Radio România Internațional

Tag: WTA 1000

  • May 2, 2023

    May 2, 2023

    Anti-Semitism. The fourth meeting of the Working Group for the implementation of the European Union strategy on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life begins today in Bucharest. Over 80 national and European officials, as well as representatives of Jewish communities and international organizations from EU member states, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova will debate, for three days, topics of interest such as the development and implementation of national strategies in the field, the progress made in the implementation of the European strategy on fighting anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life or the dangers posed by anti-Semitism. The Romanian government has stated that the organization of this meeting in Bucharest represents, among other things, a good opportunity to highlight the progress that Romania has made in this field. 2 years ago, the European Union adopted the first strategy on combating anti-Semitism and fostering Jewish life for the 2021-2030 timeframe. The strategy aims to prevent and combat all forms of anti-Semitism, to protect and promote Jewish life, education, research and the memory of the Holocaust.



    Green energy. The 2023 stage of the “Photovoltaic green house” program has started in Romania. As of May 2, companies and individuals who install such alternative green energy systems can register for this program. Afterwards, the procedures will begin for the people who want to benefit from the 20 thousand lei (4 thousand euros) from the State budget for the installation of photovoltaic panels. Especially after the increase in electricity and natural gas prices, in Romania the demand for solar panels has rocketed.



    Visit. The Romanian Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, is paying a formal two-day visit to the neighboring Republic of Moldova. The agenda of the first day of the visit includes meetings with President Maia Sandu, Prime Minister Dorin Recean and with Igor Grosu, the president of the Moldovan Parliament. The Wednesday agenda of the foreign ministry delegation includes a visit to the headquarters of the 1st Motorized Infantry Brigade in the municipality of Bălţi (north).



    Ukraine. 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since December 2022, and another 80,000 have been wounded, according to the White House spokesperson for national security, John Kirby, quoted by the BBC. He stated that the biggest Russian losses were recorded in the battle for the city of Bakhmut. He also said that the Russian offensive in Donbas has exhausted the Kremlins military stocks and armed forces. In turn, the Ukrainian forces have reported that 460 Russian invaders have been neutralized in the last 24 hours. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the number of Russian army soldiers killed on the front, since the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022, has exceeded 190,000.



    Education. Deputies from the Romanian Parliaments Education Committee are resuming debates on the education bills today. The deadline for the adoption of the bills, originally set for April 26, has already been extended and, although the documents are under emergency procedure, the discussions have been suspended several times in order to request points of view from other institutions. The debates on the pre-university education bill have been completed though, and important changes have been made regarding admission to high school or the baccalaureate exam, but also regarding sanctions for disciplinary violations. At the same time, the members of the Specialized Committee adopted several amendments to the new higher education law and will consider finalizing the report this week. The two bills will then be submitted to the plenary vote of the Chamber of Deputies and, subsequently, to the Senate, which is the decision-making body in this matter.



    Protest. The Federation of Trade Unions from the National Administration of Penitentiaries in Romania has announced that it is considering starting protest actions, for an indefinite period, this month, as a result of information appearing in the public space related to salary cuts and layoffs. The organization draws the attention of the Social Democrats and Liberals, the main political party that make up the current governing coalition, that cutting the salaries of state employees, including the police, military and penitentiary police, and laying off budget officers means electoral suicide for them. Unions in penitentiaries urge the government to increase the level of tax collection, to declare war on the underground economy, to attract foreign investment and to materialize the reforms and investments included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.



    Tennis. Today, the Romanian tennis player Irina Begu takes on Maria Sakkari of Greece, in the quarter-finals of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Madrid, with more than 7.7 million euros in prize money. Previously, the Romanian has defeated the Russian athlete Liudmila Samsonova. Begu has not lost a single set at the current edition of the Spanish tournament. Thanks to the results in Madrid, she became, this week, the best-ranked Romanian player, surpassing Simona Halep, which is currently suspended for doping. (MI)


  • March 30, 2023

    March 30, 2023

    Bill. The leaders of the ruling National Liberal Party and Social Democratic Party in Romania, Nicolae Ciucă and Marcel Ciolacu, have announced that they decided to support the proposal made by the Ministry of Justice regarding the establishment of a threshold of 9,000 lei (about 1,800 euros) up to which abuse of office is decriminalized. The announcements of the two come after the Senate approved a draft law that provides for a value threshold for abuse and neglect in the service in the amount of 250,000 lei. The change caused criticism and a street protest in Bucharest. The opposition Save Romania Union has warned that the value threshold of 50,000 euros for damage to the public budget to be considered a criminal offense was also provided for by the well-known Ordinance 13 of 2017, which the government at the time abandoned after massive street protests.



    OECD. The Secretary of State for Romanias Accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Luca Niculescu, was appointed to the Steering Committee of the new OECD Regional Center in Istanbul. He welcomed the initiative to establish the Center, aimed at encouraging inter-regional cooperation, providing a platform for dialogue on public policies and supporting the states in the region to face the main economic and social challenges. According to a release by the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, Luca Niculescu expressed, at the same time, the availability of the Romanian authorities to contribute with sectoral expertise to the activity of the OECD Regional Center in Istanbul, recalling that Romania provides financial support for the main regional programs of the organization.



    Visit. The Romanian Minister of National Defense, Angel Tîlvăr, starts a visit to the USA, today, together with the Chief of Staff, General Daniel Petrescu, and other officials. According to the Romanian Embassy in the USA, the delegation will have meetings in Washington with the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, with General Mark Milley, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, as well as at the White House – the National Security Council. Also, meetings are scheduled with the presidents of the Committees on Armed Services of the US Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as with representatives of the American defense industry and of the strategic reflection and expertise environment. On the occasion of the visit, the Romanian delegation will mark 30 years of partnership between the Romanian Armed Forces and the Alabama National Guard. The Romanian officials will travel to the state of Alabama, where, between April 2 and 4, they will have meetings with the governor of the state, the leadership of the Alabama National Guard, as well as with representatives of the local authorities.



    Pensions. The special pension reform project was endorsed by the Bucharest Senate on Wednesday and is now going to the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this matter. In the Senate, the document was adopted in the form approved by the specialized commissions, including the amendments initiated by the representatives of the governing coalition. There are changes aimed at the overtaxation of very large special pensions, which the beneficiaries cannot accumulate. The opposition says, however, that it is not enough, that the system of special pensions should be eliminated entirely, and the principle of contribution applied to all pensions. Reforming the law on special pensions is a milestone in the National Recovery and Resilience plan, on which the disbursement of European money depends. Almost 200,000 Romanians currently benefit from special pensions, the majority – over 170,000 – from the defense and public order system. But the highest special pensions benefit former magistrates – judges and prosecutors, who can end up receiving a pension even 10 times higher than the average one granted by the State.



    Education. In Romania, the new education laws have been approved by the Government and will be submitted to Parliament for debate and adoption. The bill has maintained the provision according to which, in addition to the National Assessment, high schools will be able to organize their own admission competition, with specialized tests, for 60% of the places. Also, the Baccalaureate will include an additional test, from the opposite profile to the one studied by the students. The new education laws are based on the “Educated Romania” project, initiated by President Klaus Iohannis, and for the implementation of the reforms stipulated in these laws, more than 3 billion euros will be allocated from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.



    Tennis. Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea (74 WTA) has qualified for the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami Florida, with some 8.8 million dollars in prize money. She defeated the worlds number two, the Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, 6-4, 6-4. This is the second semifinal for the Romanian player, since 10 years ago, in Toronto. At the Miami Open, Cirstea has lost no match, defeating Fernanda Contreras Gomez of Mexico, number four Caroline Garcia of France, the Check Karolina Muchova and Marketa Vondrousova and now Arina Sabalenka. (MI)


  • August 13, 2022 UPDATE

    August 13, 2022 UPDATE

    Celebration. More than 200 thousand tourists are expected, these days, on the Romanian Black Sea coast, to spend the mini-vacation occasioned by the Assumption of Mary, on August 15, when the Day of the Romanian Navy will also be celebrated. The military ports of Constanta and Mangalia have opened their doors for locals and tourists to visit military ships, technical and armament exhibitions or stands presenting the educational offers of military educational institutions. On Monday, everyones attention will focus on the events organized to celebrate the navy. Thousands of people are expected to attend the parade of ships on the sea, in Constanţa, and a naval exercise in Mangalia, but also the seamanship competitions and games in the tourist ports of the two towns. In the evening, there will be music concerts and the spectacular torchlight retreat of the sailors, as well as fireworks. Until then, this weekend, the Romanians who chose to spend their mini-vacation at the seaside can benefit from a wide range of entertaining events, from theater and music evenings, opera and ballet performances to a pop-rock festival and a jazz festival organized outdoors. Throughout this period, 25,000 employees of the Ministry of the Interior – policemen, gendarmes or firefighters – are mobilized at national level to secure order and public safety.



    Firefighters. 36 Romanian firefighters, with nine piece of equipment, continued, on Saturday, the mission of extinguishing wildfires in the south-west of France, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations has stated. According to the quoted source, the firefighters must intervene in extreme conditions: high temperature, low humidity (below 10%) and strong wind. The support mission that Romania offers to the French authorities in the fight against wildfires has been carried out by deploying a specialized intervention module made up of 77 rescue firefighters, with specific means of intervention. The aid is granted based on the request for international assistance requested by the French government through the European Civil Protection Mechanism.




    Rushdie. In an interview just weeks before he was stabbed and seriously injured by an assailant in New York state, writer Salman Rushdie said he was leading a “relatively normal” life after being forced to hide for years due to death threats, Reuters informs. Rushdie, who has been an American citizen since 2016, said in an interview with the German magazine Stern that he was concerned about threats to democracy in the United States. They are driven by racism and hatred of the achievements of liberalism and constitute “a preliminary stage of fascism”, Rushdie said. New York police have arrested Rushdies attacker, a 24-year-old man from New Jersey, but have not yet determined a motive for the attack. Salman Rushdie has written about 15 novels, stories for young people, short stories and essays. However, he became famous thanks to his novel The Satanic Verses, from 1988. The book, considered blasphemy by many Muslims, generated widespread protests, and the former supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, called for the assassination of the writer and his editors. For decades, Salman Rushdie was forced to live in hiding.



    Championships. At the European Championships in Rome, 17-year-old David Popovici grabbed the gold medal in the 100 m freestyle on Saturday, with a world record of 46.86. The young Romanian swimmer shattered the old record fom 2009, when the Brazilian Cesar Cielo Filho stopped the clock at 46.91. Also on Saturday, Romanian athletes won 6 medals in Saturdays events of the European Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany. Romania will take part in the race for medals on Sunday as well, in the finals of the lightweight womens single sculls and womens 8+1. At last years European Rowing Championships, in Varese (Italy), Romanian rowers won six medals, two gold and four silver.




    Tennis. The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has qualified for the semifinals of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Toronto, with over 2.5 million dollars in prize money. Halep (30 years old, 15 WTA) defeated the American player Cori Gauff 6-4, 7-6. In the next round of the competition she will play against another American, Jessica Pegula. The two will face each other for the first time in the professional circuit. Simona Halep won the Canadian Open twice, which is played alternately in Montreal and Toronto, each time winning when the competition took place in Montreal (2016, 2018). She lost the 2015 final in Toronto. (MI)