Radio România Internațional

Tag: Palm

April 17, 2022 UPDATE

EASTER Catholic and
Protestant Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. At the Vatican,
Pope Francis once again called for peace, describing Easter as the gift of hope
during the Mass held in a basilica with thousands of believers. On Sunday, the
service took place in San Pietro Square after 2 years of Covid-related
restrictions. For Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers, who celebrate Easter
next weekend, it was Palm Sunday, commemorating the moment when Jesus Christ
entered Jerusalem. In Romania, a mostly Orthodox country, nearly one and a half
million people celebrated their name day on Sunday. President Klaus Iohannis
wished happy and peaceful holidays to all those who celebrate Easter or Palm
Sunday.

UKRAINE As of midnight
Russian vessels are no longer allowed to enter EU ports, Romanian ports
included. The ban also covers ships that replaced the Russian flag with the
colours of another state after February 24 when the war in Ukraine started, but
not those which need assistance or shelter for safety reasons or those which
have saved lives at the sea. In an interview to Sunday’s issue of the German
magazine Bild am Sonntag, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der
Leyen said the next stage of EU sanctions will target Russia’s oil and banking
sectors, particularly the country’s largest bank, Sberbank. She added that
Brussels was working on smart mechanisms to include Russian oil in the new list
of sanctions, so as to reduce the financing for Vladimir Putin’s invasion army.
EU member states are currently paying for Russian gas and oil via Sberbank and
Gazprombank, which have so far been exempt from Europe’s sanctions, Reuters
explains. The EU announced on Sunday that EUR 50 million would be earmarked for
humanitarian aid to be sent to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Some EUR 45
million will go into humanitarian programmes in Ukraine, while the Republic of
Moldova, where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have taken refuge since the
start of the war, is set to receive EUR 5 million.

REFUGEES The number of Ukrainian nationals who reached
Romania on Saturday was 12.4% higher than on the previous days, the Romanian
border police announced. Since the start of the crisis, over 730,000 Ukrainian
citizens have entered the country, most of them leaving Romania for other
destinations.

POLL The Church ranks first in a public confidence
poll in Romania. The survey conducted by CURS at the end of March indicates
that 67% of the respondents trust the Church, up 4% since January. The Army, on
the other hand, has lost 8% in the same survey. The most significant increase
in public confidence was reported for the National Bank of Romania, with 42% of
the respondents saying they trust the central bank, as opposed to half this
figure in January. The poll was commissioned by the National Liberal Party and
has a +/- 1.9% margin of error.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian Foreign Ministry celebrates 25 years
since the Joint Statement on the Romania-Italy Strategic Partnership was
signed. The genuine friendship between the 2 countries is facilitated by the
presence of over 1 million Romanians in Italy, making up the largest foreign
community in that country and also the largest Romanian community abroad, reads
a news release issued by the institution.

NORTH KOREA North Korea announced
the successful test firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon aimed at boosting
the country’s nuclear capabilities, which may indicate that Pyongyang is ready
to resume nuclear testing. North Korea suspended nuclear testing in 2017, and
the following year it blew up the tunnels in its underground nuclear test site,
but recent satellite imagery indicates digging and construction activities have
been resumed.

INVICTUS A
group of 20 Romanian military wounded in battle fields are taking part in the
one-week long Invictus Games, hosted his year by The Hague in the Netherlands.
They will compete in 7 sports, 6 of them individual competitions (hand archery,
athletics, rowing, powerlifting, cycling
and swimming) and a team sport (sitting volleyball). The
Invictus Games promote respect and empathy for the sacrifice and traumas of
wounded military, whose involvement in these activities is an opportunity for
social reintegration and for regaining self-confidence, the Romanian Defence
Ministry says. For Romanian troops, this year’s Invictus participation is the
third, after the ones in Toronto, in 2017, and Sydney, one year later. (AMP)

17 April 2022
April 17, 2022

EASTER Catholic and
Protestant Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. At the
Vatican, Pope Francis once again called for peace, describing Easter as the
gift of hope during the Mass held in a basilica with thousands of believers.
Today, the service takes place in San Pietro Square after 2 years of
Covid-related restrictions. For Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers, who
celebrate Easter next weekend, today is Palm Sunday, commemorating the moment
when Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem. In Romania, a mostly Orthodox country,
nearly one and a half million people are celebrating their name day. President
Klaus Iohannis wished happy and peaceful holidays to all those who celebrate
Easter or Palm Sunday today.

UKRAINE As of midnight
Russian vessels are no longer allowed to enter EU ports, Romanian ports
included. The ban also covers ships that replaced the Russian flag with the
colours of another state after February 24 when the war in Ukraine started, but
not those which need assistance or shelter for safety reasons or those which
have saved lives at the sea. In an interview to Sunday’s issue of the German
magazine Bild am Sonntag, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der
Leyen said the next stage of EU sanctions will target Russia’s oil and banking
sectors, particularly the country’s largest bank, Sberbank. She added that
Brussels was working on smart mechanisms to include Russian oil in the new list
of sanctions, so as to reduce the financing for Vladimir Putin’s invasion army.
EU member states are currently paying for Russian gas and oil via Sberbank and
Gazprombank, which have so far been exempt from Europe’s sanctions, Reuters
explains. Meanwhile, Russia carries on attacks on several cities in Ukraine,
including the capital Kyiv, in response to the sinking of its Black Sea
flagship, the Moskva. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in
Ukraine, Russian forces shelled several cities in the south of Ukraine, whereas
in Herson Ukrainian troops continue to attack the occupying Russian forces.

REFUGEES The number of Ukrainian nationals who reached
Romania on Saturday was 12.4% higher than on the previous days, the Romanian
border police announced. Since the start of the crisis, over 730,000 Ukrainian
citizens have entered the country, most of them leaving Romania for other
destinations.

INVICTUS A group of 20 Romanian military wounded in battle
fields are taking part in the one-week long Invictus Games, hosted his year by
The Hague in the Netherlands. They will compete in 7 sports, 6 of them
individual competitions (hand archery, athletics,
rowing, powerlifting, cycling and swimming) and a team sport (sitting volleyball). The Invictus Games promote respect
and empathy for the sacrifice and traumas of wounded military, whose
involvement in these activities is an opportunity for social reintegration and
for regaining self-confidence, the Romanian Defence Ministry says. For Romanian
troops, this year’s Invictus participation is the third, after the ones in Toronto,
in 2017, and Sydney, one year later.

DIPLOMACY The Romanian Foreign Ministry celebrates 25 years
since the Joint Statement on the Romania-Italy Strategic Partnership was
signed. The genuine friendship between the 2 countries is facilitated by the
presence of over 1 million Romanians in Italy, making up the largest foreign
community in that country and also the largest Romanian community abroad, reads
a news release issued by the institution.

NORTH KOREA North Korea announced
the successful test firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon aimed at
boosting the country’s nuclear capabilities, which may indicate that Pyongyang
is ready to resume nuclear testing. North Korea suspended nuclear testing in 2017,
and the following year it blew up the tunnels in its underground nuclear test
site, but recent satellite imagery indicates digging and construction
activities have been resumed.(AMP)

17 April 2022
April 16, 2022

BNR According
to Romania’s Central Bank (BNR), the country’s inflation rate is expected to increase
in the following months more than it was initially estimated. So, Romania’s
inflation rate will exceed the level of 11.2% forecast in June. The phenomenon
was caused by the latest price hikes in fuel and processed food against the war
in Ukraine and the international sanctions imposed on Russia. In another
development, although pressure for pay rises might be felt at least in the
sectors facing a shortage of qualified personnel, substantial pay rises are
very unlikely to happen in the near future. We recall the annual inflation rate
went up to 10.15% in March from 8.5% in February reaching the highest level in
the past 18 years.

RATING Romania’s Finance Minister Adrian Câciu hailed the Friday’s decision
of the financial rating agency Standard & Poor’s to reconfirm Romania’s
Sovereign credit rating to ‘BBB minus’ with stable outlook. ‘This is another
proof that the national policies of funding the economy were right’ Câciu says.
According to Standard & Poor’s, Romania’s rating is underpinned by EU
membership and international capital flows. At the same time the risks posed by
the war in Ukraine are diminished by the prospects of absorbing a major volume
of EU funds as well as by the low energy dependence on imports of natural gas
and oil from Russia. However, the agency has significantly dropped the
country’s growth estimates down to 2.1% and has increased estimates regarding
the inflation rate, which in 2022 is expected to go up to 9% as compared to 6%
forecast in December. Another major rating agency Fitch last week confirmed
Romania’s rating at ‘BBB minus’, with negative outlook, the last notch in the
investment-grade category.

DAY
Roman-Catholics and protestant believers are today getting ready for Easter, whereas
the Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers are preparing for Palm Sunday. At
midnight the Roman Catholics are to participate in the Easter Vigil, a special
service, which celebrates Christ’s Resurrection. The Orthodox believers will
today be attending religious processions dedicated to Jesus Christ’s triumphal
entry into Jerusalem, which also marks the beginning of the last week of Lent,
also known as the Passion Week, before Easter on April 24th. Today
is also the first day of Jewish Holiday of Passover, which celebrates the
exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

TENNIS Romanian tennis player Irina Bara on Friday qualified for the
semifinals of the ITF tournament in Palm Harbor, Florida after a 6-3, 6-4 win
against Grace Min of the USA. Bara has also qualified for the doubles finals
together with Italian Lucrezia Stefanini after a 6-3, 6-1 win against Kayla Day
and Ellie Douglas of the USA.

(bill)

16 April 2022
April 25, 2021 UPDATE

COVID-19 The daily number of new COVID-19 infections and of hospitalised patients continues to drop in Romania. In the last 24 hours, 1,500 new cases and 127 deaths were reported. Some 1,360 patients are in intensive care. In Timişoara (western Romania) weekend restrictions have been lifted today, as the infection rate dropped below 3 per thousand. Meanwhile, the local authorities announced that the Timisoara Vaccination Marathon, launched on Friday, was a success, with more than 4,500 people immunised at the end of the second day. In fact, a similar marathon will be organised in Bucharest as well, between May 7 and 9, the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign Valeriu Gheorghiţă announced. In Deva, in the south-west, the drive-through vaccine centre opened on Saturday in the parking lot of the biggest shopping mall in the city, is also a success, with 600 people getting the vaccine so far. Nationwide, in the last 24 hours, nearly 90,000 vaccine doses were given. So far over 3 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 1.8 million of them have also received the booster dose.

MEETING The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis announced a meeting will be held on Monday with the government officials in charge with drafting the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Bucharest is trying to improve the Plan so that it can be approved by Brussels and so that Romania may receive nearly 30 billion euro. The minister for European funding, Cristian Ghinea, said on Saturday that Romania will postpone the submission of the Plan to the EC for several weeks. He said the original deadline was April 30, but that further talks with EU officials are still necessary. The EC sent a number of objections to the plan previously submitted by Romania. The Social-Democrats in opposition want the plan discussed in Parliament, otherwise they threaten to go on parliamentary strike.

PALM SUNDAY Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians around the world, including Romania, marked Palm Sunday, commemorating the arrival of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem before the Crucifixion. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Passion Week, in which Christians are preparing for the Easter holiday, held on May 2nd. This year, because of the restrictions triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, religious services have been held within churches where physical distancing was possible, or outdoors. Palm Sunday was also the name day of close to 1.4 million Romanians.

BUY-BACK This years Rabla Clasic and Rabla Plus used vehicle buy-back programmes begin on Monday. Rabla Clasic will have a budget of around 88 million euro, which is 35 million lei more than in 2020, allowing for the purchase of over 55,000 new, less polluting vehicles. Rabla Plus programme, which targets the purchase of electric cars, has a budget of nearly 80 million euro, will grant vouchers of 10,000 euro for the purchase of ‘full electric’ cars and some 4,500 euro for hybrid plug-in vehicles, accounting for up to 50% of the price of the new vehicle. Within the budget earmarked for this year, Rabla Plus will allow the purchase of up to 6,600 electric cars and around 5,000 hybrid cars.

MOLDOVA The European Union supports the reforming agenda of the president of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and warns that the Moldovan MPs vote on Friday against the Constitutional Court rulings is an attack on the rule of law. The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, called on Moldovan MPs to observe the Court rulings, after the latter voted no confidence in three Constitutional Court judges, over their support for Maia Sandus move to call early elections. The Socialists headed by the ex-president Igor Dodon view the Constitutional Court ruling to dissolve Parliament as dictatorial and unconstitutional.

MEETING Russias president Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden could have a meeting in June, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said on Sunday, adding that a firm decision on the meeting has not been taken yet. In a phone conversation with Putin in April, Biden suggested a summit in a third country in order to tackle the relations between the 2 countries. The tensions between Russia and the US, recently deepened by sanctions and counter-sanctions, mainly concern the Ukraine, the fate of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny and US allegations of espionage, election meddling and cyber-attacks. In June the US president is to make his first foreign visit, to the UK and then Belgium, for a G7 and NATO summit and a meeting with EU leaders.

TROPHY The trophy of the European Football Championship reached Bucharest on Sunday, and was handed to former international player Dorinel Munteanu, the ambassador of Bucharest as a Euro 2020 host city. The National Arena in Bucharest will host this summer 3 matches in Group C and an eighth-final. The Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan announced that over 13,000 people will attend the matches. Originally scheduled for last year, EURO 2020 was postponed over the coronavirus pandemic. This special edition, celebrating 60 years since the first European Championship, will be held between 11 June and 11 July in 11 European cities: Bucharest (Romania), Baku (Azerbaijan), Copenhagen (Denmark), London (UK), Munich (Germany), Budapest (Hungary), Rome (Italy), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Sankt Petersburg (Russia), Glasgow (Scotland), and Seville (Spain).

25 April 2021
April 25, 2021

COVID-19 The daily number of new COVID-19 infections and of hospitalised patients continues to drop in Romania. In the last 24 hours, 1,500 new cases and 127 deaths were reported. Some 1,360 patients are in intensive care. In Timişoara (western Romania) weekend restrictions have been lifted today, as the infection rate dropped below 3 per thousand. Meanwhile, the local authorities announced that the Timisoara Vaccination Marathon, launched on Friday, was a success, with more than 4,500 people immunised at the end of the second day. In fact, a similar marathon will be organised in Bucharest as well, between May 7 and 9, the coordinator of the national vaccination campaign Valeriu Gheorghiţă announced. In Deva, in the south-west, the drive-through vaccine centre opened yesterday in the parking lot of the biggest shopping mall in the city, is also a success, with 600 people getting the vaccine so far. Nationwide, in the last 24 hours, nearly 90,000 vaccine doses were given. So far over 3 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 1.8 million of them have also received the booster dose.

MEETING The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis announced a meeting will be held on Monday with the government officials in charge with drafting the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Bucharest is trying to improve the Plan so that it can be approved by Brussels and so that Romania may receive nearly 30 billion euro. The minister for European funding, Cristian Ghinea, said yesterday that Romania will postpone the submission of the Plan to the EC for several weeks. He said the original deadline was April 30, but that further talks with EU officials are still necessary. The EC sent a number of objections to the plan previously submitted by Romania. The Social-Democrats in opposition want the plan discussed in Parliament, otherwise they threaten to go on parliamentary strike.

PALM SUNDAY Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians around the world, including Romania, mark Palm Sunday today, commemorating the arrival of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem before the Crucifixion. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Passion Week, in which Christians are preparing for the Easter holiday, held on May 2nd. This year, because of the restrictions triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, religious services have been held within churches where physical distancing was possible, or outdoors. Palm Sunday is also the name day of close to 1.4 million Romanians.

BUY-BACK This years Rabla Clasic and Rabla Plus vehicle buy-back programmes begin on Monday. Rabla Clasic will have a budget of around 88 million euro, which is 35 million lei more than in 2020, allowing for the purchase of over 55,000 new, less polluting vehicles. Rabla Plus programme, which targets the purchase of electric cars, has a budget of nearly 80 million euro, will grant vouchers of 10,000 euro for the purchase of ‘full electric’ cars and some 4,500 euro for hybrid plug-in vehicles, accounting for up to 50% of the price of the new vehicle. Within the budget earmarked for this year, Rabla Plus will allow the purchase of up to 6,600 electric cars and around 5,000 hybrid cars.

OSCARS The 93rd Academy Awards Gala is held tonight in Los Angeles, after a 2-month postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will be split across two venues in the city – the Dolby Theatre and Union Station Gala. The Romanian production Collective, by Alexander Nanau, is nominated in 2 categories, best documentary and best international feature film. These are the first Oscar nominations in the history of Romanian filmmaking. The documentary covers the efforts made by physicians, government officials and investigative journalists, who uncover a large-scale fraud in the Romanian healthcare system, after a fire in the Colectiv night club in Bucharest killed scores of people in October 2015. In 2020 the film won the European Film Academy award for best documentary, and the award for the best foreign film of the National Society of Film Critics in the US.

TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (no. 67 in the world), plays today against Belgian Elise Mertens (17 WTA) in the final of the WTA tournament in Istanbul. Yesterday in the semi-finals Cîrstea defeated the Ukrainian Marta Kostiuk (85 WTA), 6-4, 6-4, while Mertens beat Russias Veronika Kudermetova (29 WTA) 6-1, 6-4. This will be the 5th WTA final in Sorana Cîrsteas career. She won in Tashkent (2008) and lost in Budapest (2007), Toronto (2013) and Tashkent (2019). On the other hand, Elise Mertens has won 6 WTA trophies: Hobart (2017), Rabat, Lugano, Hobart (2018), Doha (2019) and Gippsland Trophy (2021). (tr. A.M. Popescu)

25 April 2021
March 28, 2021 UPDATE

SERVICE Pope Francis delivered a religious service in the St.
Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Palm Sunday urging believers to stay close to those
in need and suffering. On Palm Sunday, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made his
triumphal entry in Jerusalem where he was welcomed by many with Palm branches.
Five days later He was crucified, died and came back to life again. In the past
years, on Palm Sunday, the day marking the beginning of the Holy Week before
Easter, tens of thousands used to take to the St. Peter’s Square with palm and
olive branches in hands for an outdoor religious service. This time, due to the
pandemic restrictions, only 120 believers were allowed to join the Pope and the
30 cardinals in the basilica. Italy is presently seeing a national quarantine
expected to end after Easter. The Vatican, a sovereign state in downtown Rome,
has applied similar restrictions. However, unlike one year ago, the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem remained open to visitors on the Catholic Palm Sunday
allowing believers to attend the service. This year, Catholic believers are
celebrating Easter on April 4th while the Orthodox, a majority in
Romania, are to celebrate Christ’s resurrection almost a month later, on May 2nd.

TENNIS Romanian tennis player Horia Tecau and Marcelo Arevalo of
Salvador have qualified for the round of 16 of the Miami Open ATP Masters 1000,
a competition with over three million dollars in prize money. The two secured a
6-4, 6-3 win against Henri Kontinen of Finland and Edouard Roger Vasselin of
France. This new pair will be up against top-seeded Juan Sebastian Cabal and
Robert Farah in the eighth finals.

DST
Daylight Saving Time began in Romania on Saturday night when clocks were set
one hour forward and the difference between the local time and GMT became of
three hours. DST was first introduced in Romania back in 1932 but this might be
the last hour change as the European Parliament in 2019 voted in favour of
scrapping this measure inside the EU. Each member state is to decide whether to
keep implementing the DST or not. Countries willing to keep the summer hour
made the change last night, whereas those preferring the winter hour are to
make the final change in the last Sunday of October.

MEASURES A new series of measures aimed at fighting the Covid-19 pandemic came
into effect in Romania as of Sunday. The new measures include a weekend night
curfew starting at 20 hours in regions with an infection rate that exceeds four
per thousand. In these regions shops are to close down at 18 hours while in
areas with an infection rate over 7.5 per thousand, restrictions will be in
force during the entire week. According to the latest data published by the
authorities, over 44 hundred new infections have been reported in Romania in
the past 24 hours most of them in Bucharest. A year on from the onset of the
pandemic, 930 thousand infections have been reported in Romania with a death
toll over 23 thousand. The number of Romanians who got at least a dose of the
anti-Covid vaccine has exceeded 1,900,000. Half of them have also been given
the booster dose.

(bill)

28 March 2021
April 20, 2019 UPDATE

EASTER Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania are celebrating Palm Sunday, commemorating Christs arrival in Jerusalem prior to the Crucifixion. On Saturday many believers and priests took part in processions in Bucharest and other cities. Palm Sunday marks the start of the last week of Lent, known as Passion Week, which marks the most dramatic events in the life of Jesus. On the other hand, Catholic and Protestant believers Sunday celebrate the Easter, the biggest holiday in the Christian world.

HOLIDAYS In Romania, over 10,000 police and 8,000 gendarmes will be deployed on the Orthodox Palm Sunday and Catholic Easter Sunday, to ensure the safety of the citizens taking part in the events related to these holidays. Traffic police and over 300 radar units will also be on duty, to prevent accidents and to ensure smooth road traffic. Meanwhile, many Romanians working abroad are beginning their Easter visits home, and checkpoints are getting increasingly crowded. Over 4,000 border police will work every day to ensure efficient border controls during this period. The Romanian Border Police has also called on the authorities of Bulgaria, Hungary and the Republic of Moldova to increase the number of staff available in checkpoints, if necessary.

RESHUFFLING President Klaus Iohannis will announce early next week his decision on the new nominations in the Dancila Cabinet. The Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition, has nominated the deputy speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Eugen Nicolicea to replace Tudorel Toader as justice minister. The Social Democrats withdrew their political support for Toader after he refused to pass new controversial changes in the criminal codes, and consequently Tudorel Toader stepped down. The Prime Minister also forwarded to the Presidency the resignations of Rovana Plumb as Minister for European Funds and of Natalia Intotero as Minister for Romanians Abroad. The 2 are running for the European Parliament in the upcoming elections. Nominated to replace them are Deputy Oana Florea, for the Ministry for European Funds, and Senator Liviu Brăiloiu for the ministry in charge of the diaspora. The President has hinted that he disapproves of these proposals. In his opinion, this government reshuffling strengthens what he called “the Social Democrats siege of the judiciary.

CULTURE As part of the 2019 Romania-France Cultural Season, the French Film Festival started on Saturday in 10 cities in Romania. Launched in November 2018, in France, the cultural dialogue between the 2 countries continues in Romania with scores of theatre shows, dance performances, concerts, film screenings, literature-related events, exhibitions and debates held in over 30 towns and cities. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, pointed out that this was an important landmark in the arts and cultural life in Romania and France. The event strengthens the economic, scientific, cultural and social ties between the 2 states. The official closing of the 2019 Romania-France Cultural Season, which overlaps the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, will be on July 14, Frances National Day.

TENNIS Romania and France are tied, 1-all, in the Fed Cup semi-finals, after Simona Halep (2 WTA) beat Kristina Mladenovic (66 WTA) in Rouen, and Mihaela Buzărnescu (30 WTA) was defeated by Caroline Garcia (21 WTA). Three other matches are scheduled on Sunday: Caroline Garcia vs. Simona Halep, Kristina Mladenovic vs. Mihaela Buzărnescu and Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic vs. Irina Begu / Monica Niculescu. For the second time in history, 46 years apart, Romania is playing a Fed Cup semi-final. Frances performance in this competition is much better: the French tennis players were twice champions, in 1997 and 2003, finalists in 2004, 2005 and 2016, and semi-finalists several times, including last year. Should Romania get past France this weekend, it will play the final in November against the winner of the match pitting Australia against Belarus.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

20 April 2019