August 1, 2021
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Newsroom, 01.08.2021, 13:55
DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu Saturday had talks over the telephone with his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid, concerning the incident involving the Mercer Street vessel in the Hormuz Strait area, in which the Romanian national capital and a British national were killed. With respect to the July 29 incident, the Romanian foreign ministry says it is in touch with both the company managing the ship, and with the local authorities in Oman and the United Arab Emirates, and is prepared to provide consular assistance. Also on Saturday, Bogdan Aurescu exchanged views on the matter with the UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab, and agreed on the need to clarify as soon as possible the circumstances of the incident. Dominic Raab voiced the willingness of the British authorities to coordinate with the Romanian party with respect to the repatriation procedures. A Romanian national and a British citizen from the crew of the oil tanker “Mercer Street were killed in an attack in unclear circumstances, as the vessel was sailing with no cargo onboard off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. The Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned ship is managed by the London-based company Zodiac Maritime, headed by an Israeli businessman.
COVID-19 On Sunday 152 new SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported, out of nearly 22,000 tests. The authorities also announced no new COVID-related deaths, but reported 5 previous deaths, over 400 people hospitalised and 59 patients in ICUs. Meanwhile, new COVID-19 relaxation measures take effect in Romania today. In places with infection rates below 2 per thousand, outdoor events may be attended by up to 75,000 people, private indoor events by 400 participants, and sports competitions may be held with crowds up to 75% of the venue capacity. Participants must be vaccinated, tested or must have recovered from the disease. A maximum of 500 people may take part in rallies, with mandatory face covering, which remains a prerequisite in all indoor or busy areas. Also as of Sunday, the COVID-19 vaccine platform allows appointments for youth aged 12 to 17, with Modernas Spikevax. Over 5 million people have received at least one dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine in Romania.
FESTIVAL Cancelled last year due to the COVID pandemic, the Medieval Sighişoara Festival, the longest-lasting festival of its kind in Romania, bringing together artists, craftsmen and a large number of guests, comes to a close today with a concert by the Romanian band Phoenix. The only medieval citadel still inhabited in southeastern Europe, Sighişoara has seen this weekend warriors, knights, ladies of the court and master craftsmen pouring in from all corners of the country and from abroad. The medieval play The Farce of Master Pathelin was premiered, stage directed by our colleague from RRIs Aromanian Service, Toma Enache, who is also the festival’s stage director. Entry was free of charge, face masks were mandatory and only vaccinated people or those presenting a negative PCR test for COVID-19 were allowed to attend the performances.
MOUNTAIN RESCUE The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis sent a message today, on National Mountain Rescue Day, praising the “dedication and self-sacrifice of mountain rescue workers. The Romanian Mountain Rescue Association, known as Salvamont, the only mountain rescue service in the country, celebrates today 117 years since the first mountain rescue structures were established in the country. The association is celebrated every year on the 1st of August, the most difficult month of the year for mountain rescue workers, when the largest number of incidents are reported.
WEATHER Romania remains in the grip of a severe heat wave, with most of the country and the capital Bucharest subject to code orange and code yellow alerts for extreme heat and thermal discomfort today. The heat index is over the critical 80-unit threshold. Highs are ranging between 31 and 40 degrees Celsius.
OLYMPICS Romania has today qualified into the quarter-finals of the Olympic womens table tennis competition, after defeating Egypt 3-0, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Romanias womens table tennis team takes part for the 3rd time in an Olympic competition, after ranking 7th in Beijing 2008 and 9th in Rio 2016. Romania’s first participation in the event was in Barcelona 1992, and the Romanian athletes have not missed any Olympic Games ever since. In the 2012 Olympics in London, Adrian Crişan played the quarter-finals, the best Olympic performance for Romania in this sport to date. (tr. A.M. Popescu)
