WAR IN
UKRAINE
– The fires at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine
occupied by the Russian invasion forces fuel fears of a major nuclear disaster.
International experts are still waiting on the military forces on the ground to
allow them to visit the plant, whereas the Russians and the Ukrainians accuse
each other of launching artillery fire that might destroy the nuclear
installations. The governor of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Oleksandr Starukh, has
urged the locals to take iodine pills in the event of a radiation leak. 10
shells allegedly went off close to an installation storing spent nuclear fuel
and another 3 near a building that houses fresh nuclear fuel. On the other
hand, radiation levels remain within normal limits.
REFUGEES – The Border Police General Inspectorate announced
that some 538 thousand people, both Romanian and foreign nationals, entered or
left Romania on Saturday using some 142 thousand transport vehicles. Some 14
thousand Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on Saturday, up by 7.60% compared
to the previous day. Some 2.1 million Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania
starting February 10, two weeks before the start of the war in this country.
COVID-19
– 1,403 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania,
1,315 less compared to the previous day, the Health Ministry announced on
Sunday. Since the start of the pandemic nearly three years ago, some 3.2
million people got infected. 260 patients are currently treated in ICUs, of
whom 212 have not taken the vaccine. In the last 24 hours, six COVID patients
have died. Since the start of the pandemic, some 66 thousand people diagnosed
with COVID-19 have died.
CRASHES
-
A light aircraft crashed on Sunday morning in Colibița
lake
in northwestern Romania, carrying two people onboard, the Bistriţa-Năsăud County
Inspectorate for Emergency Situations announced. The pilot, a 65-year-old man,
died, while the passenger, a 45-year-old German national, suffered minor
injuries and was transported to hospital for further medical investigations. On
Saturday, prosecutors with the Bucharest Court of Appeal opened an
investigation into the plane crash in Letca Veche, Giurgiu County in southern
Romania, which killed two people, a 54-year-old man who was piloting a small
plane and a 27-year-old woman, his relative. Their bodies were found carbonized
by first responders. The man had a vast piloting experience and seems to have
attempted to crash-land the plane. According to eye-witness reports, the plane had
caught fire before crashing. The cause of the crash might be a technical
problem with the aircraft’s engine.
WATER RESERVE – Romania’s water
reserve dropped at the start of this week, although urban areas reported
plentiful supplies. According to the Water Management Authority, reservoirs
receded from 80% in July to 70% at present. In nearly 700 settlements, local
authorities have introduced water supply restrictions. The prolonged drought
has destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland.
ROWING – Romanian
athlete Cătălin Chirilă scooped bronze in the 500m single canoe race at the
World Supercup in Oklahoma, the USA. The medal is the latest achievement in
what has been an excellent season for Chirilă, who won gold in the 1000m event
and silver in the 500m event at the World Championships in Halifax, Canda, as
well as gold in the 1000m race and bronze in the 500m race at the European
Championships in Munich, Germany.
POLO – The Romanian women’s polo team on Sunday lost 24-3 to Greece in Group A
at the European Polo Championships underway in Split, Croatia. In the first
match on Saturday, Romania lost to Germany 10-15. Romania was drawn in a group
alongside the Netherlands, Croatia, Hungary, Greece and Germany. This is the
first presence for the Romanian women’s team at a European Polo Championship.
TENNIS – Romanian
tennis player Simona Halep is seeded 7th in the women’s singles at
the US Open and on Monday will take on Daria Snigur of Ukraine (WTA 125), who
reached the main draw after playing the preliminary rounds. A former world no.
1, Halep last year reached the round of 16 at the US Open, while her best
performance in this competition was the 2015 semi-final. Irina Begu, WTA no.
34, will take on Elise Mertens of Belgium (WTA 32) in the opening round.
Mertens leads 3-0 head-to-head. Sorana Cîrstea, (WTA 38) will play Laura
Siegemund of Germany (216 WTA). Each player has previously won a match against
their opponent. Gabriela Ruse (102 WTA) will have a complicated match against
Daria Saville of Australia (WTA 73). Finally, Jaqueline Cristian will return to
the tennis court after a long absence owing to a serious injury and will go up
against the competition’s second seed, Anett Kontaveit of Estonia. Another
three Romanian tennis players, Ana Bogdan, Alexandra Cadanțu-Ignatik and
Gabriela Lee were knocked out in the preliminaries. (VP)