Radio România Internațional

Tag: Halep

Athlete of the Week

The
WTA 1000 women’s tennis tournament in Madrid, is the first major clay
tournament of the summer season. This year’s competition boasts 6,575,560 euros
in prize money and the winner will walk away with over one million euros and
1,000 WTA points. The tournament has reached the round of 16 now and we already
know a couple of players qualified for the quarters. Among them there is also
Romanian Simona Halep who managed an excellent show in Madrid.

The
remarkable performance she obtained in Madrid is all the more so valuable as
Simona came after a recovery recess, from the injury she suffered at Indian
Wells in March. For the excellent show she has so far put up in Madrid, Radio
Romania International has designated Simona Halep the Athlete of the Week.

In
Madrid, Simona played her first game against Shuai Zhang of China, whom she
defeated in two sets 6-2, 6-3. Then she was up against two-seeded Paula Bados
of Spain whom she defeated 6-3, 6-1. In the eight finals, Halep played 14th-seeded
Cori Gauff of the USA in a balanced game, which the Romanian eventually won
6-4, 6-4. In the quarter finals, Simona will be up on Wednesday against Ons
Jabeur of Tunisia, who is also the odds-on favourite.

Simona
Halep was born on September 27, 1991, in Constanţa, south-eastern Romania. She
made her debut in major tennis competitions in 2006, when she played her first
matches in ITF tournaments. In 2010 she entered the world’s top 100 and in
August 2014 she made it for the first time to the second position in the
world’s ranking, the highest position ever occupied by a Romanian athlete.

Three
years later, in October 2017, she topped the ranking, a position she left in
January 2008. She made a comeback in the same year a month later and remained a
world leader until the beginning of 2019, after the Australian Open. Halep
topped the WTA ranking for 64 weeks and her prize closet includes two Grand
Slam titles, in Roland Garros in 2018 and in Wimbledon a year later.

3 May 2022
Sports Weekend

Romania’s national rugby side have qualified for the World
Cup 2023 in France. The oaks’ way towards the prestigious rugby competition has
been smoothed out by the elimination of Spain, which used an illegible player
in two matches within the Rugby Europe Championship 2021-2022. Initially,
following the results in the aforementioned European competition, Romania had
to join the play-offs. But now Portugal and the side ranking after Romania will
go into the play-offs. In France, Romania will be part of Group B together with
defending champions South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and the first side ranking
in the Asia/Pacific zone.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep secured a 6-2, 6-3 win
against Shuai Zhang, of China on Thursday in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament
hosted by Madrid, which has more than 6 million euros in prize money. Also in
the first round, Sorana Cîrstea of Romania has conceded defeat to Spanish
player Nuria Parrizas Diaz, 6-4, 6-2, while Irina Begu lost to Belinda Bencic
of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-1.

Bulgarian capital Sofia is this weekend hosting The European
Judo Championships an event which brings together over 360 athletes of 40
countries. Romania is being represented by 9 judokas, six in men’s and 3 in
women’s competitions. Athletes from Romania walked away with no medal from last
year’s edition of the aforementioned competition, the last medal was won by Andrea
Chiţu, in Prague in 2020, in the 52-kilogram category.

The Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest will be
playing Danish side Team Esbjerg in a home match counting towards the Champions
League quarter finals. The Romanian side also relies on left-back Eduarda
Amorim of Brazil who has also played for Russian side Rostov-Don, which has
been excluded from the Champions League due to the war in Ukraine.

And now football. This weekend will be seeing the matches of
the seventh leg of Romania’s first football league. On Friday Sepsi Sfantu
Gheorghe will be playing Gaz Metan Medias and Chindia Targoviste is up against
Rapid Bucharest. On Saturday, Dinamo Bucharest plays Academica Clinceni in a
home game while in Craiova, western Romania, local side FCU 1948 takes on UTA
Arad. On Monday, CS Mioveni, on their own turf will be playing FC Botosani. Gaz
Metan with minus 37 points and Academica with minus five are presently at the
bottom of the table and cannot avoid demotion any more.

Dinamo Bucharest with 16 points will go into the playoffs in
an attempt to remain in the first football league.

In the other matches on Saturday, Universitatea Craiova on
their own turf will be playing FC Voluntari while on Sunday, Farul Constanta
travels to Cluj to take on local side CFR. FCSB takes on FC Arges on the
National Arena stadium in Bucharest on Monday. CFR tops the table with 48
points followed by FCSB with 46 and Universitatea Craiova with 42.

(bill)

29 April 2022
Sports Weekend

Romania’s national rugby side have qualified for the World
Cup 2023 in France. The oaks’ way towards the prestigious rugby competition has
been smoothed out by the elimination of Spain, which used an illegible player
in two matches within the Rugby Europe Championship 2021-2022. Initially,
following the results in the aforementioned European competition, Romania had
to join the play-offs. But now Portugal and the side ranking after Romania will
go into the play-offs. In France, Romania will be part of Group B together with
defending champions South Africa, Ireland, Scotland and the first side ranking
in the Asia/Pacific zone.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep secured a 6-2, 6-3 win
against Shuai Zhang, of China on Thursday in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament
hosted by Madrid, which has more than 6 million euros in prize money. Also in
the first round, Sorana Cîrstea of Romania has conceded defeat to Spanish
player Nuria Parrizas Diaz, 6-4, 6-2, while Irina Begu lost to Belinda Bencic
of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-1.

Bulgarian capital Sofia is this weekend hosting The European
Judo Championships an event which brings together over 360 athletes of 40
countries. Romania is being represented by 9 judokas, six in men’s and 3 in
women’s competitions. Athletes from Romania walked away with no medal from last
year’s edition of the aforementioned competition, the last medal was won by Andrea
Chiţu, in Prague in 2020, in the 52-kilogram category.

The Romanian women’s handball side CSM Bucharest will be
playing Danish side Team Esbjerg in a home match counting towards the Champions
League quarter finals. The Romanian side also relies on left-back Eduarda
Amorim of Brazil who has also played for Russian side Rostov-Don, which has
been excluded from the Champions League due to the war in Ukraine.

And now football. This weekend will be seeing the matches of
the seventh leg of Romania’s first football league. On Friday Sepsi Sfantu
Gheorghe will be playing Gaz Metan Medias and Chindia Targoviste is up against
Rapid Bucharest. On Saturday, Dinamo Bucharest plays Academica Clinceni in a
home game while in Craiova, western Romania, local side FCU 1948 takes on UTA
Arad. On Monday, CS Mioveni, on their own turf will be playing FC Botosani. Gaz
Metan with minus 37 points and Academica with minus five are presently at the
bottom of the table and cannot avoid demotion any more.

Dinamo Bucharest with 16 points will go into the playoffs in
an attempt to remain in the first football league.

In the other matches on Saturday, Universitatea Craiova on
their own turf will be playing FC Voluntari while on Sunday, Farul Constanta
travels to Cluj to take on local side CFR. FCSB takes on FC Arges on the
National Arena stadium in Bucharest on Monday. CFR tops the table with 48
points followed by FCSB with 46 and Universitatea Craiova with 42.

(bill)

29 April 2022
Athlete of the Week

Simona Halep remains Romania’s highest-ranking tennis
player. On Monday she made a comeback among the world’s first 20 players, with a
7 position jump currently placing her on the 19th position. That was
possible thanks to the performance she obtained at WTA 1000 in Indian Wells, where
she made it to the semifinals. For her latest Californian performance, Radio
Romania International has designated Halep Athlete of the Week.

At Indian Wells, Simona entered directly into the
second round and played Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova whom she defeated 6-2,
4-6, 6-2. In the third round she secured a two-set win against Cori Gauff of
the USA, 6-3, 6-4. In the round of 16, she clinched a 6-1, 6-4 win against her
compatriot Sorana Cîrstea and defeated Croatian player Petra Martic in the
quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-1. It was third-seeded Iga Świątek of Poland who stopped
Halep in her tracks in the semifinals with a 7-6, 6-4 win. The Polish player
eventually won the tournament after a two-set win 6-4, 6-1 against Maria
Sakkari of Greece.

Simona Halep was born on 27th September
1991, in Constanţa, south-eastern Romania and made her debut in international
competitions in 2006, when she played her first games in the ITF tournament. In
2010, she became part of Top 100 and four years later she made it to the second
position in the world ranking, which at that time was the best performance
obtained by a Romanian tennis player. Three years later, in October 2017, she
became the world’s best tennis player, a position she left in January 2018. She
made a comeback to that position that year in February and kept it until early
2019 after the Australian Open. She topped the WTA ranking for 64 weeks and her
prize closet includes two Grand Slam trophies, Roland Garros in 2018 and
Wimbledon 2019.

(bill)

22 March 2022
Athlete of the Week

Simona Halep remains Romania’s highest-ranking tennis
player. On Monday she made a comeback among the world’s first 20 players, with a
7 position jump currently placing her on the 19th position. That was
possible thanks to the performance she obtained at WTA 1000 in Indian Wells, where
she made it to the semifinals. For her latest Californian performance, Radio
Romania International has designated Halep Athlete of the Week.

At Indian Wells, Simona entered directly into the
second round and played Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova whom she defeated 6-2,
4-6, 6-2. In the third round she secured a two-set win against Cori Gauff of
the USA, 6-3, 6-4. In the round of 16, she clinched a 6-1, 6-4 win against her
compatriot Sorana Cîrstea and defeated Croatian player Petra Martic in the
quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-1. It was third-seeded Iga Świątek of Poland who stopped
Halep in her tracks in the semifinals with a 7-6, 6-4 win. The Polish player
eventually won the tournament after a two-set win 6-4, 6-1 against Maria
Sakkari of Greece.

Simona Halep was born on 27th September
1991, in Constanţa, south-eastern Romania and made her debut in international
competitions in 2006, when she played her first games in the ITF tournament. In
2010, she became part of Top 100 and four years later she made it to the second
position in the world ranking, which at that time was the best performance
obtained by a Romanian tennis player. Three years later, in October 2017, she
became the world’s best tennis player, a position she left in January 2018. She
made a comeback to that position that year in February and kept it until early
2019 after the Australian Open. She topped the WTA ranking for 64 weeks and her
prize closet includes two Grand Slam trophies, Roland Garros in 2018 and
Wimbledon 2019.

(bill)

22 March 2022
March 16, 2022

ICJ The International Court of Justice in The
Hague (ICJ) is to decide today on a Ukrainian demand for an emergency order
that Russia halt hostilities immediately. According to dpa and AFP, this is
going to be the first verdict of an international tribunal since the war broke
out three weeks ago. Ukraine has accused Moscow of having violated the 1948
convention on genocide and has called on ICJ to ask for an immediate cessation
of hostilities. Moscow boycotted the hearing in The Hague. The ICJ’s rulings
are binding but it has no real means to enforce them. Yesterday the US Senate
unanimously passed a resolution condemning Russian president Vladimir Putin as
a war criminal, in a rare show of unity in the deeply divided Congress. The
resolution encourages the ICJ and also nations to target the Russian military
in any investigation of war crimes committed during Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine. US president Joe Biden is expected to announce an additional 800
million dollars in security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday.

VISIT Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis is today paying a visit to the neighboring Republic of
Moldova for talks with his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu. Iohannis is accompanied
by the country’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca. In February, Iohannis talked
over the phone with Sandu, reiterating Romania’s full support for the Republic
of Moldova and its citizens in this dramatic regional context. The two leaders
agreed that Romania and the Republic of Moldova coordinate their actions to
provide the necessary assistance to the Ukrainian refugees. On March 3rd, Maia
Sandu signed the Republic of Moldova’s request to join the European Union, a
move hailed by Iohannis, who pledged Romania’s support in this respect as well.

SUMMIT Romanian
Defence Minister Vasile Dincu is attending a special meeting of NATO defence
ministers underway in Brussels. The event is taking place under the coordination
of NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg against the background of the war in
Ukraine and is representing a major landmark in the process of adjusting the
alliance to the present security context before the Madrid summit over June
29th and 30th. The first part of this meeting has been devoted to the security
situation in Ukraine and the conflict’s implications for the alliance and its
partners and will have as invitees defence ministers from Sweden, Finland,
Georgia and Ukraine. The event also involves the participation of the EU High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borell. The second
part will be hosting debates over the process of adjusting the alliance’s long-term
collective posture so that it may be able to respond the new security realities
at its borders.

REFUGEES According to
the latest border police reports, over 15 thousand Ukrainian refugees entered
Romania on Tuesday. Since the beginning of the crisis until March 15th, a total
number of 440 thousand refugees entered Romania.

TENNIS Romanian
tennis player Simona Halep has defeated her compatriot Sorana Carstea in two
sets in the round of 16 of the WTA tournament in Indian Wells, the USA. Halep
will next be playing Petra Martici of Croatia for a place in the semifinals.
Martici comes after a win against Russian Liudmila Samsonova. We recall that
Halep secured a three-set win against Martic in the quarter finals of the same
competition in 2018.

(bill)

16 March 2022
Sports Roundup

One leg before the end of 2022 Rugby Europe
Championship, Romania still has chances to qualify into next year’s World Cup. On
Saturday, the national team lost in Bucharest, 23 – 26 to Georgia, the winner
of the competition and already qualified to the World Cup. Second-ranking in
the overall standings for 2021 and 2022, Spain defeated Portugal in Madrid on
Sunday, 33-28, and also qualified to the 2023 World Cup, after a 23-year long
absence. Romania, which is ranking 4th in the overall standings,
still has a match to play on March 19, away from home, against the Netherlands.
If it wins, Romania will leave behind Portugal, which is currently 3rd-placed
but without any more matches to play. The 3rd place secures presence
in the playoffs scheduled for November. Teams from Europe, Africa, the Americas
and Asia / Pacific will play in a round-robin scheduling, with the winner
getting the last ticket to the World Cup.

The Romanian athlete Alexandru Novac won the gold in
the javelin event of the European Throwing Cup held in Leiria, Portugal. The Romanian
athlete’s best throw was 80.49 m and was his best performance this season. Last
year in the Tokyo Olympics, Novac came out 12th.

On Tuesday, Simona Halep and Sorana Cîrstea will play
against each other in the round of 16 of the Indian Wells tournament. In
the 3rd round on Sunday, Halep, seed no. 24, defeated the American player
Cori Gauff 6-3, 6-4. Sorana Cîrstea, seed no. 26, won 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 against Anna
Kalinskaya of Russia.

This weekend
matches were played in the first leg of the play-off / play-out stage of the
Romanian Football League 1. In the play-off, Universitatea Craiova Friday beat FC
Argeș at home, 3-0. On Saturday, defending champions CFR Cluj won at home
against FC Voluntari, 3-1. The last game, FCSB vs. Farul Constanța, was scheduled
for Monday. Cluj top the standings at this point with 41 points, followed by
FCSB, with 31, and Universitatea Craiova, with 30.

In
the play-out group, on Friday UTA Arad defeated Academica Clinceni 3-0. On Saturday
Chindia Târgoviște and FC U Craiova drew, 0-0, and on Sunday Sepsi Sfântu
Gheorghe won 3-1 against CS Mioveni, while Rapid beat Dinamo with the same
score. Four teams are at the top of the table with 24 points each: UTA, Rapid,
Sepsi and FC Botoșani. (A.M.P.)

14 March 2022
Sports Roundup

One leg before the end of 2022 Rugby Europe
Championship, Romania still has chances to qualify into next year’s World Cup. On
Saturday, the national team lost in Bucharest, 23 – 26 to Georgia, the winner
of the competition and already qualified to the World Cup. Second-ranking in
the overall standings for 2021 and 2022, Spain defeated Portugal in Madrid on
Sunday, 33-28, and also qualified to the 2023 World Cup, after a 23-year long
absence. Romania, which is ranking 4th in the overall standings,
still has a match to play on March 19, away from home, against the Netherlands.
If it wins, Romania will leave behind Portugal, which is currently 3rd-placed
but without any more matches to play. The 3rd place secures presence
in the playoffs scheduled for November. Teams from Europe, Africa, the Americas
and Asia / Pacific will play in a round-robin scheduling, with the winner
getting the last ticket to the World Cup.

The Romanian athlete Alexandru Novac won the gold in
the javelin event of the European Throwing Cup held in Leiria, Portugal. The Romanian
athlete’s best throw was 80.49 m and was his best performance this season. Last
year in the Tokyo Olympics, Novac came out 12th.

On Tuesday, Simona Halep and Sorana Cîrstea will play
against each other in the round of 16 of the Indian Wells tournament. In
the 3rd round on Sunday, Halep, seed no. 24, defeated the American player
Cori Gauff 6-3, 6-4. Sorana Cîrstea, seed no. 26, won 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 against Anna
Kalinskaya of Russia.

This weekend
matches were played in the first leg of the play-off / play-out stage of the
Romanian Football League 1. In the play-off, Universitatea Craiova Friday beat FC
Argeș at home, 3-0. On Saturday, defending champions CFR Cluj won at home
against FC Voluntari, 3-1. The last game, FCSB vs. Farul Constanța, was scheduled
for Monday. Cluj top the standings at this point with 41 points, followed by
FCSB, with 31, and Universitatea Craiova, with 30.

In
the play-out group, on Friday UTA Arad defeated Academica Clinceni 3-0. On Saturday
Chindia Târgoviște and FC U Craiova drew, 0-0, and on Sunday Sepsi Sfântu
Gheorghe won 3-1 against CS Mioveni, while Rapid beat Dinamo with the same
score. Four teams are at the top of the table with 24 points each: UTA, Rapid,
Sepsi and FC Botoșani. (A.M.P.)

14 March 2022
February 15, 2022

Covid Ro — Romania is considering lifting the anti-Covid restrictions according to certain criteria, such as the drop in the number of new cases of infection, and in the number of patients in intensive care, the health minister Alexandru Rafila announced. He said, however, that there was no timetable for relaxation. The Romanian authorities have reported today almost 22,000 new COVID-19 cases out of 91,500 tests in 24 hours, and 204 deaths, 9 of which from previous days. 1,155 patients are in ICUs.

Energy — The Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca is today chairing a meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee for Energy, to later participate in a working meeting with officials in the field. Last Wednesday, the prime minister had a similar meeting with several ministers, in which they assessed the measures necessary to protect the population and the business environment from the effects of rising electricity and gas prices. On Monday, the Romanian government adopted a financial scheme that will help the local authorities to get through the winter months, when they received high energy bills.

Ukraine — The Russian troops deployed for several weeks near the border with Ukraine have started returning to their garrisons, the Russian Defense Ministry officials have announced today amid Western fears of an imminent military operation. According to AFP, the announcement is the first sign from Moscow in this crisis with the West, which has lasted since the end of 2021. Since December, Russia has deployed more than 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border, raising fears in Kiev over an imminent invasion of that country. Moscow has always denied any intention to start a war, but has asked for guarantees for its security, such as the promise that Ukraine will never join NATO, which the West has refused to do. The announcement of the troops’ withdrawal comes ahead of talks scheduled for today in Moscow between the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, as part of the efforts to deescalate the situation on the Ukrainian border. On Monday, in Kiev, the German chancellor had called on Russia to take advantage of the dialogue offers meant to defuse the crisis and at the same time gave assurances that Germany would resolutely continue its economic aid and support for Ukraine. In turn, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky declared February 16 as a day of “unity” against the backdrop of US warnings of a possible imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine at this time. The West has repeatedly warned Moscow of unprecedented sanctions if it attacks Ukraine, and the US and several other countries have deployed new forces in Eastern Europe.

Talks — Romania and Canada have similar views on the worrying security situation in the vicinity of Ukraine and the Black Sea region and on the need to continue action towards de-escalation, shows a communiqué of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, after Monday’s telephone conversation between the Romanian FM, Bogdan Aurescu, and his Canadian counterpart, Mélanie Joly. The two ministers welcomed the concrete measures taken within NATO and together with the allied states, which prove the solidity of the collective commitment towards the security of the allies on NATO’s eastern flank.

Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu (54 WTA) was defeated by Ukrainian Daiana Iastremska in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, today, in the first round of the WTA 500 tournament in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, which has total prizes up for grabs worth almost 770 thousand dollars. Begu, a semi-finalist in St. Petersburg last week, was defeated after two hours of play. Also today, another Romanian, Gabriela Ruse (59 WTA), coming from the qualification rounds, plays against Paula Badosa (Spain), 3rd seed and 5th in the world. The winner of this match will face in the eighth finals the best ranked Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep (23 WTA). A champion in Dubai in 2015 and 2020, Halep defeated, on Monday, in the first round, in two sets, the American Alison Riske. (LS)

15 February 2022
January 22, 2022 UPDATE

COVID-19 19,371 new Covid cases and 48 related deaths were reported in Romania on Saturday. The number of fatalities is over 10 times smaller than at the peak of the previous wave of the pandemic, but the infection rate continues to grow, reaching 8.77 per thousand in Bucharest. The highest SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in the capital city (16.54 per thousand) was reached on 22nd October last year. The worst-case scenario considered by the authorities predicts up to 70,000 new cases per day in the first half of February. The health minister Alexandru Rafila says that 173 outpatient Covid-19 evaluation centres are already operational across the country, out of a planned 230.

CELEBRATION The government of Romania celebrated on Saturday 160 years since the first government of Romania was formed, after the union of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia was officially recognised. On this occasion, on the walls of Victoria Palace in the capital city Bucharest, which hosts the head offices of the government of Romania, images were projected during the evening, which are relevant for this milestone in Romanian history, such as the Romanian flag, the date when the first government of Romania was formed, namely 22nd of January, 1862 and the name of the countrys first prime minister, Barbu Catargiu. On Monday, which is a national holiday in Romania, 163 years since the union of the Romanian Principalities will be marked. On 24th January 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, elected ruler of Moldavia the previous week, was unanimously elected sovereign of Wallachia as well, and proclaimed ruler of the United Principalities. During his rule, the institutional foundations were laid for modern Romania.

STRIKE Romanias capital city Bucharest found itself without above-ground public transportation means on Saturday as well. It was 3rd consecutive day of strike for the Bucharest Transport Corporation, although a court ruled the protest illegal. Unions stand by their demands, which include pay raises and the resignation of the corporations CEO. The drivers who refuse to work risk having their employment contracts terminated, said the Bucharest mayor general Nicusor Dan. He also said the City Hall made available a toll-free number for drivers to report whether they are prevented by their colleagues from going to work, and added that a criminal case has been opened in this respect. Meanwhile, the government is facing demands from trade unions in public education and healthcare as well.

NATO On Friday NATO rejected Russias request for the pull-out of the Alliances troops in Bulgaria and Romania, and denounced the concept of spheres of influence, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. Russia requested guarantees from the US and NATO that the Alliance would not enlarge further eastwards, and demanded the withdrawal of the troops and equipment deployed to the countries that have joined the organisation since 1997. Also on Friday, the Pentagon announced a large-scale NATO naval exercise in the Mediterranean, amid tensions with Russia, which also announced major naval manoeuvres, AFP reports. Polands PM Mateusz Morawiecki called on European leaders to take a firm and united stand against Russia, in the context of fears that Moscow might plan an invasion of Ukraine. NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will provide Ukraine with US-made anti-armour and anti-aircraft missiles, the defence ministers of the 3 countries announced in a joint statement. In Romania, president Klaus Iohannis has called a meeting of the Supreme Defence Council on Wednesday. The meeting will focus on the security situation at the Black Sea and on NATOs eastern flank, and measures to develop resilience and response capabilities related to the new security challenges.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep qualified in the round of 16 of the Australian Open, after defeating Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, 6-2, 6-1, in the 3rd round of the tournament in Melbourne on Saturday. Halep (15 WTA and 14th seed), won the match in 64 minutes. It was the 8th consecutive win for the Romanian player this season. In the next round Simona Halep takes on Alizé Cornet of France (61 WTA). Also on Saturday, another Romanian, Sorana Cîrstea, won in the 3rd round against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, seed no 10. In the next round, Sorana Cîrstea will take on Iga Swiatek of Poland (9 WTA). (tr. A.M. Popescu)

22 January 2022
January 22, 2022

COVID-19 19,371
new Covid cases and 48 related deaths have been reported in Romania today. The
number of fatalities is over 10 times smaller than at the peak of the previous
wave of the pandemic, but the infection rate continues to grow, reaching 8.77
per thousand in Bucharest. The highest SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in the capital
city (16.54 per thousand) was reached on 22nd October last year. The
worst-case scenario considered by the authorities predicts up to 70,000 new
cases per day in the first half of February. The health minister Alexandru
Rafila says that 173 outpatient Covid-19 evaluation centres are already
operational across the country, out of a planned 230.

NATO On Friday
NATO rejected Russia’s request for the pull-out of the Alliance’s troops in
Bulgaria and Romania, and denounced the concept of spheres of influence, NATO
spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. Russia requested guarantees from the US and
NATO that the Alliance would not enlarge further eastwards, and demanded the
withdrawal of the troops and equipment deployed to the countries that have
joined the organisation since 1997. Also on Friday, the Pentagon announced a
large-scale NATO naval exercise in the Mediterranean, amid tensions with
Russia, which also announced major naval manoeuvres, AFP reports. Poland’s PM
Mateusz Morawiecki called on European leaders to take a firm and united stand
against Russia, in the context of fears that Moscow might plan an invasion of
Ukraine. NATO members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will provide Ukraine with
US-made anti-armour and anti-aircraft missiles, the defence ministers of the 3
countries announced in a joint statement. In Romania, president Klaus Iohannis
has called a meeting of the Supreme Defence Council on Wednesday. The meeting
will focus on the security situation at the Black Sea and on NATO’s eastern
flank, and measures to develop resilience and response capabilities related to
the new security challenges.

CELEBRATION
The government of Romania celebrates today 160 years since the first government
of Romania was formed, after the union of the principalities of Moldavia and
Wallachia was officially recognised. On this occasion, on the walls of Victoria
Palace in the capital city Bucharest, which hosts the head offices of the
government of Romania, images will be projected during the evening, which are
relevant for this milestone in Romanian history, such as the Romanian flag, the
date when the first government of Romania was formed, namely 22nd of
January, 1862 and the name of the country’s first prime minister, Barbu
Catargiu. On Monday, which is a national holiday in Romania, 163 years since
the union of the Romanian Principalities will be marked. On 24th
January 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, elected ruler of Moldavia the previous week,
was unanimously elected sovereign of Wallachia as well, and proclaimed ruler of
the United Principalities. During his rule, the institutional foundations were
laid for modern Romania.

SOCIAL Romania’s capital city Bucharest finds itself without above-ground public
transportation means on Saturday as well. It is for 3rd consecutive
day of strike for the Bucharest Transport Corporation, although a court ruled
the protest illegal. Unions stand by their demands, which include pay raises
and the resignation of the corporation’s CEO. Meanwhile, the government and
trade unions in public education are working to reach an agreement by 4th
February, following a first round of negotiations after teachers went on strike
on Wednesday. Unionists want pay raises, additional staff to be employed, and
6% of GDP to be earmarked for public education. Public healthcare unions are
also to discuss their demands next week with officials from the healthcare,
finances and labour ministries.

TENNIS The
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep qualified in the round of 16 of the
Australian Open, after defeating Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, 6-2, 6-1, in the
3rd round of the tournament in Melbourne today. Halep (15 WTA and 14th
seed), won the match in 64 minutes. It was the 8th consecutive win
for the Romanian player this season. In the next round Simona Halep takes on Alizé Cornet of France (61 WTA). Also
today, another Romanian, Sorana Cîrstea, is playing in the 3rd round
against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, seed no 10. In the women’s doubles,
Jaqueline Cristian (Romania) / Andrea Petkovic (Germany) qualified in the 8th-finals,
having defeated the Slovenians Kaja Juvan / Tamara Zidansek, 6-4, 6-0, and are
next to play agaist Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) / Sara Sorribes Tormo (Spain). (tr. A.M. Popescu)

22 January 2022
January 20, 2022

COVID-19 Romania has today reached an all-time high
in terms of Covid-19 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, 19,105, in
the past 24 hours out of 78 thousand tests conducted. Authorities have also
announced 43 fatalities. The previous all-time high was on October 19th 2021,
when 18,863 cases were reported along with 561 deaths. According to Health
Minister Alexandru Rafila, the Covid-related mortality is ten times lower than
in October. Rafila says that the innovative anti-viral treatment will become
available in Romania shortly. On the other hand, the Romanians’ interest in
getting the jab remains low with a national vaccination rate slightly exceeding
40%. The anti-Covid vaccine will become available to children with ages between
5 and 11 in Romania starting January 26th.

TENNIS
The former world number
one, Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep will today be up against Brazilian
Beatriz Haddad Maia in the third round of Australian Open. Also today, Romanian
Sorana Cirstea has qualified for the competition’s third round after a two-set
win 6-2, 6-4 against Karolina Kucova of Slovakia. Another Romanian, Irina Begu
lost to Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 6-2.

HANDBALL Romania’s champions in women’s handball, CSM Bucharest, on
Wednesday night lost to French side Brest Bretagne 24-21 in a match counting
towards the Champions League Group A. CSM had come after a clear win in
Montenegro against local side Buducnost Podgorica but the show our handballers
managed in the second half of the game was below expectations. They will be
playing German side Borussia Dortmund in a home match on Saturday. CSM rank
fifth in their group with 10 points out of 10 matches.

STRIKE
Employees of the Public Transport
Company in Bucharest have today gone on an all-out strike calling for pay rises
and for the company’s managers to step down. According to one of its managers,
the average salary in the company stays around 1400 Euros and has accused the
trade unionists of mounting illegal actions. The protest has also been
considered illegal by the authorities, which say that strikes should not be
launched during the state of alert. Furthermore, even during the strike, the
company was supposed to operate at a third of its normal capacity.

NATO
Romanian president Klaus
Iohannis has today had a positive reaction following the announcement of his
French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that France is ready to send troops to
Romania as part of NATO missions. According to Iohannis, the Romanian-French
strategic partnership will thus be consolidated on the eastern flank in the
Black Sea area. France is ready to participate with troops inside NATO in order
to defend countries in Eastern Europe whose security is being threatened by
Russia, Emmanuel Macron has said. In a speech held at a military unit in
Alsacia, the French leader has also mentioned Romania, where an increased NATO
presence would be decided. The announcement comes at a tensioned moment in
Eastern Europe, against the background of a massive Russian build-up at its
border with Ukraine, where a 100 thousand strong military contingent has
allegedly been deployed. The Kremlin has called on NATO to pull out troops from
its eastern members, Romania included.

(bill)

20 January 2022
January 18, 2022

ENERGY On February 1st the government in Bucharest is
expected to endorse new measures aimed at capping electricity and gas prices.
The aforementioned measures will be promoted through an emergency ordinance to
be passed the next week at the latest. Romania’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has
today held talks with energy suppliers who, according to government sources,
have agreed with the newly announced measures for subsidizing and capping
energy prices, pledging to rectify the bills initially issued. The head of the
Executive on Monday announced that following an agreement of the ruling
coalition made up of PNL, PSD and UDMR prices in gas and electricity would be
capped and the consumption limit extended.

COVID-19 Authorities in Romania have today announced 16,760 new Covid
infections, double the number of yesterday as well as 70 related fatalities. Bucharest
has today reached an infection rate of 6.15 cases per thousand and has been in
the red tier since January 12th. With 8 million people vaccinated
Romania still is the last but one in an EU ranking. Bulgaria is the country
with the lowest number of immunized people in the bloc.

TENNIS 14th-seeded tennis player Simona Halep has qualified for
the second round of Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament
after a two-set win 6-4, 6-3 against Magdalena Frech of Poland. A former top
seed, Halep took one hour and 29 minutes to obtain the victory against the
Polish challenger. Five Romanian women players out of six have qualified for
the tournament’s second round. They are Simona Halep, Sorana Cirstea, Irina
Begu, Gabriela Ruse and Jaqueline Cristian. From the Romanian delegation only
Irina Bara was eliminated in the competition’s first round.

EUMaltese center-right MEP
Roberta Metsola was elected president of the European Parliament on Tuesday. Metsola,
who won 458 votes out of the total 616, had an absolute majority avoiding the
need for a second round of voting. A member of the European People’s Party,
Metsola succeeds Italian Social Democrat David Sassoli who died last week at
the age of 65. Sassoli was a politician and journalist very appreciated in
Italy, a supporter of the EU, who firmly campaigned for human rights observance
around the world, this is how Romanian MEP Eugen Tomac has described him. A
vehement critic of the abuses committed by Russian president Vladimir Putin, in
2021 Sassoli got interdiction to enter Russia in response to the EU sanctions
imposed to some Russian officials. Sassoli was also a supporter of the EU
integration efforts of the ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking republic of Moldova.

(bill)

18 January 2022
Hăbări ditu bana românească şi internaţională

COVID-19. Simfunu cu aţeali ditu soni ţifri publicate di autorităț dumănică, 7595 di năi infecții cu Covid-19 fură dimăndati tru 24 săhăţ ditu soni tru România, cu 60% ma multu andicra di aoa şi ună stămănă. Eara raportate 28 di decese ligate di Covid. Experțălli lugursescu că ţinţea dalgă a pandemiillei easti ma vărtoasă andicra di atea di ma ninti și s’lugurseaşti s’agiungă pi kipită tru România tru aţea ditu soni stămănă ditu yinaru ică prota ditu meslu şcurtu, cându s’lugurseaşti că numirlu a cazurlor ndzuuă va s’agiungă la 50 di nilli. Sinferlu a româñilor ta s’amintă jab easti nica scădzut, cu maş 36 di suti tru 24 di săhăţ ditu soni. Epidimiologilli căndăsescu oamiñilli să s’imunizeadză, căţe categoriile vulnearabile suntu tru piriclliu.

TENIS. România ari ţinţi reprezentanță pi tabloulu prinţipal di tu Australian Open, primlu turneu di Grand Slam di estan. Alță români fură eliminaț ditu competiție. Tru primlu tur, Simona Halep, fostul numir ună mondial, va s’antreacă cu Magdalena Frech ditu Polonia, kiro tu cari Sorana Cîrstea va s’agioacă cu Petra Kvitova ditu Cehia, cari ari un avantaj di 5-3 tru meciurile cap la cap. Ună altă agiucătoari română, Irina Begu, va s’alumtă cu franțuzoiaca Oceane Dodenu. Jaqueline Cristian ditu România va s’agioacă cu Greet Minnen ditu Belgia, iara Gabriela Ruse va s’agioacă cu Jasmine Paolini ditu Italia. Agiucătoarea britanică Emma Răducanu, cari ari un tată român și easti campioana-apărătoari la US Open, va s’agioacă cu Sloane Stephens ditu SUA.

HANDBAL. CSM București, ună parei handbal feminin ditu România, ș-asiguripsi sâmbătă seara ună victorie tru deplasari cu 28-20 contra echipăllei muntenegrene Buducnost BEMAX Podgorica tru Grupa A a Ligăllei Campionilor. Românii featiră unu bunu spectacol și amintară ună victorie ţi lă si cădea. Tu 19 di yinaru, handbalistilli a noștri va s’ampulisească cu echipa franceză Brest Bretagne și trei dzăli ma amănatu cu Borussia Dortmund ditu Germania. Antrenați di selecționerul naționalei României, Adrian Vasile, CSM București ari ca protu scupo s’amintă tuti aţeali trei meciuri ditu aestu mesu.

JUSTIȚIA. Ministerlu ali Justiție di București bitisi un proiectu ti ncllideari Direcția Speciale di cercetari a infracțiunilor ditu justiție, SIIJ. Instituția dimăndă tru un comunicat că tru dzălili ţi yin va s’pitreacă documentul ti aprobari a Guvernului și Parlamentului. Năpoi aduţemu aminti că activitatea aluştui organismu special adusi critiţ di partea a Comisiillei Europene, cari spune că SIIJ poati s’hibă cama susceptibil la intervenții di nafoară andicra di Direcția Anticorupție, cunuscută tru România ti DNA. Ministerlu ali Justiție dimăndă că va s’ahurhească proceslu di alăxeari a nomurloru ti justiție și a codurlor penale aţea turlie că aestea s’poată s’hibă aprobate di Parlament până tu bitisita a meslui marţu. Ministerlu ali Justiție năpoi aduţi aminti ti ndreptul și legislația ali UE stipulate ca ndrupămintulu andicra di Tratatlu di Lisabona și pricunuscute di constituția ali Românie.

Autoru: Udălu a hăbărlor

Armânipsearia: Taşcu Lala

16 January 2022
January 16, 2022 UPDATE

STRIKE Trade unionists in Romania’s education system are to go on a token
strike on Wednesday and cease classes for two hours in their schools. The
protesters have called for pay rises, for the allotment of 6% of the GDP to
education and the pay for the extra hours worked. Almost 100 trade unionists
from Romania’s education on Thursday picketed the government building and the
headquarters of the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. The
protest on Thursday was their fourth in front of the government building. On
Saturday, the Day of National Culture in Romania, artists and organizers of
various events, mounted protests in Bucharest and Sibiu, in central Romania,
asking for compensations for their restricted activity during the pandemic. The
protesters have denounced the lack of coherent measures aimed at supporting the
sector of culture in Romania, severely affected in the past two years of
pandemic.

HANDBALL SCM Ramnicu Valcea, a women’s handball team from Romania, on
Sunday started off on their right foot with a clear home win 39-29 against the
Hungarian side Vaci NKSE in group D of the EHF European League. On Saturday in
group C of the same competition Magura Cisnadie, a women’s handball team from
central Romania lost away to the Danish side Herning-Ikast Handbold 31-28 while
in group B, CS Minaur Baia Mare from north-western Romania lost to German side
BBM Bietigheim 39-20. Also on Saturday, Romania’s champions CSM Bucharest
secured a 28-20 away win against Montenegrin side Buducnost Podgorica in the
Champions League. With 10 points out of nine games, the Romanians go up to the
group’s fourth position and are to meet French side Brest Bretagne in an away
game on January 19th and take on German side Borussia Dortmund at
home on January 22nd.

COVID-19 According to the latest figures released by authorities on
Sunday, 7595 new Covid-19 infections have been reported in the past 24 hours in
Romania, 60% more than a week ago. 28 Covid-related fatalities have been
reported. Experts believe the fifth wave of the pandemic is stronger than the
previous ones and is to reach its peak in Romania in the last week of January
or the first of February, when the number of daily cases is expected to go up
to 50 thousand. The interest of the Romanians in getting the jab is still low,
with only 36 hundred in the past 24 hours. Epidemiologists are urging the
people to get immunized because the vulnerable categories are at risk.

TENNIS Romania has five representatives on the main draw of Australian
Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Other Romanians have been
eliminated from the competition in the qualifiers. In the first round Simona
Halep, a former number one, will be up against Magdalena Frech of Poland, while
Sorana Cirstea will be playing Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, who has a
5-3 advantage in head-to-head matches. Another Romanian player, Irina Begu will
be up against Oceane Dodin of France. Jaqueline Cristian of Romania will be
playing Greet Minnen of Belgium and Gabriela Ruse will be meeting Jasmine Paolini
of Italy. British player Emma Raducanu, who has a Romanian father and is the
defending champion of the US Open will be playing Sloane Stephens of the USA.

JUSTICE The Ministry of Justice in Bucharest has completed a draft on
dismantling the Special Direction for investigating criminal offences within
the judiciary, SIIJ. The institution has announced in a communiqué that in the
following days it will submit the document for government and Parliament
approval. We recall that the activity of this special body has attracted
criticism from the European Commission, which says the SIIJ could be more
susceptible to interventions from outside than the Anti-corruption Directorate,
known in Romania as the DNA. The Justice Ministry has announced that it will
resume the process of amending the justice laws and the criminal codes so that
they can be approved by Parliament by the end of March. The Ministry of Justice
reiterates its support for the EU law and legislation stipulated by the Lisbon
Treaty and recognized by the Romanian constitution.

(bill)

16 January 2022