Radio România Internațional

Tag: the Hague

  • November 8, 2020 UPDATE

    November 8, 2020 UPDATE

    Coronavirus Ro –New measures to prevent and limit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus will be enforced in Romania as of Monday for a period of 30 days. Face masks thus become compulsory in all localities irrespective of the number of contaminations. Shops will close at 9 p.m. and enclosed marketplaces will be shut down. Travel during the night will be banned between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. except for those people who go to work, have medical emergencies, or have to take care of children and elderly persons and provide a self declaration in this sense. All public institutions and private and state-owned companies will have to introduce the teleworking and work-from-home systems where possible. All schools will go online, but nurseries and after-school facilities remain open. Parties or meetings for various holidays and anniversaries will be banned. Restrictions occur in the context in which Romania has reported, as of February, more than 300 thousand cases of contamination with the new coronavirus, and the number of cases has increased alarmingly in the past weeks. The total death toll is nearing 7,900 and more than 1 thousand Covid-19 patients are in ICUs. On Sunday evening, hundreds of people protested in front of the government building in Bucharest against the new restrictions.



    Coronavirus world — The number of new coronavirus cases globally exceeds 50 million, with a death toll of more than 1.2 million. Many countries worldwide are introducing new restrictions in a bid to limit the pandemic second wave. In Europe, France, the UK, Ireland, Greece and some regions of Italy are in isolation. Moreover, Italy has adopted a new aid package to support the economy worth 2.9 billion Euros. Italy has reported almost 40 thousand new cases of coronavirus contamination in 24 hours. The French authorities reported on Saturday over 40 thousand COVID-19-associated deaths since the onset of the pandemic. The UK closed its border for those coming from Denmark. Slovakia ends on Sunday the mass testing for coronavirus. In another move, in the US, the country with the biggest number of deaths, 20 of the 50 states have announced new records of contaminations, almost 130 thousand new cases in 24 hours.



    Visit — The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu will pay an official visit to the Hague on Monday, at the invitation of his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok. The visit is part of the effort to intensify bilateral relations, especially in the context of the anniversary of 140 years of diplomatic relations in 2020. According to a Foreign Ministry communiqué, the two officials will review the current bilateral relations and will discuss their consolidation in domains of mutual interest. Minister Aurescu will talk about the management of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, about the Multiannual 2021-2027 Financial Framework and the recovery plan, the future EU-UK partnership agreement, Romania’s accession to the Schengen Space as well as climate change. Also the Romanian FM will underline the importance of deepening the bilateral dialogue on security issues within NATO and the EU, as well as the effort to promote a solid transatlantic relation.



    US election – The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, on Saturday congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election: “I look forward to further consolidating our solid and dynamic Strategic Partnership in all its dimensions” President Iohannis wrote in a social network post. Many world leaders, EU and NATO officials have congratulated the Democrat candidate Joe Biden for his victory against the incumbent Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election, international news agencies report. The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg congratulated Joe Biden and expressed hope to consolidate the relations between the US and Europe. The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, also congratulated Joe Biden insisting on the EU’s wish to rebuild a solid partnership with the US. Partial results and estimates made by the US media show Joe Biden as the winner of the US presidential election. The announcement of his victory was received with enthusiasm in the US where thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate. Joe Biden thanked those who voted for him and called on them to stop treating political opponents as enemies. He confessed he entered the presidential race to heal the soul of America.



    Handball — Romania’s handball team CSM Bucharest defeated Slovenia’s team RK Krim Ljubljana 25-23 on Saturday evening in Group A of the Women’s Handball Champions League. After this win, CSM Bucharest returned on top position in the group. CSM Bucharest will play the next match against Krim Ljubljana on November 14, on home ground.



    Tennis — The Romanian tennis players Irina Bara 116 WTA), Laura Paar (198 WTA) and Jaqueline Cristian (169 WTA) on Sunday failed to qualify to the main table of the Linz WTA tournament. Bara, 2nd seed in the qualifiers, was defeated in 3 set by Croat Jana Fett (235 WTA). Laura Paar lost to the top seed Oceane Dodin of France (114 WTA) 6-2, 7-5. Jaqueline Cristian 8th seeded abandoned in the first set the match against Harmony Tan of France (239 WTA) at the score 4-1 for the French player. (tr. L. Simion)

  • November 6, 2020

    November 6, 2020

    COVID-19 RO. A new pandemic record was reported in Romania for the past 24 hours: 10,260 new cases of infection with the new coronavirus reported today, mostly in Timis, in the west. Next come Cluj (west) and the capital Bucharest. Since late February, some 287,000 people have tested positive. 123 deaths have been reported today, raising the death toll to 7,663. 1,001 patients are in intensive care. Outside Romanias borders, 6,853 people have been confirmed as infected, and 126 have died of Covid-19.



    RESTRICTIONS. New restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic will be introduced in Romania on Monday. Thus, at the proposal of the National Committee for Emergency Situations, the mask would be mandatory in closed and open spaces throughout the country. Traffic restrictions will be imposed between 23:00 and 5:00 in the morning. Courses in the pre-university education system will be held exclusively online, public or private meetings and parties will be banned, and shops will close at 21:00. The measures will be valid for 30 days and must be approved by government decision.



    PANDEMIC. The total number of people infected with the new coronavirus worldwide has exceeded 49,000,000, according to data centralized by worldometers.info. The death toll is above 1,240,000. The USA, India and Brazil are the most affected. In Europe, too, the situation is getting worse. France is the European country with the highest number of infections, 1.6 million. Paris authorities have announced a record number of cases of coronavirus infection in 24 hours – more than 58,000. The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, has warned the population that, in the absence of responsible behavior, the second wave will be much more violent and longer lasting than the one in the spring. In Italy, night traffic will be banned next month, museums are closed and shopping malls are only open on weekends. In regions with many cases of Covid-19, such as Lombardy, Piedmont and Vale dAosta, the population cannot leave their localities. Greece will instate a state of national quarantine by the end of the month.



    CAMPAIGN. In Romania, the electoral campaign for the December 6 parliamentary elections has started today. Just like with the local elections, which took place in late September, authorities have limited the number of participants in election rallies and imposed strict sanitary rules. Romanians abroad will be able to vote in two days, on December 5 and 6. The Diaspora will be represented in the future legislature by 4 deputies and two senators.



    US ELECTION. Counting continues in the United States, two days after the end of the presidential election. According to CNN estimates, the Democratic candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, has so far secured 253 of the 270 required electoral votes, while current Republican President Donald Trump has 213. Electors are nominated by states based on the majority vote in each of them. Joe Biden has said he has “no doubt” about his victory over Donald Trump once all the results are known, while his Republican rival is challenging the vote count.



    HAGUE. Hashim Thaci, who resigned as president of Kosovo on Thursday after being officially indicted for war crimes by the special court in the Hague, has been detained, the international court has announced. In June, 52-year-old Thaci, the former political leader of the Kosovo separatist rebellion, was indicted for war crimes during the 1998-1999 conflict with Serbia. According to the indictment, he is guilty of nearly 100 crimes, involving hundreds of identified victims, Kosovars, Albanians, Serbians, Roma and others, including political opponents. Belgrade refuses to recognize Kosovos independence proclaimed in 2008 after the war in the late 1990s, which left 13,000 dead. Serbia is backed by allies such as Russia and China, while the United States is among the countries that immediately recognized the new Kosovo state.



    HANDBALL. Romanias mens handball national team was defeated by the Swedish team, 33 – 30, on Thursday evening, in Gothenburg, in its first match in Group 8 of the second stage of the EURO 2022 preliminaries. Sunday, Romania will play, on home turf in Baia Mare (northwest), against Montenegro. The mens national handball team has not qualified for a continental final tournament since 1996. Also on Thursday evening, the Romanian football champion, CFR Cluj (northwest), was defeated by AS Rome 5-0, in the Italian capital, in the third stage of Group A of the Europa League competition. On November 26, the two teams will meet again, this time in Romania, in Cluj-Napoca. (M. Ignatescu)