June 6, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 06.06.2021, 14:01

Covid-19RO. 70,000 people were vaccinated in Romania in the past 24 hours, of whom 20,000 with the first jab, the National Vaccination Committee has announced. Data presented by authorities show that 4.4 million Romanians have received at least one dose. Numerous vaccination marathons and other events aimed at increasing the number of immunized people are organized this weekend. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu called for measures to boost the vaccination campaign, stressing that the pandemic is not over. “In order to carry out the vaccination campaign in rural areas now, we need the support of local authorities, county council presidents, prefects, mayors, but also opinion leaders, such as priests, doctors, even the police in the area”, the Prime Minister stressed. As regards new cases of infection, 121 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, out of 18,000 tests. Also, 90 deaths were reported, of which only 8 in the last 24 hours. The death toll now stands at 30,815. 1,678 Covid-19 patients are currently hospitalized, of whom 320 in intensive care.

NATO. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned Russia and Belarus not to threaten members of the North Atlantic Alliance. Following the hijacking of a passenger plane by Belarusian authorities last month, “we are of course prepared, in case of emergency, to protect and defend any ally against any threat from Minsk and Moscow,” Stoltenberg told the German publication Welt am Sonntag, quoted by international agencies. “We are vigilant and are watching closely what is happening in Belarus,” the NATO secretary general added, noting that Belarus is becoming “increasingly dependent” on Russia. “We have learned from the past that Russia has massively violated the territorial integrity of states such as Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova,” he said. Stoltenberg also said that the situation in Belarus will be discussed at the NATO summit to be held in Brussels on June 14 and attended by US President Joe Biden. Lithuania, Latvia and Poland, all NATO members, have common borders with Belarus. Two weeks ago, agents of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko forced a commercial flight operated by Ryanair between two European Union and NATO capitals – Athens and Vilnius – to make an emergency landing in Minsk. Belarusian anti-regime journalist Roman Protasevich and his Russian girlfriend Sofia Sapega, passengers on board that flight, were arrested. After the EU imposed new sanctions on Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Lukashenko and said Moscow would support Minsk with $ 500 million in loans.

Visit. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, meets, on Tuesday, in Bucharest, with his Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, who will pay a state visit to Romania. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the Israeli presidents state visit is part of the very good dynamics of high-level bilateral contacts in recent times, the most recent meeting between the two heads of state taking place on the occasion of the Romanian presidents participation in the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem, in January 2020, followed by telephone talks in March and June 2020 . The source adds that President Rivlins visit reflects the solidity of the bilateral relationship, as well as the fact that Israel remains a key strategic partner of Romania in the Middle East. The discussions will focus on ways to develop and deepen bilateral relations in all areas of common interest, the visit taking place in the context of celebrating, on June 11, 73 years of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between Romania and the State of Israel. Economic and health cooperation will also be addressed, including the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Holocaust education and other measures to combat anti-Semitism in Romania, as well as cultural and interpersonal exchanges between the two states. “Special attention will be paid to the situation in the Middle East region,” the presidential administration said in a statement

Tennis. The Romanian – Argentinean pair Irina Begu/Nadia Podoroska has qualified for the quarter finals of the womens doubles at the Roland Garros tournament, the second Grand Slam of the year. In the mens doubles, the Romanian-German pair Horia Tecău / Kevin Krawietz had alrealy qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament, after defeating, on Saturday, in three sets, the pair Jamie Murray (UK) / Bruno Soares (Brazil). The Romanian player Sorana Cirstea has been defeated today by the Slovenian Tamara Zidansek, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, in the fourth round of the tournament. She was the only Romanian left in the singles.

Football. The Romanian national football team will play, tonight, in Middleborough, a friendly match with the England national team. On Wednesday, on home turf, the Romanians were defeated, for the first time, by the representative of Georgia with the score of 1-2, also in a friendly match. It is the third consecutive match that the Romanians lost, after 0-1 against Germany and 2-3 against Armenia, in the preliminaries of next years World Cup, and after they also missed the qualification to Euro 2020. The last World Cup in which Romania participated was the one in 1998, hosted by France. On Saturday night, Romanias Under-23 football team, which qualified for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, lost, 0-1, a training match with Mexico, played in Spain, in Marbella. On Tuesday, also in a friendly match, the Romanians will meet Australia. Romania qualified for the Olympic Games in Tokyo after reaching the semifinals of the 2019 European Under-21 Championship, in Italy and San Marino. Romania has not participated in the Olympic football tournament since 1964, when it ranked 5th, also in Tokyo. This will be its fourth participation, after the 1924 (Paris), 1952 (Helsinki) and 1964 (Tokyo) editions. Romania was assigned to Group B at the Olympic Games in Japan, along with New Zealand, South Korea and Honduras. The football tournament will start on July 21 and end on August 7. Players born on or after January 1, 1997 (Under-24) are eligible for this years Olympic Games. Participating teams usually consist of Under-23 players, but because the Tokyo Games were postponed by a year, a waiver has been introduced for players who have qualified on the field to compete. (MI)