Radio România Internațional

Tag: rugby

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

     

    Romania won five medals at the European Cadet and Junior Fencing Championships 2025 in Antalya, Turkey. In the juniors category, the women’s sabre team, comprising Rosemarie Benciu, Amalia Covaliu, Catinca Dumitru and Anastasia Fusea, have won the gold, while in men’s sabre Vlad Covaliu won the silver, as did Emma Şonţ, in the women’s epee. In the cadet competitions, Amalia Covaliu won the silver medal in sabre, and Natalia Constantin won the bronze in epee.

     

    Romania’s rugby team lost the semi-final of the Rugby Europe Championship, which it played away from home against Georgia on Sunday. Georgia won 43-5, and also secured the Antim Ivireanu Cup, a trophy reflecting the results of the direct matches between the 2 teams. In the other semi-final, Portugal lost to Spain, 42-31, on Saturday, in Lisbon. Georgia and Spain will thus fight for the trophy, while Romania and Portugal will compete for third place, in the finals scheduled for Saturday, March 15. The 2 teams have already faced each other in the current edition of the competition, in the group stage, in Botoşani. Portugal won 34-6. Romania’s qualification for the semi-finals of the Rugby Europe Championship after victories against Germany and Belgium in the group stage, secured the country’s ticket for the 2027 World Cup, which will be held in Australia.

     

    Over the weekend, matches were held counting for the 29th round of the Romanian football Super League, the last but one in the regular season. On Friday, in Clinceni, Oţelul Galaţi defeated Unirea Slobozia 1-0, while in Sfântu Gheorghe Sepsi OSK tied 1-all against CFR Cluj. On Saturday, FC Botoşani pulled off the surprise of the round, beating Universitatea Cluj 1-0 away from home. Universitatea Craiova also won 1-0 in the home game against Farul Constanţa. On Sunday, in Iaşi, Politehnica defeated Petrolul Ploieşti 1-0, and the derby of the round, pitting the Bucharest-based teams Rapid and FCSB, ended in a goalless draw. The last two matches of the round, Gloria Buzău vs UTA and Dinamo București vs Hermannstadt, are due on Monday. In the standings, FCSB are in first place, with 53 points, followed by Universitatea Craiova, with 52 points. (AMP)

  • February 15, 2025

    February 15, 2025

    DNA Romanian prosecutors have placed the head of the Joint Logistic Command of the Romanian Army, General Catalin Stefanita Zisu, under legal control on bail for abuse of office with aggravating consequences – according to sources withy the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, known in Romania as DNA. The bail in Zisu’s case stands at 200 thousand Euros, which he must make available in seven days. Retired colonel Lucian Amoraritei has also been charged on several counts, such as forgery, use of forgery and abuse of office. Businessman Ionel Olteanu is also involved with the case. According to prosecutors, between 2022-2023, the two army officers approved the settlements of the invoices issued, although they knew that part of the works at the Ghencea Military Cemetery in Bucharest had not been done. The prejudice they caused was estimated at roughly 12 million lei.

     

    MSC The need for a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace in Ukraine invaded by the Russian troops is the message conveyed by the Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu at the 61st edition of the famous international security conference Munich Security Conference 2025 underway in Germany over February 14 and the 16. According to a communiqué issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest, Minister Hurezeanu will be presenting Romania’s assessments of the present regional challenges, such as the deterioration of the security situation in the Black Sea area and the implications of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The Romanian official is also going to underline the danger of the hybrid actions taken by the Russian Federation and the importance of countering suchlike activities. The head of the Bucharest diplomacy will be pleading for the continued solid support aimed at increasing the resilience of the ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. During the same conference on Friday, the new vice-president of the United States, Republican JD Vance lashed out at the European leaders, whom he compared with the autocrats who headed the repressive regimes in Europe during the Cold War. He voiced concern over Europe, which he said is retreating from its fundamental values and gave several examples of repressive measures, including the cancellation of the presidential election in Romania late last year.

     

    RUGBY On its own turf today, Romania’s national rugby side is taking on Portugal in its last match in Group B of Rugby Europe Championship 2025. Both sides are already qualified for the World Cup 2027 in Australia after their wins this month in Rugby Europe Championship. The Romanians secured a 48-10 home win against Germany and an away victory, 31-14, against Belgium. Romania failed to qualify only in one World Cup edition, namely in 2019, when it was disqualified due to an error of the rugby federation in Bucharest, which included in its lineup an ineligible player.

     

    WEATHER And now a couple of things about the weather, which remains cold with a code yellow of snowstorms in the country’s east and south-east. Meteorologists say that it is going to snow even in the country’s capital Bucharest. Temperatures are ranging between minus 3 and 9 degrees Celsius. Snowfalls are expected in most of the Romanian territory, where the weather is getting colder.

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  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Romanian football team FCSB has made a giant leap towards Europa league’s round of 16. ON Wednesday in the first leg counting towards the competition’s play-off, holders FCSB grabbed a 2-1 away win against PAOK Thessalonica. PAOK drew first blood on 21 minutes through their Tanzanian footballer Mbwana Samatta.

    Late into the first half PAOK’s Brazilian player Taison got yellow-booked for the second time around, so PAOK were one main shy on the pitch. In the second half of the game FCSB took advantage of that and scored twice, through Andrei Gheorghita on 50 minutes and Cameroonian player, Joyskim Dawa, in the 60th minute. The return leg is scheduled this coming Thursday, on February 20.

    This coming weekend will see matches being played, counting towards the Romanian Superleague’s 27th round. On Friday, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe play FC Hermannstadt Sibiu, while Universitatea Craiova are pitted against Oţelul Galaţi. On Saturday, Petrolul Ploiesti play a home game against UTA, Arad, while in Bucharest, Dinamo receive the visit of Farul Constanţa.

    On Sunday, Poli Iaşi play a home game against CFR Cluj, while FCSB travel to Buzău, for a game against the local side Gloria. The 27th round’s last two fixtures are scheduled on Monday, as Universitatea Cluj are pitted against Unirea Slobozia and Rapid Bucharest face FC Botoşani. At the top of the as-it-stands table are CFR Cluj and FCSB, with 46 points each. Three other teams have 45 points each, Universitatea Craiova, Universitatea Cluj and Dinamo Bucharest.

    In news from rugby, on Saturday in Botosani, the Romanian national squad play Portugal. The fixture is crucial, deciding the winner of Group B as part of Rugby Europe Championship, Europe’s second-tier competition. We recall Romania and Portugal defeated Germany and Belgium, in Group B’s first two games, thus securing one of the first two positions according to group rankings as well as the ticket for the 2027 edition of the World Cup.

    This coming weekend will see matches being played, counting towards a fresh round in the women’s version of the European handball competitions. In The Champions League’s Group A, on Saturday Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud play a home game against French opponents Metz Handball. On Sunday, CSM Bucharest take on Norway’s Storhamar, away from home. According to the group ranking, CSM are 3rd-placed, while Gloria, 7th. In Group B, Romanian vice-champion team Rapid Bucharest are 7th-placed.

    In the EHF European League on Saturday, in Group A, Dunărea Brăila play in Spain’s Elche. Danish head-coach Jan Leslie Lund’s trainees are 2nd placed according to the as-it-stands table, on a par with the top-of-the-table team, Germany’s Thüringer. In Grupa B, top-of-the-table team, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, play a home game against Borussia Dortmund.

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    Romania’s national rugby team has qualified to the 2027 edition of the World Cup, to be held in Australia. According to the rankings of Rugby Europe Championship 2025’s Group B, Romania has booked one of the first two positions having two wins on its record sheet. In an away match on Saturday, Romania defeated Belgium, 31 – 14.

    The Romanian National squad has previously trounced Germany in Bucharest, 48 to 10. This coming Saturday in Botosani, Romania takes on Portugal, in Group B’s last fixture.

    This past Sunday in Cluj-Napoca, the WTA 250 Transylvania Open women’s tennis tournament drew to a close. The event had 275,000 USD in prize money all told. The winner was Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, who defeated Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in the final, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Best-placed Romania tennis player was Jaqueline Cristian. In the women’s doubles, pairing up with Angelica Moratelli, Cristian reached as far as the final, where they were defeated, 6-3, 6-1, by the Belgian-Czech pair made of Magali Kempen and Ana Siskova.

    In women’s handball, this past weekend saw matches being played, counting towards the European competitions. In the Champions League’s Group A, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud in Slovenia on Saturday lost to Krim Ljubljana, 25 to. 28. On Sunday, CSM Bucharest grabbed a 31-30 home win against Croatian side Podravka Koprivnica For CSM, Cristina Neagu scored 8 goals, thus having a record of 1,200 goals in the Champions League.

    CSM Bucharest are 3rd placed, while Gloria, 7th. In Group B, Romanian vice-champions Rapid Bucharest sustained a 24-30 away defeat in Germany’s Ludwigsburg and are 7th-placed according to the group ranking. The first two teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals. The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th-placed teams engage in the playoffs to secure a place in the quarterfinals.

    In the EHF European League, Group A, Dunărea Brăila sustained a 28-38 away defeat by German team Thüringer. After four rounds, Dunarea Braila and Thuringer are at the top of the table in their group, with an equal number of points. In Group B, CSM Râmnicu Vâlcea grabbed a 38-34 away win against Sola of Norway. CSM Ramnicu Valcea are still at the top of the table, followed by Danish side Ikast.

    In news from football, Florinel Coman scored a goal in his Serie A debut match. On Sunday, Coman scored for Cagliari, in the game they won against Parma, 2-1. Florinel Coman scored only two minutes after he was sent to the pitch, halfway through the second half of the game. This week, midfielder Coman was given on loan to Cagliari from Al-Gharafa, until the end of Serie A’s ongoing season.

    In the Romanian Super League, FCSB are as of late at the top of the table. In the 26th round on Sunday, defending champions FCSB grabbed a 3-nil home win against Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. FCSB have right now 46 points on their record sheet. We recall Universitatea Craiova, Universitatea Cluj and Dinamo Bucharest have 45. On Friday, FC Botoşani and Dinamo drew, 1-all, on the former team’s turf.

    . On Saturday, Universitatea Craiova grabbed a 1-nil win against Clinceni, in Slobozia. In Galati, the local side Oţelul and Rapid Bucharest drew, 1-all. On Sunday, in Sibiu, Hermanstadt FC and Petrolul Ploiesti drew, 1-all. On home turf, Universitatea Cluj’s home game against Poli Iasi ended in a 2-all draw.

  • February 9, 2025 UPDATE

    February 9, 2025 UPDATE

    VOTE Over 2 thousand Romanian eligible voters residing abroad have so far registered on the website of the Permanent Election Authority to cast their ballot by mail in the presidential election due in May this year. The registration deadline is March 20th and, according to official figures, most registrations came from Germany, Britain, Switzerland, France and Spain. Romania will be hosting presidential election on May 4 and 18. We recall the first presidential round was invalidated by the Constitutional Court in December last year due to interferences in the election process.

    TALKS Romania’s Senate will next week be hosting talks with representatives of real estate agencies, notary public, and the National Agency for Cadastre. The MPs want to include in the legislation regulations for the better protection of those who want to buy houses from real estate developers. Three draft laws have already been submitted to Parliament in this respect. The move comes after hundreds of people affected by the Nordis fraudulent scheme have called for amendments to the legislation. The former PSD MP, Laura Vicol, her husband Vladimir Ciorba who is also the main shareholder in the Nordis Group, and other three persons have been placed in preventive detention in connection with the aforementioned file. The investigation is focusing on natural persons and companies accused of having raked in more than 195 million Euros from customers without giving them the apartments they paid for.

    CUP Romania’s national fifteen has qualified for World Cup 2027 after a 31-14 win on Saturday against the Belgian side in Rugby Europe Championship. Romania has thus ensured its 10th participation in the World Cup. Only in 2019, Romania was not allowed to attend the competition because it used an ineligible player in the qualifiers. In its debut match in Rugby Europe Championship 2025, Romania secured a 48-10 home win against Germany. Our players will be having their last match at home against Portugal on February 15. Romania ranks first in the standings with nine points followed by Portugal, Germany and Belgium. The first two sides are qualified for World Cup 2027.

    SPORTS CS Gloria 2018 Bistrita Nasaud, a women’s handball side from northern Romania, was outperformed by Slovenian side Krim Ljubljana 28-25 on Saturday in an away match counting towards group A of the Champions League. After that game, Gloria has few chances to qualify for the play-offs. In the same group on Sunday, CSM Bucharest defeated the Croatian side RK Podravka. In the competition’s group B, Rapid Bucharest was outperformed 24-30 by Ludwigsburg of Germany in an away game. In tennis competitions, the Romanian-Italian pair Jaqueline Cristian/Angelica Moratelli has conceded defeat to Magali Kempen of Belgium and Ana Siskova of the Czech Republic in the doubles finals of the tennis tournament Transylvania Open (WTA 250), a competition hosted by Cluj-Napoca, in north-western Romania, with more than 275 thousand dollars in prize money.

    112 Over 100 head offices of public institutions and private companies in Romania will light up in red on Tuesday to mark the European Day of the Emergency Number 112. According to its initiator, the Special Telecommunication Service, the move is aimed at drawing people’s attention to the essential role played by the unique emergency number and encouraging citizens to use it responsibly. The abusive use of the number can hinder the rapid intervention of the specialized teams where they are actually needed. Last year through the combined efforts of intervention institutions such as the police, paramedics, firefighters and others, the number of non-urgent 112 calls dropped by one million as compared to the previous years. Emergency operators received 9.7 million calls out of which 60.45% accounted for emergencies.

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  • January 31, 2025 UPDATE 2

    January 31, 2025 UPDATE 2

    Budget – Romania’s draft budget law for 2025 is going through the last stages of debate before the Government approves it in a meeting that is to take place on Saturday. The Finance Minister in the governing coalition (PSD-PNL-UDMR), Tanczos Barna, stated that there is money in the budget for investments in infrastructure, for the payment of salaries and pensions, at the level of November 2024. The budget will be built on a deficit of no more than 7% of the GDP. The funds allocated to the Presidential Administration, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies will decrease and the budgets of some ministries will increase, such as the environment, health, education or transport ministries.

     

    Chişinău – On Friday the Romanian FM Emil Hurezeanu is going on ​​a working visit to the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population), Radio Chişinău reports. The agenda of the visit includes discussions with the Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihail Popşoi as well as the reception by the country’s president, Maia Sandu, by the president of the Moldovan Parliament, Igor Grosu, and by the deputy prime minister for European Integration, Cristina Gherasimov. The two foreign ministers are to deliver a joint press statement.

     

    Rugby – The Romanian national rugby team will make their debut on Friday evening in Bucharest, in a match against Germany, in the 2025 edition of the Rugby Europe Championship. The Romanians will also play against Belgium, on February 8, away from home, in Mons, and against Portugal, on February 15, at home, in Botoşani (northeast). Romania can secure direct qualification for the Rugby World Cup in Australia, if it finishes the championship in one of the first two places of the group. With one exception, Romania has participated in all the world final tournaments.

     

    Candidacy – The president of the opposition Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, will run again in the presidential election in May. She announced that she has the support of her party and is responsible for the votes cast by citizens two months ago. In turn, the mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan, said that he maintained his decision to enter the presidential race as an independent and the governing coalition (PSD-PNL-UDMR) would support a common candidate in the race, the former Liberal leader, Crin Antonescu. We remind you that, in December, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the presidential election, citing interference by a state actor, and decided that the electoral process should be entirely resumed. The first round had been won by independent sovereigntist Călin Georgescu and the USR leader Elena Lasconi. On the other hand, European Union member states, including France, Germany and Romania, requested the Commission to take measures to protect the elections in the community space from interference by external actors.

     

    Aircraft – An F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, purchased by Romania from the Kingdom of Norway, landed, on Thursday, at the 71st General Emanoil Ionescu Air Base at Câmpia Turzii. The aircraft thus completes the 48th Fighter Squadron with all 16 aircraft, the Romanian Defense Ministry informs. The purchase of the new batch of F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft and the related package of goods and services ensures the increase of Romania’s security by defending the national or NATO airspace, in peacetime and in crisis situations, through the Permanent Combat Service – Air Policing, under NATO command.

     

    Collision – Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, sent a message of solidarity to the American people on Thursday following the collision in the air, above Washington, of an American Airlines passenger plane and a Black Hawk helicopter of the US army. “Our thoughts go out to the families of the victims” – the head of state wrote on platform X. The American Airlines plane, with 64 people on board, and the military helicopter with three soldiers on board crashed, on Wednesday evening, in the Potomac River. Extremely difficult search operations were launched. Since February 2009, there have been no fatal passenger plane accidents in the United States. (LS)

     

     

  • January 30, 2025

    January 30, 2025

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    BUDGET – Romania’s draft state budget for 2025 will be finalized today.  On Saturday it will be approved by the Government and next week by Parliament, Finance Minister Tanczos Barna announced. He said that the budget includes money for investment in infrastructure and for the payment of salaries and pensions, at the level of November 2024. The budget will be built on a deficit of no more than 7% of the Gross Domestic Product. The funds allocated to the Presidential Administration, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies will be smaller and the budgets of some ministries, such as Environment, Health, Education or Transport, will increase.

     

    ENERGY – Bucharest’s Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, has announced  that the Court rejected Greenpeace’s request to suspend the work on the Black Sea gas exploitation. He said that this is a victory for Romania’s energy independence and that the strategic project that Greenpeace tried to block in court will double Romanian gas production, create jobs and bring over 20 billion euros to the budget. Moreover, the gas from the Black Sea will ensure a more stable and lower price for Romanians, and Romania will become a regional energy supplier. Last year, Greenpeace requested in Court the suspension of the environmental agreement for the Neptun Deep project, due to concerns related to environmental protection, climate change and compliance with legislation. Neptun Deep is owned in equal shares by OMV Petrom company and the state owned company Romgaz. Production will be approximately 8 billion cubic meters annually for approximately 10 years.

     

    EVACUATION – Numerous Romanians, employed by a private military company operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), crossed the border into neighboring Rwanda on Wednesday to surrender to the authorities there, sources in Kigali said, quoted by international news agencies. The Romanians had been hired to fight alongside the Congolese army in the conflict that opposes it to the M23 rebel group, supported by Rwanda, in the Goma region. The Rwandan Ministry of Defense confirmed their surrender and spoke of “280 Romanian mercenaries” being evacuated by buses to the capital, Kigali.

     

    CRASH – An American Airlines passenger plane and a US military Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Potomac River after a mid-air collision near Reagan Washington National Airport, US officials said, quoted by international news agencies. According to Washington media, several bodies were pulled from the water and no survivors were found. American Airlines said there were 64 people on board the plane – 60 passengers and four crew members. Three military personnel were on board the helicopter. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis sent a message of solidarity, to the American people. “Our thoughts go out to the families of the victims”, Iohannis wrote on platform X.

     

    FOOTBALL – Romanian football champion FCSB and the famous English team Manchester United will meet on Thursday evening at the National Arena in Bucharest, in the eighth and final round of the main phase of the Europa League. United is in fourth place in the standings, with 15 points, and FCSB is in eighth place, with 14 points. The top eight teams qualify directly for the round of 16, while the teams ranked 9-24 must get past the the play-off to advance to the round of 16.

     

    RUGBY – The Romanian national rugby team will make their debut on Friday evening in Bucharest, in a match against Germany, in the 2025 edition of the Rugby Europe Championship. The Romanians will also play against Belgium, on February 8, away, in Mons, and Portugal, on February 15, at home, in Botoşani (northeast). Romania can secure direct qualification for the Rugby World Cup in Australia, if it finishes the championship in one of the first two places of the group. With one exception, Romania has participated in all the world final tournaments.

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    The European women’s handball championship has ended. In the final in Vienna on Sunday, Norway defeated Denmark 31 to 23. In the final ranking of the competition, Romania took 11th place. In a ceremony also held in Vienna, but on Saturday, former Romanian handball players Luminiţa Huţupan-Dinu and Carmen Amariei were included in the Gallery of European handball legends, the EHF Hall of Fame. In this classification, inaugurated in 2023, there are two more Romanians: Narcisa Lecuşanu and Cristina Vărzaru.

     

    Now swimming. Romania ended the World Aquatics Swimming Championships, also known as shorts course worlds, in Budapest without having any athlete qualified in the finals. The best result was obtained by Andrei-Theodor Proca, a swimmer who ranked 12th in the 1,500 meters event. Robert Badea, who set a new national record in the 400-meter mixed race, also stood out. The time he achieved, the 11th of the heats, was still not good enough to ensure him a place in the eight finals.

     

    Now rugby. Dinamo Bucharest won Romania’s Rugby Cup, after defeating Ştiinţa Baia Mare in the final, score 29-24. The Bucharest team scored five tries, namely two by Mihai Graure and the other three by Ovidiu Cojocaru, Joe Perez and Jondre Williams. Two of these were converted by Helarius Kisting. Kefetnse Mahlo, Ghiorghi Menabde and Adriaan Ludick scored tries for Ştiinţa Baia mare, all converted by Paul Popoaia, who also scored from a penalty kick.

     

    Let’s move on to football. Romania has found out its opponents in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Thus, the Romanian footballers will be part of group H, along with Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus and San Marino. On March 21 next year, the first match will take place in Bucharest pitting Bosnia against Herzegovina. The winners of the 12 preliminary groups will qualify directly. Competing for the other four places available for the European zone, are the 12 teams ranked second in the groups and the best ranked group winners of the League of Nations, 2024-25 edition, that did not qualify following the preliminaries.

     

    At the weekend, games were played counting for the Romanian Superliga, stage number 20. On Friday, Hermannstadt defeated in Botoşani 2-1, and Dinamo defeated Poli Iasi 2-0 in Bucharest. On Saturday, Oţelul ended the game in Galaţi with UTA in a draw, 1-1, then, in Craiova, Universitatea defeated Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe 2-1. In the last match of the day, Universitatea Cluj defeated Petrolul Ploieşti 4-1 at home. Two matches were played on Sunday: Unirea Slobozia with CFR Cluj and Farul Constanţa with FCSB, both ending with the same score: 1-1. Monday sees the last match of the stage: Rapid Bucharest with Gloria Buzău. Universitatea Cluj leads the ranking, with 36 points. Next is Dinamo, with 35 and FCSB, with 34. (LS)

  • November 24, 2024

    November 24, 2024

    Presidential Election – The first round of the presidential election is taking place today in Romania, with over 18 million voters being expected to go to the polls in the nearly 19,000 polling stations organized in the country. According to the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP), in the first six hours of voting across the country, the turnout was 21%, which means that about 3.8 million voters cast their vote, about 800 thousand voters  more in the urban environment than in villages. Abroad, 951 polling stations are open, and Romanian voters have been able to vote since Friday. Voting in the diaspora during the first two days of the election was rather poor, according to Radio Romania correspondents. The data provided by AEP show that the number of those who cast their vote in the first two days of the election was 223 thousand, of whom over 4,000 opted for the postal vote. The largest mobilization was of the Romanians from Great Britain, with over 42 thousand votes. They are followed by the Romanians from Germany, Italy and Spain. There are 13 candidates in the presidential race, 9 from political parties and 4 independents. Most of the ideological trends are represented in the competition, from social democrats to liberals and from pro-Europeans to populist ultra-nationalists and sovereignists. The second round of the presidential election is scheduled for December 8. On December 1, on the very National Day, the legislative election will take place. We remind you that on June 9, local and European Parliament elections took place in Romania.

     

     

    Referendum – Today, the citizens of Bucharest with the right to vote are expected to also vote in a referendum initiated by the mayor general Nicuşor Dan. They must answer two questions he proposed, which concern the way of distributing the money between the General City Hall and Bucharest’s 6 sectors and the issuance of building permits in Bucharest. A third question refers to combating drug use in schools. For the validation of this referendum, a presence of 30% of the number of voters in Bucharest is required. At the same time, valid ballots must represent at least 25% of the number of people with the right to vote.

     

    COP29 – At the UN climate summit in Azerbaijan, COP29, richer countries pledged to grant a record 300 billion dollars to developing countries to help them prepare for and prevent climate change. The decision was made at the end of negotiations that led to the extension of the summit by 33 hours and that almost collapsed. ‘It has been a difficult road, but we have reached an agreement,’ said the head of the UN climate agency, Simon Stiell. The funding promised until 2035 ‘is too weak, too late and too ambiguous’, the Kenyan Ali Mohamed said, speaking on behalf of the group of African countries. His counterpart from Malawi, which represents the 45 poorest countries on the planet, Evans Njewa, denounced the agreement as ‘lacking ambition’.

     

    ICR – The Romanian Cultural Institute announces the official opening, on November 26, of its representative office in Tokyo, Japan. ‘Japan is a center of interest for cultural operators from Romania and I am convinced that ICR Tokyo will significantly contribute to the Romanian presence on the Japanese cultural scene’, ICR president Liviu Jicman said. In turn, the Romanian ambassador to Japan, Ovidiu Raeţchi, conveyed that the opening of the ICR representative office in the Japanese capital is a strategic initiative that aims to strengthen the cultural relations between Romania and Japan, to support international artistic cooperation and to offer the Japanese public the opportunity to discover and appreciate the richness and diversity of the Romanian cultural heritage. The first cultural actions of the new structure will be the exhibition of works from the collection of the Japanese photographer Kosey Miya, which capture the charm of Maramureş, and a concert of the Japanese artist Fumiko Sakura. With the establishment of the Romanian cultural center in Tokyo, the number of ICR representative offices abroad reaches 19.

     

    Rugby – The Romanian national rugby team was defeated by the Uruguayan national team 23-21 (13-13), on Saturday evening, at the Arch of Triumph National Rugby Stadium in Bucharest. The Romanian national team has met Uruguay 14 times so far. Romania won ten of these matches, one ended in a draw, and three were won by the South Americans. Following Saturday evening’s result, Romania ends the November test matches with two victories, against Tonga (25-15) and Canada (35-27), and with a failure, against Uruguay (21-23). (LS)

  • November 23, 2024 UPDATE

    November 23, 2024 UPDATE

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    ELECTIONS – The election campaign for the first round of the presidential elections that takes place on Sunday in Romania ended on Saturday morning. The presidential elections are scheduled for November 24, the first round, and December 8 the second round. Over 18 million voters are expected to cast their ballot on Sunday, in the nearly 19,000 polling stations opened in the country. Abroad, Romanians can vote in the 950 polling stations opened by the authorities for three days, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. On Saturday, 14 hours ahead of the opening of the polling stations in the country, about 143 thousand Romanians had voted in the Diaspora, of whom over 4,000 opted for postal voting. Most Romanians abroad voted in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Moldova, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria. There are 13 candidates in the presidential race, 9 representing political parties and 4 independents. Most ideological currents are represented in the competition, from social democrats to liberals and from pro-Europeans to populist and ultranationalists. On December 1, when the National Day is celebrated, legislative elections will be held. We recall that on June 9, local and European parliamentary elections were also held in Romania.

     

    REFERENDUM – On Sunday, the Bucharest residents entitled to vote are expected at the polls in a referendum initiated by the General Mayor of Bucharest, Nicuşor Dan. Voters must answer two questions proposed by him, which concern the way that funds are divided between the General City Hall and the city halls of the 6 Bucharest districts, and also have their say on the issuing of construction permits in the capital Bucharest. At the same time, at the initiative of the Social Democratic Party, a third question was added, through an amendment, which refers to combating drug use in schools. In order to validate this consultation, a 30% voter turnout rate is required.

     

    SCHENGEN – The interior ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Austria and Hungary, alongside the European Commissioner, Ylva Johansson, agreed on Friday in Budapest that Romania and Bulgaria will join Schengen with the land borders as of January 1, 2025. The final decision will be taken at the meeting of EU interior ministers on 12 December in Brussels. Austria has been opposing Schengen enlargement since 2022. Eventually, Vienna later accepted partial Schengen membership for Sofia and Bucharest in March, with air and sea borders, and set a roadmap for a possible extension to land borders. The agreement made public on Friday provides for border checks for an initial period of six months to minimize the potential change in migration routes that could occur.

     

    NATO – NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte met with the US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Friday, the North Atlantic Alliance spokeswoman said Saturday, according to Reuters and France press. The two discussed global security issues facing the alliance. Rutte’s meeting with Trump comes ahead of a NATO-Ukraine Council scheduled for next week, after Russia launched a hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile on military infrastructure in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Thursday. Moscow described the action as a response to the first Ukrainian attacks with US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles on military targets on Russian territory.

     

    RUGBY – The Romanian national rugby squad will face Uruguay in a test match this evening in Bucharest. The Romanian team has met Uruguay 13 times so far. Romania has won ten matches, one of which ended in a draw, while two were won by the South Americans. Romania defeated Tonga (25-15) and Canada (35-27) in test matches this month.

     

     

     

     

  • Sports roundup

    Sports roundup

    Romania’s national rugby team on Saturday grabbed their second consecutive win this fall. In a test-match hosted by the Triumphant Arch stadium in Bucharest, the national squad defeated Canada, 35-27. Ovidiu Neagu had two successful tries. Tevita Manumua, Cristi Chirica and Yanis Horvat had one successful try each. Alin Conache converted two tries. It was also Conache who converted two penalty kicks. We recall this past summer in Ottawa, Canada defeated Romania, 35 to 22.

    The Romanian national rugby squad’s autumn campaign included yet another home win last week when they defeated Tonga, 25-15. Also on Bucharest’s Triumphant Arch stadium, on November 23 Romania play Uruguay.

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    In women’s handball, all three Romanian teams that this past weekend played in the Champions League sustained defeats.

    In Group A on Saturday, Gloria Bistrita-Nasaud were defeated away from home by Danish opponents Nykøbing Falster, 32 to 24. On Sunday, CSM Bucharest were defeated, away from home, by Ferencváros Budapest, 28 to 31. CSM are 4th-placed, while Gloria are 7th-placed. In Group B, Rapid Bucharest sustained a 25-28 home defeat by Hungarian opponents Győr. Rapid Bucharest are 7th-placed in their group.

    The European Championship is drawing near, so the Champions League goes into recess until January. At the end of the group phase, the first two teams in descending order in each group advance to the quarterfinals. 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th-placed teams engage in playoff matches in a bid to advance to the quarterfinals. 7th and 8th-placed teams no longer have a place in the League.

    SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea have advanced to the group phase of Europe’s second-tier competition, EHF European League. On Sunday, SCM grabbed a 31-28 away defeat against Debrecen in the second leg of the third preliminary round. We recall a week ago SCM Ramnicu Valcea had also won the home game against Debrecen, 33-31.

    ACSH Gheorgheni ice hockey team have strengthened their lead position in the Erste Liga regional competition. ACSH Gheorgheni on Sunday grabbed a 3-2 home win against Hungary’s Budapest Jégkorong Akadémia. ACSH Gheorgheni have 40 points in 16 matches. Jégkorong Akadémia are 2nd-placed with 35 points in 18 fixtures. Debrecen are 3rd-placed, with 30 points in 16 matches. Corona Brasov follow suit, with 19 points, yet Corona have only played 14 matches.

  • November 9, 2024

    November 9, 2024

     

    FLOODS The Romanian foreign ministry announced that, according to information from the Spanish authorities, two other Romanian citizens initially reported missing following the floods in Valencia have been found dead. The ministry sends its condolences to the bereaved families. According to the ministry, following the devastating floods in Spain, four Romanian nationals have died and seven are still missing. The embassy of Romania in Madrid and the consular office in Castellon de la Plana continued to check public information regarding the death of several Romanian citizens in the recent floods in the region of Valencia, but so far no confirmations have been received from the Spanish authorities.

     

    VISIT The Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu will visit the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on November 12 and 13. He will have a meeting with his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, and will participate in the Romania-UK Economic Forum, the Romanian government announced. The government spokesperson Mihai Constantin explained that, ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to London, the Romanian government approved a memorandum that updates the Convention between the two countries in the field of taxation and prevention of tax evasion. According to Constantin, the new document takes into account the changes made in the Romanian legislation during the year 2023, as well as those related to Romania’s goal of joining the OECD. The leader of the Social Democratic Party (in power in Romania as part of a coalition with the National Liberal Party), Ciolacu is running for the presidency of Romania this month, on behalf of his party.

     

    SCHENGEN A meeting attended by Austria, Romania and Bulgaria will be organised in Budapest, Hungary on November 22, when Vienna might give up its opposition to the full accession of the two countries to the Schengen Area, Austrian media announced. The accession decision could be announced on December 12, at the upcoming Justice and Internal Affairs Council. The Austrian minister of the interior, Gerhard Kärtner, confirmed participation in the meeting with his Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts, and said discussions with both countries are ongoing. He reiterated that the essential condition for Romania’s and Bulgaria’s full Schengen accession remains the effective protection of external borders and, if necessary, controls at internal borders. According to Austrian media, the change in attitude is due to the decrease in migration in the Balkans and in the number of asylum applications in Austria.

     

    STRIKE The Romanian foreign ministry warns Romanian citizens who are in Italy or transiting or planning to travel to that country that on November 12 a 4-hour national strike will be organised by airport staff, between 1 PM and 5 PM. The strike will affect Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport, as well as the Pescara, Naples and Perugia airports. In this context, flight delays or cancellations are possible. Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone numbers of the Embassy of Romania in Italy, with calls being forwarded to the Contact and Support Center for Romanian Citizens Abroad (CCSCRS) and answered by Call Center operators around the clock.

     

    RUGBY Romania’s national rugby team plays in Bucharest today against Tonga, in their first test match this month. Romania (20th place in the world ranking) and Tonga (16th place) have met in 5 games so far, with Romania winning twice. The last time the two teams were face to face was last year, at the World Cup in France, when the Pacific team won 45-24. As part of their preparation for the 2027 World Cup qualifiers in Australia, Romania will also play at home against Canada on November 16 and Uruguay on the 23rd. In order to reach the final tournament, Romania must rank among the top two teams in Group B, i.e. win two of the three games it has to play: against Germany (February 1/2, 2025, in Bucharest), Belgium (February 8/9, away from home) or Portugal (February 15/16, again in Bucharest). Romania has taken part in all Rugby World Cup finals so far, except for the 2019 edition, when it was disqualified because it had used a naturalised Tongan player, who did not have the right to play.

     

    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu qualified for the semifinals of the WTA 125 tournament in Cali (Colombia), after defeating Australia’s Tina Smith, 6-1, 6-3. Begu (102 WTA), seed no. 2, won after an hour and 12 minutes against a younger and lower ranked opponent (322 WTA). The Romanian won USD 8,000 and 81 WTA points. Begu, who defeated her compatriot Anca Todoni in the quarter-finals, will play the final against the winner of the match between Hungarian Panna Udvardy (146 WTA) and the Slovenian Veronika Erjavec (199 WTA). (AMP)

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    Romanian football team FCSB has succeeded yet another win in UEFA Europa League. On Thursday, holders FCSB grabbed a 2-nil home win against Danish opponents Mitdjylland. Scoring for FSCB were Florin Tănase, in minute 16, and Daniel Bîrligea, in the 10th second of the second half. With three wins and a defeat, FCSB has climbed to the 8th place.

    We recall that at the end of this phase of the League, the first eight teams in descending order advance straight to the round of 16, while 9th to 24th-placed teams will be engaged in play-off fixtures 25th to 36th-placed teams as well as the teams that re defeated in the playoffs will be eliminated from competition. Holders FCSB’s next match on November 28 is the home confrontation against Greek opponents Olympiakos Piraeus.

    This coming weekend will see Romanian Football Super league matches being played, counting towards the regular season’s 18th-round. On Friday, Oţelul Galaţi play FC Botoşani, while Dinamo Bucharest take on CFR Cluj. On Saturday, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe play an away match against Poli Iasi, Universitatea Craiova play a home fixture against FC Hermannstadt, Sibiu, while in Bucharest, Rapid receive the visit of UTA Arad. On Sunday in Clinceni, Unirea Slobozia play Farul Constanţa, while in Cluj, FCSB are pitted against top-of-the-table team Universitata Cluj. On Monday, Gloria Buzau play Petrolul Ploiesti.

    Three Romanian women’s handball teams this coming weekend will play their Champions league fixtures.in Group B on Saturday, Rapid Bucharest play an away game against Gyor of Hungary. After 6 rounds, Rapid are 7th-placed in the group, with 3 points. Hungary’s Gyor are 2nd-placed, with 9 points. In Group A on Saturday, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud play a home game against Danish opponents Nykøbing Falster. On Sunday, CSM Bucureşti play Hungarian opponents Ferencvàros, also at home. CSM are 4th- placed with 8 points, while Gloria are 7th-placed, with 2 points.

    In Bucharest on Sunday, the Romanian national rugby team will play this fall’s first test-match. The national team goes against Tonga, on November 16 the national team play Canada, then on November 23rd Romania will play Uruguay.

  • Romania at the Olympic Games

    Romania at the Olympic Games

    This year marks 100 years since the first Olympic medal won by Romania. This happened in 1924 in Paris, at the seventh edition of the Games. Romania was represented in four sports: football, tennis, shooting and rugby. Without any support from the authorities, most athletes travelled to Paris by train, on low-fare tickets, for which they paid themselves with the help of the clubs they were affiliated to.

    At the Games, the Romanian athletes had a poor performance in tennis and shooting. In shooting, Romania’s best result was 13th place in the air rifle event. In tennis, Romanian players did not make it past the second round, neither in the singles, nor in the doubles competition. In football, Romania played a single match, losing nil-6 to The Netherlands.

    In rugby, a total of three teams took part in the competition: France, the United States and Romania. Romania’s taking part was instrumental to the competition being held in the first place. Romania played the opening match on May 4, 1924, on the Olympic Stadium in Colombes. France won the match 59-3, scoring 13 tries, of which 4 by Adolphe Jaureguy. Romania scored its only points through Teodor Florian, who converted a penalty kick.

    In their following match, which was against the United States, Romania were enthusiastically supported by the French fans, who saw the US as the favourite to win the Olympic title. Their support did little to help however, and Romania lost 39-nil.

    The United States went on to win the final 17-3 against the host team, France. Romania ranked 3rd in the final standings, thus winning the bronze and Romania’s first ever Olympic medal.

  • Radio Romania International Sports Club

    Radio Romania International Sports Club

    The 2024 edition of Europe’s second-tier rugby competition, second only to Six Nations and known as Rugby Europe Championship, will soon be drawing to a close. Taking the start for the 2024 edition of the event were eight teams, distributed according to two groups. Included in Group A have been Georgia, Spain, The Low Countries and Germany. Group B teams were Portugal, Romania, Belgium and Poland. With 14 points, Georgia emerged as the winner of Group A. It was followed by Spain, with 9 points,The Low Countries, with 6 and Germany, with zero points on their record sheet. Portugal was at the top of the table in Group B, with 11 points. Romanian was the runner-up team, with 9 points. Third and fourth placed were Belgium and Poland, with 9 and zero points, respectively.

     

    The only surprise was provided by Belgium winning the game against Portugal in Group B, 10-6. Advancing to the competition’s semi-finals were Georgia, Spain, Portugal and Romania, while competing for the 5th to 8th-places were the other four teams. In the semifinals, Georgia took on Romania, while Portugal played Spain.

     

    In the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Georgia trounced Romania, 43-5, 10-nil at half time. Scoring for Romania was center Fonivai Tangimana, through a successful try. In the Portuguese capital Lisbon, Portugal defeated Spain, 33-30, 13-20 at half time. In the play-out fixtures, The Low Countries thrashed Spain, 54-7, while Germany outclassed Belgium, 21-11.

     

    All four final confrontations are scheduled on March 17 and will be hosted by the Jean-Bouin stadium in Paris. Competing for the 7th and 8th positions are Poland and Belgium, while The Low Countries will play Germany for the 5th and the 6th positions. Fighting for the bronze medal will be Romania and Spain, while Georgia will play Portugal in the final. The 3rd-place final and the great final are re-enactments of the confrontations as part of Rugby Europe Championship’s 2023 edition.