Radio România Internațional

Author: Eugen Nasta

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    The European Pre-Olympic Wrestling Championship was held in Azerbaijan’s Baku late last week. The competition offered 36 places for the Paris Olympics, two places for each category, in the Greek-roman style, free style and women’s wrestling. More than 300 wrestlers proved their mettle in Baku, while representing Romania were 15 wrestlers. However, it was only Andreea Ana who secured her qualification to the Olympic Games in Paris.

    Reason enough of Radio Romania International to designate Andreea Ana the Athlete of the Week.

    In Baku, Ana was one of the top two wrestlers in the 53-kilogram category. In the preliminaries, Andreea Ana defeated French challenger Tatiana Debien. In the quarterfinals, Andreea outclassed Macedonian opponent Veronika Rjabovolova, then in the semifinals, Andreea Ana defeated German wrestler Annika Wendle. Also qualifying in the 53-kilogram category was the vice-European champion in 2017, Russia’s Natalia Malysheva.

    Andreea Beatrice Ana is the defending European champion in the 55-kilogram category. She was born in Mangalia on November 14, 2000. In 2018, Andreea won the bronze medal at the World Youth Championship for the U-23 Athletes in Bucharest. In 2019, also in Bucharest, Andreea won bronze in the European Seniors’ Championship. Andreea Ana also won bronze in Warsaw in 2021. Andreea represented Romania at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she came in 16.

    A string of gold medals followed, won in major competitions, Among them, the European Seniors’ Championship in Belgrade, the European Youth Championship in Plovdiv and the European Seniors’ Championship in Budapest in 2022.

    In Hungary, Andreea Ana succeeded to win the first women’s wrestling gold medal for Romania, emerging as winner in the 55-kilogram category. She also retained her European title in Zagreb in 2023. We recall that back then, thanks to Andreea Ana’s victory but also due to Alexandra Anghel’s feat in the 72-kilogram category, the Romanian delegation for the first time in 43 years succeeded to walk home with two gold medals won in the same edition of the European Championship. At the European competition held in Bucharest in 2024, she was Romania’s only representative who walked home with a gold medal.

  • The Romanian Opera House Palace in Bucharest

    The Romanian Opera House Palace in Bucharest

    Composer and conductor George Stephanescu in late 19th century established Romania’s first opera troupe, then known as The Romanian Lyrical Company, arguably the nucleus of lyrical theater in Romania.

     

    Notwithstanding, from its establishment and to the early 1950s, the Romanian Opera House did not have its own premises: its performances were venued by other theaters in Bucharest.

     

    The situation would change in the early days of the communist regime, mainly for propagandistic reasons. In 1953, Bucharest played host to a great international youth festival, and that was the reason why a string of buildings appeared in the capital city, with the purpose of playing host to all the events scheduled back then. Among these buildings there was the present-day building of the Romanian National Opera House. They were located on Dambovita river banks, quite close to the imposing building of the Law Faculty.

     

    And, despite the fact that this new palace had been designed to comply with the architectural pattern of the Soviet buildings, just as it happened with the Casa Scanteii building, the Romanian Opera House vaguely reminds us of that style.

     

    A recently-published work provides a detailed analysis of the stages of the construction as well as the aspect of the Opera House palace. The title of the work is “The History of the Bucharest Opera House building.” Its author is the Director of the Academy Library, Nicolae Noica.

     

    Here is the author himself, reminiscing about the history of the building:

     

    “The Opera House had been created by a great man of culture, George Stephănescu. Afterwards, for a good number of years, until 1952, with no premises of its own, it was housed by a building near the Cismigiu Park, and then, for a long time, it was housed by the National Theater building on Victoria Road. Unfortunately, the National Theater was shelled. I was baffled to find out, researching documents dated 1948-1949, that the one who had the first initiative to build an Opera building was doctor Petru Groza, the head of the Romanian Government. And then, through a government resolution, he offered a plot of land where today’s National Theater Building in the center lies, close to the University. He organized a competition, yet nothing was materialized. However, around 1950-1951 a resolute decision was taken and the Bucharest Project Institute, which was established at that time, was officially empowered to draw up the project. The respective project was coordinated and thought out by a great architect: professor Octav Doicescu. He was a man of the old school who had also represented us in a couple of international exhibitions between the wars, jointly with our great architects Petre Antonescu and G.M. Cantacuzino. Of course, first and foremost, the top priority was to pick the plot where the building would be erected and a place was spotted on the quay, right where the building of the Opera House lies today. An official stadium used to be there, at that time. The project was drawn up, just as I said, by architect Octav Doicescu and the works began in 1951 or thereabouts.

     

    But what was the selected architectural style and how was that done?

     

    Here is academician Nicolae Noica once again:

     

    “It has been often said that is has that aspect of the Russian or Soviet buildings. However, Octav Doicescu did not do something like that, but for the project to get through after the checks that had been made, the original sheets were signed by a Russian advisor, for the confirmation of the solutions. Then again, the Russian architects who had come here had a special consideration for Octav Doicescu, and for Macovei, and they allowed for a whole range of elements to get through so that the building could a monumental one and offer the initially envisaged image. Yet speaking about the style, I can say it is a Romanian style, with a string of elements that were borrowed, yet in no way is it true what was said about it, that it was a building following the pattern of the buildings in Moscow at that time. ”

     

    For the construction of the Romanian Opera Palace, Octav Doicescu teamed up with architect Pompiliu Macovei, the coordinator of the construction yard, and the Armenian-born construction engineer Aznavurian. The construction was completed in 1953, while the official inauguration was held in January 1954, with a performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades.

     

    The façade of the building, changed as compared to the architect’s initial idea, has a porch with three monumental arcades supported by columns on which heads we can find the statues of four muses. Also, there are three access doors facilitating the entrance to the imposing hall, elevated on two floors. It is also the façade that is adorned with bas-reliefs made by sculptors Zoe Băicoianu, Boris Caragea and  Ion Vlad.

     

    About the interior decoration, here is Nicolae Noica once again.

     

    “There is this foyer inside, which is splendid and somewhere to the left, when you climb up the stairs, there is the yellow salon: a beauty in itself, with a whole range of decorations made back then, in the year 1953, and preserved in spectacularly mint condition to this day. In the performance hall you find the lodges divided with little pillars for partition. Of course, at this point there was so much talk about it as well. If these little pillars do not bother from an architectural point of view, they had been imposed taking the resistance of the building into account. Also, the ceiling is splendid, made of carved wood, and, what is most impressive, the old chandelier with 100 bulbs is still there. Also, at that time a heating and a ventilation installation were made there, so they could create the appropriate climate. Unfortunately, years went by and this installation does not work perfectly. We also spoke with Mrs. Minister of Culture to support us financially, so much so that these works may live up to the present-day’s fair and modern standards, since it is our responsibility, 70 years on, to be able to preserve the building.

     

    Actually, from the very beginning The Romania Opera Palace was designed to be resistant. In the wake of the 1977 and 1986 tremors, not a single crack was reported to have damaged its walls.

  • Eliciting a response to open-ended complex questions

    Eliciting a response to open-ended complex questions

  • Young author Cristian Dorian Hiastru and his extraordinary Sci-fi novel

    Young author Cristian Dorian Hiastru and his extraordinary Sci-fi novel

  • Young novelist Roxana Ruscior and her relentless trip into the horrendous World War Two Nazi Crimes

    Young novelist Roxana Ruscior and her relentless trip into the horrendous World War Two Nazi Crimes

  • Listen to maverick author Bogdan Iorga speaking about how to forge a Dali painting

    Listen to maverick author Bogdan Iorga speaking about how to forge a Dali painting

  • Sports flash

    Sports flash

    The Romanian weightlifter Andreea Cotruţa this past Wednesday had a lackluster performance competing in the 59-kilogram category as part of the World Weightlifting Championships in Thailand’s Phuket, a mandatory qualifying competition ahead of the 2024 edition of the Olympic Games. Cotruţa came in 22nd in the snatch style, with a deadlift of 94 kilograms, having failed an attempt to lift 93 kilograms. With 108 kilograms, North-Korean weightlifter Il Gyong Kim emerged as winner. In the clean-and-jerk style, Cotruţa came in 21st, with a deadlift of 113 kilograms, having then twice failed to deadlift 118 kilograms.

     

    Gold went to China’s Shifang Luo, with a deadlift of 140 kg. Cotruta came in 20th with a combined deadlift of 207 kilograms, according to the final rankings, while Luo won gold, with 248 kg. In the 55-kilogram category on Tuesday, Mihaela-Valentina Cambei won two silver medals in the snatch style and combined, and a bronze medal, in the clean-and-jerk style. Loredana Toma in the 71-kilogram category is the last Romanian weightlifter set to prove her mettle in the competition.

     

    This past Wednesday in the WTA 250 tennis tournament in Bogota, the Romanian Irina Bara advanced to the quarterfinals of the event with 260 thousand USD in prize money. In the tournament’s round of 16, Bara defeated Brazil’s Laura Pigossi, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. Irina Bara received a check worth 6, 608 USD and was granted 54 WTA points. In the quarterfinals, Irina goes against Italy’s Sara Errani. We recall Errani outclassed 3rd-seeded player in Bogota, Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Head-to-heads have revealed a 1-all draw between Bara and Errani.

     

    In the quarterfinals of Romania’s Cup in football on Wednesday, FC Voluntari grabbed a 4-2 away win against FC U Craiova 1948 after the penalty shootouts. The scoreboard displayed a blank draw after the 90-minute regular time and extra time. Also on Wednesday, Universitatea Cluj grabbed a 1-nil home win against FC Hermannstadt Sibiu. Second-league team Corvinul Hunedoara on Tuesday grabbed a 4-nil home win against CFR Cluj. The quarterfinal’s last fixture on Thursday sees Universitatea Craiova taking on Oţelul Galaţi.

  • The Turkish Air Force, replaced by the British Air Force

    The Turkish Air Force, replaced by the British Air Force

    The Turkish Air Force Detachment has concluded its mission in our country. 80 military with four F-16 aircrafts for four months running have carried enhanced air patrol missions jointly with the Romanian Air Force, under NATO command.

     

    The mission’s closing ceremony was held at the 86 Airbase in Fetesti (in the South-east). Attending the ceremony was the deputy for operations of the Turkish Air Force Commander, major-general Kemal Turan. The Turkish general said, QUOTE, the joint training stages are part of the training the two armies’ pilots and the Alliance can adapt to any type of conflict, be they high or low-intensity, conventional or non-conventional. UNQUOTE.

     

    Also attending the ceremony was the deputy of the Romanian Defense Chief of Staff, lieutenant-general Dragos Iacob. The Romanian general said, QUOTE the presence of the Turkish Air Force Detachment is a clear proof of NATO partners’ common will to work together under the umbrella of the greatest defensive alliance, UNQUOTE.

     

    Meanwhile, six Eurofighter Typhoon aircrafts of the British Air Force have reached the 57 Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in Constanta County (in the south-east). For the next four months, 200 British military will be in our country for Enhanced Air Police missions. It is the fifth rotation of the British Air Force capabilities for such missions, after those carried in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022.

     

    A new facility is soon to be added to the Brasov International Airport (central Romania) meant to support the activity of NATO forces. Those responsible for the objective jointly with the allied combat Group in Cincu seek to develop, earlier than May this year, a landing airport that would enable the landing of big-size military aircrafts.

     

    For the first time since the Aigle Mission has been established in Romania, a military logistics support aircraft has landed at the Brasov airport. The aircraft is a French Army Boeing C130. The creation of a new landing airport entails certain improvements in keeping with the current logistic challenges. The airport has the role of reducing the delivery time. At present, the military of the Combat Group deployed in Cincu (central Romania) use the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in Constanta, in the south-east, lying at ten hours’ drive with military vehicles.

     

    The deputy of the commander of the Multinational South-east Division Headquarters and Senior National Representative of the French Army in Romania, brigade general Loïc Girard has been on a working visit in Cluj-Napoca (in the northwest). The French general had a meeting with the Commander of the 4th Infantry Division, Major General Bogdan Cernat and Brigade general Nicolae Oros, the commander of the 61 Mountain Hunters brigade, a Romanian army unit with which the French allies carry regular joint training exercises.

     

    The three officials analyzed the interoperability development opportunities between the Romanian and the French troops, through training exercises carried by the NATO Combat group in Romania, currently under French command, and various army structures in our country.

     

    Romanian and Foreign military as part of the NATO Forces Integration Unit in Romania and their families got together in Bucharest for a charity fair, organized on the premises at the Southeast Multinational Division Headquarters, to celebrate NATO’s 75th anniversary. As part of a makeshift bazaar, militaries sold various handmade objects. The funds raised were donated to the Casa Buna(Good House) non-governmental organization.

     

    Casa Buna is an NGO supporting children coming from underprivileged families in their bid to go to school and complete their studies. Also attending the event were military of the Advanced Command Element of the French Brigade stationed in Romania’s capital city.

     

     

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    The professional women’s tennis competition schedule has recently included a string of WTA 125 tournaments, Among them, the competition in Antalya, known as the Megasaray Hotels Open, an event with 115.000 USD in prize money. The women’s singles main draw included 4th-seeded Irina Begu, and Gabriela Ruse, who came straight from the qualifiers. Ruse was eliminated from the very first round by Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa, having missed two match balls in the second set’s tie-break. However, Irina Begu reached as far as the finals.

     

    Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Irina Begu the Athlete of the Week.

     

    Irina Begu has returned to the WTA circuit following a seven month-gap. In the first round, Begu outclassed Austria’s Sinja Kraus, 7-6, 6-1. Then Begu defeated Croatia’s Tara Wurth, 7-5, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, Slovenia’s Polona Hercog, posed a more serious challenge to Irina Begu, yet Hercog was eventually defeated, 4-6, 4-6. In the semifinals, Begu defeated Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, 7-5, 6-2. However, in Japan, 5th-seded tennis player in Antalya, Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

     

    Irina Begu was born in Bucharest, on August 26, 1990. In 2006, Irina succeeded her career’s first great performance, when she won the European title in the Under-16 category. In April 2011 Irina Begu played her first WTA tournament final in Marbella, where she proved her mettle as early as the qualifiers. However, in the final, Viktorya Azarenka of the Belarus defeated Irina Begu. Athlete of the week.

     

    Tennis player Irina Begu’s women’s singles record includes five WTA wins, in Tashkent, in 2012, in Seoul, în 2015, in Florianopolis, in 2016, in Bucharest in 2017 and in Palermo, in 2022. Irina Begu’s career-Begu’s career-best so far occurred in August 2016, when she was the world’s number 22. At present Begu is 115th-placed, climbing 11 places up as a result of her excellent run in Antalya. In the women’s doubles, Irina Begu has nine wins in the professionals’ women’s circuit.

  • Romania: the Eastern flank

    Romania: the Eastern flank

    Constanta County’s “Mihail Kogălniceanu” military base, dubbed MK by the US military, is located in south-eastern Romania, very close to the Black Sea. MK will be expanded as part of a project worth 2.5 billion Euro or thereabouts. MK will thus become NATO’s largest such facility in eastern Europe. According to its new layout, MK will stretch along a surface area of 2,800 hectares. It will host roughly 10,000 military and their families. It is estimated that works for all four stages of the project will be completed by 2038.

     

    The project stipulates the construction of all that is necessary for the functioning and the missions of a base of such dimensions, said the Commander of the 57 Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase, Nicolae Cretu.:

     

    “The project, in its first stage, the contracted one, stipulates the development and the construction of a new runway. Then we will focus on the integration of the newly-built facilities into the existing facilities and that is why we will connect the two runways, so they can be used at full capacity when needed. After that, we will build running belts for the aircrafts. We will have the facilities, the operational area that will be capable of supplying the fighter jets but also the aircrafts carrying personnel, troops, materials, ammunition with all that is needed for the relocated capabilities. Then we will have a new control tower, so that later we can expand the troops’ receiving capacity and develop the permanent infrastructure, so we can provide the required standards for all military, the Romanian ones, but also tor he military of our allies and partners who will be stationed at the base. ”

     

    At the end of the third development stage, the base will host roughly 10,000 military and their families. The figure is similar to that of Europe’s largest US military base, located in Ramstein, Germany. But not only the number of stationed militaries is important, as part of the project stretching over two decades.

     

    Commander Nicolae Creţu stated that “underlying the ongoing development there is no such thing as comparison or competition. It is an array of capabilities that in time turned out to be required, in a bid to be installed in the area, while their destination is the expansion of the security and safety zone the Alliance can project over the Black Sea basin. The most impending need stems from the development of the air capabilities, because only that way we can receive the other categories of ground forces and special operations. Apart from the development project, we concurrently work on many other levels. We focus on the integration of the two infrastructure areas. We also focus on maintaining the existing infrastructure operational. Also, the development of the capability targeting the receiving and welcoming of the militaries has been permanently dynamic. Apart from the permanent infrastructure, we also have semi-permanent or temporary infrastructure available, which belongs not only to the Romanian Air Force but also to our allies and partners, the commander of the Mihail Kogalniceanu base also stated. ”

     

    The project kicked off as early as 2018, when the first legislative act was passed. It is almost entirely financed through the state budget, via the National Defense Ministry. As we have mentioned before, it is divided into four development stages.

     

    The first stage has been contracted already, it began in 2024 and will be completed in five years’ time.

     

    The second stage will continue and consists in erecting the hangars for the aircrafts, simulators, ammunition and fuel warehouse, feeding facilities.

     

    Stages three and four focus on the administrative aspects, which pertain rather to the staff’s standard of living and their support. That also includes social facilities where the military can live with their families. At present, in MK, there are roughly 3,500 US and Allied military, that including the 82nd Airborne Division. At times, MK has temporarily played host to up to 5,000 military.

  • Training continues in target ranges across the country

    Training continues in target ranges across the country

    The military of the Constanta-based Marasesti 9th Mechanized Infantry Brigade (in the south-east) jointly with partners of Republic of Moldova and the USA, for two weeks running took part in the Justice Eagle 24 multinational exercise carried in the Combat Training Center in Babadag. One of the sequences of the exercise was held in Topraisar. There, the Engineers of the 9th Mechanized Brigade trained jointly with the US military dislodged in Romania.

     

    Here is what the Commander of the US Army’s 21 Engineers Battalion, Lieutenant-colonel Joseph Byrnes, had to say about the exercise:

     

    “In the past weeks we carried a joint training session in the decision-making process, we planned a military operation we’re now implementing and it was an opportunity to share tactics, techniques and procedures. The US forces are here as partners of Romanian military and they work together, develop joint training opportunities proving the allied will to carry military operations together, if need be. ”

     

    Throughout the exercise, the military of the three participating states had the opportunity to prove themselves in terms of physical performance, so much so that 8 sports teams of 5 members each competed as part of the Highland Games contest, where they had to pass a couple of endurance tests.

     

    «Justice Eagle» is a biannual exercise including live ammunition shooting with several categories of weapons. Its eventual aim is to develop capabilities and enhance the degree of interoperability between the participating contingents.

     

    Also in South-eastern Romania, sequences of the «Trojan Footprint 24» exercise were held, for the military of special force operations. 2,000 military of 13 allied and partner states, for two weeks running took part in training stages held in Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Greece, North Macedonia and Romania. The exercise was led by the United States Special Operations Command Europe. Its eventual aim was to demonstrate the USA, NATO allies and partner nations’ capacity to mount a resolute response in the case of any threat coming from any direction.

     

    The «Trojan Footprint» series of exercises first took off in 2002. Since 2016, it has been held every two years. In 2024, the Trojan Footprint is being held under the umbrella of Steadfast Defender, the biggest NATO exercise. in the last decades.

     

    We’re now heading towards another shooting range, central Romania’s shooting range in Cincu. There the military of the Caracal-based Romanați 22nd Infantry Battalion, jointly with their North-Macedonian, Polish and Portuguese partners held an on-the-ground training exercise which included, towards its final part, live ammunition shooting sessions.

     

    Also enjoying a unique experience were the French military of the NATO Combat Group dislodged in Cincu; for a couple of days the French military trained jointly with the 30th Mountain Huntsmen Battalion as part of a series of sessions focusing on urban warfare action. Also, they exchanged knowledge and operational procedures pertaining to the type of technical combat which implies a high degree of coordination.

     

    Regarding diplomacy, the Romanian National Defense Minister Angel Tilvar held a meeting with the US Deputy Chief of Mission to Bucharest, Michael Dickerson. Several relevant topics were discussed, pertaining to the present security environment. Special emphasis was being laid on NATO developments on the Eastern flank. The Romanian Defense Minister took the opportunity to emphasize the importance of strengthening the Strategic Partnership with

  • Athlete of the week

    Athlete of the week

    In the men’s version of Romanian tennis in recent years, men’s run has been dramatically below par as against women’s performance. At the moment, we have three women tennis players among the world’s top 100. Other four have booked their places among the 100th to the 200th position.

     

    In men’s international rankings, best-placed is Nicholas David Ionel, currently 225th-placed according to the world rankings.

     

    Romanian men tennis players’ buoyant run remains something unaccomplished just as yet, so when such a performance does happen, we rush to make it known to our listeners around the world.

     

    A case in point is Dan Alexandru Tomescu, who this past Sunday won the ITF tournament held in Cyprus’ Larnaca; it is an event with 15,000 USD in prize money.

     

    Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Tomescu the Athlete of the week.

     

    In Larnaca, Tomescu was the 4th-seeded tennis player. In the first round, he defeated Estonia’s Markus Molder, 6-1, 6-3. In the second round, Tomescu defeated the Italian opponent who was coming straight from the qualifiers, Iannis Miletich, also 6-1, 6-3. In the quarterfinals, Dan Alexandru Tomescu defeated another Italian, Gianluca Cadenasso, also in two sets, 6-4, 6-2.

     

    Tomescu had a hard time defeating the top-seeded player in Larnaca, Israel’s Ishai Oliel. He won the first set, 6-1, lost the second-5-7, while in the decisive set Oliel and Tomescu reached the tie-breaker. Tomescu eventually managed to be three points clear of Oliel, so he advanced to the final.  In the final, Tomescu defeated 2nd seeded player in Larnaca, Germany’s Lucas Gerch, 6-3, 6-4.

     

    Dan Alexandru Tomescu was born in Bucharest on March 30, 1999. According to the world’s professional rankings, Tomescu is currently 645th-placed, 37 positions down as against last week, since the ITF tournaments do not provide points for the ATP rankings. The event in Larnaca was the ITF third such tournament won by Tomescu. In 2023, Tomescu won the Kish Island tournament in Iran, and in Targu Jiu, in Romania, on a clay court, just as in the recently-held tournament in Larnaca.

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    We begin with news from tennis. In the first round as part of the US Indian Wells tournament on Friday, Romania’s Ana Bogdan plays Russian opponent Diana Șnaider. On Saturday, another Romanian Sorana Cirstea in the second round will play Sloane Stephens of the US. In the women’s double, the Romanian-Croatian pair made of Sorana Cîrstea and Donna Vekic will take on the Dutch-Brazilian pair made of Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani. Another Romanian, Monica Niculescu will be pairing up with Belgium’s Greet Minnen for their match against the all-American pair made of Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk.

     

    In the first leg as part of the Euro Cup’s round of 16, the Romanian men’s water polo team CSA Steaua Bucharest on Friday play Greek opponents Panionios GSS Athens, away.

     

    In ice hockey, in the Erste Liga’s play-off on Friday and Saturday, ACSH Gheorgheni play Hungarian side Ujpest. Two other Romanian teams, Corona Brașov and SC Miercurea Ciuc, take on Hungary’s DVTK and Budapest Akademia, respectively.

     

    Matches counting towards the Romanian Football Super league’s 30th round are scheduled at the weekend. On Friday, CFR Cluj play FC Hermannstadt, FC Voluntari take on Universitatea Cluj,  Petrolul Ploiești go against Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe, Dinamo București face UTA Arad, while FC Botoșani are pitted against Farul Constanța.

     

    The Bucharest derby pitting Rapid against FCSB will be played on Saturday. Initially scheduled on the host team’s stadium, Giulesti, the match pitting the top-of-the-table team, FCSB, against the runner-up team, Rapid, has been relocated to the National Arena, in a bid to secure a larger audience. Rapid Fans have already purchased 38,000 tickets, while FCSB fans, 10,000, so the ongoing football season’s record high will most likely be met.

     

    On Sunday, the local derby is scheduled, pitting FC Universitatea Craiova against CS Universitatea Craiova. On Monday, the 30th round’s last fixture will be played, pitting Otelul Galati against Politehnica Iasi. FCSB are at the top of the table, with 64 points. Following are Rapid Bucharest, with 52, and CFR Cluj, with 50 points.

     

  • Romanians and their reading habits

    Romanians and their reading habits

    “The only thing you need to know is to be able to find your way to the library.” The quotation is attributed to Albert Einstein. It was a real encouragement for people to read. Yet people have stopped reading just as much, ever since high-tech has become so very accessible. Scrolling up on your cell phone screen, continuously, for hours on end, sometimes, steals people the time which is precious for themselves…and that time never returns.

     

    The cell phone empties our lives of what is the most precious thing for us : time, quality time, a time we spend with our nearest and dearest, a time we should use to learn, to develop as human beings endowed with superior intelligence.

     

    There once was a time when the books, banned by then the communist regime, succeeded to sidestep the system and reach the people, who were reading them avidly. At present, when we have all sorts of book at our fingertips and access to the printed books has never been easier, we opt for being glued to the screens of our cell phones instead of reading. Perhaps this is one of the paradoxes the modern man has to face: if something is like a forbidden fruit for someone, they will try their best to go and get it; give them free access to that particular something and people will lose interest in it.

     

     

    In a world where the habit of reading is on the wane, the Romanians are among those who read rather less. In 2023, the book sales turnover in Romania exceeded 6 million Euro, yet this apparently impressive figure is by far outweighed by Germany, where the book sales turnover in 2023 stood at 9 billion euros. Besides, if you buy a book, that does not necessarily mean you are going to read it…However, that shows you have a smidgen of interest in reading.

     

    In Romania, the people who read, read a lot and constantly, while those who do not read…do not read anything at all. There people who can live quite all right without reading a single line!

     

    Alina Ilioi Mureșan is the PR of Bookzone, the publishers who can brag about being able to arouse the interest of many Romanians with an appetite for reading. She tells us that, nonetheless, the Romanians with an appetite for reading buy a lot of books.

     

    “The Romanian book market is continuously growing, wheel the genres read by the Romanians are ever more diverse. Of course, I am happy when I see Romanians who orders books, who read printed matter and who are thrilled with the prospects of having their own bookcase. I believe last year was a very good one in every respect, in terms of sales but also as regards an editorial plan. Romanians read a lot about personal development and books where they can find out how they can improve their lives in any respect. They are interested in the health of the brain, in healthy diets, in emotional of psychological balance. Also, the geopolitical books are extremely sought-after, considering the context and the times we’re living. The least present, as far as we’re concerned, on their purchase lists were the fantasy books, although, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow has nonetheless enjoyed a tremendous success. However, by and large, the Romanians are not that keen on reading fiction any longer. Not OUR readers, at least. »

     

    However, it appears that the preference towards certain genres differs, from one generation to the next. The Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) prefers the Classic literature, the Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) chose thrillers, the X Generation (those born between 1960 and 1980) prefers contemporary classics, biographies, but also science fiction (it is, actually, the generation that reads the most, and whose reading is the most diversified) the Y Generation or the Millenials (1981 – 1996) prefers contemporary literature, while the Z Generation (1997 – 2012) prefers the fantasy genre, personal development, entrepreneurship.

     

    As regards the interest for reading, Alina Ilioi Mureșan believes it is growing, considering the book sales:

     

    “The book market this year is continuously growing. Of course, that is, however, hard to predict. The experience that I’ve had tells me many times we’re highly likely to be taken by surprise, according to certain circumstances. ”

     

    If we have a closer look at the figures, it appears that, notwithstanding, the Romanians are not among those who are the last to open a book. So we’re not completely lagging behind when it comes to reading?

     

    Alina Ilioi Muresan gives us a couple of reasons why we should be optimistic:

     

    ” I do not believe that. I find it impossible to believe, as every day I run into the number of books ordered by Romanians and I do not think they read the least in Europe. Certainly, the Romanians order the books to read them, and not to put them away so that a layer of dust sets on them. Is it, nonetheless, a financial investment, an effort they make. Yes, the Romanians read, and they read a lot. “

  • Sports weekend

    Sports weekend

    The Romanian men’s basketball team’s debut fixture as part of the 2027 edition of the World Cup prequalifies translated into a defeat for the Romanians. In a Group B match in Cluj, Romania was defeated by Luxembourg, 72-76. It was the national squad’s first official match with head-coach Mihai Silvasan at the helm. Also included in group B is Norway, a team Romania will face this coming autumn, on November 21st, away. Advancing to the prequalifies’ second round are the winners of the three groups, in the competition’s initial stage, as well the best 2nd-placed team.

     

     

    In a confrontation counting towards the quarterfinals of the World Table Tennis Teams Championship in South Korea, The Romanian women’s table tennis team on Thursday sustained a nil-3 defeat by Japam. Having secured their ticket for this coming summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, the Romanians put on a satisfactory performance in their match against Japan, in the fight for a place in the semifinals. Japan’s Mima Ito succeeded a hard-fought win against Bernadette Szőcs, 2-3. Andreea Dragoman lost to Hina Hayata, 1-3, while Elizabeta Samara sustained a nil-3 defeat by Miu Hirano.

     

     

    In news from football, matches counting the domestic championship’s second league have been resumed on Thursday, when, in the 16th round, Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ grabbed a 2-1 away fixture against Concordia Chiajna. 16th round matches are also scheduled at the weekend, and this coming Monday. With 32 points, Şelimbăr, are at the top of the table. Corvinul Hunedoara and Unirea Slobozia follow, with 31 points.

     

     

    Matches counting towards the Romania football Super league’s 27’s round are scheduled at the weekend. On Friday, FC Hermannstadt play FC U Craiova, while CFR Cluj go against Dinamo Bucharest. On Saturday in Arad, in the west, the local side UTA are pitted against Petrolul Ploieşti. In Ovidiu, in the south, Farul Constanta receive the visit of Oţelul Galaţi. Also on Saturday, Poli Iasi play a home game against Rapid Bucharest. In Sfantu Gheorghe on Sunday, Universitatea Cluj face Sepsi OSK, then in Bucharest, FC Botoşani go against FCSB. On Monday, Universitatea Craiova play FC Voluntari. With 55 points, FCSB are at the top of the table. Rapid are at the top of the table, with 48 points.