Radio România Internațional

Tag: Open

  • Hăbări ditu bana românească şi internaţională

    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






  • January 16, 2022

    January 16, 2022

    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 first round Simona Halep, the world’s 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.








    HANDBALL CSM Bucharest, a women’s handball side from Romania secured a 28-20
    away win against Montenegrin side Buducnost BEMAX Podgorica on Saturday night
    in the Group A of the Champions League. The Romanians put on a good show and
    clinched a well-deserved victory. On January 19th our handballers
    will be up against French side Brest Bretagne and three days later against
    Borussia Dortmund of Germany. Coached by the selector of the Romanian national
    side, Adrian Vasile, CSM Bucharest have as their main goal to win all their
    three games this month.




    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)

  • January 13, 2022

    January 13, 2022

    COVID-19 Nearly 10,000 new SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported for
    the last 24 hours in Romania, along with 36 related deaths, the authorities
    announced on Thursday. The incidence rate is on the rise around the country,
    including in the capital Bucharest, where it passed 3 cases per 1,000
    inhabitants, the city now being in the red tier. This means that restaurants,
    cinemas, gyms and other venues can open at 30% capacity. Also, schools where
    the vaccine uptake among staff is under 60% will switch to online teaching.
    Some 1.8 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in Romania since the
    start of the pandemic, and around 60,000 COVID patients died. Amid anti-vaccine
    feelings fuelled by certain media outlets, politicians and opinion leaders,
    Romania has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the EU.


    PROTEST Public education staff are today picketing the headquarters of the
    government and of the Social Democratic Party and National Liberal Party in
    power. Trade unions in the sector are unhappy
    with the government’s failure to increase wages as stipulated by the 2017
    Salary Law. The protest is organised by the 3 major trade union federations in
    the sector, which argue that the teachers’ net pay raise of only 13 euro per
    month as of January 1 triggered overwhelming discontent among employees. The 3
    federations are currently holding a poll to decide whether to go on strike over
    the matter.


    MEETING Europe’s security architecture is being
    discussed today by the EU foreign and defence ministers, convening in a meeting
    in Brest organised by the French presidency of the EU Council. EU defence
    ministers will focus on the situation in Ukraine and the threat posed by
    Russia’s military build-up on the Ukrainian border. Another topic on the agenda
    is the Strategic Compass project, a roadmap for the Union’s security and
    defence by 2030, which stipulates the deployment of 5,000 troops in crisis
    situations by 2025. The talks in Brest will be followed by an
    informal 2-day meeting of the EU foreign ministers, attended by the High Representative of the European Union
    for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borell. Romania
    is represented by Bogdan Aurescu. The agenda includes the security developments
    in the Eastern Neighbourhood, the EU-China relations and the developments in Mali.
    Bogdan Aurescu will present Romania’s assessment of the current security
    situation and will reiterate the importance of preserving the unity of the EU
    and of maintaining firm and credible deterrence measures concerning Russia.


    OSCE The Permanent Council of the OSCE convenes
    in Vienna today to carry on the dialogue between Russia, the US and its
    European allies. After tense discussions in Geneva between the US deputy
    secretary of state Wendy Sherman and Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei
    Ryabkov, on Wednesday in Brussels NATO and Moscow found that deep differences
    remain between their views on security in Europe. The West sees Moscow’s about
    100,000 troops deployed on the Ukrainian border as an indication of an
    impending attack on that country, a plan that Russia denies.NATO’s
    secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said there is a real risk for a new armed
    conflict in Europe, and added that it is up to Russia to de-escalate and
    end the crisis. In turn, the EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell accused Russia of
    attempting to rebuild the Soviet bloc in Europe and to divide the US and Europe. Moscow,
    on the other hand, says the military build-up is a response to the perceived
    growing and threatening presence of NATO in its area of influence.


    TENNIS The Romanian players taking part in the Australian
    Open, due to begin on Monday, have found out their opponents. In the first
    round, Simona Halep (15 WTA and 2018 Australian Open finalist) takes on
    Poland’s Magdalena Frech. Sorana Cîrstea (38 WTA) will have a difficult match
    against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic (21 WTA). Irina Begu (58 WTA) plays
    against the French Oceane Dodin (96 WTA), and Jaqueline Cristian (73 WTA) will
    take on Greet Minnen of Belgium (84 WTA), in her first match at the Australian
    Open. Gabriela Ruse (82 WTA), also for the first time in Melbourne, will play
    against the Italian Jasmine Paolini (52 WTA). (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • September 7, 2021

    September 7, 2021

    CRISIS In Romania, deputy PM Dan Barna and the other USR PLUS ministers resigned on Tuesday from the Liberal Florin Citus coalition cabinet, as they had announced on Monday night. USR PLUS believe the PM dynamited the coalition after unexpectedly dismissing the justice minister Stelian Ion. The party is invited to have talks with president Klaus Iohannis this afternoon, to discuss the governmental crisis. On Friday, USR PLUS and the nationalist party AUR tabled a no-confidence motion against the Citu cabinet. The standing bureaus of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies convene today in a new attempt to agree on a timetable for the motion.



    BUDGET In spite of the resignation of the USR PLUS ministers, PM Florin Citu has convened a cabinet meeting today, to discuss a new budget adjustment. The Prime Minister announced last night that the budget adjustment bill would be passed whether or not USR PLUS party pulls out of the government coalition. With todays adjustment, most funds will go to the health ministry, public finances, development and investments. Budget cuts will affect the labour ministry, the Senate and the Court of Accounts.



    DIPLOMACY Bucharest is hosting as of today the Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomats, which brings together the heads of Romanias diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad. The meeting is chaired by the foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu. The main topic of this years meeting is the concept of resilience, which gains importance in the context of the pandemic-related crisis. The Romanian diplomats will also discuss ways to concentrate their efforts on emerging developments like climate change, digital transition, the growing role of new technologies and cyber security. The Romanian diplomacy chief Bogdan Aurescu has talks scheduled today with his Moldovan counterpart, Nicolae Popescu, who is also taking part in the meeting. The bilateral talks focus on strengthening Romanias support for the reforms implemented by the new government in Chişinău and for Moldovas EU accession efforts.



    VISIT The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, will be on an official visit to Switzerland on Thursday, at the invitation of his counterpart Guy Parmelin. According to the presidency, the visit takes place in the context of this years anniversary of 110 years of diplomatic relations between the two states. The talks will focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation, including economic cooperation, with an emphasis on investments. Switzerland is the 10th-largest foreign investor in Romania.



    COVID-19 The number of new Covid-19 infections remains high in Romania, with 1,035 new cases reported on Monday out of around 18,000 tests. The frequency of cases for the past 14 days has reached or gone over 1 per thousand in Bucharest and 4 other counties. Over the past 24 hours, 25 patients died. The number of hospitalised patients is over 3,300, 405 of them in intensive care. Of the patients in hospitals, 107 are under 18, and 5 of them are in ICU. Over 8,000 people have received a vaccine in the last 24 hours, but the total number of fully immunised people is nearly 5.2 million, still less than one-third of the total eligible population.



    US OPEN The Romanians Monica Niculescu/Gabriela Ruse qualified in the quarter-finals of the doubles competition at US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year, after defeating Leylah Fernandez (Canada)/Erin Routliff (New Zealand). The Romanians are next to take on Alexa Guarachi (Chile)/ Desirae Krawczyk (USA), who beat Raluca Olaru (Romania)/Nadia Kicenok (Ukraine). In the mens doubles, Horia Tecău (Romania) / Kevin Krawietz (Germany), seed no. 6, are playing today in the quarter-finals against the Americans Steve Johnson/Sam Querrey. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • August 31, 2021

    August 31, 2021

    COVID-19 Romania is still in the green
    tier in spite of the rising number of Covid-19 infections. Authorities in this
    country have lately reported 700 new cases and 11 related fatalities. 280
    people are being treated in intensive care units and the coordinator of the
    country’s vaccine rollout, Valeriu Gheorghita, has cautioned that Romania is
    going to have over two thousand daily cases in mid-September. The situation is expected
    to worsen as the Delta variant is becoming dominant. On the other hand, people’s
    interest in vaccination remains low with only 5.1 million fully vaccinated
    Romanians since the beginning of the country’s vaccine rollout in late
    December.






    PULL-OUT The United States last night
    completed the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan putting an end to the
    longest war in the country’s history. The last US plane took off at the end of
    a two-week evacuation operation complicated by the unexpected Taliban takeover
    of capital Kabul. During the 20 year war, 25 hundred US servicemen and over 1,000
    allied troops, including 27 Romanians have been killed in the line of duty.
    According to Reuters 24 thousand Afghans have also lost their lives. In 2014,
    NATO and the USA put an end to war operations in Afghanistan, but foreign
    soldiers remained stationed in that country for another 6 years. The withdrawal
    was set through an agreement signed with the Taliban in February 2020. The
    Taliban got Kabul in mid-August, which caused panic among the Afghans who
    wanted to leave the country. 120 thousand people have been evacuated in two
    weeks in an operation marked by chaos and tragedies, stampedes, suicide and
    rocket attacks. The Taliban are
    celebrating the victory but the country is in for a difficult period of time
    with assets of 9 billion dollars frozen and an economic and humanitarian crisis
    looming large.






    DAY The Romanian language will
    continue to keep us united and close to the country, Romanian president Klaus
    Iohannis says in his message on Romanian Language Day celebrated every year on
    August 31st. Iohannis has congratulated all those contributing to
    the cultivation and the promotion of the Romanian language and values who are
    working in several fields of activity such as literature, science and research,
    academia, and various publishing houses. For the Romanian nationals living
    abroad, their native tongue is what makes them feel at home wherever they are
    and in a Diaspora as large, the language’s linking role is more important than
    ever. Dear Romanians from all over the world, do not stop loving the Romanian
    language and try to cultivate the love of it among children so that they may
    appreciate it and use it correctly, the president went on to say.






    MEETING EU interior ministers are
    convening today in Brussels for talks over the situation in Afghanistan after
    the Taliban takeover and assess the impact of a potential wave of migrants from
    that country over the continent. According to news agencies, the EU governments
    want to avoid a repeat of the chaotic migratory wave of 2015, which took the
    bloc by surprise causing division among its states. Some European countries
    fear that Afghanistan may become home to terrorist groups who may mastermind attacks
    against the West as it happened on September 11th 2001 in the USA. The EU
    ministers are going to assess the ways of evacuating the Afghans who worked
    with EU countries and are now expecting reprisals from the Taliban. According
    to Romanian Interior Minister, Lucian Bode, the country can receive Afghan
    refugees, upon a thorough checking from the state’s structures.






    TENNIS Romanian
    tennis player Sorana Cirstea is today playing Veronika Kudermetova of Russia in
    the first round of the US Open, the year’s last Grand Slam. Another three
    Romanians on the competition’s main draw, Irina Begu, Ana Bogdan and Gabriela
    Ruse lost the matches they played on Monday, in the competition’s inaugural
    round. Romania’s best representative in the prestigious competition, Simona
    Halep, a former world’s number one, has qualified for the competition’s second
    round after a win against Italian Camila Giorgi and will next be playing
    Kristina Kucova of Slovakia.






    EVENTS A
    series of cultural events simultaneously staged in Romania and the Republic of
    Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country on Tuesday, August 31st
    marked the Romanian Language Day. President Klaus Iohannis has hailed the
    efforts made by a series of institutions to maintain the access of Romanians to
    leaning their mother tongue. Set in 2013 by Parliament in Bucharest, the
    Romanian Language Day coincides with the national day of the Republic of
    Moldova and is an homage paid to the national awakening movement in the
    neighboring country. On August 31st 1989, while still under Soviet
    occupation, Parliament in Chisinau, surrounded by 750 thousand people, a sixth
    of the Republic’s population at that time, declared Romanian a state language
    and replaced the Cyrillic alphabet, imposed by the occupants, with the Latin
    one.




    (bill)

  • February 16, 2021

    February 16, 2021

    COVID-19 2,676 new SARS-CoV-2 cases were reported
    in Romania in the last 24 hours, out of nearly 33,000 tests conducted
    nation-wide, according to the Strategic Communication Group. So far Romania has
    had around 766,000 confirmed coronavirus infections. Nearly 90% of the patients
    have recovered. The authorities also announced another 81 COVID-19 related
    deaths, taking the death toll to over 19,500. Another 943 patients are in
    intensive care.

    ECONOMY PM Florin Cîţu says a “V-shaped recovery of the Romanian economy is certain, after data made public by the National Statistics Institute for the last quarter of 2020 point to a 5.3% growth rate. He mentioned that in 2020, Romanias economy, just like the global economy, was hit by the biggest crisis of the last century. Florin Cîţu also added that last year Romania performed 5% better than originally estimated, and 2.5% in average better than all forecasts made by international institutions, the EC, financial rating agencies and other financial institutions.



    PROTESTS Representatives of the hospitality industry organise in Bucharest today new protests against the pandemic containment measures introduced by the authorities. Employers in the sector demand the payment of the promised compensations for last year, when their operations declined by 70%. In Mondays meeting with hospitality representatives, the economy minister Claudiu Năsui promised that the government earmarked over 510 million euros for financial support in the draft budget. On Monday, members of Sanitas Union Federation picketed the Finance Ministry headquarters to warn that a smaller budget for public healthcare in a year with a coronavirus pandemic is not only an injustice to the workers in the system, but also deeply immoral to Romanias citizens.



    MOTION The Chamber of Deputies is to vote on Wednesday on the first simple motion of this legislative term, tabled by the Social Democrats in opposition against the health minister Vlad Voiculescu. The Deputies discussed the motion on Monday. The Social Democrats claim that minister Vlad Voiculescu was not sufficiently involved in the immunisation and testing programmes, and that he issued messages conflicting with the coordinators of the national vaccination campaign, discouraging the healthcare workers involved in the process. Vlad Voiculescu replied that during his 2 months in office, he earmarked close to 19 million euros for investments in hospitals.



    DIPLOMACY Slovakias foreign minister, Ivan Korcok, is on an official visit to Bucharest today, when he has meetings scheduled with his counterpart Bogdan Aurescu and PM Florin Cîţu. According to the Foreign Ministry, the visit is a new opportunity to reconfirm the excellent bilateral relation and the continuity of the dialogue and historical ties between the 2 countries. The officials will also discuss the coordination of topics of mutual interest at EU level, such as fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing the multi-annual framework and the European Recovery Plan, the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Eastern Partnership and the EU enlargement process.



    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 2 in the world, Tuesday lost in Melbourne to the American Serena Williams (no 11 WTA), 6-3, 6-3, in the eighth-finals of the Australian Open. Halep and Williams have so far had 11 matches in professional competitions, with Williams winning 9 of them. The latest match was the Wimbledon final of 2019, when the Romanian won 6-2, 6-2. In 2019, they also played against each other in the eighth-finals in Melbourne, when Williams won 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • February 15, 2021 UPDATE

    February 15, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 In Romania, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, with around 700,000 people immunised since December 27. Over 1.1 million doses have been given so far, most of them produced by Pfizer/BioNTech, followed by Moderna, and on Monday people also started receiving AstraZeneca vaccines. According to the authorities, Romania comes 6th in the EU by total number of vaccine doses administered. Meanwhile, the total number of SARS-CoV-2 cases reported in the country since the start of the pandemic is over 763,000. 709,520 people have recovered, and nearly 19,500 died. As of Monday, new rules are in place for travellers coming into Romania from yellow-zone countries.



    PROTESTS Fresh trade union protests are taking place in Romania. On Monday Sanitas Federation picketed the head offices of the Finance Ministry, demanding a higher budget for investments in public hospitals and healthcare staff salaries. Union members say the funds earmarked this year to the healthcare sector to be insufficient, given the pandemic. Protesters then moved in front of the Parliament building. In turn, Cartel Alfa union announced protests at the end of the month, to demand decent minimum wages, fair pension benefits, high-quality public services, resuming collective bargaining, fair taxation and proper enforcement of the law.



    MOTION Romanias parliament is discussing the first simple motion in the current term in office. The motion targets the health minister Vlad Voiculescu, of the USR PLUS Alliance, a partner in the ruling coalition. Entitled Lack of competence and and of responsibility kills people. Vlad Voiculescu—a threat to Romanianshealth, the motion was tabled in the Chamber of Deputies by the Social Democrats in opposition, less than 2 months since the cabinet headed by the Liberal Florin Cîţu came to power. The Social Democrats accuse the new minister of failing to take the necessary measures to prevent the fire that killed patients in a Bucharest hospital. They also claim Voiculescu has not had enough COVID-19 testing centres for citizens. The health minister replied the Social Democrats are the ones to blame for the disaster in Romanias healthcare sector, and added that 3 of that partys former ministers are under investigation for corruption. The USR-PLUS co-president Dan Barna said the Alliance is firmly supporting all its cabinet members, while the Liberal leader Ludovic Orban says the Liberals will vote against the motion on Wednesday.



    HOSPITALITY Many European countries are adopting the holiday voucher system to support the hospitality industry, recovering after the losses incurred during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic, whereas in Romania these vouchers are scrapped without sound reasons, Romanian tourism employers say in a news release. Last week PM Florin Cîţu announced that the holiday vouchers for this year would be issued in 2022, to the discontent of hospitality businesses, which argue that this would deepen the crisis faced by this industry. Representatives of the sector had a meeting on Monday with the economy minister Claudiu Năsui, who said the government has earmarked funds to support the industry but that holiday vouchers cannot be issued this year.



    BUDGET The Romanian government wants the budget bill currently under public debate to get Parliaments approval by February 20th along with the amendments accompanying it, including an emergency order cancelling holiday vouchers and other one freezing pensions to the level of last year. According to the government, the present draft budget is set to lay the foundations for a multi-annual approach of the reforms and public finances with a gradual reduction of the deficit from 7.16% this year to 3.4% in 2024. At the same time, the budget targets investments of 5.5% of the GDP, the largest so far. According to Prime Minister Citu, the bill has support from the European Commission, which provides the biggest part of the funds for reform and investments.



    ECONOMY The EU industrial output dropped 1.2% in December 2020, compared to the previous month, according to data released on Monday by the European statistics office (Eurostat). The biggest monthly increases were reported in Denmark (2.4%), Portugal (1.8%), Estonia and Luxembourg (1.6%) and România (0.9%), and the most severe decline in Hungary (negative 2.5%). For the entire year 2020 compared to 2019, the Unions industrial output fell by 8%. Meanwhile, in December 2020 the EU reported roughly 30 billion euros in trade balance surplus, as against roughly 22 billion euros in 2019. As regards Romania, in 2020 its exports fell by 10%, to nearly 62 billion euros, while imports dropped 7%, to 80.5 billion euros, leading to a trade deficit of 18.7 billion euros compared to 17.6 billion the previous year.



    TENNIS The world’s number two tennis player, Romanian Simona Halep is to take on Serena Williams in the quarter finals of the Australian Open. The American has 9-2 wins in head-to-head matches although Simona won a major Wimbledon tournament in 2019. In the doubles eighth finals, the Romanian-Brazilian pair Horia Tecau/Marcelo Melo lost to Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Filip Polasek of Slovakia 4-6, 3-6. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • February 15, 2021

    February 15, 2021

    VACCINE Romania carries on its anti-Covid campaign,
    which kicked off on December 27th 2020 with 687 thousand vaccinated
    so far. 1.1 million doses have been given in Romania so far mostly produced by
    Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The AstraZeneca vaccine starts being used as of
    today. According to the authorities, Romania comes sixth in an EU ranking in
    terms of the number of doses used. On the other hand the number of infections
    in Romania is coming near 762 thousand since the beginning of the pandemic with
    a death toll of 19,400. As of today, people coming to Romania from countries in
    the so-called yellow zone, with an infection rate higher than Romania’s, must
    comply with fresh rules.








    PROTESTS ‘Many countries in Europe are resorting to the system of holiday
    gift vouchers in order to support the
    HoReCa industry heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, whereas Romania
    eliminates them without any reason whatsoever’, employers’ associations in
    Romania’s HoReCa domain are saying in a communiqué. Last week, the country’s
    Liberal Prime Minister announced that the gift vouchers that should be given
    this year would be issued next year stirring discontent among hotel owners who
    believe the measure will contribute to deepening the crisis already affecting
    this sector. Representatives of these organizations are today having talks with
    the country’s economy minister Claudiu Nasui and have planned a nation-wide
    protest in front of hotels and restaurants in Romania.








    MOTION A simple motion tabled against Romania’s incumbent Health
    Minister Vlad Voiculescu, (member of the co-ruling USR-PLUS alliance) is being
    discussed in Bucharest today. Under a suggestive title, ‘Incompetence and the
    lack of responsibility kill – Vlad Voiculescu puts the life and health of the
    Romanians at risk’, the motion has been tabled by the opposition PSD 2 months
    after the government led by Liberal Florin Citu came to power. The USR-PLUS
    co-president Dan Barna has said the alliance firmly supports all the ministers
    it has in this cabinet while Liberal leader Ludovic Orban said the Liberal MPs
    would be voting against the motion on Wednesday.








    BUDGET The Romanian government wants the draft
    budget it subjected to public debates last week to get Parliament approval by
    February 20th along with the amendments accompanying it, including
    an emergency ordinance on the cancellation of holiday gift vouchers as well as
    other on freezing pensions to the level of last year. According to the
    government, the present draft budget is set to lay the foundations for a
    multi-annual approach of the reforms and public finances with a gradual
    reduction of the deficit from 7.16% this year to 3.4% in 2024. At the same
    time, the budget proposes investment funds of 5.5% of the GDP, the largest so
    far. According to Prime Minister Citu, the aforementioned draft budget enjoys
    support from the European Commission, from where the biggest part of the funds
    destined for reform and investment is to arrive.






    TENNIS The world’s number two tennis player, Romanian Simona Halep is expected
    to take on US challenger Serena Williams in the quarter finals of the
    Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. The American had a 9-2
    wins in head-to-head matches although Simona won a major Wimbledon tournament
    in 2019. In the doubles eighth finals, a Romanian-Brazilian pair Horia
    Tecau/Marcelo Melo lost to Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Filip Polasek of Slovakia
    4-6, 3-6.






    (bill)

  • January 13, 2021

    January 13, 2021

    ALERT On Wednesday Romania extended its state of alert over the COVID-19 pandemic by another 30 days. Among other things, face covering remains mandatory in all indoor and outdoor public areas. After a first stage of the national vaccination programme, covering healthcare personnel, on Friday enrolment begins for the beneficiaries of the second stage, namely people over 65, chronic patients and employees in key sectors. President Klaus Iohannis said in a press conference that the success of the vaccine rollout is a prerequisite for a return to normal and reopening the economy. On Wednesday in Romania around 4,400 new COVID-19 cases and 88 related deaths were reported. 1,081 patients are currently in intensive care.



    GOVERNMENT The government is discussing in todays meeting this years state budget bill, and a bill increasing minimum wages from roughly 455 euro to 470 euro. The increase is not to cover employees with higher education degrees, whose minimum wages will be kept at the current 480 euro. This years state budget bill is to be submitted to Parliament by February 4. PM Florin Cîţu asked his cabinet members to present reports on their top priorities, and promised that this year public money will be spent in an efficient and strict manner. He also warned that the budget deficit, estimated to reach 7% of GDP this year, must also be taken into account. The government is also expected to pass today an emergency order on bonuses paid to the personnel involved in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.



    PROTEST Trade unions in the police, public administration, social assistance and the penitentiary system are taking part today in a rally in front of the Labour Ministry in Bucharest and of prefecture offices elsewhere in the country. PUBLISIND trade union federation initiated the protests on December 31, 2020, after the government decided to freeze salaries in the public sector. Sanitas Federation also started employee support actions yesterday, picketing the government headquarters and prefecture offices. They say the Governments unwillingness to observe the law and give healthcare personnel their due salaries is an affront to the efforts they make every day at the work place. President Klaus Iohannis said the salary freezing is a fair measure given the current economic crisis.



    CORRUPTION President Klaus Iohannis approved the commencement of criminal prosecution against the former PM and Senate speaker Călin Popescu Tăriceanu. He is accused of bribe taking in 2007 and 2008, during his term in office. Prosecutors say he indirectly received from an Austrian company material benefits worth 800,000 dollars consisting in consultancy services. In exchange, Tăriceanu pushed for the adoption by his cabinet of decisions that benefitted this company. A previous request of the National Anticorruption Directorate, in November 2018, to the same effect, had been dismissed by the Senate in June 2019. Prosecutors are now saying they have additional evidence and new elements have appeared in the case.



    US The House of Representatives endorsed a resolution asking for the removal of outgoing president Donald Trump, for inciting last weeks storming of the US Congress. But given that vice-president Mike Pence said he will not use the 25th Amendment to remove Donald Trump, a vote on a second impeachment is very likely to take place today. Mike Pence said using the 25th Amendment would only deepen the existing tensions. Several Republicans said they would vote with the Democrats for Trumps impeachment. The Democrats are planning to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection, after his supporters stormed the US Capitol. Donald Trump described the actions against him as a witch hunt.



    SPORTS The Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzărnescu (137 WTA), plays today against American Whitney Osuigwe (161 WTA) in the last qualifying round for the Autralian Opens main draw. Five Romanians already have a spot in the main draw—Simona Halep (2 WTA), Patricia Ţig (56 WTA), Sorana Cîrstea (71 WTA), Irina Begu (78 WTA) and Ana Bogdan (92 WTA). The first Grand Slam this year is scheduled to take place between February 8 and 21. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • January 11, 2021

    January 11, 2021

    COVID-19 A 4th batch of Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine reached Romania on Monday morning. The 150,000 doses were delivered to the airports in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara, and will be taken to the Cantacuzino Institute in Bucharest and in vaccination centres in the country. Since the start of the national vaccination programme over 108,000 people have received the anti-COVID-19 vaccine. Mild and common side effects have been reported in 350 cases. The vaccination programme coordinator, dr. Valeriu Gheorghiţă, said the authorities intend to step up the campaign. The second stage, covering the elderly and chronic patients, is set to begin on January 15. Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Romania since the onset of the pandemic is over 673,000, with the total death toll over 16,700. Over 1,000 patients are currently in intensive care, and nearly 600,000 patients have recovered so far.



    PANDEMIC A team of World Health Organisation experts in charge with investigating the coronavirus origins and expected to arrive in China last week, will begin its mission on Thursday, the Chinese health ministry announced on Monday, according to France Presse and Reuters. This has been a sensitive issue to Beijing, which seeks to control the origin story of the pandemic that killed more than 1.9 million people worldwide, AFP reports. Originally scheduled for last week, the mission was cancelled at the last moment. The green light comes exactly 1 year after the first coronavirus death was reported in Chinas Wuhan. Nearly 91 million people have so far caught the virus, and more than 2-thirds of them have recovered.



    SCHOOLS Romanian students today resumed online classes after the winter holiday. Three weeks of online classes will be followed by one-week break before the second half of the academic year. The education ministry is to decide by the end of the month whether the second school semester, beginning on February 8, will see children back into schools. The National Student Council has requested decentralised decisions in this respect, so that schools may be reopened in areas with infection rates below 3 per thousand. The education minister Sorin Câmpeanu said in a recent meeting with relevant trade unions and teacher, student and parent associations, that it all depended on the latest COVID-19 developments, and that schools and kindergartens would most likely be reopened in stages depending on the local infection rate. Sorin Cîmpeanu also said that students and teachers health is important, but that covering the school curricula, especially for the students who have national exams scheduled this year, must also be taken into account.



    DEFICIT Romanias trade balance deficit deepened by some 910 million euros in the first 11 months of 2020 compared to the previous year, to 16.4 billion euros, according to data released on Monday by the National Statistics Institute. Between January 1 and November 30, 2020, exports totalled 57 billion euros and imports 73.5 billion. Compared to the corresponding period of 2019, exports dropped by 11%, and imports by nearly 8%.



    US In the US, the Democrats plan a vote in the House of Representatives on Monday to request vice-president Mike Pence to take steps to remove the outgoing president Donald Trump, using the 25th Amendment in the US Constitution and declaring Trump incapable of fulfilling the duties of his office. Should this fail, the Democrats could move on to impeach Trump for inciting last weeks Capitol riots. Trump would be the first president in US history subject to impeachment procedures twice. His term in office ends on January 20, but the impeachment procedure may continue in the Senate even after Donald Trump leaves the White House.



    SPORTS The Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzărnescu Monday won 6-4, 6-3 against Spains Lara Arruabarrena, in the Dubai qualifying draw for the Australian Open, due to take place between February 8 and 21. Also on Monday the Romanians Laura Paar and Monica Niculescu lost their qualifying matches. Irina Bara and Gabriela Talabă also lost the qualifiers on Sunday. Five Romanian players already have a spot in the Australian Open main draw: Simona Halep (2 WTA), Patricia Ţig (56 WTA), Sorana Cîrstea (71 WTA), Irina Begu (78 WTA) and Ana Bogdan (92 WTA). In the mens singles, Marius Copil is playing today in the qualifying round in Doha, Qatar. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup


    The International Football Federation
    (FIFA) has
    decided that players born in 1997
    be eligible for the Olympic
    Games in Tokyo. On
    March 27th,
    Romanian Football Federation
    notified FIFA on the situation of our eligible players asking for
    confirmation in the case of those
    born in 1997, although next
    year these will no longer be part of the under-23 age bracket as the
    competition had to be postponed.


    FIFA
    responded in a communique quote: ‘Any
    player born on or after January 1, 1997 will be able to play, plus
    the three allocated over-aged players.’ unquote.
    We
    recall that the summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were supposed to
    unfold between July 24th
    and August 9th
    this year have been postponed due to the COVID pandemic and are to
    take place over July 23rd
    and august 8th
    2021.

    The
    game of Romania’s under-21 squad against Denmark in the
    preliminaries of the European Under 21 Football Championship, which
    was supposed to be played on March 31st
    has been rescheduled for November. Under these circumstances, that
    will be their last qualifying match for the European Championship.

    The
    other matches pitching our squad against Finland away, on September
    4th,
    and four days later also away against Malta will be taking place as
    scheduled. On October 9th,
    our young footballers will be up against Ukraine and take on Malta in
    a home game on October 13th.
    The match when Romania is supposed to take on Denmark has not been
    scheduled yet.

    Romania
    is presently ranking second in Group 8th, five points less
    than the team on the first place, Denmark. Starting EURO 2021, 16
    football sides with players under 21 will be playing in the
    competition’s final tournament.

    Besides
    the two host countries, Hungary and Slovenia, 9 group winners and the
    best runner-up will qualify for the final tournament. The other 8
    squads on the second position will be playing tie matches for the
    other 4 available places.

    The
    BRD Bucharest Open women’s tennis tournament due to take place
    between July 13th and 19th has been rescheduled
    also due to the pandemic, the vice-president of the Romanian Tennis
    Federation, George Cosac has told AGERPRESS news agency. BRD
    Bucharest Open is the only WTA tournament hosted by Romania.


    (translated
    by bill)

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup


    The International Football Federation
    (FIFA) has
    decided that players born in 1997
    be eligible for the Olympic
    Games in Tokyo. On
    March 27th,
    Romanian Football Federation
    notified FIFA on the situation of our eligible players asking for
    confirmation in the case of those
    born in 1997, although next
    year these will no longer be part of the under-23 age bracket as the
    competition had to be postponed.


    FIFA
    responded in a communique quote: ‘Any
    player born on or after January 1, 1997 will be able to play, plus
    the three allocated over-aged players.’ unquote.
    We
    recall that the summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were supposed to
    unfold between July 24th
    and August 9th
    this year have been postponed due to the COVID pandemic and are to
    take place over July 23rd
    and august 8th
    2021.

    The
    game of Romania’s under-21 squad against Denmark in the
    preliminaries of the European Under 21 Football Championship, which
    was supposed to be played on March 31st
    has been rescheduled for November. Under these circumstances, that
    will be their last qualifying match for the European Championship.

    The
    other matches pitching our squad against Finland away, on September
    4th,
    and four days later also away against Malta will be taking place as
    scheduled. On October 9th,
    our young footballers will be up against Ukraine and take on Malta in
    a home game on October 13th.
    The match when Romania is supposed to take on Denmark has not been
    scheduled yet.

    Romania
    is presently ranking second in Group 8th, five points less
    than the team on the first place, Denmark. Starting EURO 2021, 16
    football sides with players under 21 will be playing in the
    competition’s final tournament.

    Besides
    the two host countries, Hungary and Slovenia, 9 group winners and the
    best runner-up will qualify for the final tournament. The other 8
    squads on the second position will be playing tie matches for the
    other 4 available places.

    The
    BRD Bucharest Open women’s tennis tournament due to take place
    between July 13th and 19th has been rescheduled
    also due to the pandemic, the vice-president of the Romanian Tennis
    Federation, George Cosac has told AGERPRESS news agency. BRD
    Bucharest Open is the only WTA tournament hosted by Romania.


    (translated
    by bill)

  • January 30, 2020

    January 30, 2020

    PARLIAMENT The Social Democratic Party, in opposition, has today tabled its first motion of censure against the Liberal Government of Romania. The move was triggered by the Orban Cabinet’s decision to take responsibility for a bill reintroducing the 2-round voting system for the election of mayors, half a year ahead of local elections. The text of the motion entitled ‘The Orban/Liberal Government – the privatisation of Romanias democracy reads that the Government must go not only because attempting to change the voting system right before the election comes against European standards, but also because these changes were operated unilaterally, without parliamentary consultation and debate. According to the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and interim leader of the Social Democrats, Marcel Ciolacu, this is the most serious case of abuse of power. For the motion to pass, the Social Democrats need 233 votes. The party has 198 seats in Parliament, and their allies, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, another 30. With 5 or 6 votes short, Marcel Ciolacu said the Social Democrats are negotiating with fellow MPs. PM Ludovic Orban said he was unconcerned with the motion, and that he does not believe it has any chances to pass.




    PENSIONS The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis has a meeting today with top officials for the Higher Council of Magistrates, at their request. The meeting focuses on the scrapping of special pensions for magistrates, following the vote in Parliament on January 28th. Magistrates have initiated protests against the decision. Initiated by the Liberal Government, the bill passed by Parliament scraps all pensions that are calculated under a special procedure, except for those paid to military, police and intelligence service personnel. The benefits paid to retired artists, athletes and journalists also went untouched.




    FLU Ten people died in Romania from seasonal flu so far, according to the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control. The last death was reported in Sibiu (centre), where a 90-year old woman was infected with the AH1N1 flu virus. Several schools in Bucharest and elsewhere in the country were also closed because of flu cases. The Education Ministry announced that full or partial suspension of classes because of the flu affects over 4,000 students, but that this is not the number of cases among children.




    CORONAVIRUS The head of the World Health Organisation has called a new meeting today of the committee on the new coronavirus, to decide whether to label the situation as an international public health emergency. Airlines around the world have decided to suspend or restrict flights to continental China, as the virus spread, killing over 170 people so far. The total number of confirmed cases is nearly 8,000. A growing number of countries are evacuating their citizens from Wuhan, where the epidemic first started. A Romanian citizen also requested to be repatriated from the region. Although some experts say the virus is not as dangerous as SARS was, its quick spreading raises concerns, and some of its traits are still unknown.




    BREXIT Britain is leaving the EU on Friday night, after 47 years since joining the bloc in 1973. The Brexit deal was endorsed by the European Parliament on Wednesday, and some formalities are finalised in todays EU Council meeting. The transition will take 11 months, during which the EU and the UK will work to define their new partnership. At midnight on January 31, the British colours will be taken off the EU institutions. At a meeting with members of the British business community in Romania, PM Ludovic Orban said Bucharest supports the negotiations for a future close relationship between the Union and the UK.




    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep was defeated today by Spains Garbine Muguruza (32 WTA) 7-6, 7-5, in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year. Halep fails to play a new final in Melbourne, after the one she lost in 2018 to the Danish Caroline Wozniacki. Despite the defeat, as of February 3rd Simona goes up to the second place in the WTA ranking. Halep will also be closer to the top ranked player, the Australian Ashleigh Barty, who also lost in the Australian Open semis. Muguruza will be playing the final against the American Sofia Kenin (15 WTA).


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 25, 2020 UPDATE

    January 25, 2020 UPDATE

    PARLIAMENT The 2 chambers of Romanias Parliament will convene on January 28 for a special session focusing on a bill scrapping the so-called special pensions paid to magistrates, which are not based on the principle of previous contributions. The Judicial Inspection Division says the bill tramples on the principles of judge independence and immovability, and comes against provisions in the Constitution and regulations by the European Court for Human Rights. On January 29, Parliament also convenes in a joint session to discuss the bill reintroducing the 2-round voting system in local elections, for which the Government takes responsibility before Parliament. The Orban Cabinet says the bill is intended to strengthen democratic standards at local community level. President Klaus Iohannis had previously requested a special Parliamentary session to this end. The Social Democrats, in opposition, reiterated that jointly with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, they will table a no-confidence motion against the Liberal Government.




    HOLOCAUST The Romanian PM Ludovic Orban takes part on Monday in an official ceremony celebrating 75 years since the liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, organised by the Polish authorities on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. According to a news release issued on Saturday by the Romanian Government, officials from several countries, Holocaust survivors and members of Jewish associations will be attending the ceremony, held under the patronage of the president of Poland Andrzej Duda. The Government of Romania, the release also reads, reconfirms its pledge to carry on Holocaust education and research efforts, to commemorate the Holocaust victims and to take responsibility for the countrys history.




    CORONAVIRUS China has announced extending the lockdown and introducing several other measures, such as suspending tour services abroad, in order to contain the newly discovered coronavirus, initially identified in Wuhan. In Hubei, a province in central China, bus, underground and ferry services have been suspended, and outbound planes and trains cancelled. The Chinese army has sent medical teams to the outbreak region, as the total number of cases is now over 1,300. Hong Kong has declared the highest state of emergency. The virus has reached Europe as well, with 3 cases confirmed in France. The European Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides will have a meeting on Monday with relevant officials from member countries, to discuss ways to respond to the spread of the new virus.




    EARTHQUAKE At least 22 people died, more than 1,200 were injured n a major earthquake that hit eastern Turkey on Friday night, Turkish authorities have announced. 2,000 rescuers are searching for survivors in the collapsed buildings. The 6.8 magnitude quake was followed by scores of aftershocks. The earthquake, centred 550 km east of the capital city Ankara, in Elazig province, was also felt in Iran, Syria and Lebanon. Turkey is frequently affected by major tremors. In 1999, 17,000 people died and half a million lost their homes in a 7.6 earthquake in the north-west of the country, while another one hit the eastern province of Van in 2011, killing more than 500.




    FILM “Home, Romanian director Radu Ciorniciucs first film, premieres on Sunday in the international documentary competition of the most important American independent film festival, Sundance. “Home is the first Romanian documentary selected into this festivals competition, next to 11 other documentaries from around the world, in the World Cinema Documentary category. The film documents the life of a family who lived for 20 years in the Văcărești Delta, up until the place was declared a protected area and was renamed Văcărești Nature Park, the first urban nature park in Romania. Another Romanian film, Colectiv, by Alexander Nanau, will be screened in the festivals Spotlight section. This is a documentary on the events taking place in the first year after the fire in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, in which 64 young people died.




    IMPEACHMENT Donald Trumps lawyers Saturday began to present their opening arguments in Senate, in the impeachment trial. They argued that removing the US president from office would set a very dangerous precedent in an election year. You will find that the President has done absolutely nothing illegal, the White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Trumps lead impeachment lawyer, has said. The Democrats accuse Trump of abusing his powers and obstructing Congress. The President will likely be cleared in the Senate, where the Republicans have a majority, but the impact of the trial on the public opinion remains to be seen.




    TENNIS The Romanian player Simona Halep, number 3 in the world, has moved up into the 4th round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, after defeating the Kazakh Iulia Putintseva (38 WTA) 6-1, 6-4, on Saturday in Melbourne. On Sunday Halep is to take on Belgian Elise Mertens (17 WTA), who beat CiCi (Catherine) Bellis (600 WTA) 6-1, 6-7, 6-0 in the 3rd round. Last year in Melbourne Halep lost in the 4th round, and in 2018 she reached the Australian Open final. Also on Saturday Monica Niculescu (Romania) / Misaki Doi (Japan) moved up into the next round of the doubles tournament, having defeated the Japanese Nao Hibino/Makoto Ninomiya 6-2, 7-5. Niculescu and Doi are to play next against Hao-ching Chan and Latisha Chan (Taiwan).


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • January 25, 2020

    January 25, 2020

    PARLIAMENT The 2 chambers of Romanias Parliament will convene on January 28 for a special session focusing on a bill scrapping the so-called special pensions paid to magistrates, which are not based on the principle of previous contributions. The Judicial Inspection Division says the bill tramples on the principles of judge independence and immovability, and comes against provisions in the Constitution and regulations by the European Court for Human Rights. On January 29, Parliament also convenes in a joint session to discuss the bill reintroducing the 2-round voting system in local elections, for which the Government takes responsibility before Parliament. The Orban Cabinet says the bill is intended to strengthen democratic standards at local community level. President Klaus Iohannis had previously requested a special Parliamentary session to this end. The Social Democrats, in opposition, reiterated that jointly with the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, they will table a no-confidence motion against the Liberal Government.




    HOLOCAUST The Romanian PM Ludovic Orban takes part on Monday in an official ceremony celebrating 75 years since the liberation of the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, organised by the Polish authorities on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. According to a news release issued on Saturday by the Romanian Government, officials from several countries, Holocaust survivors and members of Jewish associations will be attending the ceremony, held under the patronage of the president of Poland Andrzej Duda. The Government of Romania, the release also reads, reconfirms its pledge to carry on Holocaust education and research efforts, to commemorate the Holocaust victims and to take responsibility for the countrys history.




    IMMIGRANTS Romanian border police caught 9 citizens of Egypt, Iraq and Somalia attempting to cross the border into Hungary illegally, with the help of 2 Romanian citizens, the Romanian Border Police announced on Saturday. The investigations revealed that the 7 men and 2 women, aged between 21 and 52, had applied for asylum in Romania. They are currently probed into for attempted illegal border crossing, while the Romanian citizens are facing human trafficking charges.




    CORONAVIRUS China has today announced extending the lockdown introduced in order to contain the newly discovered coronavirus, initially identified in Wuhan. Five cities in Hubei, a province in central China, have been added to the 13 where all bus, underground and ferry services have been suspended, and all outbound planes and trains cancelled. The Chinese army has sent medical teams to the outbreak region, after the death toll has reached 41, out of a total of over 1,300 cases. The virus has reached Europe as well, with 2 cases confirmed in France. The World Health Organisation has decided not to class the virus as an international emergency.




    EARTHQUAKE At least 21 people died, more than 1,000 were injured and several buildings collapsed in a major earthquake that hit eastern Turkey on Friday night, Turkish authorities have announced. The 6.8 magnitude quake was followed by scores of aftershocks. The earthquake, centred 550 km east of the capital city Ankara, in Elazig province, was also felt in Iran, Syria and Lebanon. Turkey is frequently affected by major tremors. In 1999, 17,000 people died and half a million lost their homes in a 7.6 earthquake in the north-west of the country, while another one hit the eastern province of Van in 2011, killing more than 500.




    FILM “Home, Romanian director Radu Ciorniciucs first film, premieres on Sunday in the international documentary competition of the most important American independent film festival, Sundance. “Home is the first Romanian documentary selected into this festivals competition, next to 11 other documentaries from around the world, in the World Cinema Documentary category. The film documents the life of a family who lived for 20 years in the Văcărești Delta, up until the place was declared a protected area and was renamed Văcărești Nature Park, the first urban nature park in Romania. Another Romanian film, Colectiv, by Alexander Nanau, will be screened in the festivals Spotlight section. This is a documentary on the events taking place in the first year after the fire in the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, in which 64 young people died.




    TENNIS The Romanian player Simona Halep, number 3 in the world, has moved up into the 4th round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year, after defeating the Kazakh Iulia Putintseva (38 WTA) 6-1, 6-4, on Saturday in Melbourne. On Sunday Halep is to take on Belgian Elise Mertens (17 WTA), who beat CiCi (Catherine) Bellis (600 WTA) 6-1, 6-7, 6-0 in the 3rd round. Last year in Melbourne Halep lost in the 4th round, and in 2018 she reached the Australian Open final. Also on Saturday Monica Niculescu (Romania) / Misaki Doi (Japan) moved up into the next round of the doubles tournament, having defeated the Japanese Nao Hibino/Makoto Ninomiya 6-2, 7-5. Niculescu and Doi are to play next against Hao-ching Chan and Latisha Chan (Taiwan).


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)