Radio România Internațional

Tag: Tecau

  • The Year 2021 in Review

    The Year 2021 in Review

    Under the Sign of the Pandemic




    In 2021 Romania
    was for the second year affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Facing wave after
    wave of an epidemic caused by the dreadful virus, the Romanians had no choice
    but to comply with the restriction measures imposed by the authorities, which
    displeased with a vaccine rollout that didn’t go as planned, made decisions
    that mainly affected the rights and liberties of those who refused the vaccine.
    The low infection rate in summer was followed by another outbreak in autumn
    with an increased number of infections and related fatalities. The fourth wave
    took a heavy toll on the lives of the Romanians and according to statistics,
    the most difficult period since the onset of the pandemic in Romania was
    registered in mid-October when ICUs were overwhelmed and Bucharest had to ask
    for international assistance. 2021 was also the year of hospital fires, which
    killed scores of the infected patients. The first incident took place in Piatra
    Neamt, north-eastern Romania in 2020, and was followed by others in Bucharest
    and Constanta the following year. The dark situation prompted the Romanian
    president, Klaus Iohannis, to make the famous statement that ‘the state failed
    in its fundamental mission of protecting its citizens’. Luckily the situation
    improved towards the end of 2021 putting Romania in the green tier, a unique
    case in Europe.






    Political crises




    In this year of
    medical crisis, Romania had no less than four Health Ministers – two from the USR,
    one from UDMR and a PSD representative who started his mandate in late
    November. The political unrest kicked off in April upon the then Prime Minister
    Florin Citu’s decision to sack the USR Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu. On
    September 1st, Justice Minister Stelian Ion was also dismissed and
    the political crisis that followed lasted for three months. An enraged USR left
    the ruling coalition and in October endorsed a censure motion initiated by the
    Social-Democratic opposition. Two attempts to forge a minority cabinet failed
    and the Romanian politicians resorted to a third alternative no one forecast.
    Following intense negotiations, two political enemies PNL and PSD decided to
    shake hands and work together with the UDMR part of an Executive headed by the
    retired army general, Liberal Nicolae Ciuca. Florin Citu headed the Senate and
    the National Liberal Party, the presidency of which he won in September against
    the former PNL leader Ludovic Orban, who eventually left the party and decided
    to forge a new political formation. The USR also held its own elections won by
    the former European commissioner Dacian Ciolos.




    A Standard of Living going down




    Skyrocketing
    energy prices were felt all over Europe with Romania bearing the brunt. The
    situation worsened after the liberalization of energy market on January 1st.
    After a chaos of almost half a year, the Romanians and the market apparently
    calmed down. Sadly, in summer energy prices went through the roof again and the
    government had to issue an emergency ordinance to cap energy prices for
    households and cover part of the costs through the state budget. The latest price
    hikes reignited inflation, which in October went up to 7.9% although employees
    hadn’t seen a pay rise in years. The Romanian economy is expected to register a
    7% growth in 2021 after a contraction of 3.7% caused by the pandemic in 2020. Salvation
    could come from the National Plan of Recovery and Resilience approved by
    Brussels in autumn, under which Romania would get up to 29 million euros in
    investment until 2026.






    Romanian
    culture at home and abroad




    During the 25th
    edition of the George Enescu International Festival, in September classical
    music lovers from Romania were delighted by the performances of 3.500 artists
    from their country and from abroad. During the prestigious event, 32 orchestras
    from 14 countries performed on stages in Bucharest and other big cities across
    the country.


    2021 was also an
    important year for the Romanian cinematography! Director Radu Jude’s film ‘Bad
    Luck Banging or Loony Porn’ reaped the Golden Bear award at the International
    Film Festival in Berlin while Alexander Nanau’s documentary Colectiv got
    Oscar nominations for the best international feature film and best documentary
    feature.






    2021- Not a good year for Romanian
    athletes




    The National
    Arena in Bucharest hosted four matches, three of group C and one in the round
    of sixteen of the European Football Championship, a competition for which the
    Romanian national squad had failed to qualify. And to add insult to injury, athletes
    from Romania managed to walk away only with four medals from the 32nd
    edition of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, coming only 46th in a nation
    ranking.


    The world’s best
    epee fencer Ana Maria Popescu announced her withdrawal from competitions after a
    prestigious activity of two decades. Famous tennis player Horia Tecau also
    withdrew from competitions in 2021 and so did world-reputed gymnasts Marian
    Dragulescu and Larisa Iordache.




    Those who left us …




    Let’s not forget
    those who left us in 2021! Actors Ion Dichiseanu and Ion Caramitru – the
    director of the National Theatre in Bucharest and chair of Romania’s Theatre
    Union, writer Ileana Vulpescu; multiple kayak-canoe champion Ivan Patzaichin,
    historian Dan Berindei; director and leading figure of Radio Romania, Dan
    Puican; folk singer Doru Stănculescu and Victor Socaciu as well as the
    appreciated traditional music singer Benone Sinulescu.




    (bill)









  • November 19, 2021

    November 19, 2021

    GOVERNMENT The Social
    Democrats and the Liberals are resuming negotiations today on the structure and
    governing programme of the cabinet they intend to form jointly with the
    Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians.Yesterday the 2 parties agreed to have a cabinet in
    place by next Thursday. The National Liberal Party once again nominated the
    interim defence minister Nicolae Ciucă for the PM post. In turn, the Social
    Democrats nominated their president Marcel Ciolacu. He said the order in the
    prime-minister rotation is yet to be decided, but the party that will have the
    first PM designate will allow the other party to appoint the finance minister.


    COVID-19 In the past 24 hours Romania saw 2,889 new COVID-19
    cases and 281 related fatalities, 27 of
    them from an earlier date. Intensive care units across the country
    remain overcrowded, in spite of the drop in infection rates. In the capital city Bucharest the rate reached 4.34 per
    thousand, as against the 16.54 per thousand peak reported on October 22. According
    to official data nearly 89,000 people received COVID vaccines on Thursday, of
    whom around 24,000 got the first dose. As of recently Romania has more than 7
    million fully vaccinated citizens.


    TRAVEL The National
    Committee on Emergency Situations updated the list of countries and territories
    by COVID-19 incidence rates. Germany, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria and the UK are now red-list countries,
    while France, Portugal, Monaco, Chile, Lebanon and Guyana were included in the
    medium-risk category. The updated list comes into force on November 21, at
    midnight.


    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Horia Tecău announced on
    Thursday the end of his professional career at the age of 36. He has won 38
    doubles tournaments, including the Wimbledon and the US Open, together with
    Jean-Julien Rojer (Netherlands), and played another 24 finals. He also won the
    silver in the Rio Olympics in 2016, teaming up with Florin Mergea (Romania), and
    a mixed doubles final at the Australian Open, with Bethanie Mattek-Sands (US).
    Horia Tecău’s last match will be for the Romanian team in the Davis Cup match
    against Peru, at the end of November. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Athlete of the Week

    Athlete of the Week

    North America has recently become
    home to top international tennis competitions. These are presently being hosted
    by the United States and Canada before the upcoming US Open in Flushing
    Meadows, due to kick off on August 30th. The Canadian city of
    Toronto last week hosted a major tennis tournament with total prize of more
    than 2,850,000 dollars. Romania was represented only by Horia Tecau, who,
    together with German player Kevin Krawietz, had made it to the semifinals. The
    Romanian-German pair was eventually stopped in its tracks by top-seeded Nikola
    Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia who won the game 7-6, 7-6.






    For his performance in Toronto,
    Radio Romania international has designated Horia Tecau athlete of the week.






    Tecau, who comes 20th in
    ATP doubles ranking, was born in Brasov, southern Romania on January 19th
    1985 and took up tennis at the age of 7. In 2002 he became champion in the
    under-21 competition in Wimbledon together with his compatriot Florin Mergea.
    He turned professional a year later and since 2008 he has been among the
    world’s top 100 players.






    In November 2009 he joined the
    world’s best 50 players and has gone up in the doubles ranking until the second
    position, which he occupied in November 2015 after his winning together with
    his Dutch teammate Jean Julien Rojer the Champions Tournament in London. Tecau
    and his compatriot Florin Mergea became silver medalists in the doubles contest
    of the Olympic Games in Rio. In the mixed doubles Tecau should have played
    together with Simona Halep, Romania’s best female player at present.
    Unfortunately, injuries have prevented Halep from playing in Tokyo.




    (bill)

  • Athlete of the Week

    Athlete of the Week

    North America has recently become
    home to top international tennis competitions. These are presently being hosted
    by the United States and Canada before the upcoming US Open in Flushing
    Meadows, due to kick off on August 30th. The Canadian city of
    Toronto last week hosted a major tennis tournament with total prize of more
    than 2,850,000 dollars. Romania was represented only by Horia Tecau, who,
    together with German player Kevin Krawietz, had made it to the semifinals. The
    Romanian-German pair was eventually stopped in its tracks by top-seeded Nikola
    Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia who won the game 7-6, 7-6.






    For his performance in Toronto,
    Radio Romania international has designated Horia Tecau athlete of the week.






    Tecau, who comes 20th in
    ATP doubles ranking, was born in Brasov, southern Romania on January 19th
    1985 and took up tennis at the age of 7. In 2002 he became champion in the
    under-21 competition in Wimbledon together with his compatriot Florin Mergea.
    He turned professional a year later and since 2008 he has been among the
    world’s top 100 players.






    In November 2009 he joined the
    world’s best 50 players and has gone up in the doubles ranking until the second
    position, which he occupied in November 2015 after his winning together with
    his Dutch teammate Jean Julien Rojer the Champions Tournament in London. Tecau
    and his compatriot Florin Mergea became silver medalists in the doubles contest
    of the Olympic Games in Rio. In the mixed doubles Tecau should have played
    together with Simona Halep, Romania’s best female player at present.
    Unfortunately, injuries have prevented Halep from playing in Tokyo.




    (bill)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    Last week Toronto saw a major
    tennis tournament with total prizes of 2,850,975 dollars. The singles
    competition was won by Daniil Medvedev of Russia who on Sunday secured a two-set
    win, 6-4, 6-3, against Reilly Opelka of the USA. Romanian Horia Tecau and his
    teammate Kevin Krawietz of Germany were stopped in their tracks in the doubles
    competition’s semifinals by Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia. For their
    performance in Toronto, Tecau and Krawietz have been rewarded with 32,840 dollars
    and 360 ATP points.






    Romanian rowers walked away with
    two gold medals and one bronze from the Under-21 World Championship held in
    Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The Romanian men’s pair and women’s four reaped gold and the
    Romanian eight stepped onto the podium’s third step.






    Sunday saw the first derby of
    Romania’s first football league. On the National Arena in Bucharest, Rapid
    clinched a 1-0 win against FCSB. Brazilian Paulo Vinicius sealed the points on
    39th minute through a self-goal during a match that was attended by
    30 thousand spectators. Rapid have been unbeaten for five legs whereas FCSB
    have seen their first defeat in the present edition of the championship.






    Here are the other results of the
    latest leg. On Friday, FC Voluntari secured a 1-0 win against Academica
    Clinceni and so did CFR Cluj in a home match against Farul Constanta. On
    Saturday, FCU Craiova ended in a goaless draw their home game against Chindia
    Targoviste, while in Arad, local side UTA clinched a 1-0 win against
    Universitatea Craiova. On Sunday, FC Arges obtained a 2-0 away win against
    Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe.


    The leg’s last two games are due on
    Monday when Gaz Metan Medias takes on FC Botosani and Dinamo Bucharest plays CS
    Mioveni. CFR tops the table with the highest number of points possible, 15,
    followed by Rapid with 13.


    (bill)

  • Sports Roundup

    Sports Roundup

    Last week Toronto saw a major
    tennis tournament with total prizes of 2,850,975 dollars. The singles
    competition was won by Daniil Medvedev of Russia who on Sunday secured a two-set
    win, 6-4, 6-3, against Reilly Opelka of the USA. Romanian Horia Tecau and his
    teammate Kevin Krawietz of Germany were stopped in their tracks in the doubles
    competition’s semifinals by Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic of Croatia. For their
    performance in Toronto, Tecau and Krawietz have been rewarded with 32,840 dollars
    and 360 ATP points.






    Romanian rowers walked away with
    two gold medals and one bronze from the Under-21 World Championship held in
    Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The Romanian men’s pair and women’s four reaped gold and the
    Romanian eight stepped onto the podium’s third step.






    Sunday saw the first derby of
    Romania’s first football league. On the National Arena in Bucharest, Rapid
    clinched a 1-0 win against FCSB. Brazilian Paulo Vinicius sealed the points on
    39th minute through a self-goal during a match that was attended by
    30 thousand spectators. Rapid have been unbeaten for five legs whereas FCSB
    have seen their first defeat in the present edition of the championship.






    Here are the other results of the
    latest leg. On Friday, FC Voluntari secured a 1-0 win against Academica
    Clinceni and so did CFR Cluj in a home match against Farul Constanta. On
    Saturday, FCU Craiova ended in a goaless draw their home game against Chindia
    Targoviste, while in Arad, local side UTA clinched a 1-0 win against
    Universitatea Craiova. On Sunday, FC Arges obtained a 2-0 away win against
    Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe.


    The leg’s last two games are due on
    Monday when Gaz Metan Medias takes on FC Botosani and Dinamo Bucharest plays CS
    Mioveni. CFR tops the table with the highest number of points possible, 15,
    followed by Rapid with 13.


    (bill)

  • June 8, 2021

    June 8, 2021

    COVID-19 On Monday Romania reported under 100
    SARS-CoV 2 infections, a first in the past year with all its regions presently
    in the so-called green zone. 63 new fatalities have been reported but 47 of
    them are figures from last year and the beginning of 2021 and have been
    introduced in the data base upon a request from the Health Ministry following
    the latest checking. Only 315 patients are in intensive care while the people’s
    interest in vaccination has significantly diminished. Less than 50 thousand
    have been vaccinated in the past 24 hours amid concern that the holiday season might
    contribute to the spreading of more contagious variants. Almost 4 million
    Romanians have been fully vaccinated so far. 8,500 teenagers have so far got
    the Pfizer vaccine one week after the campaign for this age bracket kicked off.






    GDP
    In the first three months
    of the year Romania had a 2.8% higher GDP than in the 4th quarter of
    last year. However, the country’s GDP is 0.2% lower than in the same period of
    2020, data released by the National Institute for statistics on Tuesday shows.
    The IMF experts have envisaged a strong economic recovery in Romania this year
    with a real GDP growth of 7%. Pundits have cautioned though that the main risk
    of not meeting this figure is a potentially negative development in the
    pandemic.






    VISIT Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is
    today receiving in Bucharest his Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin who is
    paying an official visit to Romania. According to the presidential
    administration, the visit reflects ‘the solidity’ of the bilateral relations
    and the fact that Israel remains a ‘key’ partner with strategic valences for
    Romania in the Middle East. Talks will be focusing on ways of developing and
    deepening the bilateral relations in all domains of common interest as the visit
    is coming against the background of celebrating 73 years of uninterrupted
    diplomatic relations between Romania and Israel on June 11th. Also
    high on the talks agenda are cooperation in the fields of economy and
    healthcare including in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, education in the
    Holocaust and other measures to fight anti-Semitism in Romania as well as
    cultural and other inter-human exchanges. President Rivlin is expected to
    deliver a speech in Parliament on June 9th, and hold talks with the
    heads of the two chambers, Anca Dragu and Ludovic Orban. The Romania – Israel
    Economic Forum is due on the same day.






    TENNIS The Romanian-German pair Horia
    Tecau – Kevin Krawiets is today playing a Columbian pair made up of Juan
    Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. Tecau and Krawiets have lost two finals this
    year, in Rotterdam and Barcelona. In the women’s doubles, Irina Begu and Nadia
    Podoroska of Argentina have qualified for the quarters and will be up against
    Petra Martic of Croatia and Shelby Rogers, USA.






    CONFERENCE
    The head of Romania’s Chief of Staff, lieutenant general Daniel Petrescu is in
    Sarajevo to participate in the 14th Conference of General Chiefs of
    Staffs in the Balkan states on military cooperation. The event is aimed at
    developing regional cooperation by strengthening security and assuring a
    climate of stability in the Balkans, by increasing the interoperability of the
    armed forces in the region by their participation in joint drills and missions,
    as well as by identifying and developing regional mechanisms of crisis
    management. On the sidelines of the conference in Sarajevo, the Romanian military
    official is going to have talks with Major General Alexander Platzer, commander
    of the ‘EUFOR ALTHEA’ operation and with the Romanian troops stationed in Camp
    Butmir. The conference, which is held annually, is an instrument complementary
    to other regional initiatives aimed at boosting cooperation between nine
    countries in South-Eastern Europe – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
    Greece, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey.


    (bill)





  • March 28, 2021

    March 28, 2021

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






    HOLIDAY Catholic believers are today celebrating Palm Sunday
    marking our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where people welcomed him
    with palm branches. This year in Italy, a country, which imposed some of the most
    severe anti-Covid measures, religious services, including at the Vatican, will
    be attended by a smaller number of believers. Palm Sunday also marks the
    beginning of the Passion Week, when Christians are getting ready to celebrate
    the Resurrection of Christ. According to Radio Romania correspondent in Rome,
    this Passion Week is almost similar to that last year when Pope Francis prayed
    alone in San Pietro square. This year, Catholic believers are celebrating
    Easter on April 4th whereas the Orthodox, who are a majority in
    Romania will mark the resurrection of Christ on May 2nd.






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






    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football side are today playing their second
    game in the World Cup 2022 preliminaries against Germany. Our footballers on
    Thursday clinched 3-2 home win against North Macedonia and are to take on
    Armenia in an away game on the last day of March. Romania’s group also includes
    Iceland and Lichtenstein and the first side in the ranking qualifies for the
    final tournament. Sides on the second position are to play tie matches. On
    Saturday night, Romania’s under-21 side secured a 2-1 win against Hungary in
    Budapest, in a game counting towards the Group A of the European Under-21 Championship.
    On Wednesday Romania ended in a one-all draw their game against the strong side
    of the Netherlands and will be up against Germany on March 30th. The
    first two sides in the group will qualify for the final tournament due over May
    31st and June 6th.






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




    (bill)



  • Nachrichten 23.02.2020

    Nachrichten 23.02.2020

    Rumäniens ernannter Premierminister Ludovic Orban geht am Montag ins Parlament, um das Votum zur Amtseinsetzung für sein neues Kabinett zu beantragen. Die 16 Minister des Kabinetts Orban II, in derselben Struktur und Zusammensetzung wie die infolge eines Misstrauensantrags zurückgetretene Regierung, wurden in den Fachausschüssen der Bukarester Legislative angehört. Der Plan der National-Liberalen Partei PNL sieht vor, dass zwei Regierungskabinette abgelehnt werden, damit die Auflösung des Parlaments und die erwarteten Neuwahlen stattfinden können. Die Neuwahlen könnten, wie Ludovic Orban sagte, zwischen dem 15. und 30. Juni stattfinden, in der gleichen Zeit wie die Kommunalwahlen. Die Sozialdemokratische Partei PSD hat jedoch angekündigt, dass sie an der Abstimmung im Parlament über die Amtseinsetzung der neuen Regierung nicht teilnehmen werde. Sollte das Quorum nicht erreicht werden, könnte die Amtseinsetzung der Regierung Orban II verschoben werden. Ebenfalls am Montag wird das rumänische Verfassungsgericht über den Antrag der Präsidenten der beiden Kammern des Parlaments debattieren. Die zwei behaupteten, dass das Staatsoberhaupt, Klaus Iohannis, den zurückgetretenen Premierminister wieder zur Bildung einer neuen Exekutive ernannt habe. Dies verstoße gegen den Willen der Legislative, so die Präsidenten der zwei Kammer des rumänischen Parlaments.



    Das Außenministerium von Bukarest hat bekanntgegeben, dass angesichts des Auftretens neuer Fälle von Infektionen mit dem COVID-19-Virus in Italien sowie der großen Gemeinschaft rumänischer Bürger aus den betroffenen Regionen in der rumänischen Botschaft in Rom eine Notfallgruppe gebildet wurde, die die Situation überwacht und in ständigem Kontakt mit den italienischen Behörden steht. Die italienischen Behörden haben keine Fälle von rumänischen Bürgern mit dem neuen Coronavirus gemeldet, so das Gesundheitsministerium. Aufgrund der Dynamik der Reisen rumänischer Bürger auf den Landstraßen und der Flüge zwischen Italien und China könnte Rumänien mit neuen Fällen von Infektionen mit dem Coronavirus konfrontiert werden. In Italien sind die meisten Krankheitsfälle in den nördlichen Regionen der Lombardei und des Veneto zu verzeichnen, wo mehr als 300 Tausend Rumänen leben. Das Gesundheitsministerium hat angekündigt, dass alle Rumänen, die aus den beiden unter Quarantäne stehenden Regionen Italiens, nach Rumänien zurückkehren, 14 Tage lang isoliert werden. Das medizinische Personal an den Grenzübergängen wurde aufgestockt.



    SPORT – Die rumänische Tennisspielerin Simona Halep, die Nummer 2 der Welt, hat das das mit über 2.600.000 Dollar dotierten WTA-Turnier in Dubai, in den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten, gewonnen. Simona Halep hat die Kasachin Elena Rîbakina (19 WTA) mit 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 dramatisch besiegt. Die Rumänin gewann den Titel in Dubai zum zweiten Mal, nachdem sie bereits 2015 diesen Titel gewonnen hatte. Nächste Woche werden der rumänische Tennisspieler Horia Tecău und der Niederländer Jean-Julien Rojer am Doppeltest des ATP-Turniers in Dubai teilnehmen, bei dem es insgesamt fast 2.800.000 Dollar zu gewinnen gibt. Die beiden spielen in der ersten Runde gegen die Deutschen Kevin Krawietz / Andreas Mies, die Nummer drei der Favoriten und die Meister von Roland Garros. Tecau und Rojer gewannen 2017 und 2018 zwei Titel in Dubai, und im vergangenen Jahr standen sie im Halbfinale.



    Die Frühjahrsausgabe der rumänischen Tourismusmesse ist am Sonntag in Bukarest zu Ende gegangen. Auf der Messe präsentierten mehr als 300 Reisebüros ihre Reisepakete im In- und Ausland, auch für die Osterzeit. Die Veranstalter versprachen erhebliche Ermäßigungen, bis auf 50%. Die beliebtesten Reiseziele sind: die Türkei, Griechenland, Spanien, Tunesien und Ägypten, aber es gibt auch Angebote für exotische Ferien auf Bali oder in Thailand.



    Die 70. Ausgabe der Internationalen Filmfestspiele Berlin, eines der wichtigsten Filmfestivale der Welt, läuft noch bis zum 1. März. Es werden 340 Filme vorgeführt. Für den Wettbewerb um den großen Preis Goldener Bär wurden 18 Produktionen ausgewählt. Der neue Spielfilm des rumänischen Regisseurs Cristi Puiu, Malmkrog, ist in der neuen Sektion Encounters zu sehen. Es handelt sich um einen historischen Spielfilm, eine Filmadaption in französischer Sprache nach dem Gedicht Drei Begegnungen des russischen Philosophen und Schriftstellers Vladimir Soloviov. Ein weiterer rumänischer Regisseur, Radu Jude, beteiligt sich an der Sektion Forum mit zwei Filmen Typographische Großschreibung und Ausfahren der Züge aus dem Bahnhof. Radu Jude ist auch mit einem Projekt auf der Filmmesse vertreten: Somnambulii “Die Schlafwandler, das er als eine populäre Komödie über Sex, Technologie und Gesellschaft beschreibt.

  • Sportevents: Gewichtheben-EM, ATP-Turnier in Basel, Fußball (1. Liga)

    Sportevents: Gewichtheben-EM, ATP-Turnier in Basel, Fußball (1. Liga)

    Rumäniens Bilanz bei der Gewichtheber-EM für Jugendliche in Bukarest ist gut ausgefallen: insgesamt 25 Medaillen standen am Ende zu Buche, davon vier aus Gold, 11 aus Silber und 10 aus Bronze. Die ersten Goldmedaillen hatte Bianca Dumitrescu gewonnen, in der Kategorie Juniorinnen bis 45 Kilogramm – sie war im Stoßen und in der Gesamtwertung erste. Die nächste Goldmedaille stammte ebenfalls von einer Juniorin: in der Kategorie 59 Kilogramm gewann Andreea Penciu den Wettbewerb im Reißen. In der Gesamtwertung landete sie auf Platz drei. Schließlich eroberte Bianca Molie in der Kategorie Jugendliche unter 64 Kilogramm eine Gold- und zwei Silbermedaillen. Sie wurde erste im Reißen, während sie im Stoßen und in der Gesamtwertung auf Rang zwei abschloss. Rumäniens Delegation hatte sich im Vorfeld der Europameisterschaft fünf Medaillen vorgenommen, der Wettbewerb galt auch als Qualifikation für die Olympischen Spiele in Tokio 2020.



    Rumäniens Tennisprofi Horia Tecău hat am Sonntag an der Seite seines Langzeit-Partners Jean-Julien Rojer aus den Niederlanden das ATP-Turnier von Basel gewonnen. Das Duo bezwang im Endspiel die US-Amerikaner Taylor Fritz und Reilly Opelka mit 7:5 und 6:3. Tecău und Rojer sicherten sich somit die Teilnahme an den ATP-Finals in London. Für den Rumänen war das Finale in Basel das 58. seiner Karriere.



    Und nun zum Fußball: Am Wochenende wurde der 14. Spieltag der ersten rumänischen Liga ausgetragen, der erste Spieltag der Rückrunde. Am Freitag trennten sich in Sfântu Gheorghe der Gastgeber Sepsi und der FC Voluntari torlos. Sepsi verschoss in der Verlängerung einen Elfmeter. Am Samstag fanden zwei Partien statt: In Ploieşti endete die Begegnung zwischen Chindia Târgovişte und Gaz Metan Mediasch 1 :1 Unentschieden und in Târgu Mureş bezwang der FCSB den FC Hermannstadt mit 4:0. Die Partien vom Sonntag: Academica Clinceni weihte das neue Stadion mit einem 0:0 gegen Universitatea Craiova ein. Anschließend besiegte Astra Giurgiu auswärts den FC Botoşani mit 2:1, das Duo Denis Alibec-Constantin Budescu war hier erneut entscheidend. Im letzten Spiel vom Sonntag gewann Dinamo Bukarest gegen Viitorul Constanţa mit 3:2. Die letzte Begegnung des 14. Spieltags wird am Montag ausgetragen, dabei empfängt Politehnica Iaşi den CFR Klausenburg. In der Tabelle führt Klausenburg mit 27 Punkten, es folgt Viitorul mit 25 Zählern.

  • Horia Tecău şi Jean-Julien Rojer, în turul 3 la Wimbledon

    Horia Tecău şi Jean-Julien Rojer, în turul 3 la Wimbledon

    Horia Tecău şi olendezul Jean-Julien Rojer s-au calificat în turul 3 al probei de dublu a turneului de tenis de la Wimbledon, al treilea Grand Slam al anului, după ce au învins cuplul francez Hugo Nys/Fabrice Martin cu 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Tecău şi Rojer şi-au asigurat un cec de 32.000 lire sterline şi 180 puncte ATP.



    În optimi, Tecău şi Rojer vor înfrunta perechea învingătoare din meciul Pablo Carreno Busta (Spania)/Feliciano Lopez (Spania) – Maximo Gonzales (Argentina)/Horacio Zeballos (Argentina), capi de serie 9.

  • July 4, 2019 UPDATE

    July 4, 2019 UPDATE

    4th JULY ‘Romania’s strategic priority is and will remain a strong
    transatlantic relation’, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday
    during the reception offered by the US embassy in Bucharest on the occasion of
    the country’s 243rd anniversary. Also attending the event Romanian
    Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has conveyed a message of congratulations as
    well as wishes of peace and prosperity to all the US citizens. According to a
    government communiqué, Romania has confirmed its statute of a trustworthy
    partner of the United States and also a staunch ally in ensuring peace as well
    as regional and global security, being known for its contribution, the fifth in
    size, to NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. At the same time, the government
    in Bucharest appreciates and warmly hails the role of the Romanian community in
    the USA as an element of rapprochement, cohesion and solid inter-human, social
    and cultural bond. The US celebrates its Independence Day on July 4th,
    marking the day when back in 1773 13 British colonies proclaimed their
    independence from the British crown to found the United States of America.












    TENNIS Romania’s best tennis player Simona Halep will be up against Victoria
    Azarenka of Belarus on Friday in the third round of the Grand Slam tournament
    in Wimbledon. Halep has outperformed another Romanian challenger, Mihaela
    Buzarnescu in the second round. Also on Thursday, another player from Romania, Monica
    Niculescu was defeated by Elise Mertens of Belgium 7-5, 6-0 in the same
    competition. On the same day a pair made up of Horia Tecau of Romania and Jean Julien
    Rojer of the Netherlands qualified for the round of 32 of the men’s doubles
    after a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 win against Italians Marco Cecchinato and Andreas Seppi.












    COURT Romania’s Constitutional Court (RCC) has postponed for July 10th
    the ruling over the motions tabled by the opposition Save Romania Union and the
    National Liberal Party and by president Iohannis concerning several Parliament
    amendments to the Penal Code and Penal Procedure Codes. The RCC judges have
    repeatedly postponed the ruling on the aforementioned amendments, which, according
    to the opposition, are contradicting not only the rule of law by weakening
    Romania’s penal policy and encouraging crime but also the Constitution. In
    turn, president Iohannis believes the amendments to the Penal Procedure Code are
    infringing on the Constitution and the principle of bicameralism. The controversial
    articles include the decriminalization of the abuse of office, and reducing the
    statute of limitations and term of parole. The two projects were endorsed by
    the decision-making Chamber of Deputies in April.










    NEVERSEA As of Thursday, the city of Constanta, on the Romanian Black
    Sea Coast, plays venue for the Neversea Festival, the largest music festival in
    Europe held on a beach. 150 famous artists will perform for four days on the Modern
    beach, before an audience of some 200,000 people. The list of guests includes
    Afrojack, G-Eazy, Jessy J, DJ Snake, Sean Paul, Lost Frequencies, Kadebostany,
    Salvatore Ganacci and Dub FX. Special security measures have been put in place
    to ensure the smooth running of the event. This year the festival’s budget
    amounts to some 9 million Euros.





  • May 7, 2019

    May 7, 2019

    MESSAGE The European Council president Donald Tusk on Monday proposed the Union
    leaders to adopt a joint statement for the summit on May 9th in
    Sibiu, which should convey a message of unity and trust. The president of the
    European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker is also to arrive in Romania and
    participate together with Romanian president Klaus Iohannis in a round of
    debates on Europe’s future. The event is also to be attended by 300 young
    people from the member countries. In another development Bucharest has hosted
    an international conference on ‘Children’s participation in decision-making
    processes at the EU level’. The conference brings together hundreds of
    children, experts in children rights, high EU officials as well as civil
    society representatives from member countries.












    LABOUR Authorities in Bucharest have cautioned the Romanians looking for
    employment abroad to get information about their future jobs beforehand in
    order to avoid being swindled, abducted or inhumane working conditions. According
    to official sources, human trafficking has dropped significantly in the past
    year due to a series of campaigns run at national level. In spite of all these
    measures, the risks are still high and authorities are recommending the
    Romanians seeking employment abroad to avoid signing work contracts, which
    haven’t been translated into Romanian, to avoid job offers that sound too good
    to be true and to keep contact with the Romanian embassy in the country they
    are working in.












    TENNIS Two Romanians are today playing in the second round of the tennis
    tournament in Madrid. Third-seeded Simona Halep will be playing British
    challenger Johanna Konta, while Sorana Carstea takes on Caroline Garcia of
    France. Simona Halep won the tournament in Madrid twice, in 2016 and 2017. In
    the double contest on Monday, Romanian Horia Tecau and his Dutch partner Jean
    Julien Rojer managed a dramatic win against the all-US pair made up of Bob
    Bryan and Mike Bryan whom they beat 4-6, 7-6, 12-10. Tecau and Rojer won the
    title in Madrid in 2016. An all-Romanian pair, Simona Halep – Irina Begu, has
    qualified for the round of sixteen after a 6-2, 6-3 win against the
    Romanian-Croatian pair made up of Raluca Olaru and Darija Jurak. Halep and Begu
    will be next up against Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech
    Republic.








    VISIT Pope Francis has today arrived in
    Skopje, North Macedonia, as part of a Balkans tour, which also took him to
    Bulgaria. The Pontiff has blessed the efforts of North Macedonia and other countries
    in the Balkans to join the European Union. Pope Francis has also paid homage at
    the monument of the most famous Catholic woman, Mother Teresa, who was born in
    Skopje. The Pope has also held a mass for the small Catholic community in North
    Macedonia. During his visit to Bulgaria, the Pontiff touched upon the sensitive
    issue of migration, as almost half of Bulgaria’s working population has left
    this country. The Pope has also addressed the issue of refugees making an
    appeal that a door should be left open for these people.




    (translated by bill)

  • April 25, 2019

    April 25, 2019

    SCHEDULE The Holy See has published a detailed schedule of Pope Francis’
    visit to Romania. The Pontiff is due to arrive in Romania on May 31st
    and be meeting president Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila,
    representatives of civil society and the diplomatic corps. The Pope is expected
    to meet Romanian patriarch Daniel and deliver a speech in front of the
    Permanent Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Pope Francis and Patriarch Daniel
    will be praying together in the People’s Salvation Cathedral. The Pope’s first
    day in Romania will end with a mass at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Bucharest. On
    June 1st the Pope will deliver a mass at Sumuleu Ciuc, central
    Romania, and will next go to Iasi, in northern Romania for a visit to the local
    cathedral and a speech at the Palace of Culture Family and Youth. On June 2nd
    in Blaj, Pope Francis will deliver a mass and beatify seven martyr bishops and
    meet the local Roma community. The Pontiff will next go to Sibiu in central
    Romania and board a plane to Rome. Over 110 thousand people have enlisted to
    participate in the mass at Sumuleu Ciuc. The list includes Roman-Catholic
    believers from Pakistan, Africa, Madagascar, Australia, Israel and Canada.














    CAMPAIGN A campaign for the European Parliament election is to kick
    off on Saturday and end on May 25th. Bucharest will send to Brussels 33 MEPs,
    one more than before if Britain is going to leave the bloc. Former prime
    ministers, a president, several ministers, MEPs and mayors are among the
    candidates. Romania’s number one ruling party PSD is favourite in the election
    race together with the main opposition party PNL. They are followed by the
    opposition USR PLUS alliance and ProRomania as well as by ALDE, also part of
    the country’s ruling coalition. UDMR, the ethnic Hungarians’ Union and PMP also
    stand chances to win seats in the European Parliament. On the election day, Romanians
    are expected to vote on a referendum on justice promoted by the country’s
    president Klaus Iohannis.




    DECREE Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has today issued a
    decree on the Referendum on justice, due to take place on May 26th,
    concurrently with the European Parliament elections. Citizens are called upon
    to have their say on making illegal amnesty and pardoning on corruption charges
    as well as emergency ordinances in graft cases. The president’s move comes
    against the background of numerous legislative amendments in the judiciary
    promoted by Parliament majority and the PSD-ALDE cabinet. These controversial
    amendments have attracted a lot of heat in Romania as well as from the
    country’s European partners. Parliament has endorsed the president’s request
    for the referendum.














    TENNIS The Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau/Jean Julien Rojer will today
    be playing Jamie Murry of Britain and Bruno Soares of Brazil in the quarter
    finals of the tennis tournament in Barcelona. Tecau and Rojer on Tuesday
    defeated 2-0 the all-Spanish pair David Marrero/ Fernando Verdasco while the
    British-Brazilian pair comes after a 2-1 win against Ivan Dodig of Croatia and
    Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France.










    DRILL Resolute Castle 2019, a military drill involving the joint
    participation of engineers from Romania’s Ground Forces and from South Carolina
    National Guard is underway at the Getica training range in Cincu, central
    Romania. Romanian engineers from infantry divisions and their US counterparts
    will be involved in infrastructure projects in a bid to improve training
    facilities in Cincu. Resolute Castle is aimed at increasing the level of
    interoperability through ongoing training and the implementation of innovative
    solutions to common issues faced by army engineer troops.






    (translated by bill)

  • April 5, 2019

    April 5, 2019

    VISIT Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica Dancila is paying a formal visit
    to Slovakia at the invitation of her Slovakian counterpart, Peter Pellegrini.
    According to a communiqué of the government in Bucharest, the visit is meant to
    contribute to deepening cooperation between the two states, from a bilateral,
    European and regional perspective. Dancila will be traveling to Banska Bystrica
    for talks with the head of the Slovakian executive and will lay a wreath in the
    National Insurrection Square. The Romanian official will next travel to the
    city of Zvolen for a visit to the local military cemetery where the remains of 10
    thousand Romanian soldiers, who fought for the liberation of Czechoslovakia in
    WWll, are buried.












    MEETING An informal meeting of the EU finance ministers is taking
    place in Romania’s capital Bucharest on Friday and Saturday, against the
    backdrop of Romania’s holding the EU presidency. The meeting hosted today under
    the name Eurogrup, is bringing together Finance Ministers from the Eurozone and
    the first working session of the informal meeting of Finance Ministers and
    central bank governors, chaired by Romania’s field minister Eugen Teodorovici. Saturday
    will see the second informal meeting of EU Finance Ministers. Issues such as
    the impact of labour force mobility upon local economies and the role of
    taxation in fostering economic growth are high on the agenda of the session on
    Saturday.












    DEFENCE Romania’s Defence Minister Gabriel Les is in Warsaw to
    attend a meeting of Defence Ministers from countries, which are members of the Bucharest
    9 Initiative. The meeting, staged jointly by field ministries from Poland and
    Romania, is being attended by Defence Ministers from Bulgaria, the Czech
    Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary as
    well as by NATO officials and representatives of the US Department of Defence.
    According to the Romanian Defence Ministry, the meeting in Warsaw is an
    opportunity for tackling topical issues on NATO and EU agendas from the
    perspective of NATO anniversary summit and from Romania’s holding the EU
    half-yearly presidency.








    DRILL Between April 5th and 13th the
    Romanian navy is staging the biggest international drill in Romania’s
    territorial waters and in the international waters of the Black Sea. 14
    Romanian warships and six from Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, the Netherlands and
    Turkey are taking part in the drill during which over 2000 servicemen will be
    training to respond attacks coming from under the sea, air or surface. The
    drill’s scenario implies a coordinated crisis response carried out under a UN
    Security Council resolution. The aforementioned drill also involves the
    participation of the NATO Permanent Black Sea Force.










    TENNIS Marius Copil and Benjamin Lock are today opening the
    series of Davis Cup matches pitching the tennis sides of Romania and Zimbabwe in
    Piatra Neamt, north-eastern Romania towards Group Two of the Europe-Africa
    zone. The second game today is pitching Dragos Dima against Takanyi Garanganga,
    while on Saturday Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea will take on Benjamin Lock and
    Courtney Lock. The last two single games will oppose Copil to Garanganga and
    Dima to Lock. The two sides also met in 2000 in Harare, when Romanians secured
    a 3-2 win.










    FOOTBALL Currently signed up by Belgian team Standard Liege, the
    Romanian international footballer, 22-year old Razvan Marin has signed a
    five-year contract with Ajax Amsterdam, which begins this summer, the famous
    Dutch club has announced. Razvan Marin is the fifth Romanian footballer who got
    transferred to Ajax, after Cristian Chivu, Bogdan Lobonţ, George Ogăraru and Nicolae Mitea. Another
    Romanian, Stefan Kovacs was a headcoach for Ajax in the early 1970s. We recall
    that back then the famed Dutch team dominated European football.




    (translated by bill)