Radio România Internațional

Tag: handball

  • December 6, 2023

    December 6, 2023

    Measles – The Romanian Health Ministry has declared a national measles epidemic. The measure comes after the confirmation of almost 2,000 cases since the beginning of the year. In the last week of November alone, almost 200 cases were reported. The Ministry officials emphasize that the number of cases has increased alarmingly and more and more children need hospitalization in the pediatric and infectious disease wards. The measure taken by the authorities facilitates the vaccination of children aged between 9 and 11 months, as well as the recovery of those who are not vaccinated or whose vaccination schedule is incomplete. Measles is an extremely contagious viral disease, which can lead to complications such as encephalitis and pneumonia and even death. The symptoms of infection are similar to those of a cold, except that the temperature can rise up to 41 degrees C, the eyes are sensitive to light, and the rash first appears on the face and then spreads to the whole body. Anyone is at risk if they have not had the disease or are not vaccinated against measles.



    Visit – The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, continues his official visit to the US, together with the Ministers of Economy, Defense and Foreign Affairs. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, the government delegation left Washington and arrived in New York, where meetings are scheduled today with the president of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, with the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, as well as with the president of the World Jewish Council, Ronald Lauder. On Tuesday, the Romanian PM discussed with members of the American Congress on the strategic partnership between the two countries in the fields of defense, security, energy and trade. After the meeting with the Secretary for Energy, Jennifer Granholm, Ciolacu stated that the projects of units 3 and 4 from Cernavodă (south-east) and that of the small nuclear unit from Doicesti (south) remain a priority, in the context in which Romania has set ensuring energy independence as one of its main objectives.



    Handball–Romania’s womens national handball team will play, on Thursday, in the Danish city of Herning, against Germany, its first match in the main Group III of the World Championship. Later, the Romanian players will meet Poland and Japan. The two top ranking teams qualify for the quarterfinals. Romania entered the group with 2 points, after, in the first phase of the competition, it defeated Chile and Serbia and was outranked by Denmark. The star of the Romanian national team, Cristina Neagu, four times appointed the best handball player in the world, has not yet played. Romania is the only team that has participated in all 26 editions of the World Womens Handball Championship and its record includes one gold medal (1962), two silver medals (1973, 2005) and one bronze medal (2015). In the previous edition, the Romanian handballers ranked 13th.



    JHA – The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, stated, after the Council of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) meeting, on Tuesday, in Brussels, that the Commissions objective remains to make a decision, this year, on the extension of Schengen and the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the free travel area. From Washington, the Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu explained that the political moment was not favorable for Romania to ask for a new vote in the JHA Council on Tuesday, but he expressed optimism that this could happen soon. Last year, Austria voted, in the JHA Council, against the admission of both countries to the Schengen area, while the Netherlands had reservations only regarding Bulgaria. For Schengen accession, unanimity is needed.



    PISA – The average scores obtained by Romanian students were similar to those recorded in 2018 in Mathematics, Reading and Science, according to the Program for International Student Assessment – PISA 2022, launched in Bucharest. Asia, led by Singapore, stood out once again in this educational program, carried out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The results show that Romania is below the OECD average in all three areas tested. The main striking fact of the PISA 2022 edition consists in an “unprecedented drop in the performance” of students, according to specialists. Among the main reasons are: the health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis in the attractiveness of the teaching profession, which affects more and more countries, as well as the quality of teaching, the lack of support for teachers and students or cooperation in schools, or even the involvement of parents in schooling, which decreased compared to 2018. (LS)

  • December 5, 2023

    December 5, 2023

    Conference– Romania is interested in developing, using and producing green technologies, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said on Monday, at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai. Klaus Iohannis underlined, during the Sustainable Innovation Forum 2023 event, that in order to effectively respond to climate change, governments must develop a strong partnership with businesses, financial institutions, research and innovation entities and NGOs. He pointed out that the large university centers, such as those in Bucharest and Cluj (north-west), are innovating in the field of sustainable construction materials and applications for energy efficiency. At the same time, Romanian companies support the progress of heat pump technology, essential for the decarbonising of the building heating and cooling sector, president Iohannis added.



    Visit — The Romanian Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, is meeting, today, in Washington, with representatives of the American companies Lockheed Martin and Google. The Romanian PM’s agenda also includes today discussions with members of the American Congress. Previously, he met with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, with the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, and with the Secretary for Energy, Jennifer Granholm.



    JHA — The Justice and Home Affairs Council continues today in Brussels. The Schengen issue is back on the agenda, being tackled from the perspective of the efficient management of the migration issue. It is a recurring analysis of the state of the Schengen area based on key indicators, such as the number of asylum seekers who have been rejected. Romania and Bulgaria have run several pilot projects regarding migration management. Both the Commission and the Spanish presidency of the Council are supporters of the entry of the two states into the Schengen area. We remind you that Romania and Bulgaria received, as part of the JHA Council of December 8-9, 2022, a negative vote from the Netherlands and Austria for joining the free travel Area. On Monday, on the first day of the Council meeting, talks focused on holding Russia accountable, from a penal and financial point of view, for the invasion of Ukraine, as well as on making the European Public Prosecutors Office more efficient. The member states’ ministers and the European chief prosecutor, Laura Codruţa Kovesi, analyzed the latest legislative proposal regarding the transfer of proceedings in criminal matters. As for how Russia can be held accountable for the war in Ukraine, talks focused on how to bring the culprits to justice, as well as on how to use the Russian frozen assets in the international space for the reconstruction of Ukraine.



    Handball — Romania’s national womens handball team takes up, this evening, the strong Danish team, in the last match in group E of the World Championship hosted by Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The Romanian players won the other two games, against Chile and Serbia, and are qualified for the main groups, where they will face Germany, Poland and Japan. Romania is the only team that participated in all 26 editions of the World Womens Handball Championship. Their record includes a world title, two silver medals and one bronze medal. (LS)

  • 04.12.2023 (mise à jour)

    04.12.2023 (mise à jour)

    Séance
    -Une réunion solennelle a eu lieu lundi au Parlement roumain pour marquer la
    Journée nationale de la Roumanie célébrée le 1er Décembre. Y ont
    participé les représentants des deux Chambres parlementaires, des membres du
    Gouvernement, des représentants des cultes religieux et des membres du Corps
    diplomatique. Un buste en bronze du grand homme politique Iuliu Maniu a été
    placé devant la salle pour les réunions plénières de la Chambre des députés. Le
    1er décembre 1918, à la fin de la Première guerre mondiale, toutes
    les provinces à population majoritaire roumaine sont entrées sous l’autorité de
    Bucarest. A l’époque, à Alba Iulia, les représentants des Roumains de
    Transylvanie, dans le centre, du Banat, dans le sud-ouest, du Maramures et de
    Crisana, dans l’ouest ont voté pour l’Union avec le Royaume de Roumanie. Le 28
    novembre, une décision similaire a été adoptée par le Congrès général de la
    Bucovine, dans le nord-est, une autre province qui avait fait partie de
    l’Empire de l’Autriche-Hongrie. Le 27 mars 1918, sur le fond de la dissolution
    de l’Empire des Tzars, le Conseil du pays de Chisinau avait déjà voté l’Union
    de la Bessarabie avec la Roumanie. A l’été 1940, suite à un ultimatum, l’URSS a
    annexé tant la Bessarabie que le nord de la Bucovine, qui font partie de nos
    jours des anciennes républiques soviétiques de Moldavie et d’Ukraine.























    Bruxelles
    – La Commission européenne a approuvé le versement de 33,9 millions d’euros du
    Fonds de solidarité de l’UE pour soutenir la Roumanie à faire face aux
    conséquences des incendies et de la sécheresse qui ont frappé le pays en 2022,
    lit-on dans un communiqué de l’exécutif communautaire. « Le fond de
    solidarité de l’Union européenne est une manière tangible de faire part de la
    solidarité et du soutien et il joue un rôle crucial dans le contexte des
    changements climatiques », a déclaré la commissaire en charge de la
    cohésion et des réformes, Elisa Ferreira. Entre mars et août 2022, la Roumanie
    a été touchée par une sécheresse sévère provoquée par une forte baisse des
    précipitations. Récoltes en dessous des attentes, incendies de végétation et un
    déficit d’eau courante et potable dans plusieurs régions, sont autant d’effets
    négatifs de ce phénomène, dont les préjudices seront partiellement couverts par
    l’UE.










    Séisme
    – Un tremblement de terre de magnitude 4,8 degrés sur l’échelle ouverte de
    Richter s’est produit en Roumanie dans la nuit de dimanche à lundi dans la zone
    sismique de Vrancea, dans l’est, a fait savoir l’Institut national de recherche
    et de développement pour la Physique de la Terre. Le séisme qui a été ressenti
    dans des dizaines de localités et dans la capitale, Bucarest, a eu l’épicentre
    à une profondeur de 132,5 km. Depuis début décembre, trois tremblements de terre
    ont secoué la Roumanie ayant des magnitudes de 2,1, 3,2 et 4,8 sur l’échelle de
    Richter.


    Energie
    – La Roumanie a rejoint l’Alliance Solaire Internationale, qui réunit quelque
    120 Etats. Les représentants de l’administration de Bucarest ont signé
    l’engagement dans le cadre de la COP28, la Convention Cadre des Nations unies
    sur les Changements Climatiques qui se tient du 30 novembre au 12 décembre 2023
    à Dubaï. La sécurité énergétique de la Roumanie augmentera avec l’adhésion à
    l’Alliance Solaire Internationale, a déclaré à cette occasion le président
    roumain, Klaus Iohannis. Dans le cadre de son discours sur place, le chef de
    l’Etat roumain a réaffirmé l’engagement ferme de son pays d’atteindre la
    neutralité carbone, y compris par l’utilisation des sources renouvelables
    d’énergie. Klaus Iohannis a rencontré l’émissaire américain sur le climat, John Kerry, pour un dialogue sur
    l’élargissement de la composante relative aux changements climatiques, à
    l’environnement et à la transition verte dans le cadre du Partenariat
    stratégique roumano-américain. Ce qui plus est, le président roumain a également
    rencontré des membres du Forum de la jeunesse européenne, la plus importante
    plate-forme de représentation de la jeunesse au niveau européen, qui se
    propose, entre autres de protéger la planète et de coopter les jeunes dans les
    processus de consultation démocratique.














    Bois – Presque 3,5 millions de Roumains se chauffent au bois, une véritable source de pollution, selon les experts. C’est la raison pour laquelle le Ministère de l’Environnement est en train d’élaborer un programme censé financer par des fonds publics, non remboursables, le remplacement des anciens poêles à bois par des poêles plus efficaces du point de vue énergétique. Le secrétaire d’Etat, Ionut Baciu, affirme que le programme aura de multiples bénéfices : la réduction de la consommation du bois de chauffage, la baisse de la pollution et des factures moins élevées.

    Handball
    – La sélection nationale de handball féminine de la Roumanie a vaincu dimanche
    soir la Serbie, lors d’un match de poule au tableau du Championnat du monde.
    Cette victoire s’ajoute à celle contre le Chili et permet la qualification des
    Roumaines dans les groupes principaux du
    Championnat du monde. Mardi soir, les Tricolores disputeront leur dernier match
    de poule, contre le Danemark. La vedette de l’équipe nationale de Roumanie,
    Cristina Neagu, 4 fois désignée meilleure joueuse de handball du monde, n’est
    pas entrée jusqu’ici sur le terrain. La Roumanie est la seule équipe ayant
    participé à toutes les 26 éditions de la Coupe du monde de handball féminin, et
    compte à son palmarès un titre mondial (1962), deux médailles d’argent (1973 et
    2005) et une de bronze (2015). Lors de la précédente édition de cette
    compétition, les Roumaines ont occupé la 13e place au classement mondial.














    Météo – En Roumanie, le temps est morose, avec des pluies sur la moitié sud du territoire. Mardi, nous aurons entre 1 et 9 degrés. Le temps sera morose dans la capitale où les températures à midi ne dépasseront pas les 5 degrés.

  • Radio Romania International Sports club

    Radio Romania International Sports club

    Denmark,
    Norway and Sweden starting Wednesday will jointly play host to the World’s
    Women Handball Championship. The final is scheduled on November 17. The fixture
    will be hosted by the Jyske Bank Arena in Denmark’s Herning. It is also there
    that the Group E games will be played, Romania’ s games included. Florentin Pera’s
    trainees on December 1st take on the team of Chile. On December 3rd,
    Romania faces Serbia. The most challenging game, scheduled on Tuesday, is the
    match against one of the teams that are favorite to winning a medal, Denmark.
    The first three teams in Group E play straight in the 3rd Main
    Group, alongside the first three teams in Group F. Romania’s likely opponents
    in the 3rd main group are Germany, Poland, Japan or Iran. The game
    will also be played in Herning. The first two teams in descending order in the
    main four groups will then prove their mettle in the quarterfinals, The
    semifinals and the finals follow.


    The
    Romanian national team’s set target for the World Championship is earning a place
    among the world’s top seven teams, which paves the way for the 2024 edition of
    the Olympic games. The world champion will book its ticket to Paris jointly
    with the continental champions. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
    5th, 6th and 7th-placed teams at the World
    Championship will secure their participation to the pre-Olympic tournament in
    April, which will complete the list of teams that will participate in the 2024
    edition of the Olympics.


    The
    Romanian national squad is the only team that has so far taken part in all 25
    editions of the World Women’s Handball Championship since the inaugural edition
    held in the former Yugoslavia in 1957. In 1962, Romania itself played host to the
    world championship. We recall that back then Romania won the world title. In
    1973, Romania played the final which they lost to then the World Championship
    host country, former Yugoslavia. Romania also reached as far as the final in 2005, when
    they were defeated by the national team of host country Russia.


    Ahead
    of their participation in the World Championship, Romania last week won the
    Carpati Trophy, a competition held in Bistrita, in the north. Romania won the
    games against Switzerland, 33-28, Portugal, 33-22 and Austria, 41-35.



  • November 20, 2023

    November 20, 2023

    Tour – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, is paying a state visit to the Republic of Cape Verde today, where he is meeting with his counterpart Jose Maria Neves, the Prime Minister Jose Ulisses Correia e Silva and other officials. Last Tuesday the Romanian president started a tour in Africa that included Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar (autonomous territory belonging to Tanzania). The last stage of the tour is the official visit to Senegal.



    Visit – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminiţa Odobescu, is visiting Paris today, where she is having talks with the head of the French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna. High on the agenda of talks are the bilateral cooperation in the field of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the current international crises, especially the situation in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, the French FM, Catherine Colonna, will emphasize, again, Frances long-term commitment as the framework nation of the NATO Multinational Command in Romania to strengthen the defense on the Eastern Flank of the Alliance. The meeting between the two ministers represents a further opportunity to reaffirm the common decision for a lasting support given to Ukraine in all fields, hailing the efforts made by Romania for the functioning of the corridors for the export of Ukrainian cereals. The discussions also focus on the prospects of expanding the EU with the countries of the Western Balkans, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.



    Exhibition – The exhibition “Dacia – the last frontier of the Roman world” opens in Rome today. It can be visited until the end of April. Hundreds of archaeological objects from the territory of Romania, dating back over a thousand years, are on display. The artefacts come from 47 museums in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Italy, which provide a strong testimony of the Roman civilization. According to Ambassador Gabriela Dancău, the exhibition brings together archeology and technology, allowing access to a universe where the ancestors of the Getae-Dacians evolved. The opening of the exhibition, located in the National Museum Terme di Diocleziano in Rome, is being attended by the ministers of culture from Romania, the Republic of Moldova and Italy – Raluca Turcan, Sergiu Prodan, and Gennaro Sangiuliano, respectively.



    Cernavoda – Unit 1 of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant has been resynchronized to the national energy system, and today it will operate at nominal power, the Energy Ministry informs. The unit was automatically disconnected from the national electricity distribution network on Saturday night due to winds that blew at over 100 kilometers per hour. In Constanţa county, in the south-east of Romania, the storm over the weekend felled 240 trees, tore off 50 roofs and damaged 60 cars. At the same time, approximately 40,000 consumers from 80 localities in the Dobrogea region were left without electricity. The energy supplier reported that, in the meantime, power has been restored for almost 93% of those affected.



    Pensions – In Romania, the draft public pension system law passed the Senate and reaches, today, the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body. The government has calculated that it needs 5 billion Euros to increase pensioners incomes and it is still not clear where this money will come from. According to the draft law, two increases are scheduled for in 2024: as of January 1,a rise by 13.8% for all the approximately five million pensioners, and in September, a new increase, based on a new calculation formula, which takes into account the seniority, the contribution or the value of the correction index, targeting, this time approximately three million pensioners. Last week, in the Senate, the MPs of the ruling coalition, PSD and PNL, voted in favor of the draft pension law, which, they said, brings balance to the system. The opposition parties Save Romania Union – USR and the Alliance for the Union of Romanians – AUR abstained from voting. During the debates, the opposition senators criticized those in power for the lack of data regarding the resources and the budgetary impact regarding this draft law.



    Budget — The drafting of the budget bill for 2024 by the Government is going to be finalized this week. The PSD-PNL coalition has already agreed that, along with funding investments, priority will be attached to education and healthcare, but it seems that even these ministries will not receive as much money as they would like, given the constraints related to the budget deficit. And, meanwhile, there are more and more requests for money at the end of this year from the town halls as well as from the Transport Ministry. The main resource for supporting the future budget will be the fight against tax evasion. The social democratic PM Marcel Ciolacu said that, by eliminating tax evasion, the necessary funds can be obtained for pension increases, education and healthcare.



    Football – Qualified, mathematically, for the Euro 2024 from Germany, the Romanian national football team meets Switzerland, on Tuesday evening, in the last match of the Qualifying Group I. Undefeated, Romania occupies the first position, with 19 points, and can be the winner of the group if it does not lose the match with Switzerland, the team qualified for the 2024 European Championship. The Romanian footballers qualified after a 2-1 victory against Israel on Saturday. It will be the 6thparticipation of the national team in a final continental tournament, after those in 1984, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2016.



    Handball – The finalist of Romania’s Women’s Handball Cup, CSM Târgu Jiu (south) qualified, for the first time, in the groups of the EHF European League competition, after defeating the Swedish team Onnereds HK, with the score of 26-23, on Sunday, at home, in the second leg of the third preliminary round. HC Dunărea Brăila (south-east) also qualified on Sunday after defeating the German team BV Borussia 09 Dortmund, with the score of 27-22, at home. Another Romanian team that will play in the EHF European League groups is CS Gloria 2018 Bistriţa-Năsăud (north). In the Champions League groups, Romania is represented by the Bucharest teams CSM and Rapid. (LS)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Romanian women’s national basketball team on Thursday,
    November 9, grabbed a 82-70 home win against Iceland. The fixture counted
    towards Group F as part of the 2025 preliminaries of the European Championship
    2025. In Group F’s other game, Turkey defeated Slovakia, 75-40. Booking their
    ticket to the final tournament will be the winning team in all eight groups, save
    for Group 1. Joining them will be the best four second-placed teams. Romania’s next fixture is a home game against Slovakia, on
    Sunday, November 12.


    On an
    indoor clay court in Serbia’s Kraljevo, as part of the Billie Jean King Cup’s
    playoffs, Romanian national women’s tennis team faces Serbia on November 10 and
    11. The winning side plays in the final tournament’s qualifiers, while the
    defeated team will continue in Group I. Romania’s lineup for the game against
    Serbia is made of WTA number 98 according to the women’s singles rankings and WTA
    number 240 according to women’s doubles rankings, Jaqueline Cristian, Gabriela Ruse,
    WTA 127th according to women’s singles rankings and 37th
    placed according to the doubles rankings, Irina Bara, 190th-ranked according
    to women’s singles classification and 130th-ranked according to women’s
    doubles standings, Anca Todoni, 259th in the singles’ rankings and
    858th in the doubles’
    rankings. Joining them is Monica Niculescu, WTA number 933 according to the
    singles rankings and 41st-placed, according to the women’s doubles rankings.


    In
    the Champions League in Women’s Handball this coming Saturday, CSM Bucharest receive the visit of Hungarian side Schaeffler, in a Group A fixture. In a Group B
    confrontation on Sunday, Rapid Bucharest play Norwegian team Vipers Kristiansand,
    also on home court. In the preliminary round as part of the European women’s Handball
    League, Dunarea Braila travel to Germany, for a match against Dortmund.


    Fixtures
    counting towards the Romanian Football Super League’s 16th round are
    scheduled at the weekend. On Friday, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe play Rapid Bucharest,
    while on Saturday, Universitatea Cluj face Petrolul Ploiești, Politehnica Iași
    are pitted against CFR Cluj and Farul Constanța take on FC Hermannstadt. On
    Sunday, FC Botoșani play FC Voluntari, CSU Craiova face Dinamo București, while
    FCSB are pitted against FCU Craiova. On Monday, UTA Arad face Oțelul Galați. FCSB are at the top of the as-it-stands table, with 31
    points, followed by CFR Cluj, with 30, and Rapid Bucharest, with 29 points. .


  • Sports roundup

    The delegation, which represented Romania at the European Judo Championship held by the French city of Montpellier at the weekend, obtained no medal. Alex Cret obtained the best Romanian performance, a 7th place in the 90 kilogram category. He defeated Stuart McWatt of Britain in the first round and Bulgarian Ivailo Ivanov in the round of 16. The Romanian was eliminated in the quarters by Mihael Zgank of Turkey, who eventually became the bronze medalist.


    The Romanians attempt to re-qualify was stopped in its tracks by Hungarian Krisztian Toth, who also became bronze medalist. Romania participated in the aforementioned event with four Judokas and the last medal obtained by the Romanians in European championships was a silver obtained by Andreea Chitu in the 52 kilogram category in 2020.


    Romanias male handball side played two friendlies last week. On Thursday in Pdgorica, the Romanians were outperformed by Montenegro 38-28, while on Saturday in Toulouse they lost to France 21-40. We recall that France boasts three Olympic titles, six world trophies and three European.


    The games were part of the training campaign for the European Championships due in Germany in January, when Romania will be part of group B together with Spain, Austria and Croatia. The Romanian handballers will go to the aforementioned competition as outsiders as Spain was European vice-champion in 2022 and Croatia in 2020. As for Austria, they have outperformed the Romanians in both qualifying games. Our handballers havent qualified for a European Championship since 1996.


    Irina Bara and Dalila Jakupovic have won the doubles of the ITF tennis tournament in Heraklion, a competition with 40,000 dollars in prize money. The Romania-Slovenian pair defeated on Sunday, the Romanian-Greek pair Oana Gavrilă / Sapfo Sakellaridi, 3-6, 7-6, 10-8.


    Last weekend saw the matches counting towards the 15th leg of the Romanian Football Superleague. On Friday in Iasi, local side Poli versus Otelul Galati ended in a one-all draw. Also in draws ended the games on Saturday pitching Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe against Petrolul Ploieşti, nil-all and Universitatea Craiova versus FC U Craiova 1948 one-all. On Sunday FC Voluntari won their away match against Universitatea Cluj 2-1, and Farul Constanţa obtained a one-all draw against FC Botoşani. In the legs derby Rapid Bucharest secured a 2-1 win against FCSB. FCSB ranks first in the standings with 31 points, followed by CFR with 30 and Rapid with 29.


    (bill)


  • November 5, 2023 UPDATE

    November 5, 2023 UPDATE

    Cash payments — Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday is to have a working meeting with the representatives of the members of the Executive Council of the Romanian Association of Banks, according to the agenda announced by the Government. On Friday, the PM announced that he would convene a meeting at the Government headquarters with specialists from the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Romania, as well as with representatives of small entrepreneurs, banks and civil society, ‘to make a decision on the issue of cash’. Ciolacu stated that it is ‘intolerable’ to ‘artificially’ increase bank commissions and that ‘the banks greed cannot be fueled by the debate on cash’. As of this month, cash payments to companies and individuals are reduced in Romania, according to a measure included in the package of fiscal-budgetary measures assumed by the Government in Parliament. The decision would be intended to combat tax evasion. On the other hand, some banks have notified their customers that they want to increase the commissions for deposits and withdrawals at the counters.



    PSD – The National Political Council of the Social Democratic Party – PSD (number one in the government coalition in Bucharest) meets on Monday to establish its electoral strategy, in the run up to the 2024 elections. On Friday, in a meeting of the extended leadership of the National Liberal Party – PNL (junior partner in the coalition), the liberals decided not to have joint lists with the current social-democratic governing partners, but to go on their own lists to next years polls, with the avowed target of winning them all. Next year, elections for the European and national Parliaments, local and presidential elections are scheduled in Romania.



    Mini-football — The Romanian team won the Minifootball World Cup for the first time, on Saturday evening, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates), after a dramatic victory in the final against Kazakhstan, score 12-11, in the penalty shootout. Romania, which played its third consecutive world semifinal, had two World Cup bronze medals from three participations, in the USA (2015) and Australia (2019). The world champion trophy was the only major title missing from the national team’s showcase. The national team was, in the past, six times European champion (2010-2015) and runner-up in the last two editions of the EMF EURO (2018 and 2022).



    Handball — Romania’s mens national handball team was defeated by the French team with the score 40-21, on Saturday evening, in Toulouse, in a friendly match played in the run up to their participation in next years European Championship in Germany. The final tournament is scheduled for January 10-28, 2024, and Romania is part of Group B, alongside Spain, Austria and Croatia. The two top-ranking teams in the group qualify for the next stage. Romania had not qualified for a European Championship since 1996.



    Gaza – The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, discussed, on Sunday, in Ramallah, with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, at a time when the international community fears an expansion of the war between Israel and Hamas in the West Bank, AFP and Reuters report. It is the first visit of the US secretary of state to the West Bank since the beginning of the war on October 7, after the bloody attack on the Israeli territory by the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, followed by the harsh response of the Jewish state. Antony Blinkens unannounced visit to Ramallah comes in the context of his Middle East tour, which also included Israel and Jordan. The BBC reports that the Israeli Defense Ministry announced that its forces had entered populated areas of Gaza City, and eyewitnesses reported heavy gunfire and fierce ground fighting on the outskirts. At the same time, the Israeli army announced that it is reopening, on Sunday, a corridor for civilians in the north of Gaza, for their movement to the south. The United Nations warns that 1.5 million people have been displaced in the area since the beginning of the conflict, and half of them take shelter in its camps. (LS)

  • Sports Weekend

    Sports Weekend

    For the first time this season,
    all the three Romanian ice hockey sides in the regional competition Erste
    League – ACSH Gheorgheni, Corona Braşov and Sports Club Miercurea Ciuc obtained
    victories in their home matches on Thursday. ACSH, the defending champions, clinched
    a 5-2 win against DEAC Debrecen. Corona Braşov outperformed Dunaujvarosi
    Acelbikak 4-2. And Sports Club Miercurea Ciuc secured their first win this
    season 4-3 against Ferencvaros Budapest.




    Romanian swimmer David Popovici, holder
    of the world record in the 100 meter freestyle race, will compete this weekend
    in the Marek Petrusewicz Memorial held in Wroclaw, Poland. The competition is
    part of Popovici’s training for the European Short Course Championship in Otopeni,
    close to Bucharest, over December 5-10. In Wroclaw, the trainee of coach Adrian
    Rădulescu will be competing in four events, in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle
    races, as well as in the 50 meters butterfly event. On October 7 and 8, David
    Popovici competed in the short course Michel Bally Memorial, held in Nyon, Switzerland
    from where he walked away with four gold medals in the freestyle races of 50,
    100, 200 and 400 meters.




    In Group B of the Champions
    League, Romanian women’s handball side Rapid Bucharest will be playing
    Slovenian side Krim Ljubljana in a home game. With only three points in the
    present edition of the aforementioned competition, after a victory a draw and
    three defeats, Rapid ranks only 6th in the group. In Group A, on
    Sunday, CSM Bucharest will be playing in Montenegro local side Buducnost
    Podgorica. The Romanian champions are now ranking fourth in the group with four
    points.




    This weekend will be seeing the
    football games counting towards the 14th leg of the Romanian
    Superleague. Two games on Friday, when FC Voluntari plays Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe
    and Dinamo Bucharest plays Politechnica Iasi. On Saturday in Galati, eastern
    Romania, local team Otelul will be playing Hermannstadt, while in Ploieşti, southern
    Romania, the local team Petrolul will be up against FCSB of Bucharest. On
    Sunday, FC U Craiova 1948 play, on their own turf, UTA, while Rapid Bucharest
    will be up against Universitatea Craiova in a home game. Monday will see the
    leg’s last games: FC Botoşani versus Universitatea Cluj and CFR Cluj versus Farul
    Constanţa. FCSB tops the table with 30 points followed by CFR with 27.


    (bill)

  • October 15, 2023

    October 15, 2023

    Israel — The Israeli army announced this morning that residents of the northern part of the Gaza Strip can leave for the south until 13:00 hours local time (10:00 GMT) using a specially designated route, DPA reports. Israel has said that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have already moved to southern Gaza. On the other hand, there have been reports that the terrorist group Hamas is preventing Palestinian civilians from leaving. The large-scale Israeli military operation against the north of the Gaza Strip is imminent, press agencies report. The American publication The New York Times reported that the Israeli ground offensive had to be postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. On October 7, Hamas launched a brutal and large-scale terrorist attack against cities in southern Israel, which triggered a harsh response from the Israeli army, Reuters recalls. The violence has so far resulted in the death of over 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians, and approximately 2,300 Palestinians. On the other hand, since the beginning of the war, the area of ​​the Israeli-Lebanese border has been the scene of rocket fire between Hezbollah (a Shia organization massively supported by Iran and allied with Hamas) and the Israeli army. Also, there are almost daily attempts to infiltrate some Hamas members into Israel, from Lebanon. On a diplomatic level, the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a regional tour, had a meeting in Riyadh on Sunday with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose country has suspended talks, regarding a possible normalization of relations with Israel.



    MAE — The Romanian Foreign Ministry — MAE announced that, against the backdrop of the deterioration of the security situation in the State of Israel and the Gaza Strip, the Crisis Cell is continuing its ongoing efforts to evacuate, under safe conditions, the Romanian citizens from the Gaza Strip who requested this. There are approximately 200 Romanian citizens in the Gaza Strip who would like to leave the area and have requested the support of the Romanian authorities. The MAE, through the Romanian Embassy in Tel Aviv, the Romanian Representative Office in Ramallah and the Romanian diplomatic missions in the region, maintains coordination with other states and international organizations that undertake similar measures for their own citizens or officials. On Saturday, 58 Romanian citizens returned from Israel with a private flight. All in all, so far, 2,220 Romanians have been repatriated from Israel. On the other hand, the MAE confirmed the death of two other Romanian-Israeli citizens. The death toll thus rises to four.



    Handball — Romania’s womens national handball team defeated the Greek team, away from home, score 32-20, on Saturday, in Group 1 of the 2024 European Championship preliminaries. The Romanian players have scored the 2nd outright victory in this stage of the championship, after a score of 49-17 with Bosnia-Herzegovina, at home. In another match, Croatia outperformed Bosnia-Herzegovina, in an away match. Romania takes first place, with 4 points, followed by Croatia, 4 points, Greece, 0 points, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 0 points. The national team will play the next match on February 28, at home, against Croatia.



    Football — Today, the Romanian national football team meets Andorra, in the Euro 2024 Qualifying Group I. The match takes place in Bucharest, and access is only allowed to children under 14, according to a UEFA decision. In the same group, the match Switzerland – Belarus is played. On Thursday, Romania drew 0-0 in Budapest with Belarus and remains on second position in the group, after Switzerland. Israel, whose games were postponed, and Kosovo also belong to the Euro 2024 Qualifying Group I.



    Elections — Poland sees today parliamentary elections, after a campaign of intense disputes, dominated by issues of sovereignty and security, Reuters reports. Participatin in the elections are the right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS), in power since 2015, and a centrist coalition led by the former president of the European Council, Donald Tusk. The Law and Justice Party is trying to get a third mandate, which would be a record in the Polish political environment. Reuters recalls that, since coming to power, this group has repeatedly come into conflict with the EU due to legislative changes that, according to critics, have politicized the judicial system and turned the state media into a propaganda body. The opposition says that the vote could be the last chance to stop what it considers to be Polands departure from the European mainstream and the transition to a semi-authoritarian system. (LS)


  • Sports weekend

    Romania’s national football team in Bucharest
    on Sunday face the team of Andorra. The Group I fixture counts towards the
    preliminaries of the European Championship in 2024. A sanction was placed against
    the Romanian Football Federation as of late because of the stands incidents that
    occurred during Romania’s match against Kosovo, so the match against Andorra will
    be played in an empty stadium. Notwithstanding, children younger than 14 will
    be allowed to watch the game.


    In Budapest
    on Thursday, Romania’s match against Belarus ended in a blank draw. On home turf, Andorra sustained a nil-3 defeat by
    Kosovo. Israel’s upcoming home game against Switzerland was postponed to November 15. Switzerland
    is at the top pf the table, with 15 points. Romania and Israel follow suit,
    with 13 and 11 points, respectively. With 7 points on their record sheet,
    Kosovo are 4th-placed. Belarus are 5th-place, with 5
    points, while Andorra are at the bottom of the table, with 2 points. Switzerland
    and Israel have each played 6 fixtures so far, while the other teams, 7. Advancing
    to the European Championships’ final tournament are the first two teams in
    descending order.


    Romania’ s women’s handball team this coming Saturday take on Greece,
    away from home, in a Group 1 fixture counting towards the European Championship
    preliminaries 2024. In Mioveni on Wednesday, Cristina Neagu and her teammates trounced
    Bosnia and Herzegovina, 49 la 17. Also in Group I, in Karlovac, Croatia
    defeated Greece, 32 – 22. 24 teams will take part in the final tournament, that
    is the first two teams in descending order in the 8 qualifying groups, plus
    the best four 3rd-placed teams. Host teams, that is Austria, Hungary
    and Switzerland, qualify straight to the final tournament, and so does defending
    champion Norway.


    In Romania’s capital city on Sunday, the Bucharest International
    Marathon is held. Apart from the main race, other asphalt-running races are
    staged. We recall the first edition of Bucharest International Marathon was
    held 15 years ago.

  • Sports Weekend

    The city of Antwerp in Belgium will this weekend see the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. The competition could bring the qualification of the Romanian teams for the Olympic Games in Paris, next year. The female athletes who represent Romania in Antwerp are Ana Maria Bărbosu, Sabrina Voinea, Lilia Cosman, Amalia Ghigoarţă, Andreea Preda and Ella Oprea Creţu while its male team consists of Robert Burtănete, Andrei Muntean, Roland Modoianu, Nicholas Ţarcă and Emilian Neagu. The injuries that he got in September have prevented the best Romanian gymnast, Gabriel Burtănete from participating in the aforementioned competition. Romanias gymnastics teams have not participated in the Olympic Games since 2012 in London.



    We move on to womens handball now. This weekend will see the fourth leg of the Champions League, and on Saturday, Rapid Bucharest goes to Budapest to play local side Ferencvaros. With two points out of three games, Rapid ranks sixth in Group B. CSM Bucharest is also playing abroad, in Partille, Sweden, where our handballers will be up against local side Sävehof. The Romanian champions are presently ranking fifth in Group A with two points. In the second round of the qualifiers for the second continental competition, the European League, Dunarea Braila will be playing a home match against Valur Reykjavik of Iceland. The Romanians won the first match 30-29.



    This weekend will also see the football matches counting towards the 11th leg of the Romanian Superleague. On Friday, Oţelul Galaţi plays Dinamo Bucharest, while on Saturday, UTA Arad takes on FC Voluntari, and Farul Constanţa on Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. Three games are due on Sunday, when Universitatea Craiova, on their own turf, will be playing FC Botoşani, then in Sibiu, central Romania, local side Hermannstadt will be up against Rapid Bucharest. The city of Cluj, in western Romania, will be pitching local side CFR against FC U Craiova 1948.



    The leg will end on Monday, when Poli Iaşi plays Petrolul Ploieşti and FCSB Universitatea Cluj. FCSB tops the ranking with 25 points out of 10 matches, followed by CFR with 19 points out of 9 games.


    (bill)


  • Sports Flash

    Sports Flash

    In a match counting towards the fifth leg of the National Women’s
    Handball League, Dunărea Brăila secured a 28-27 win at home against Rapid
    Bucharest on Wednesday. This has been the third defeat for the Bucharest side, which
    are also the vice-champions of the last edition. The most effective player of
    the Braila team was Serbian Jelena Zivkovic with 7 goals scored.




    Hungarian Dorina Korsos and Romanian Sorina Grozav were the best players
    of Rapid, each with six goals scored. CSM Ramnicu Valcea tops the league’s ranking
    with 15 points out of 5 games, Dunarea comes third with 10 points and Rapid
    comes in the sixth position with 6 points.




    On Saturday Rapid will be playing
    Hungarian side Ferencvaros in an away game counting towards the Champions
    League group B, while Dunarea will be taking on Valur Reykjavik of Iceland in
    the European League qualifiers. The Romanians won the first match 30-29.




    This week will be seeing a new round of football games counting towards
    Romania’s Cup competition. In Group A on Wednesday, Petrolul Ploiesti secured a
    2-1 win against third-leaguer Progresul Pecica while in Hunedoara, central
    Romania, in a game pitching two second leaguers, Corvinul clinched a 2-0 win
    against Chindia Targoviste.




    In Sibiu, first-leaguered Hermannstadt and Sepsi ended in a one-all draw
    their games. In group C, Otelul Galati obtained a 4-1 win against SCM Zalau and
    Dinamo Bucharest ended in a one-all draw their games against FCU Craiova. FCSB clinched
    a 2-0 away win against FC Bihor. In group D, on Tuesday, FC Voluntari obtained
    a 2-0 win against Farul Constanta. On Wednesday, UTA Arad secured a 2-1 win
    against Gloria Buzau while Universitatea Craiova versus CS Tunari ended in a
    draw one-all.


    (bill)

  • Sports Roundup

    Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan won Saturday the WTA tournament in Parma, Italy. Seed no. 2, Bogdan defeated in the final Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia, 7-5, 6-1.



    This past weekend was not the best one for the womens handball teams representing Romania in the Champions League. On Saturday, CSM Bucharest lost at home, 23 to 27, to the Hungarian team Győr. The Romanian champion is, after three stages, in 5th place in Group A, with 2 points, after one win and two defeats. Rapid Bucharest also had one win and two defeats, in Group B. The Romanian vice-champion was defeated, in Bucharest on Sunday by the Danish team Ikast, 35 to 27. With two points, Rapid is 6th placed in the group.



    Romania did not manage to win any medals at the World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade and none of its athletes managed to qualify to the Olympic Games in Paris following this competition. Romania participated in the competition in Serbia with 16 athletes.



    American fencer Zander Rhoades won the foil event of the Tudor Petruş Memorial, a satellite tournament of the World Cup, held on Sunday in Timisoara. She defeated the Italian Carlotta Ferrari in the final, 15-11. Romanian Emilia Corbu and the Ukrainian Alina Poloziuk came next.



    Over the weekend, matches counting for the 10th stage of the Romanian Superleague championship were held. On Friday, Oţelul Galati beat FC U Craiova 2-0 away. Also away and also with 2-0, Farul Constanţa beat Dinamo Bucharest. On Saturday, Poli Iaşi won in Voluntari 2-1, then FC Botoşani ended the match played on home turf with UTA in a tie, with two goals each. The last match of the day, between Universitatea Cluj and Universitatea Craiova, held in Cluj, ended in a draw: 1 – 1. No goals were scored Sunday in the match pitting Petrolul Ploiesti against Hermannstadt. On Sunday, FCSB beat Sepsi in Sfântu Gheorghe, 5-2. Monday, in Bucharest, the last game of the stage is taking place, pitting Rapid Bucharest against CFR Cluj. FCSB leads the ranking, with 25 points, followed by CFR with 19.


  • September 24, 2023

    September 24, 2023


    FISCAL MEASURES – The Bucharest government will set in the upcoming days the final form of the package of fiscal measures for which it plans to take responsibility in Parliament. On Monday, a new meeting of the Economic and Social Council is scheduled, where talks between the executive and the social partners on the topic of fiscal reform will be held. A series of provisions in the new fiscal bill are contested both by trade unions and employers organizations. Criticisms focused, among other things, on the provision that allows employers to offer money instead of meal vouchers or holiday vouchers, while the Council of Foreign Investors claims that the planned taxation of turnover creates the prerequisite of unfair competition.



    CORRUPTION – Dumitru Buzatu, one of the oldest and most influential leaders of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) is under preventive arrest for 30 days, as of Saturday, in a case in which he is accused of bribery. President of the Vaslui County Council (east) and leader of the PSD organization in the county, Dumitru Buzatu had been detained by anti-graft prosecutors for receiving a 250 thousand euro bribe to favor a company to obtain a contract. He was a parliamentarian from 1992 until 2012 and was part of the circles of former head of the PSD, Liviu Dragnea, convicted a few years ago. After the arrest Dumitru Buzatu was expelled from the PSD.



    IMF – An International Monetary Fund mission will travel to Bucharest on Monday to assess, until October 4, the Romanian economy. The IMF experts will discuss with the Romanian authorities about economic policies and the latest developments in the field and will have meetings with representatives of the private sector and non-governmental organizations. At the end of the visit to Romania, it is expected that the international experts will present the conclusions in a press conference.



    COMPETITION – An electric car built by a team of students and professors from Cluj-Napoca (north-west) will participate, for the first time, in the most important profile competition in the world, organized in Australia. The event will start next month, on October 22, and will last seven days. The three-wheeled vehicle will be piloted by six students, one at a time, for two hours each. They will cover, in total, more than 3,000 kilometers in difficult conditions, in the desert. The solar vehicle is the third prototype built at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. It is extremely light, is made of carbon fiber and weighs about 200 kilograms.



    ENESCU – The “George Enescu” International Festival, one of the most important international classical music events, comes to a close today, after almost a month of concerts. The theme of the 26th edition of the festival was “Generosity through Music”. On the last day of the festival, the pianist Raluca Ştirbăt and the French violinist David Grimal will perform music by Enescu, in a recital held at the National Art Museum in Bucharest. The festival’s program included over 3,500 of the worlds most famous artists, over 40 orchestras from 16 countries, first performances and educational concerts for children



    HANDBALL – Romanias vice-champion in womens handball, Rapid Bucharest, is playing today at home against the Danish team Herning Ikast. In the previous match, Rapid defeated, also at home, the Polish team Zagblebie. On Saturday evening, the Romanian womens handball champion, CSM Bucharest, was defeated by the Hungarian team Gyor, 27-23, at home, in the Champions League’s Group A. The Romanians suffered their second consecutive failure, after a winning debut. CSM will play its next match on October 1, away from home, against the Swedish team IK Savehof. (EE)