Radio România Internațional

Tag: Popovici

June 22, 2024

WEATHER A code red alert for extreme heat is in place today in 5 counties in the south of Romania, with temperatures expected to reach 38-39 degrees Celsius. On Sunday the heat wave is predicted to stay in place and even extend to the capital city Bucharest as well. Later this afternoon, heavy rainfalls and storms are expected in the northern part of the country.

DISINFORMATION The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed in Washington a Memorandum of Understanding on countering information manipulation. Among other things, the document provides for the coordinated development of relevant strategies, as well as for the involvement of independent media, civil society and the academia in fighting disinformation. According to a news release, the two officials have also reviewed the progress made by Romania towards inclusion in the Visa Waiver Programme, and have reconfirmed their commitment to close cooperation in view of reaching this goal as soon as possible. During her visit to the US, organised in the context of celebrating 20 years since Romania joined NATO, the Romanian diplomacy chief also had meetings with the National Security Council senior director for Europe Michael Carpenter, with whom she discussed items on the Romanian-US economic and security agenda, as well as regional developments and preparations for the forthcoming NATO Summit in Washington. Also, during a meeting with Samantha Power, USAID administrator, Luminiţa Odobescu highlighted the two countries’ shared interest in strengthening the resilience of partners in the Black Sea region, with a focus on the Republic of Moldova.

ORGANISED CRIME The Romanian interior minister Cătălin Predoiu had a meeting with the British ambassador to Bucharest, Giles Matthew Portman. The talks focused on measures to be taken in order to curb transnational organised crime. According to the interior ministry, another topic approached by the 2 officials was improving the efficiency of police work, including institutional reforms, so as to handle current challenges. Predoiu highlighted the very good cooperation between the two countries, as well as the opportunities to further develop it under the Romanian-British Strategic Partnership. The Romanian official pointed out that border protection is a priority for Romania, whose goal is to strengthen and protect the Schengen area. Mr. Predoiu also mentioned that the implementation of the Pact on migration and asylum would be both a challenge for the Member States, and an opportunity to improve national migration and asylum management systems.

FESTIVAL Sibiu, in central Romania, is hosting the 31^st International Theatre Festival (FITS). For 10 days, the public can choose from as many as 830 events, including theatre performances, music, dance, circus, exhibitions and public reading sessions, which bring together over 5,000 artists from 82 countries. Internationally acclaimed actors, directors and writers such as John Malkovich, Tim Robbins, Pippo delBono and Neil LaBute are also expected to attend. Many of the international productions in FITS may be viewed online this year, on the online platform “Scena Digitală” of the Sibiu “Radu Stanca” National Theatre, the main organiser of FITS 2024.

SWIMMING The Romanian swimmer David Popovici defended his gold at the 200m freestyle event in the European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, after also winning the 100m freestyle race. The next challenge for the Romanian swimmer is the Olympic competition, in which Romania will be represented by 93 athletes. The latest one to qualify is the wrestler Răzvan Arnăuţ, in the 60kg Greco-Roman category, after the International Olympic Committee disqualified several Russian and Byelorussian athletes.

FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team plays against Belgium tonight in Cologne, in Group E of the European Football Championship. A draw against Belgium would give Romania enough reasons to hope for a qualification in the eighth-finals. On Friday, Ukraine, which lost its first match in this tournament, 3-0 to Romania, defeated Slovakia 2-1. Romania, Ukraine and Slovakia have 3 points each in Group E, while Belgium has no points yet. More than 20,000 Romanian fans will support the team in Cologne tonight. This is Romania’s 6^th participation in the Euro, after the ones in 1984, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2016. A team of Romanian referees also takes part in this year’s continental competition. (AMP)

22 June 2024
October 9, 2023

WAR Clashes were still reported on Monday between the
Israeli army and Palestinian fighters infiltrated in the south of the country
from Gaza, after Israel reportedly hit over 500 targets of Hamas and the
Islamic Jihad organisations during the night. The Israeli defence forces have
full control over the southern part of the country, attacked by the Palestinian
Hamas forces, an Israeli military spokesman said on Monday, quoted by AFP and
Reuters. This is the 3rd day of violent clashes that have so far
killed around 1,200 people, over 700 of whom Israelis and at least 493
Palestinians, EFE reported on Monday. Israel’s security cabinet declared war following the attacks of the Palestinian
organisation Hamas, allowing the government to undertake significant military
activities, the PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Sunday.

ISRAEL On Monday 96 Romanian nationals were repatriated from Israel, via
Jordan, on a Tarom flight, the foreign ministry announced. Another 245 Romanian citizens were repatriated on Sunday, including 2 pilgrim
groups. The foreign ministry reiterates its recommendation that Romanian
nationals should reschedule their planned trips to Israel and monitor the Travel
Alerts section on its home page. Meanwhile, a mobile consular team from the
Romanian embassy in Israel and from Romania’s representation office in Ramallah is at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv
to provide assistance to the Romanians there. A unit from the ministry’s emergency
response team has also been deployed to Israel, to help in the repatriation
efforts.

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis is on a visit to Portugal,
where he is scheduled to have talks today with PM António Costa, with the president
of the Assembly of the Republic Augusto Santos Silva, and with Portuguese MPs.
On Saturday, Iohannis had a meeting with his Portuguese counterpat, Marcelo
Rebelo de Sousa, discussing the war in neighbouring Ukraine, in which context
he reiterated thanks for Portugal’s substantial contribution to the defence and
deterrence posture on NATO’s eastern flank. The presence on Portuguese troops
in Romania is a strong signal of Portugal’s solidarity and support to
strengthening Romania’s security, president Iohannis said. On the other hand,
the president of Portugal said his country was supporting Romania’s Schengen
and OECD accession.

MEETING PM Marcel Ciolacu said today in Varna, Bulgaria, that during the
Romania – Bulgaria – Greece trilateral meeting the 3 countries agreed to
implement a joint action plan aimed at significant development in trilateral
cooperation in sectors such as transports, energy, trade and security. In the
presence of EC officials, of the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Bulgarian
PM Nikolay Denkov, we have reiterated Romania’s ambition of quickly becoming a
Schengen member state and an influential economic player in the region, Marcel
Ciolacu said. The Romanian official also added that Romania, in a partnership
with Bulgaria and Greece, may have a greater influence in the EU, promoting its
central role in the reconstruction of Ukraine and its willingness to see the
Republic of Moldova and Western Balkans countries joining the European bloc as
soon as possible.

HOLOCAUST Romania marks today the National Holocaust Remembrance Day. On
October 9, 1941, the deportation of Jews from Bessarabia and Bukovina to
Transdniester started. The Holocaust was recognised by the Romanian authorities
in 2004, based on the conclusions reached by a commission headed by Nobel prize
winner Elie Wiesel. The Jews and Roma who died during the Holocaust were
commemorated in Bucharest, while Timişoara is hosting a concert organised by
the local Jewish community.

SWIMMING The Romanian athlete David Popovici, the defending European
champion in the 100 and 200m freestyle races, won all the 4 short course competitions
in which he took part this weekend in Nyon (Switzerland). On Sunday he finished
the 100m and 50m freestyle events in the first position, with 47.22s and 21.83s
respectively, after on Saturday he had won the 400 and 200m freestyle races. The
competition in Switzerland is training opportunity ahead of the European short
course championships scheduled in December in Otopeni, near Bucharest. (AMP)

9 October 2023
July 26, 2023 UPDATE

HEAT Wednesday was a new day with extreme heat in Romania. The capital
city Bucharest and several counties in the south and south-east were subject to
a code red alert for temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius and a
temperature-humidity index above the critical 80 units. Code orange and yellow
alerts were also in place elsewhere in the country. On Tuesday the extreme
temperatures disrupted railway traffic and caused road traffic restrictions. On
the other hand, violent storms were reported in the west, north and centre of
the country, where substantial damages were reported. On
Thursday, the temperature is expected to drop significantly, to highs between
19 and 28 degrees Celsius.

PROTEST Romanian construction workers Wednesday picketed the government
headquarters to protest the Cabinet’s decision to scrap the tax facilities
granted to the employees in this sector. The head of the National Trade Union
Bloc (BNS), Dumitru Costin, said the proposed amendments to the Fiscal Code
affect not only the construction sector, but other categories of employees as
well. The BNS and the Familia General Federation of Trade Unions came up with a
set of measures to avoid the scrapping of tax facilities as of September 1,
including a new collective bargaining agreement for the sector and a gradual
elimination of the fiscal facility, in keeping with the roadmap agreed on under
the National Recovery and Resilience Plan as of 2025. They also suggest adjustments
to budget appropriations for the investment projects funded by the government
or from EU funds, as well as a salary policy for this sector for the
forthcoming years able to ensure balanced salaries, especially in the private
sector.

MEETING The Romanian
foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Wednesday had talks with her French
counterpart, Catherine Colonna, about the security situation at the Black Sea.
In a Twitter post, Odobescu described the dialogue as very good. Bilateral
cooperation was reconfirmed on this occasion. We have emphasised our joint
support for Ukraine and the R. of Moldova, as well as our determination to
consolidate security and resilience at the Black Sea, the Romanian diplomacy
chief said in her post.

DIPLOMACY The foreign
minister of the Republic of Moldova, Nicu Popescu, Wednesday requested a
limitation on the number of Russian diplomats accredited to Chişinău. He said
the country has been for several years the target of hostile policies on
Russia’s part, and that some of them were completed via the Russian Embassy
there. Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry
for explanations, after a media report revealed that the Russian diplomatic
mission had installed high-performance espionage and interception equipment on
its rooftop. The media in Chişinău mentioned 28 satellite dishes and telecoms
devices, while individuals tied to Russian intelligence services were seen on
the buildings. The authorities in Chisinau decided that the two countries’
embassies would have equal numbers of diplomatic personnel, specifically 10 diplomatic
positions and 15 administrative, technical and support posts, Moldpres reports.
Consequently, the staff of Russia’s embassy in Chişinău will be reduced from 84
to 25.

NATO The NATO
secretary general Jens Stoltenberg convened a first NATO – Ukraine Council
meeting at ambassador level on Wednesday, at the request of Kyiv. The meeting
focused on consultations on recent developments, with participants discussing
the transport of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, the NATO spokesperson Oana
Lungescu said. Ukraine’s request came after Russia terminated the so-called
grains deal and started attacking the Ukrainian port infrastructure. Also on
Wednesday, the head of the press office for the southern Ukrainian defence
command, Natalia Humeniuk, said Russia was already using Shahed-type drones
assembled in Russia.

SWIMMING The Romanian swimmer David Popovici Wednesday qualified into
the final of the 100m freestyle race at the World Championships in Fukuoka (Japan). Popovici, the defending world champion in
this event, also holds the world record, set last year at the European
Championships in Rome. The 100m freestyle final is scheduled for Thursday. On
Tuesday, Popovici, also a former world champion in the 200m freestyle event,
finished the competition’s final on the 4th place. (AMP)

26 July 2023
Sports Flash

Romanias national water polo side is this weekend playing in the preliminaries of the European Championships in Slovenia. Our athletes will be taking on Switzerland in the qualifying group D on Friday. A day later, our side will be up against Finland and they will be playing the host country on Sunday.

The games of one of the qualifying groups for the womens European Water polo Championships are hosted by Otopeni, a town close to Romanias capital Bucharest. Romania will play Sweden on Friday, when Turkey will be up against Switzerland. On Saturday, Sweden will play Turkey and Romania will take on Switzerland. Sunday will see the last two matches, Switzerland versus Sweden and Romania versus Turkey.

This weekend, the Romanian swimmer David Popovici, world and European champion in the 100 and 200 meter freestyle races will be running in the Sette Colli Trophy international competition, which is expected to bring 500 swimmers from 30 countries to Rome. For Popovici, this will be the last contest before the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, due to take place over July 13th and 30th.

Poland will this weekend see the European Games, a multi-sports competition, where Romania is being represented by 150 athletes. On Thursday, Ştefan Comănescu won the first medal for Romania, bronze in the 67 kilogram category of the karate contest.

On Saturday, Romanias under 21 football side will be playing Ukraine in Bucharest in their second match counting towards the European Under-21 Championship due in Romania and Georgia. On Wednesday, in the first game of Group B, the team coached by Emil Sandoi conceded a nil-three defeat to Spain. Our footballers will be playing Croatia on Tuesday.

(bill)

23 June 2023
Sports Flash

Romanias national water polo side is this weekend playing in the preliminaries of the European Championships in Slovenia. Our athletes will be taking on Switzerland in the qualifying group D on Friday. A day later, our side will be up against Finland and they will be playing the host country on Sunday.

The games of one of the qualifying groups for the womens European Water polo Championships are hosted by Otopeni, a town close to Romanias capital Bucharest. Romania will play Sweden on Friday, when Turkey will be up against Switzerland. On Saturday, Sweden will play Turkey and Romania will take on Switzerland. Sunday will see the last two matches, Switzerland versus Sweden and Romania versus Turkey.

This weekend, the Romanian swimmer David Popovici, world and European champion in the 100 and 200 meter freestyle races will be running in the Sette Colli Trophy international competition, which is expected to bring 500 swimmers from 30 countries to Rome. For Popovici, this will be the last contest before the World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, due to take place over July 13th and 30th.

Poland will this weekend see the European Games, a multi-sports competition, where Romania is being represented by 150 athletes. On Thursday, Ştefan Comănescu won the first medal for Romania, bronze in the 67 kilogram category of the karate contest.

On Saturday, Romanias under 21 football side will be playing Ukraine in Bucharest in their second match counting towards the European Under-21 Championship due in Romania and Georgia. On Wednesday, in the first game of Group B, the team coached by Emil Sandoi conceded a nil-three defeat to Spain. Our footballers will be playing Croatia on Tuesday.

(bill)

23 June 2023
January 2, 2023

SWIMMING The Romanian athlete David Popovici was awarded the best
swimmer of the year 2022 title by the well-known website Swimswam.com. The
peak of Popovici’s year came at the 2022 European Championships. There, he
first took down Cesar Cielo’s super-suited world record time of 46.91 in the
100 free, going 46.86. Then, he swam a 1:42.97 in the 200 free, becoming the
third male to break 1:43 behind Paul Biedermann and Michael Phelps and the first
to do so in a textile suit, the website says. David Popovici won the 100 and
200 free at every major long course international meet that he competed at: the
World Championships, the European Championships, the World Junior Championships,
and the European Championships.

RECYCLING
All traders in Romania that sell bottled water, soft drinks or alcoholic drinks
in plastic, glass or metal containers between 100 ml and 3 l are bound to
register within 2 months on the platform of a guarantee-return system (SGR). Otherwise,
they risk fines between EUR 4,000 and EUR 8,000. The authorities want the
system to become operational at the end of November 2023. Shops will also have
to arrange packaging return centres. The prices of drinks will include the
roughly EUR 0.10 packaging guarantee, which consumers will collect when
returning the bottles. Romania will thus have the second-largest return system in
Europe, after Germany, the environment minister Tanczos Barna said recently.

NATO
Western countries must be prepared to provide long-term support to Ukraine as
Russia shows no signs of relenting, NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said.
In an interview to the BBC, Stoltenberg saidmilitary
support would ensure the survival of Ukraine as a sovereign country and force
Russia to sit down and negotiate an end to the war. According to Jens Stoltenberg,
Russia’s partial mobilisation programme, ordered in September, indicated that
Moscow had no desire to end the war, and NATO must make sure that Ukraine stays
in a strong position in the event of negotiation talks between the two sides.

UKRAINE
Russia last night carried on attacks on Ukraine using Iranian-made drones, and
targeting the capital city in particular. Air raid alerts sounded for several
hours, and local authorities say a young man was injured and several buildings
damaged. This is the second consecutive night of heavy Russian missile attacks
on Kyiv, after the massive one on New Year’s night. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian
forces, which destroyed some of the drones, announced having caused substantial
casualties among the Russian troops in Bakhmut, a small town in the east of the
country which has been seeing heavy fighting for several months now. Apparently
170 Russian troops were killed and at least 200 wounded. Moscow has not yet
confirmed the losses, but said its recent attacks targeted buildings where the
Ukrainians were reportedly producing drones.

POPE
Thousands of believers have gathered in Vatican to pay
their respects to the former Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday aged 95
and whose body is lying in state at St Peter’s Basilica ahead of the funeral scheduled
for Thursday. On Sunday Pope Francis paid tribute to his dearest predecessor,
emphasising his sacrifices offered for the good of the Church. Benedict
XVI, who announced his resignation from the papacy in 2013 on account of his
ill health and age, was a highly praised theologian. The funeral will be
presided over by Pope Francis, and it will be the first time in the 2,000-year
long history of the Catholic Church that a Pope will be buried by his successor.

BRAZIL
Brazil’s new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was sworn in and vowed to rebuild
the country together with the Brazilian people. For his 3rd term in
office as president, Lula da Silva (77) announced plans to strengthen
environment protection and curb famine. He criticised his far-right
predecessor Jair Bolsonaro’s government, arguing
that They emptied the resources for health, dismantled education, culture,
science, and destroyed the environmental protections. Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva governed the country in 2003-2010, when he fought poverty through major
social programmes. However, corruption had deepened during his previous terms
in office, and da Silva himself served time for corruption and money
laundering, although later on the Supreme Court ruled it a mistrial. (AMP)

2 January 2023
Athlete of the Year 2022

On July 9th
1922, in Alameda, California, Johnny Weissmuller ended the one hundred meter
race in less than one minute. Born in Freidorf, close to Timisoara, in western
Romania, Weissmuller was to become famous for both his Olympic wins and the
part he played in Tarzan, the Ape Man series. After more than 100 years, another
swimmer born in Romania broke the record in the one hundred meter race to officially
become the fastest swimmer in history.

At the European
Championships in Rome on August 13th the Romanian David Popovici
ended the one hundred meter race in 46 seconds and 86 hundredths beating a 13
year old record held by Cielo Filho of Brazil, who ended the race in 46 seconds
and 91 hundredths at the world championships in Rome in 2009, when tech suits
for increasing speed were still allowed.

Besides the
title in Rome, David Popovici has also reaped the world and European titles in
the 100 and 200 meter free-style races both in junior and senior competitions.
His great performances have also brought him Athlete of the Year title from
Radio Romania International. He also compelled recognition in the world
championship in Budapest in June. The two titles he won in the 100 and 200
meter races were a first for the Romanian swimming.

Thousands of
swimming fans gathered at the new aqua facility in Otopeni, close to Bucharest
in July, to witness his performance in the European junior championship, from where
Romanian swimmers walked away with 9 medals. David won the 50, 100 and 200 meter
free-style races and had a big hand in the gold medal won by the 4X100 relay
team of Romania, a country, which ended in the third position after Hungary and
Poland.

At the European
championships in Rome and the world record in the 100 meter race, Popovici came
very close to a world record also in the European final of 200 meters. He won
the race in one minute, 47 seconds and 97 hundredths, one second after German
Paul Biederman who set the record also in Rome in 2009. Popovici’s time was on hundredth
after the one of his idol, Michael Phelps, who reaped the Olympic gold in
Beijing, in 2008.

Romania came
fourth in the nations’ ranking of the world junior championships held in Lima,
Peru, in September. The Romanians walked away with four medals, two silver and
two bronze, from the aforementioned competition. David stepped onto the podium’s
highest step three times; after the finals of the 100 meter and 200 meter races
and after the 4×100 meter relay race. With the mixed relay race of 100 meters
he obtained the silver medal.

The
year ended with the world short course championships in Melbourne, where David
Popovici became the silver medalist in the 200 meter race, came fourth in the
100 meters and set a new junior world record.

(bill)

29 December 2022
September 2, 2022 UPDATE

DOORS The Romanian Foreign Ministry opened its doors to citizens on
Friday as part of the events marking 160 years since the foundation of this
institution and the Day of the Romanian Diplomacy, celebrated on September 1st.
Hundreds of people have answered the invitation and they could see a series of
diplomatic documents and objects as well as a mini-exhibition dedicated to the
diplomatic suit. The public has also visited the gallery of the Foreign
Ministers as well as the hall where the ministry’s crisis cell convenes. The
present head of the Romanian diplomacy, Bogdan Aurescu, has welcomed the
visitors.

SWIMMING
Romanian swimmers won two new medals at the World Junior Swimming Championships
in Lima, Peru: a silver in the mixed 4X100 m freestyle relay and a bronze in
the 800 m freestyle race, won by Vlad Stancu. The relay team made up of David
Popovici, Patrick Sebastian Dinu, Rebecca Diaconescu and Bianca Costea lost to
Hungary, who came in the first place, while Italy came third. The 800 m
freestyle race was won by Spain’s Carlos Garach Benito, with Vlad Stancu in
second place and Turkey’s Batuhan Filiz in third place. Romania has so far won
five medals at the World Junior Swimming Championships, two gold, two silver
and one bronze. The gold came from the men’s 4X100 freestyle relay team made up
of David Popovici, Alexandru Constantinescu, Ştefan Cozma and Patrick Sebastian
Dinu and from David Popovici in the 200 m freestyle event; the silver came from
Vlad Stancu in the 400 m freestyle race and the mixed 4×100 m freestyle relay
team made up of David Popovici, Patrick Sebastian Dinu, Rebecca Diaconescu and
Bianca Costea; while the bronze came from Vlad Stancu in the 800 m freestyle
race.

ENERGY Almost 8 million
households in Romania will be benefitting from a cap on electricity and natural
gas prices for another year, according to a new emergency ordinance adopted on
Thursday by the government. The order provides for the establishment of a
national energy transition fund and for tougher sanctions for energy companies
that increase prices artificially to enhance their profits. The budget impact
of these measures is estimated at 1 billion lei per month, accounting for 200
million euros.

TENNIS Romanian tennis
player Sorana Cîrstea lost to Switzerland’s Belinda
Bencic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the second round at the US Open. Irina Begu, another
Romanian player, was defeated by China’s Yue Yuan 6-3, 7-6, also in the second
round. Cîrstea and Begu were the only two Romanian players still in competition
in the women’s singles. In the women’s doubles, the Romanian-American pair Ana
Bogdan and Sabrina Santamaria defeated the all-American pair Elizabeth Mandlik
and Katrina Scott in the first round and will next be playing the all-Czech
pair Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

(bill)

2 September 2022
Hăbări ditu bana românească şi internaţională

DZUUA. Evenimentili culturali ndreapti tru idyiulu kiro tru România, Ripublica Moldova viţină și comunitățle istoriţi ditu Diaspora nsimneadză adză Dzuua a Limbăllei Române. Apufusită tru 2013 di Parlamentul di București, Dzuua Limbăllei Române easti idyea cu Dzuua națională tru Ripublica Moldova, viţină, românofonă. La 31 di agustu 1989, tru kirolu a regimlui sovietic, Parlamentul di Chișinău, pichetat di 750 di nilli di oamiñi, reprezentânda ună şisimi ditu populația di atumtea a văsiliillei, apufusi limba română ca limbă di stat și tricu di la alfabetul chirilic, băgatu cu zorea di aruşi, la atelu latinu.

SONDAJ. Giumitati ditu populația ali Românie easti tru ma marea parti aspăreată di inflație, iara anamisa di gaileadzlli di cafi dzuuă yinu crizili energetice și alimentare cum și majorarea a ratilor bancari, spuni un sondaj adratu di compania di cercetare sociologică Avangardi. Dauă cirecuri ditu români minduescu că ună mari criză economică va s’yină tu şvurtu kiro și aesta easti prota ispeti di găilipseari aesta arada. Uidisitu cu idyiulu sondaj, baş și tru aesti condiții, un cirecu ditu români pricunoscu că nu băgară un pără nanăparti.

TENIS. Agiucătoarea română di tenis Irina Begu s-califică tru turlu doi di la US Open, aţelu ditu soni turneu di Grand Slam ditu aestu an, după ună victorie cu 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 contra ali belgiancă Elise Mertens. Begu, 32 di ani, avu ună ascumbuseari spectaculoasă după ţi kiru protlu set și amintă agioclu tru 2 săhăţ și 24 di minute. Tru turlu doi, românca va s’agioacă cu Yue Yuan ditu China. Begu easti a treia româncă cari agiumsi tru etapa a daua a competițillei di la Flushing Meadows, după Gabriela Ruse și Sorana Cîrstea. Fostul numiru unu mondial Simona Halep și Jaqueline Cristian, tut ditu România, fură eliminate tru primlu tur ali competiție.

UCRAINA. Ună parei di inspectori ali Agenție Internațională pentru Energie Atomică (AIEA) nkisi cătă centrala nucleară ditu Zaporizhzhia, sudlu ali Ucraina. Tora nă minămu”, spuni directorul ali agenție ONU, argentinianlu Rafael Grossi. Uzina, nai ma marea ditu Europa, fu aputrusită di askerea arusă tru ahurhita a meslui marţu, ti şcurtu kiro după nkisita ali invazie. Kievlu u stipsi Moscova că dizvărti aclo suti di askeri diadunu cu echipamentu militar. Prezidintulu ucrainean Volodimir Zelenski, cari apruke experțălli ONU, căftă ali comunitati internațională s’bagă zori ali Rusie tra s’u dimilitarizeadză ună ş-ună zona. Piriclliulu a unlui fănico nuclearu di itia a acțiunilor arusești nu scadi niţi barimu ti ună săhati spusi ma largu Zelensky.

MEDALIE. Anutătorlli ditu România amintară malăma tru cursa di ștafetă 4×100 di meatri a Campionatelor Mondiale di anot ti juniori di Lima, Peru. Un alt anutătoru ditu România, Vlad Stancu amintă medalia di asimi la proba di 400 di meetri liber a idyillei competiții. Echipa ali Romanie adrată ditu David Popovici, Alexandru Constantinescu, Stefan Cozma si Patrick Sebastian Dinu, bitisi cursa tru 3 minute si 18 secundi, kiro tru cari multiplu campion Popvici feaţi un record ti competitie bitisinda partea a lui di cursa tru 47 di secundi si 7 sutimi. Ditu dilegația cari reprezintă România la Lima, Aissia Claudia Prisecaru și Rebecca Aimee Diaconescu s-calificară tru finala cursăllei di 100 di metri pi păltări dupu ţi bitisiră semifinalele pe pozițiile a patra, respectiv a ţinţea. România llia parti cu 9 anutători la campionatele di Lima.

Autoru: Udălu a hăbărloru

Armânipsearea: Taşcu Lala

31 August 2022
August 31, 2022

DAY Cultural events concurrently staged in Romania, the
neighboring Republic of Moldova and historical communities in the Diaspora are
today marking the day of the Romanian Language. Set in 2013 by Parliament in
Bucharest, the Romanian Language Day coincides with the national day in the
neighboring, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. On august 31st
1989, during the Soviet regime, the Parliament in Chisinau, picketed by 750
thousand people, accounting for a sixth of the country’s then population,
declared the Romanian language as the state language and passed from the
Cyrillic alphabet, imposed by the Russian occupants, to the Latin one.

POLL Half of Romania’s population is mainly
scared by inflation, next among their concerns come the energy and food crises
as well as raising bank installments, shows a survey conducted by the
sociological research company Avangarde. Two thirds of the Romanians believe a
big economic crisis is to come soon and this is the main reason for concern
this time. According to the same survey, even under these circumstances, one
third of the Romanians admit they haven’t put any money aside.

TENNIS Romanian tennis player Irina Begu has qualified for the
second round of the US open, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament after a 3-6,
6-2, 6-3 win against Elise Mertens of Belgium. Begu, 32, made a spectacular
come back after she lost her first set and won the game in 2 hours and 24
minutes. In the second round the Romanian will be up against Yue Yuan of China.
Begu is the third Romanian to have made it to the second stage of the
competition in Flushing Meadows after Gabriela Ruse and Sorana Cirstea. Former world
number one Simona Halep and Jaqueline Cristian also from Romania have been
eliminated in the competition’s first round.

UKRAINE A team of inspectors with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is heading towards the nuclear power
plant in Zaporizhzhia, southern Ukraine. ‘Now we are moving’, says the director
of the UN agency, Argentinean Rafael Grossi. The plant, the largest in Europe,
was occupied by the Russian army in early March, shortly after the beginning of
the invasion. Kyiv has accused Moscow of having deployed hundreds of troops
there along with military equipment. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky,
who received the UN experts, has called on the international community to put
pressure on Russia to demilitarize the area immediately. The risk of a nuclear
catastrophe due to Russian actions is not diminishing for even an hour,
Zelensky went on to say.

MEDAL Swimmers from Romania have won gold in the 4×100 meter
relay race of World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru. Another
swimmer from Romania, Vlad Stancu became silver medalist in the 400 meter
freestyle race of the same competition. The Romanian team made up of David Popovici,
Alexandru Constantinescu, Stefan Cozma and Patrick Sebastian Dinu, ended the
race in 3 minutes and 18 seconds, while multiple champion Popvici has set a
record for the competition ending his part of the race in 47 seconds and 7
hundredths. From the delegation representing Romania in Lima, Aissia Claudia
Prisecaru and Rebecca Aimee Diaconescu have qualified for the finals of the 100
meter backstroke race after ending the semifinals on the fourth and the fifth
positions respectively. Romania is participating with 9 swimmers at the
championships in Lima.

(bill)

31 August 2022
August 21, 2022

BANK According to Central Bank forecasts the annual
inflation rate in Romania will slightly go down only in the last quarter of the
year. The bank says the annual inflation rate ceased to rise in June and is
expected to fluctuate for a while then to slightly go down for the next three
quarters. Inflation has been forecast to stay around 13.9% in December exceeding
the initial predictions of 12.5%. According to the Central Bank, inflationist
pressures are to be seriously felt in April next year, after schemes aimed at capping
electricity prices will have ended. In an attempt to keep inflation at bay, the
bank decided to raise the key interest rate from 4.47% to 5.5%.

HOLIDAY Seaside resorts on the Romanian Black Sea
coast are functioning at full capacity these days in spite of the high accommodation
prices. Prices are expected to go down next week under a yearly programme
entitled ‘Seaside for everyone’ due to kick off on August 28th.
According to representatives of the Employers Association in the Romanian
tourism, roughly 100 hotels are getting ready to accommodate tourists for
prices 75% lower than at the peak of the season.

MEDALS Romanian athlete Catalin Chirila won bronze
in the 500 meter race at the Canoe Sprint European Championships in Munich. A
world’s vice-champion in Halifax, Canada, Chirila also reaped gold in the 1000 meter
single canoe race in Munich. Another two athletes from Romania, Constantin
Popovici and Catalin Preda walked away with gold and silver from the high diving
event of the European Aquatics Championships held in Rome. Popovici made
history as the first European champion in this event with 455.70 points. Preda,
who took the lead after the first three rounds, eventually ended second with
436.20 points. Italian Alessandro De Rose came third in the aforementioned
event. Constantin’s namesake David claimed two European titles and a world
record in the pool and has been designated the best athlete in the men’s events
at the present edition of the Aquatics in Rome.

VOLLEYBALL Romania’s national men’s volleyball side
have qualified for the European Championships due next year after a 3-0 win
against Albania in their last away game in the preliminary group G. Romania
ranks first in the group with 5 wins and 15 points followed by Switzerland with
12 points, Bosnia-Herzegovina 4 points and Albania with two. The seven winning
sides of the preliminaries as well as the best five runner-ups are qualified
for the final tournament. Romania won a European title in 1963, two silver
medals in 1955 and 1958 and two bronze in 1971 and 1977. At the 2019 edition of
the European Championship our side ranked 21st.

DIPLOMACY According to the spokeswoman for the
Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, Russia will have a proper response
to Bucharest’s decision to declare persona non grata an employee of its embassy
in Romania. Zakharova says that Romania has declared the Russian employee
persona non grata ‘without any reason and under exaggerated pretexts’. The
Romanian Foreign Ministry says that a decision to expel the Russian employee
has been made because the person was involved in activities incompatible with
the Vienna Convention of 1961 concerning diplomatic relations, a generic
definition for espionage allegations.

(bill)

21 August 2022
Sports Flash

The Romanian athlete Bianca Ghelber on Wednesday won the gold medal at the European Championships in Munich, in the hammer throw event. She won with a throw of 72 meters and 72 centimeters, followed by the Polish Ewa Rozanska, with 72 meters and 12 centimeters, and the Italian Sara Fantini, with 71 meters and 59 centimeters. Romania thus obtained the first continental gold medal after a break of 20 years. Also in Munich, in 2002, Ionela Tîrlea won the only title for Romania, in the 400m hurdles.

The Romanian swimmer David Popovici, gold medalist in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, was named the best swimmer in the mens swimming events at the European Swimming Championships in Rome. We recall that, in the 100m event David Popovici registered a new world record, and in the 200m race he set a new competition record. In a ranking based on the best performances at the European Championships hosted by Italy, David Popovici took first place in the mens category, with 1,003 points. In the womens category, the first was the Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte, with 985 points. On Wednesday, David Popovici withdrew from the 400m freestyle final of the European Championships, to which he had qualified with the fourth time.

The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep withdrew from the WTA 1,000 tournament in Cincinnati on Wednesday, ahead of her second round match against Russian Veronika Kudermetova. According to the organizers, Halep withdrew due to an injury to her right thigh. In the first round, the Romanian had passed the Russian Anastasia Potapova, after, last week, she had won another WTA 1000 tournament, in Toronto. (LS)

18 August 2022
Sports Flash

The Romanian athlete Bianca Ghelber on Wednesday won the gold medal at the European Championships in Munich, in the hammer throw event. She won with a throw of 72 meters and 72 centimeters, followed by the Polish Ewa Rozanska, with 72 meters and 12 centimeters, and the Italian Sara Fantini, with 71 meters and 59 centimeters. Romania thus obtained the first continental gold medal after a break of 20 years. Also in Munich, in 2002, Ionela Tîrlea won the only title for Romania, in the 400m hurdles.

The Romanian swimmer David Popovici, gold medalist in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, was named the best swimmer in the mens swimming events at the European Swimming Championships in Rome. We recall that, in the 100m event David Popovici registered a new world record, and in the 200m race he set a new competition record. In a ranking based on the best performances at the European Championships hosted by Italy, David Popovici took first place in the mens category, with 1,003 points. In the womens category, the first was the Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte, with 985 points. On Wednesday, David Popovici withdrew from the 400m freestyle final of the European Championships, to which he had qualified with the fourth time.

The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep withdrew from the WTA 1,000 tournament in Cincinnati on Wednesday, ahead of her second round match against Russian Veronika Kudermetova. According to the organizers, Halep withdrew due to an injury to her right thigh. In the first round, the Romanian had passed the Russian Anastasia Potapova, after, last week, she had won another WTA 1000 tournament, in Toronto. (LS)

18 August 2022
August, 16, 2022

MEDAL Romanian swimmer David Popovici won gold in the 200
meter freestyle race of the European Aquatics Championships in Rome. Popvici,
17, the world’s en titre champion, ended the race in one minute, 42 seconds and
97 hundredths, a new world and European record. We recall that Popovici also
walked away with gold from the 100 and 200 meter freestyle races of the World
Championships in Budapest. The Romanian swimmer also got the title on Saturday
night in the 100 meter freestyle race with a new world record of 46 seconds and
86 hundredths. The Romanian swimmer is also expected to run in the 400 meter
race on Wednesday.

BUDGET The government in Bucharest is this week preparing the first budget adjustment
in 2022, which has been described by the country’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca
as positive. The Ministries of Finance, Labour and European Projects are to get
more money and so are the Ministries of Healthcare, Energy, Transport, Justice
and Agriculture. The Ministries of the Interior, the Environment and Culture have
seen their funds trimmed as Finance Minister Adrian Caciu has announced that a
key priority are the measures the Executive has taken in order to boost the economy
and support the citizens against the backdrop of a soaring inflation rate. Among
the aforementioned measures there are a support scheme aimed at offsetting
growing prices in gas and electricity, state subsidies for fuel consumption in
agriculture as well as credits for farmers. Under the new measures consolidated
budget deficit is estimated to exceed 16 billion euros, which account for 5.8%
of the GDP.

EXAM Roughly 35 thousand students are presently taking the national
baccalaureate exam in the autumn session, which kicks off today. 22 thousand of
them have graduated this year and the exam’s final results are to be made
public on September 3rd. The success rate in the first session of this exam
held in July stood at 75% being the highest in the past 10 years.

BORDER Over 1, 500, 000 people, Romanian and foreign
nationals, have crossed Romania’s borders over August 12th and 15th the General
Border Police Inspectorate has announced today. The most intense traffic has
been reported at Romania’s border with Hungary. 13 thousand Ukrainian nationals
entered Romania on Monday 0.2% more than in the previous day, which brings up to
2 million the number of refugees that have crossed into Romania since the
beginning of the conflict in February.

UKRAINE
A pro-Russia
separatist court in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, has charged five foreign
nationals, including a Swede, a Croat and a Brit, captured fighting alongside
the Ukrainian forces with being mercenaries. According to Russian media the
three could face a possible death sentence. We recall that authorities in
Dontesk in June sentenced to death two British citizens and a Moroccan but
didn’t apply the sentence yet. According to some reports, Ukrainian artillery
has struck the headquarters of Russia’s shadowy Wagner paramilitary group of
mercenaries in eastern Ukraine. The Wagner group was deployed to Crimea and
Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014, when Russia-backed forces ousted Ukrainian
soldiers from areas they later declared to be part of Russia. Wagner units have
also been deployed to Syria, Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic.
Western intelligence links the group to Russian oligarch Yevgheny Prigozhin,
who was dubbed Putin’s chef as his catering business has long helped President
Putin and his armed forces.

(bill)

16 August 2022
Sports Flash

Romanian athletes are attending several championships presently underway in Europe. Italian capital Rome is these days hosting the European Aquatics Championship and Romanian swimmer David Popovici is the odds-on favourite in the 100 and 200 meter free-style races, where he is world champion. Popovici will also be competing in the 400 meter free-style race and in the 4×100 meter relay race.

Until August 21st, Munich in Germany is hosting the multi-sport European Championships, which is to include competitions in several disciplines such as athletics, beach volleyball, kayak-canoe, cycling, rowing, artistic gymnastics, bouldering, table tennis and triathlon. Romanian athletes stand good chances to win medals in rowing and kayak-canoe competitions. Defending European champions, the Romanian double scull team made up of Ancuta Bodnar and Simona Radis stands good chances to win a medal in the aforementioned the competition and so does the Romanian eight, winner of the latest European Championship hosted by Italy.

We also recall that the Romanian rowers of the mens four and eight walked away with silver medals from the Italian competition and so did our womens double. In the lightweight womens single scull race, where Gianina Beleagă is the European vice-champion, Romania is being represented by Ionela Cozmiuc, as Beleagă has become part of the Romanian four and eight in the same competition.

Cătălin Chirilă stands good chances to win a medal for Romania in the 500 and 1000 meter canoe single races as one week ago he reaped a world title in the 1000 meter race and a silver medal in the 500 meter race in Halifax, Canada. His prize closed also includes a gold medal he won together with Victor Mihalachi in 1000 meter race of the European Games in Minsk and a bronze one with the same team mate in the latest edition of the European championships hosted by Poznan in Poland.

A delegation of 20 athletes is representing Romania at the European Gymnastics Championships. We recall that Romania won silver at the European championships in Mersin Turkey in 2020. Larisa Iordache won gold in the beam and floor events and silver in the vault event. In the same competition Romanias junior team obtained gold in all the events as well as in the team competition.

Ana Maria Bărbosu won five medals in various events of the aforementioned competition while Maria Ceplinschi won silver in the individual all-round event and the floor event and Andreea Preda walked away with bronze from the beam event. In the mens competition only one medal for Romania in Turkey. Gabriel Burtanete won gold in the vault event of the junior competition.

(bill)

11 August 2022