August 10, 2020 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 10.08.2020, 19:53

RULING The Court of Appeal in Bucharest on Monday
decided it lacks the material competence needed to rule regarding a request
from the Department for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) to
reopen an inquiry into the activity of the former chiefs of the Gendarme Corps
in the file of the protest rallies staged by the Romanians living abroad on
August 10th 2018 in Bucharest, against the Social Democratic
government of that time. The trial has been moved to the Bucharest Court, which
has admitted a request by the former heads of the Romanian Gendarme Corps
involved in this case. Last week, the Court of Appeal postponed the request. On
Tuesday the chief prosecutor of DIICOT, Giorgiana Hosu, dismissed the decision
to close the case and ordered the recommencement of prosecution against the
former officials of the Romanian Gendarme Corps. The case had been closed in
late June, when the case prosecutor decided that there was neither evidence of
an attempted coup, as gendarme officials had claimed at the time, nor evidence
that the crackdown on the protests had been planned beforehand. The reopening
of the case must be approved by a judge, and then the investigation will be taken
over by the Military Prosecutor’s Office. The former gendarme chiefs will be
probed into, among others, for abuse of office and improper participation in
misrepresentation, abusive conduct and fraud.

COVID-19 In Romania, the total number of COVID-19
infections is now over 62,500, with 779 new cases reported on Monday and with
the death toll standing at 2,729, of which 29 in the last 24 hours, according
to the Strategic Communication Group. As many as 476 patients are in intensive care units, and over 30,311 have recovered. The
largest numbers of SARS-CoV-2 cases are reported in Bucharest and in the
counties of Suceava (north-east) and Arges (south). Healthcare experts once
again urged citizens to observe protection rules. They warned that private
parties or family gatherings do not eliminate infection risks even if they take
place outdoors. Today, the National Public Health Institute decided to include
Spain in the yellow risk area. As of Tuesday, all
those who travel from Spain to Romania must self-isolate for 14 days, and all
flights from Spain to Romania are cancelled. Meanwhile, Italy has
extended itsself-isolation requirement for all people having stayed or
transited Romania up to 14 days before arriving in Italy. The measure will be
in place until September 7. Around the globe,
some 20 million cases and 730,000 deaths have been confirmed so far. The US and
Latin America are severely affected, in Asia the worst hit country is India, with
over 43,000 deaths, while in Africa the worst situation is reported in South
Africa. The Gulf region is also severely hit, with over 600,000 cases
confirmed in Iran and Saudi Arabia alone.

FOOTBALL According to the polls cast in
Nyon, Switzerland, on Monday, Romania’s football champions CFR Cluj will be
taking on Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb in the second preliminary round of the
Champions League if they defeat Floriana FC of Malta in the first round. The
match against the Croatian champions is due on August 25th or 26th
in Romania. CFR will be taking on Floriana on August 18 or 19 in Malta. All the
games in the first three preliminary rounds are to take place in the same time due
to the extended 2019-2020 season after the recess imposed by the novel
coronavirus. In Europa League, Romanian side FCSB will be playing Armenian side
FC Shirak in Bucharest, while FC Botosani, another side from Romania, will go
to Kazakhstan to play the local side Ordabasy. Another Romanian side CSU
Craiova will be up against Lokomotiv Tbilisi of Georgia in an away game. All
the matches are due in a single round on August 27th.

DEFICIT Romania’s trade deficit for the first 6 months of the
year stands at 8.665 billion euros, up 935.7 million euros since the level
reported for the first half of 2019, the National Statistics Institute
announced on Monday. Between January 1 and June 30, Romania’s exports totaled 28.590
billion euros, and imports 37.255 billion euros. During the same period,
exports dropped by 18.1%, while imports went down 12.6%, compared to the
corresponding period of 2019.

LEBANON Nearly one week after the devastating
blast in Beirut, which killed 158 people and injured 6,000, the international
community put together an emergency aid package of nearly 253 million Euros for
Lebanon, and promised it would reach the Lebanese people directly. The money
was pledged at a virtual donor conference hosted by France. An investigation is
underway to clarify the causes of the disaster, and leaders around the world have asked for a transparent inquiry. Meanwhile,
in Beirut, protests are growing, having already led to the resignation of 3
cabinet ministers. For 2 days in a row, protesters demanded the government
should step down, and accused politicians of incompetence and corruption. Clashes
have been reported between the protesters and the police, with 250 people
wounded and 65 hospitalised according to the Lebanese Red Cross. One policeman
was killed.

(translated by
bill)