August 17, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 17.08.2020, 13:55

No-confidence
motion. The Social Democratic Party, the
largest opposition party in Romania, is negotiating with other parliamentary
parties support for the no-confidence motion it plans to file today against the
Liberal cabinet led by Ludovic Orban. According to the Social Democrats, Romania
is drifting, and the government has zero credibility, against the background of
the current huge chaos, downgraded economy and rampant unemployment. They say
the only concern of the current executive has been to siphon off public money
since coming to power and in the midst of the health crisis generated by the
new coronavirus. According to the interim leader of the Social Democratic
Party, Marcel Ciolacu, the motion is to be read, debated and voted on this
week. 233 votes are required for the document to be adopted. If it passes, it
would be the second time in a single year that a government led by Ludovic
Orban is sacked by means of a motion of no-confidence. The Social Democrats are
supported by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and PRO Romania, also in
opposition, as well as by independent parliamentarians. The motion, on the
other hand, is criticized by the Save Romania Union and the People’s Movement
Party, who say now is not the time to replace the government given the
situation in health, the opening of the school year and the local elections
scheduled for September 27. The National Liberal Party has stated that the
Social Democratic Party, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats and PRO Romania
have deliberately sabotaged the Orban government, at parliamentary level,
during the health crisis.

Elections. In view
of the local elections in Romania, due on September 27, parties are submiting
their lists of candidates for the seats of mayor, local and county councilors.
On Sunday, the main candidates for the Bucharest City Hall made official their
intentions: the current mayor, the Social Democrat Gabriela Firea, the former
president of Romania and mayor of the capital Traian Băsescu, and the
independent candidate supported by the National Liberal Party and USR PLUS,
Nicuşor Dan. This year’s local elections will be held in special conditions, given
the Covid-19 pandemic. Local elections
will be followed by parliamentary elections, to be held by the end of the year.

Covid-19 RO. In
Romania, 733 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported today by the Strategic
Communication Group. Thus, over 71,000 cases of infection with the new
coronavirus have been confirmed in the country, since the beginning of the
epidemic, at the end of February. More than 32,700 patients have been declared
cured. 38 deaths have also been reported, raising the death toll to 3,029. 497
patients are in intensive care.

Pandemic. The total
number of people infected with the new coronavirus in the world, so far, has
exceeded 21.6 million in 188 countries, according to data from Johns Hopkins
University. Over the entire pandemic period, more than 774,000 people have died
and 13.6 million have recovered. The most affected country remains the United
States, followed by Brazil, India and Russia. Mortality rate in some European countries
remains high, with the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain in the first
places. These states have reintroduced sanitary measures to manage the new
increase in the number of infections that foreshadow a possible second epidemic
wave. Greece has also tightened rules after an increase in the number of cases.
On the other hand, Russia has announced that the first vaccine against Covid-19
has entered production, so that it can be delivered at the end of this month,
but Western specialists believe that the vaccine has not been tested enough.

Protests. Belarusian
opposition leaders have called for a strike after a weekend of massive protests
against President Alexander Lukashenko, accused of rigging recent elections
that extended his term of office for another quarter of a century. According to
Reuters, 200,000 opponents took part in a freedom march in Minsk, while
Lukashenko’s supporters gathered in parallel to listen to his call to defend
the country against alleged foreign interference. He said NATO planes and tanks
were deployed 15 minutes from the country’s borders, an accusation immediately
rejected by the Alliance. Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26
years, has been faced with protests before. This time, however, it is the
strongest wave of protest against the authoritarian way in which he leads the
country. Last week, police brutally intervened to end the protests. At least
two people were killed and nearly 7,000 detained.

Tennis. Romanian tennis
player Simona Halep, world number two, jumped last night, dressed in sports
equipment, in the water of the Vltava River, after winning the tennis
tournament in Prague. The image quickly went viral. She thus kept the promise
she made before the final with the Belgian Elise Mertens, whom she defeated
6-2, 7-5. The tournament in Prague was the first played by Simona since
February, after the interruption of the women’s circuit due to the coronavirus
pandemic. For Simona Halep, the Prague Open trophy is the 21st of her career
and the second this year. However, Simona was not 100% original. Similar
celebrations of victory have happened before. Rafael Nadal, for example, throws
himself into the pool with the ball persons after each title won in Barcelona,
​​and so far he has won 11 such titles. (M. Ignatescu)