We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace, the US President wrote. The 2 are expected to discuss the North-Korean nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, which have further deepened the decade-long tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. Trumps announcement comes just hours after 3 American citizens detained in North Korea were released. The three arrived at a military base near Washington.




    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 1 in the world, was defeated by the Czech Karolina Pliskova (6 WTA), in the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Madrid, which has 6.7 million euros in total prize money. The 2 players had faced each other 7 times before, with the Romanian winning 6 times and Pliskovas only win coming in the 2016 Fed Cup. Simona Halep won the last 2 editions of the Madrid tournament.




    HANDBALL – The Romanian womens handball team SCM Craiova is playing at home on Friday against the Norwegian side Vipers Kristiansand, in the second leg of the EHF Cup finals. In the first leg, last Saturday, the Norwegians won 26-22. Meanwhile, Romanian champions, CSM Bucharest, will face on Saturday the Hungarian team Gyor ETO, in the so-called Final Four, the Champions League semi-finals. If they get into the final, CSM will play on Sunday against the winner of the match pitting HC Vardar, of Macedonia, against Rostov-Don, of Russia. CSM Bucharest won the Final Four in 2016.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Final Four al Ligii Campionilor

    Final Four al Ligii Campionilor

    La Bucureşti se desfăşoară, în premieră, în acest week-end, Final Four al
    Ligii Campionilor la volei feminin. Volei Alba Blaj, echipa organizatoare, întâlneşte formaţia turcă
    Galatasaray Istanbul. VakifBank
    Istanbul, deţinătoarea trofeului, joacă împotriva italiencelor de la Imoco Volley Conegliano. Mâine se vor disputa meciurile pentru locul trei şi finala mare a competiţiei.

  • April 17, 2018 UPDATE

    April 17, 2018 UPDATE

    REVOLUTION CASE – Army prosecutors have announced the extension of the interval for the criminal prosecution of the former president of the country Ion Iliescu to December 27-31, 1989, for which an endorsement of investigation is not necessary. Ion Iliescu has been summoned to the Prosecutor General’s Office to be informed about the start of his prosecution for crimes against humanity, in the 1989 Revolution Case. On April 13, the current president Klaus Iohannis endorsed the start of the criminal prosecution of Ion Iliescu, of the former Prime Minister Petre Roman and of the former deputy Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voculescu in the Revolution Case. The three ex-officials are now being prosecuted and can be sent to court for crimes against humanity, allegedly committed between the 22 and the 31 of December 1989, when they were holding positions in the National Salvation Front Council, which back then was holding both the executive and the legislative power. According to prosecutors, the armed incidents that occurred after December 22, in several towns and cities across Romania, are indicative of the fact that everything occurred as the result of a pre-established plan, aimed at helping the new leaders take over power and gain legitimacy. The three former officials, though, say they are innocent. According to official statistics, in December 1989 more than 1,100 people were killed and more than 3,000 were wounded, mostly after the arrest of dictator Ceausescu and his wife.



    DIPLOMACY – Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday received the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sultan al Jaber. According to the Presidential Administration, on the occasion, the Romanian president had special words of appreciation for the stage of bilateral relations, which are very good at political level. Also, President Iohannis said efforts to give an impetus to the two way trade exchanges and to boost investments are further a priority in the relation with the United Arab Emirates, (UEA), which is Romanias largest economic partner in the Gulf area. In turn, Sultan al Jaber said there are potential investment projects, particularly in such domains as energy, transport, infrastructure, logistics, agriculture, tourism and real estate. Also on Tuesday, Sultan al Jaber had talks with his Romanian counterpart, Teodor Melescanu, on trade relations. The two officials also attended the proceedings of the first session of the Romania-UEA Joint Commission.



    BUCHAREST FORMAT – Bucharest is hosting the first parliamentary summit of the Bucharest Format (B9), attended by representatives of nine European countries and high-ranking NATO officials. The summit is aimed at strengthening the role of national parliaments in the security and defence fields. The agenda of the event, which will last until Thursday, includes topics such as the future presence of NATO, the defence and deterrence posture, fighting terrorism, perceptions regarding the threats facing the participant countries and legislative consolidation in the defence field. The B9 summit is aimed at conveying a unitary and coherent message concerning the strengthening of NATO’s Eastern flank, ahead of the NATO summit to be hosted by Brussels in July.



    IMF – The IMF has revised upward, from 4.4% la 5.1%, the outlook for the Romanian economy this year, according to the World Economic Outlook report, released on Tuesday. In 2019, the IMF expects Romanias economy will slow down significantly, down to 3.5% of the GDP. In terms of inflation this year, the forecast has been revised upward, from 3.3% to 4.7%. Also in 2018, the IMF estimated the current account deficit will stand at minus 3.7% and the unemployment rate at 4.6%.



    SUMMIT – On May 4, the Bulgarian city of Ruse will play host to an informal meeting of the presidents of Bulgaria, Austria and Romania, the countries holding successively the rotating presidency of the EU Council as of January 1, 2018. According to the press office of the Bulgarian presidential administration, the three heads of state will debate topics of European interest, which are also among the priorities of the current Bulgarian presidency of the EU Council. The meeting in Ruse is an expression of the three countries’ political will to ensure a common stand with regard to the main topics on the EU agenda, such as the European prospects of the Western Balkans, the future of the cohesion policy and the interconnection of the energy networks in the region.



    HANDBALL
    –     The Romanian women’s handball champions CSM Bucharest will meet the Hungarian
    team Gyor ETO in the Champion League semi-finals, the so called Final Four. If it goes past the Hungarian team, CSM
    Bucharest will face the winning team of the match between HC Vardar of
    Macedonia and Rostov-Don of Russia. The semifinals and the final will be held
    on May 12 and 13, in Budapest, where the Romanian team won the competition back
    in 2016. (Translated by M. Ignatescu and D. Vijeu)

  • April 17, 2018

    April 17, 2018


    REVOLUTION CASE – Army prosecutors have today announced the extension of the interval for the criminal prosecution of the former president of the country Ion Iliescu to December 27-31, 1989, for which an endorsement of investigation is not necessary. Ion Iliescu has been summoned to the Prosecutor Generals Office to be informed about the start of his prosecution for crimes against humanity, in the 1989 Revolution Case. On April 13th, the current president Klaus Iohannis endorsed the start of the criminal prosecution of Ion Iliescu, of the former prime-minister Petre Roman and of the former deputy prime-minister Gelu Voican Voculescu in the Revolution Case. The three ex-officials are now being prosecuted and can be sent to court for crimes against humanity, allegedly committed between the 22nd and the 31st of December 1989, when they were holding positions in the National Salvation Front Council, which back then was holding both the executive and the legislative power. According to prosecutors, the armed incidents that occurred after December 22nd, in several towns and cities across Romania, are indicative of the fact that everything occurred as the result of a pre-established plan, aimed at helping the new leaders take over power and gain legitimacy. The three former officials, though, say they are innocent. According to official statistics, in December 1989 more than 1100 people were killed and more than 3000 were wounded, mostly after the arrest of dictator Ceausescu and his wife.



    BUCHAREST FORMAT – Bucharest is hosting the first parliamentary summit of the Bucharest Format (B9), attended by representatives of nine European countries and high ranking NATO officials. The summit is aimed at strengthening the role of national parliaments in the security and defense fields. The agenda of the event, which will last until Thursday, includes topics such as the future presence of NATO, the defense and deterrence posture, fighting terrorism, perceptions regarding the threats facing the participant countries and legislative consolidation in the defense field. The B 9 summit is aimed at conveying a unitary and coherent message concerning the strengthening of NATOs Eastern flank, ahead of the NATO summit to be hosted by Brussels in July.



    FAC – The EU foreign ministers, gathered in Luxembourg, have voiced support for all the measures aimed at preventing new chemical attacks against civilians in Syria and have called for a re-launch of the political process, aimed to put an end to the conflict. Attending the External Affairs Council, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu has stated that Romania firmly condemns the use of chemical weapons in any circumstances, especially against civilians. Talking about the prolonged crisis in Syria, Melescanu has drawn attention to the danger of a military escalation, which would have serious consequences in the region, and has called on all the parties involved to support the UNs efforts to find a political solution.



    SUMMIT – On May 4th, the Bulgarian city of Ruse will play host to an informal meeting of the presidents of Bulgaria, Austria and Romania, the countries holding successively the rotating presidency of the EU Council as of January 1st, 2018. According to the press office of the Bulgarian presidential administration, the three heads of state will debate topics of European interest, which are also among the priorities of the current Bulgarian presidency of the EU Council. The meeting in Ruse is an expression of the three countries political will to ensure a common stand with regard to the main topics on the EU agenda, such as the European prospects of the Western Balkans, the future of the cohesion policy and the interconnection of the energy networks in the region.



    PROTESTS – Hundreds of employees of the County Emergency Hospital in Craiova, south-western Romania, have today continued their protest against the drop in their incomes an said that, unless their claims are settled, they will start an all-out strike. Health-care employees in Iasi, in the north-east, and Resita, in the west, have also protested today against the new salary scheme used in the sector. On Monday, hundreds of employees with several hospitals in Bucharest and other cities across Romania came to the streets to protest against the 30% cap on bonuses, which has diminished their incomes significantly. The health minister Sorina Pintea has stated that the incomes have dropped only for 10% of the health-care staff and has explained that the bonus cap must be observed. Pintea has also said that hospital directors must manage their activities properly and provide the money for the existing gaps from the hospitals own funds.



    MUSIC AWARDS – On Monday, Radio Romania awarded the best Romanian music performers and the best pieces and albums recorded last year. The award for best female voice went to the pop singer Andra, and for best male voice to the soloist of the band Directia V, Cristi Enache. The rock band Vunk and the pop band The Motans won the awards for best rock and best pop artists respectively. The prize for best album and best singer of the year was won by Smiley, and the excellence award went to the pop-rock singer Dida Dragan.



    HANDBALL – The Romanian womens handball champions CSM Bucharest will learn today their opponents in the Final Four semifinals, following a drawing of lots. CSM Bucharest qualified on Sunday night for the so called Final Four of the Champions League, although it had lost 20-27 to the French from Metz, in a match away from home. In the first match, on home turf, CSM had won 34-21. The other three teams that have qualified for the Final Four are the current champion Gyor ETO of Hungary, HC Vardar of Macedonia and Rostov-Don of Russia. The semifinals and the final will be held on May 12 and 13, in Budapest, where the Romanian team won the competition back in 2016. (translated by Mihaela Ignatescu)




  • Handball-CL: Damen von CSM Bukarest mit erfolgreichem Einstand

    Handball-CL: Damen von CSM Bukarest mit erfolgreichem Einstand

    In der Sala Polivalentă zu Bukarest gewann das Team, das letzte Saison in begeisternder Manier den Titel erobert hatte, das Debütspiel gegen den russischen Vizemeister Rostow am Don. Die Partie, in der die Schülerinnen des Dänen Jakob Vestergaard vor allem eine hervorragende Leistung in der Defensive boten, endete mit 24:21 aus ihrer Sicht. Damit schaffte sich der CSM eine gute Ausgangslage für eine äußerst komplizierte Gruppe, der noch die Ungarinnen aus Györ und die Däninnen von Midtjylland angehören. Und auch ist dieser Start ein Zeichen dafür, dass die Mannschaft bis in die Fingerspitzen motiviert ist und der Erfolg der vergangenen Saison kein zufälliger war, wie das Internetportal lead.ro erklärt.



    In der ersten Halbzeit machte die aggressive Verteidigung des CSM dem eher langsamen und unentschlossenen Angriff der Russinnen zu schaffen. Der allgemeine Eindruck war, dass die Bukaresterinnen das bessere Team waren: teils dank der intensiven Abwehr und teils dank der vielseitigeren Lösungen im Angriff, vor allem in den entscheidenden Spielmomenten, als die Gäste den Anschluss suchten. Die logische Folge: eine bequeme 12:10-Führung zur Pause.



    Es wurde ein wenig schwieriger für den Gastgeber im zweiten Durchgang, als Rostow von den ersten Unachtsamkeiten im Spiel der Rumäninnen profitierte. Die Russinnen nutzten die ersten Fehlpässe im Angriff des Titelverteidigers und glichen zum 16:16 aus. Zuletzt hatte es beim Stande von 5:5 einen Gleichstand gegeben. Und hier griff der dänische Trainer des CSM geschickt ein: Vestergaard, der im Frühjahr noch die deutsche Nationalmannschaft trainiert hatte, forderte ein Time-Out, währenddessen er den Spielerinnen einige klare Lösungen vorgab. Die Spielerinnen reagierten positiv und schafften erneut, auf Distanz zu gehen. Und diese Führung sollte bis zum Schluss nicht mehr abgegeben werden.



    Bukarest hatte in der letzten Saison beide Viertelfinal-Begegnungen mit Rostow für sich entschieden. Viele der Experten sind der Ansicht, diese Runde der letzten Acht hätte dem Team den Aufschwung für die Glanzleistungen in der Final-Four-Runde in Budapest gegeben.



    Vor der Partie am Sonntag wurde noch spekuliert, ob der neue Trainer genügend Zeit zur Integration der neuen Spielerinnen und für die Anpassung an den eigenen Stil gehabt hätte. Und die schwere Auslosung bereitete dem CSM-Umfeld nicht weniger Kopfzerbrechen. Zum Glück konnte man zum Auftakt der Champions League sehen, dass selbst Rostow sich im Wiederaufbau befindet. Die neuen Spielerinnen, darunter auch die Olympia-Siegerin Anna Wjachirewa, zeigten eher durchwachsene Leistungen.



    Auf der anderen Seite hat sich gezeigt, dass Torfrau Paula Ungureanu erneut zu den Leistungsträgern zählen könnte, ihre Paraden waren mitunter entscheidend. Auch die von Buducnost gewechselte Außenspielerin Majda Mehmedović mit 5 Treffern und die Weißrussin Anastasja Lobach mit vier Toren gehörten zu den guten Spielerinnen an diesem Abend.



    Genauso wie in der vergangenen Saison kommen die ersten drei Mannschaften weiter. Sollte der CSM Bukarest die Hauptgruppenphase erreichen, was jetzt wohl zur machbaren Aufgabe geworden ist, wird das Team die Punkte aus den direkten Begegnungen mit den zwei anderen Qualifikanten mitnehmen. Vom Papier her scheinen Györ und Rostow zu den Favoriten auf das Weiterkommen zu gehören. Im ersten Gruppenspiel am Samstag hatte sich Györ beim 31:19 gegen Midtylland keine Blöße gegeben. Am 22. Oktober spielt Bukarest auswärts beim dänischen Erstligisten, sechs Tage später gastiert Györ in der rumänischen Hauptstadt.

  • April 9, 2016 UPDATE

    April 9, 2016 UPDATE

    GOVERNMENT – Romania’s technocratic government held an informal meeting on Saturday, to discuss the European agenda and preparations for Romania’s taking over the presidency of the European Council in the second half of 2019. Attending the meeting was also Romania’s Ambassador with the European Union, Luminita Odobescu. Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, has asked the Government ever since last autumn, to start preparations early. Iohannis said at the time that Romania’s taking over the European Council’s presidency was a huge responsibility for that country.




    HEALTHCARE – Quality standards in the Romanian healthcare system will be introduced in two years, head of the National Authority for Quality Management in Heathcare, Vasile Cepoi, has said. According to Cepoi, these standards will apply to hospitals, family doctors, outpatient care and pharmacies. The medical system will not be able to operate and ensure quality services unless all its structures apply the new standards, Vasile Cepoi has said.




    RATING – The international rating agency Standard&Poor’s has decided to maintain Romania’s rating at BBB minus, with a stabile outlook. This is the first rating in the category of those granted to countries recommended for investment. In general, a credit rating is used by sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and other investors to gauge the credit worthiness of Romania thus having a big impact on the countrys borrowing costs.




    FESTIVAL – The “Ion Creanga” National College in Bucharest is hosting, on April 9 and 10, the 20th edition of the Japanese Culture Festival “Taiju Matsuri”. Participants will have the chance to learn more about the Japanese culture through Japanese language classes, origami and kimono workshops, film screenings and shows. The theme of this year’s edition is centred on the five basic elements in Japanese philosophy: fire, water, air, earth and void.




    FRIGATE — A Canadian frigate part of the NATO Standing Maritime Group in the Mediterranean Sea is currently in the Black Sea Port of Constanta. For three days, Craig Baines, Commander of the Canadian Fleet Atlantic, will have meetings with officials of the Romanian Naval Forces. The Romanian and Canadian marines will train together to perfect tactics and procedures specific to anti-submarine fight and maritime traffic monitoring.




    HANDBALL – On Saturday, the Romanian women’s handball team, CSM Bucharest qualified to Champions League Final Four after defeating the Russian team Rostov Don away from home, 29-28. In the first leg, CSM Bucharest grabbed a 26-25 win. On Sunday, HCM Baia Mare, also away from home, face Montenegro’s Buducnost Podgorica, after a 29-24 win for Buducnost in the first leg.



    (Translated by E. Enache)


  • 08.04.2016 (mise à jour)

    08.04.2016 (mise à jour)

    Roms – C’est à l’Etat et à la société toute entière de trouver des solutions pour dépasser la marginalisation des Roms et aider à une meilleure intégration de ceux-ci, a déclaré vendredi le président roumain Klaus Iohannis. Bien que les personnes d’ethnie rom se soient forgées une identité culturelle à part grâce à leurs traditions, elles sont toujours discriminés et leurs communautés comptent parmi les plus pauvres et les plus défavorisées, a encore ajouté le chef de l’Etat. Il a également attiré l’attention sur les dangers engendrés par l’ignorance, l’intolérance, la xénophobie et le racisme. A son tour, le premier ministre Dacian Ciolos a exprimé son espoir que les tendances de stigmatisation des Roms par certains Etats européens seraient dépassées. Ces déclarations ont été faites à l’occasion de la Journée Internationale de Roms. Selon les statistiques officielles, plus de 600.000 Roms vivent actuellement en Roumanie, formant la 2e minorité ethnique du pays, après celle magyare.

    Corruption – La décision définitive dans le dossier dit « Le référendum », dans lequel le président du Parti Social-Démocrate, Liviu Dragnea, a été condamné à un an de prison avec sursis, sera rendue le 22 avril, a fait savoir la Haute cour de Cassation et de Justice de Bucarest. Les procureurs de la Direction nationale anticorruption ont accusé M Dragnea d’avoir coordonné en 2012 un mécanisme complexe visant à frauder les résultats sur la participation au référendum sur la destitution du président roumain de l’époque, Traian Basescu. 74 inculpés, présidents et membres de bureaux de vote, ont été soit acquittés, soit condamnés à des peines de prison avec sursis. Rappelons-le, même si 87% des participants au référendum avaient opté pour la destitution du président, le référendum n’a pas été validé par manque de quorum.

    Théâtre – L’Union Théâtrale de Roumanie (UNITER) exprime sa profonde tristesse suite à la disparition de l’acteur roumain Mircea Albulescu, qu’elle considère comme l’emblème du théâtre roumain. Selon l’Union, le regretté Mircea Albulescu a été un des plus grands acteurs roumains, professeur d’université aimé, qui a forgé des dizaines de générations d’artistes roumains. Il a également été publiciste, poète et prosateur. Artiste complet, au cours des 6 décennies de sa carrière, il a joué des centaines de rôles sur les scènes roumaines de théâtre, il a joué dans plus de 70 films et interprété plus de 300 rôles remarquables de théâtre radiophonique. Mircea Albulescu nous a quittés vendredi à l’âge de 81 ans, suite à des problèmes cardiaques.

    Handball – Le club champion de handball féminin de Roumanie, CSM Bucarest doit rencontrer samedi l’équipe russe Rostov Don dans le match retour de la finale de la Ligue des Champions. Dans le match aller l’équipe roumaine s’est imposée à la limite, score 26 buts à 25. L’autre équipe roumaine de la compétition, HCM Baia Mare, jouera dimanche le match retour contre Buducnost Podgorica du Monténegro. La Roumanie est le seul pays qui a la chance d’être représentée par deux équipes au tournoi Final Four, organisé les 7 et 8 mai à Budapest.

    Météo – Dans les 24 prochaines heures, la météo sera plutôt instable en Roumanie ; le ciel sera couvert et on attend des pluies à verse et des orages. Dans l’ouest, le nord, le centre et en montagne les précipitations pourraient dépasser les 20l/m carré. Les températures maximales iront jusqu’à 24 degrés.

  • April 8, 2016 UPDATE

    April 8, 2016 UPDATE

    The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Friday that the state as well as the society as a whole had to work out solutions to overcome the marginalization of the Roma citizens and to better integrate them. He added that, although through its traditions, the ethnic Roma community gained special cultural identity, Roma citizens are still being discriminated against and their communities continue to be among the poorest and most disadvantaged. The Romanian president also drew attention to the danger posed by ignorance, intolerance, Xenophobia and racism. In turn, the PM Dacian Ciolos, expressed hope that the tendency of some European states to stigmatize the Roma citizens would be overcome. These statements were made on the occasion of the International Roma Day. According to official statistics in Romania there are more than 600 thousand Roma people, being the second largest ethnic minority, after the Hungarian one.



    In 2015 Romania’s GDP registered a real 3.8% growth as compared to the previous year, shows a report published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Friday. The National Forecast Committee has revised up its forecasts on Romania’s economic growth in 2015 to 3.7% and to 4.2% for this year. In turn, the European Commission has improved its estimates on Romania’s economic growth for 2015, 2016 and 2017. According to the new data released in February, the EU executive estimates that Romania’s GDP growth in 2015 was 3.6%, the highest after 2008. In 2016, the GDP is believed to reach a peak of 4.2%, while in 2017 it would go down to 3.7%.



    Romania’s communication and transport infrastructure must be modernized and the people’s IT skills must be strengthened, the European Commissioner for Internal market and industry Elzbieta Bienkowska told a news conference in Bucharest on Friday. She encouraged the Romanian government to increase investment opportunities and EU fund absorption. The European official held talks with Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos who briefed her on the government’s main objectives, one of them being the improvement of Romania’s investment climate.



    The Theater Union of Romania- UNITER expressed its deep sadness at the death of the great Romanian actor Mircea Albulescu, aged 81 years old. According to UNITER, Mircea Albulescu was one of the greatest Romanian actors, a university professor who formed many generations of actors. He held a PhD degree in arts, being also a publicist, poet and prose writer. A consummate artist whose career spanned 60 years, Mircea Albulescu performed hundreds of roles on Romania’s stages. He also played memorable roles in more than 70 films and over 300 roles in radio dramas. Among the many prizes he won during his career we can mention the “UNITER Awards for lifetime achievement” in 2005 and the “National Award for the entire artistic activity” granted in 2003 by the Culture Ministry. Mircea Albulescu died on Friday morning due to heart problems.



    Romania’s women’s handball champion team, CSM Bucharest, will meet Saturday, in an away match, the Russian team Rostov Don, in the quarter finals of the Champions League. In the first round, CSM won 26-25. The other Romanian team participating in this stage of the competition, HCM Baia Mare, will play Sunday against the Montenegrin team Buducnost Podgorica. In the first round held in Baia Mare, Buducnost, holder of the trophy, defeated the Romanians 29-24. Romania has the chance to be the only country to be represented by two teams at the Final Four tournament, to be held in Budapest on May 7 and 8.


    (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)