Radio România Internațional

Tag: Wimbledon tournament

  • July 3, 2023

    July 3, 2023

    Schengen. Spain supports Romanias accession to the Schengen Area, the Spanish Ambassador to Bucharest, José Antonio Hernández Pérez-Solórzano, has stated. At the press conference hosted by the office of the European Commission Representation in Romania , which marked the taking over, by Spain, of the six-month presidency of the EU Council, he stated that the issue of Romanias and Bulgarias accession to Schengen will be put on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council most likely this fall. “It is a priority of our presidency to include Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen Area”, added the official. In turn, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminita Odobescu, said that the Schengen Area will be stronger when Romania becomes a full member. The European Commission believes that Bucharest has been prepared for several years to join the Schengen area and has met all the requirements, and the European Parliament has given a clear signal of support. MEPs believe that the decision to leave Romania and Bulgaria outside the free movement area is discriminatory, both for the residents of the two countries and for the diaspora.



    Visit. The first visit to the West by the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu will take place this week to Germany, where he will meet with the Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In addition to the bilateral economic relationship, which the officials in Bucharest call exceptional, the discussions will also focus on the issue of security. Prime Minister Ciolacu will be accompanied on his visit to Berlin by several ministers, including the Minister of Defence, Angel Tâlvăr. Last year, Romania was visited twice by the federal president, Franz Walter Steinmeier and, for the first time, in April, by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Last month, shortly after the investiture, Ciolacu made his first visit abroad to the neighboring Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, majority Romanian-speaking), where he reiterated Romanias support for that countrys European path.



    SRI. The head of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), Eduard Hellvig, has announced his resignation today “I believe that since I have achieved my proposed objectives, there is no reason to keep holding this office. We have managed to restructure the institution, promoted a new generation in management positions and made available to society information from the Former Securitate Archives”, Hellvig says in a statement for the press. Eduard Hellvig was appointed Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service in 2015.



    Ship. The training ship “Mircea” of the Romanian Navy left, today, from the Constanţa Military Port (south-east, on the Black Sea) on an international training march. It has on board 67 students from the “Mircea cel Batran” Naval Academy and 12 foreign students from partner academies from Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Latvia, Spain and Italy. The training march will last 28 days, during which the sailing ship will dock in three ports: Piraeus in Greece, Taranto in Italy and Izmir in Turkey. In all these ports, the sailboat will be open for visits. The training ship will return to Constanta on July 31.



    Paris. France had a night of relative calm, without major incidents, after the violence during the week, caused by the death of a teenager shot dead by the police at a traffic control, in the Paris region. Law enforcement maintained a massive presence on the streets, and the young mans relatives publicly spoke out against the looting and destruction triggered by protests and called for an end to the riots. In five nights of protests, the authorities counted 5,000 burned vehicles, almost 1,000 burned or damaged buildings and 250 attacks on police and gendarmerie stations. According to the correspondent of Radio Romania in Paris, the most affected are the public buildings – schools, town halls, offices of some institutions -, which were devastated and set on fire. Over 700 shops and 250 bank agencies were broken into and looted throughout the country. Inspired by the riots in France, more than 100 young people of African descent gathered in the center of the city of Lausanne, in neighboring Switzerland, and attacked several shops, with the intention of robbing them. The police detained seven people, including six minors.



    Tennis. Romanian tennis player Irina Begu, 29th seed, will play her first match at the Wimbledon tournament, the third Grand Slam of the year, against a player from Canada, Rebecca Marino. This will be the first confrontation between Begu (32 years old, 29 WTA) and Marino (32 years old, 83 WTA). Sorana Cîrstea (33 years old, 36 WTA) will take on the German athlete Tatjana Maria (35 years old, 58 WTA), last years semi-finalist in the London tournament. Cîrstea leads 3-1 in direct matches. Ana Bogdan (30 years old, 61 WTA) will have a difficult match in the first round, against the Russian Liudmila Samsonova (24 years old, 15 WTA). Jaqueline Cristian (25 years old, 133 WTA) also entered the main draw, thanks to the protected ranking, and in the first round she will face the Italian Lucia Bronzetti (24 years old, 65 WTA). Canadian player of Romanian origin Bianca Andreescu will play against the Hungarian Anna Bondar in the first round. (MI)


  • July 12, 2019 UPDATE

    July 12, 2019 UPDATE

    ROMANIA -
    FRANCE RELATIONS – Romania is a key partner of France in the
    region, French Ambassador to Bucharest Michele Ramis said on Friday at the
    reception celebrating the National Day of France. Michele Ramis congratulated
    Romanian authorities for their successful presidency of the Council of the EU.
    The French official recalled that in 2019 bilateral relations were marked by
    the Romania – France culture season, which comes to an end on Sunday. The series
    of events were a success, especially with the young generations, with over 800
    events held in 160 cities across France and Romania, Ambassador Ramis went on
    to say. Michele Ramis also referred to the over 2,300 French businesses
    operating in Romania, which make up for some 120,000 jobs. The National Day of
    France was also celebrated in Iasi, Brasov, Cluj and Timisoara.

    PRESIDENCY – The Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest on Friday
    hosted a gala concert, marking the end of the Romanian Presidency of the
    Council of the EU. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila presented the main results of
    Romania’s term in office. Romania fought for a Europe for all, one that
    promotes unity in diversity and where hatred and discrimination have no place,
    Prime Minister Dancila said. Romania’s record at the helm of the Council of the
    EU includes the completion of 90 legislative files and the adoption of 84
    conclusions of the Council, on topics of common interest. Some 2,500 events and
    meetings have been organized, of which 300 in Romania. The Romanian official
    pointed out the Romanian presidency achieved its set goals and was appreciated
    by all European partners.






    EU – Former
    Social-Democrat MEP Ioan Mircea Pascu, proposed by the Government for the
    position of interim Commissioner for Regional Policy, was designated a member
    of the Commission, although he will not be holding any portfolio. The same will
    go for Estonia’s candidate, Kadri Simson. The decision was taken by European
    Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, considering the short duration of the
    two candidates’ term in office. On October 31, the new European Commission is
    expected to take office. Under the regulation, Juncker interviewed the two
    candidates on Thursday and assessed their skills. Ioan Mircea Pascu and Kadri
    Simson will also appear on Wednesday before the European Parliament committee
    chairmen, while Parliament will vote on their appointment on Thursday in
    Strasbourg. Aged 70, Ioan Mircea Pascu is due to take over the regional policy
    portfolio from Corina Cretu, who has won an MEP seat in the new Parliament on
    behalf of the Pro Romania Party. Ioan Mircea Pascu has been an MEP since 2007,
    the year of Romania’s EU accession.






    ENVIRONMENT – Losing
    biodiversity is one of the global issues facing all societies today, said the
    Romanian Minister of the Environment, the Deputy Prime Minister Gratiela
    Gavrilescu, at the first informal meeting of environment ministers organized
    under the Finish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Gratiela Gavrilescu has
    recalled that during the Romanian Presidency, which ended on June 30th this
    year, biodiversity was a priority, and efforts were made to push forward
    negotiations on the LIFE Programme post 2020, as well as to find common points
    in the preparation for the post – 2020 Global Framework. The EU’s long-term
    strategy with regard to climate change was a major objective for Bucharest, the
    Romanian minister has stated, adding that the EU must keep acting, both
    internally and externally, and support actions in the field by means of a large
    number of cooperation instruments, including financial.






    GOLDEN STAG – 12 artists from ten countries will compete
    for the Grand Trophy of the Golden Stag Music Festival in Brasov, central
    Romania, which starts on August 22nd. The finalists are Tamara of Georgia,
    Ralfs Eilands of Latvia, Veronica Liberati of Italy, Florin Raduta of Romania,
    Anna Odobescu of the Republic of Moldova, Alfie Arcuri of Australia, Renate of
    Romania, Cynthia Verazie of Cyprus, Eliza G of Italy, Syuzanna Melqonyan of
    Armenia, Monika Marija of Lithuania and Sara de Blue of Austria. Carrying on a
    50 year long tradition, besides their own pieces, the competitors will also
    perform a song in Romanian. The first edition of the festival was held in 1968.
    In time, it became the largest international music festival organized in
    Romania and has enjoyed performances by famous artists such as Diana Ross, Amalia Rodrigues, Julio Iglesias, Dalida, Sheryl Crow, Tom
    Jones, Juliette Greco, Vaya con Dios, Coolio, Christina Aguilera, Cliff
    Richard, Kenny Rogers, Ricky Martin, Kelly Family, Patricia Kaas, Gilbert
    Becaud, Josephine Baker, Toto Cutugno, Enrico Macias, Boy George, James Brown,
    Ray Charles, UB 40, Scorpions or Pink.






    TENNIS – Romanian
    tennis player Simona Halep, no.7 in the WTA rankings, and the American Serena
    Williams, no. 10 WTA, on Saturday are playing the final of the Wimbledon
    tournament, the third Grand Slam of the year. On Thursday, in the semifinals,
    Halep defeated the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (8WTA) 6-1, 6-3, and Williams beat
    the Czech Barbora Strycova (54 WTA), 6-1, 6-2. This is the first time that
    Halep has qualified to the Wimbledon final, and the fifth grand slam final on
    her record sheet. She is the second Romanian to play the Wimbledon final, after
    Ilie Nastase, in the men’s singles, who lost the finals back in 1972 and 1976.




    (Translated by M.
    Ignatescu & V. Palcu)

  • July 8, 2018 UPDATE

    July 8, 2018 UPDATE

    MEETING — Romania’s Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Tuesday is to meet EU officials, including the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and vice-president Frans Timmermans, the European Commission reports. On Friday, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader announced he would meet EU Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova in Austria. The European Commission previously announced it was closely monitoring the developments in Romania regarding the justice system and would not hesitate to take action to ensure the modifications brought to the Criminal Code observe the legislation in the field. Backed by the ruling coalition, the modifications sparked criticism from President Iohannis, the right-wing opposition and civil society, who claim that the new provisions favor criminality and are aimed at benefiting certain people, including Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea.



    IMPEACHMENT — The left-wing opposition in Romania made up of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats on Monday will decide whether they will move to impeach President Klaus Iohannis. Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea, who is also the Chamber of Deputies speaker, accused the president of violating the Constitution, excessively delaying a decision to dismiss the head of the National Anticorruption Directorate, Laura Codruta Kovesi. On May 30, the Constitutional Court ruled the president must sack Kovesi, noticing a constitutional conflict between the head of state and the Government. Justice Minister Tudorel Toader had previously notified the Court after the President dismissed his request to remove Kovesi from office as ungrounded. The Court’s ruling has sparked fierce reactions from the opposition and magistrates, as well as anti-government protests.



    EXTREME WEATHER — The National Weather Administration has issued a code orange alert against heavy rain for 18 counties in the south and southwest, in place until Tuesday evening, as well as a code yellow alert for the entire country, including the capital-city Bucharest. During the interval large quantities of rainfall are expected in local areas. Hydrologists have also issued a code yellow warning against floods, in place until Monday, for the rivers in 13 counties. Temperatures are also expected to drop sharply during the interval. The National Emergency Intervention Inspectorate has announced over 20,000 firefighters with over 7,000 technical equipment are ready to intervene in calamity-stricken areas. The heavy rainfall last week caused devastating floods killing five people, destroying hundreds of homes and flooding numerous national or county roads, also affecting large areas of farmland.



    OLYMPIAD — Some 1,500 high school students from over a hundred countries on five continents are taking part in the International Mathematics Olympiad in Cluj-Napoca. The event lasts a week and is the oldest and most prestigious event of its kind. The first edition was held in 1959 in Romania. Romania and Bulgaria are the only countries that have taken part in every edition of the Olympiad. Attending the opening ceremony was President Klaus Iohannis, who expressed hope Romania would become an attraction for research in the field of mathematics.



    LIST — The Sanitary and Food Safety Authority in Romania made public a list of frozen foodstuffs sold in neighboring Hungary, infected with Listeria, a foodborne disease-causing bacteria that can lead to blood poisoning or meningitis. Nine people died in Europe after having consumed these products, with dozens of other cases reported in Great Britain, Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The incubation period goes up to 70 days, with the risk of spreading still active. The European Food Safety Authority recommends the thermal processing of frozen ready-to-eat products.



    AWARD — Radu Jude’s I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians won the Crystal Globe award at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, as well as the Europa Cinemas Label award, set up in 2003 to help improve the distribution and promotion of European films. This is Radu Jude’s sixth feature film, and the first Romanian film to win the grand prize in this festival.



    WIMBLEDON — The tennis pair made up of Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu and Marcin Matkowski of Poland qualified to the round of 16 of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon, after defeating Divij Sharan of India and Alicja Rosolska of Poland, 6-3, 7-5. The two will next play Henri Kontinen of Finland and Heather Watson of Great Britain. Buzarnescu has also advanced to the women’s doubles’ round of 16, alongside another Romanian, Irina Begu. She was unfortunately knocked out from the singles’ main draw, the same as world number 1 Simona Halep.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • July 14, 2017

    July 14, 2017

    SABER GUARDIAN — The Romanian Foreign Ministry has hailed the 2017 Saber Guardian multinational military exercise, held on Romania’s territory by the United States Ground and Service Forces Europe. According to a Ministry press release, the exercise brings together over 20 NATO and partner states, with a significant number of troops and technical equipment, being the largest and most comprehensive military drill hosted by Romania in recent years. Saber Guardian is a key military exercise, contributing to consolidating defense and deterrence capabilities on NATO’s eastern flank and to developing interoperability between participant countries. The exercise is also a sign of solidarity, highlighting the robust trans-Atlantic relation and the bilateral strategic partnership between Romania and the United States, signed 20 years ago.



    JULY 14 — The National Day of France is today marked at the French Embassy in Bucharest. The theme at this year’s cocktail party is sports, with famous Romanian and French athletes among the guests of honor. Attending the event will be Prime Minister Mihai Tudose. Last week former Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu met in Paris with his counterpart, Edouard Philippe. It was the first official meeting for Philippe after taking over as Prime Minister in May. Romania currently has a strategic bilateral partnership with France, signed in 2008.



    ROMANIAN-FRENCH RELATIONS — Romania plays a key role in Central and Eastern Europe, promoting fundamental European values, French Ambassador to Bucharest Michele Ramis said. In an interview to RFI, Ramis said she wants to strengthen bilateral economic relations, which are good right now against the backdrop of economic growth in Romania. On the other hand, France will support Romania in preparing its term at the helm of the European Council in the first semester of 2019, Michele Ramis said.



    WORLD EXHIBITION — Romania’s pavilion at the World Exhibition hosted by Astana, Kazakhstan, has a daily average number of 1,500 visitors, Mihail Dediu, the head of the Romanian delegation told Radio Romania. The theme this year is the energy of tomorrow. Romania’s pavilion is devoted to the high-power laser in Magurele, southern Romania, the largest research project in Romania in the last 50 years. Romania thus wants to promote Romania’s potential for innovation in the field of research, Mihail Dediu said.



    CLIMATE CHANGE — Climate change will prompt a swift temperature spike, intensifying extreme meteorological phenomena and heavy downpours, causing crop failures and coral loss in the Asia-Pacific area, climatologists have warned. These developments are the result of the failure to observe the Paris Accord on Climate Change. Signed in 2015 and enacted in November 2016, the agreement provides for keeping a global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius as compared to pre-industrial levels. To reach this target, swifter and harsher measures are needed, climate experts argue. If the world’s population keeps emitting greenhouse gases fueling global warming, the average global temperature will rise by at least 4 degrees by the end of the century, and even by 6 degrees Celsius in some regions.



    WIMBLEDON — The pair made up of Monica Niculescu of Romania and Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan is today playing Markota Ninomiya of Japan and Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic in the women’s doubles semi-finals at Wimbledon. Niculescu and Chan previously knocked out Catherine Bellis of the United States and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. This is Niculescu’s best performance in a Grand Slam doubles competition, after reaching the Roland Garros quarterfinals in 2010 and the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2012. The best-rated player from Romania right now, Simona Halep, WTA no. 2, was knocked out in the quarterfinals after losing to Johanna Konta of Great Britain.



    FOOTBALL — Romanian football club Astra Giurgiu defeated 3-1 Zira FK of Azerbaijan in the first leg of the Europa League second preliminary round. The return leg will be played on July 20 in Baku. The other teams representing Romania in Europa League are Dinamo Bucharest and CSU Craiova. Playing in the Champions League preliminaries will be Viitorul Constanta and FCSB. (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • July 7, 2017 UPDATE

    July 7, 2017 UPDATE

    G20 — Hamburg, in northern Germany, plays host to the G20 meeting. World leaders will discuss trade, climate change, as well as the North Korean nuclear threat. The main event was Friday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The German authorities have taken strict security measures, after security forces last night faced off against protesters against capitalism.



    INVESTIGATION — Anti-corruption chief prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi on Monday will appear before Parliament’s Committee charged with investigating the presidential election of 2009. Committee Chairman Oana Florea said unless Kovesi shows up, the Committee will refer the matter to the Ministry of Justice or take criminal action against her. This is the third time Kovesi has been summoned for a hearing to account for her actions in 2009, when she was Romania’s Prosecutor General. Kovesi claimed her absence was motivated by rulings of the Superior Council of Magistrates and the Constitutional Court. The Committee continues its investigation although the Prosecutor’s Office has recently closed its investigation. Both actions were started following revelations made by a controversial journalist, who claims the 2009 election was influenced by high-ranking officials including the heads of some important institutions. The election was won by Traian Basescu.



    GDP — Romanias GDP in the first quarter of the year was 5.7% higher than the similar period in 2016, according to preliminary data from the National Institute of Statistics issued on Friday. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, the GDP in the first quarter of 2017 was higher by 1.7% in real terms. In its latest report, the World Bank adjusted its prediction for economic growth to 4.4% for this year, compared to the figure issued in January, which was 3.7%. The IMF also adjusted its expectation for economic growth this year from 3.8 to 4.2%. In Bucharest, the National Forecast Commission said that this year Romanias economic growth was 5.2%.



    PROGRAM — The ruling coalition, made up of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, on Monday will decide on the governing program for the upcoming period. Attending the meeting will be Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and several members of his Cabinet. In another development, the Liberal Party has announced its plans to file a no-confidence motion against the newly-sworn in Government, unless the Cabinet gives up its plan to introduce a tax on turnover and the so-called solidarity tax.




    DISTINCTION — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on Friday signed the decree whereby German MP Hartmut Koschyk is awarded the Romanian Star Order in Rank of Officer. The award was offered “as a sign of gratitude for his crucial contribution to consolidating Romanian-German relations in several fields, fostering a constructive approach to observing and preserving the cultural and linguistic identity of the German minority in Romania”. Koschyk is the representative of the Federal Government for immigrants and national minorities and co-chair of the mixed Romanian-German Government Committee on German ethnics in Romania. Awarding the distinction was the initiative of Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu.



    FESTIVAL — Over 150,000 people are expected to attend the Neversea music festival, taking place in Constanta this weekend, the biggest of the festivals taking place on the Romanian Black Sea beach this summer. The three-day event gathers over 100 famous artists, such as Tiesto, Afrojack, Jason Derulo, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Fatboy Slim, Years&Years, and Ella Eyre. At the same time, the village of Garana is the venue for the 21st edition of the International Jazz Festival, the most complex outdoor event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, bringing to the stage 18 bands.



    TENNIS — The best-rated tennis player from Romania right now, Simona Halep, WTA no. 2, on Friday qualified to the round of 16 of the Wimbledon tournament. Halep knocked out Shuai Peng of China, 37 WTA, in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6. Halep will next play Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Another Romanian tennis player, Sorana Cirstea, 63 WTA, will play Garbine Muguruza of Spain, 15 WTA on Saturday. In the men’s doubles, the pair made up of Florin Mergea and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi has qualified to the second round, where they will play Julian Knowle and Phillipp Oswald of Austria. (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • July 2, 2017

    July 2, 2017

    ABDUCTION — Romanian Iulian Ghergut, who was abducted in 2015 in Burkina Faso, has called on Romania’s president and the Government in Ouagadougou to negotiate his release. A task force in Bucharest is overseeing his situation and has acknowledged Ghergut’s message, the Foreign Ministry reports. According to the American centre for online monitoring of jihadist organizations, the Romanian features in a video released by the Mali branch of Al Qaeda. The video contains similar messages of another five foreign hostages, as well as that of an alleged abductor, who says that no negotiations for their release have been started so far. According to the Ministry, the video is standard MO for abductions of this kind.



    COUNCIL MEETING — Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has summoned the Supreme Defense Council on Tuesday. The main point on the agenda is the 2017-2026 framework for modernizing the country’s military. Talks follow after Romania this year allotted 2% of its GDP to defense spending. Also on the agenda is a review of the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service in 2016. The Council will also address Romania’s contribution to external missions and operations in 2018.



    PROTESTS — New anti-government protests were announced on Sunday, three days after Mihai Tudose’s Cabinet was sworn into office. Several NGOs have condemned the slow pace of the fight against high-level corruption. Five months ago large-scale protests were staged against the Government’s attempt to ease criminal legislation and help influential politicians and officials evade criminal investigations.



    ROMANIAN POLICE — Romanian police officers have started their mission on the Bulgarian Black Seacoast. For two months they will assist fellow Bulgarian law enforcers in preventing crime, carrying out public safety activities and providing counselling to Romanian tourists spending their holidays in Balchik, Albena, the Golden Sands and Nessebar. This is the eighth consecutive year the Romanian Police is conducting this mission.



    CONFEDERATIONS CUP — Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending Sunday’s final of the Confederations Cup, hosted by his hometown Saint Petersburg, pitting Germany against Chile. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov did not provide an explanation for the president’s absence. Putin attended the opening game between Russia and New Zealand. According to the Russian mass-media, Deputy Prime Minister Vitali Mutko, who is also the head of the Russian Football Federation, will be in the stands.



    TENNIS — Romanian tennis player WTA no. 2 Simona Halep on Monday is playing Marina Erakovic of New Zealand, 129 WTA, in the first round of the Wimbledon tournament. Last year Halep reached the quarterfinals, while her best performance at Wimbledon was the 2014 semi-finals. Also in the first round, Monica Niculescu, 51 WTA, will go up against Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, WTA no. 85. Sorana Cirstea, 62 WTA, will play Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, 24 WTA, while Irina Begu, 69 WTA, will take on Naomi Broady, 108 WTA. Finally, Ana Bogdan, who for the first time qualified to the main draw, will play Ying-Ying Duan of China, 64 WTA. In the men’s competition, Marius Copil, 85 ATP, will play Peter Gojowczyk of Germany, 140 ATP. (Translated by V. Palcu)