November 4, 2020
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 04.11.2020, 13:55
COVID-19 RO. In Romania, the number of cases of infection with the new coronavirus has increased by 8,651 in the last 24 hours, a new unwanted record. To date, more than 267,000 cases of infection have been confirmed. 146 deaths have also been reported, and 1,001 patients are in intensive care. Meanwhile, authorities are constantly evaluating measures to manage the coronavirus epidemic and adapting them to the latest developments. President Klaus Iohannis has announced that the first tranche of COVID-19 vaccine could arrive in Romania in the first quarter of next year. The head of state has specified that those in the medical system and people in risk groups will have priority for vaccination. On the other hand, Klaus Iohaanis has stated that, at the moment, there are no reasons for imposing a state of emergency, but restrictions are needed in order to slow the spread of the pandemic.
PANDEMIC. The number of cases of infection with the new coronavirus has exceeded 47.25 million worldwide, and the number of deaths due to COVID-19 has reached 1,209,590. The United States, Brazil and India are the countries with the most cases of infections and deaths. In Europe, several states have imposed new restrictions amid a rapid increase in the number of new cases of coronavirus infection. France, Germany, Belgium and Austria have banned night traffic and closed museums, theaters and swimming pools. The Netherlands has announced similar measures. Greece has also closed non-essential restaurants and shops in Athens and other crowded areas. Britain will be in lockdown for four weeks as of Thursday. In Spain, several regions have closed non-essential activities, restaurants and gyms, but for the time being, the isolation of citizens at home is avoided.
VISIT. Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban is in Ramallah in the West Bank today, where he will discuss with his Palestinian counterpart Mohammad Shtayyeh ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation. On Tuesday, Orban held talks in Jerusalem with top Israeli officials. Ludovic Orban and his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyhu, reconfirmed the privileged relations between the two countries and welcomed the recent launch of the Romania – Israel Working Group in the economic field.
CCR. In Bucharest, the Constitutional Court discusses the notifications filed by the governing National Liberal Party and the Save Romania Alliance regarding the appointment of the opposition Social Democrat Florin Iordache as president of the Legislative Council. The signatories claim that the necessary number of votes for Florin Iordache to be appointed president has not been met. On the other hand, they claim that he does not meet the condition of good professional and moral reputation provided by law. He promoted, as Minister of Justice, the Emergency Ordinance no. 13 and the amnesty and pardon bill. That ordinance generated widespread protests, in the winter of 2017, in Bucharest, in other cities in the country and in the Diaspora. The government at the time, formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, was accused of adopting an ordinance amending the Criminal Codes to clean up politicians with legal problems. Under street pressure, the Executive announced that it was renouncing the amendment of the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
US ELECTION. The election for president of the United States has come to an end. The Americans had to choose between the current president, Republican Donald Trump, and his Democratic rival Joe Biden. Although the counting of votes has begun, the final results will be known later this year, due to the fact that most of the votes were cast by mail, and states have different ways of counting those votes. Some do it before counting the ones in the ballot boxes, others after. CNN reports that in terms of postal voting, Joe Biden seems to be the favorite. Donald Trump, however, has declared himself convinced of victory. The election was held against the background of a country severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with the highest number of infections and deaths in the world. However, according to Radio Romanias correspondent in Washington, the turnout was impressive, which shows the Americans interest in this presidential election.
CLIMATE. United States has become the first nation to officially withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate. Although the decision was announced by incumbent President Donald Trump in June 2017, according to the UN rules, the United States had to wait until November 4 to officially leave the agreement. Countries that have ratified the document so far are committed to keeping the rise in global temperatures below two degrees Celsius this century. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Donald Trump made leaving the Agreement a key goal, arguing that it was unfair to the United States. The agreement, he says, allows India, China and other states to continue using fossil fuels, while the United States has been asked to reduce carbon emissions.
MOURNING. The Austrian government has declared three days of national mourning for the victims of Mondays terrorist attack in Vienna, which left four dead and 22 wounded. Authorities are continuing the investigation, after the Austrian attacker of North Macedonian origin was shot dead by the police. 14 arrests were made after searches of 18 homes. Authorities believe he was a lone attacker, who ran the streets and opened fire on passers-by and customers in bars and restaurants, just before the national quarantine came into force. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has sent a message of unity to the people, promising that Austria will defend its democracy, fundamental rights and its liberal lifestyle.
HANDBALL. Romanias mens handball team, on Thursday, will have its debut in Group VIII of the preliminaries of the 2022 European Championship, organized in Hungary and Slovakia, with a match against the team of Sweden. The match will be followed, on Sunday, by the one its home turf with Montenegro. The top two in the group that also includes Kosovo qualify for the next round. The four-time world champion in the 60s and 70s, Romanias mens team has not qualified for a continental final tournament since 1996. In the womens competition, Romania has qualified into the group that includes Norway, Germany and Poland, for Euro 2020, which will be held next month. (M. Ignatescu)
