October 29, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 29.10.2020, 13:55

COVID19
RO A record number of 6,481 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2
have been registered in Romania in the last 24 hours, following 36,169 tests
performed nationwide, the Strategic Communication Group has announced. The
number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 was 83, bringing the total number of
victims to 6,764. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 229,040 cases of people
infected with the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Romania, and 163,852
patients have been declared cured. 868 patients are admitted to intensive care,
7 more than the previous day. The highest infection coefficients per 1,000
inhabitants in the last 14 days were registered in the counties of Cluj (4.3),
Sălaj (4.11), Alba (3.8), in the capital Bucharest (3.69) and in the counties of
Timiş (3.61) and Harghita (3.32). These areas are subject to the red scenario
that imposes additional restrictions, such as wearing a mask in all open
spaces. The good news comes from abroad, where there have been no new cases of
infection or death among Romanians in the last 24 hours. So far, 6,851 Romanian
nationals have fallen ill and 126 have lost their lives abroad.

PANDEMIC
More than 44 million people have tested positive for the new coronavirus worldwide and
nearly 1.2 million have died from COVID-19. Ranking first with regard to the confirmed cases of
infection is the United States, with 9 million, followed by India, with 8, and
Brazil, with almost 6. The same countries occupy the first three places in
terms of deaths due to COVID-19. The pandemic continues to severely affect
Europe. France is re-imposing quarantine nationwide from Friday to December 1
to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, President Emmanuel Macron announced
on Wednesday night. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, people
will have to stay in their homes, except for when they need to purchase
essential goods, for doctor’s appointments or daily outdoor exercise. For all these,
the French will have to fill in a self-declaration. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel, has agreed with the leaders of the federal states
to set up a so-called limited lockdown, in parallel with tightening the rules
already in place. These measures are burdensome, she admitted, but she stressed
that they are aimed at restoring much of public life in Germany in December.
The new measures will enter into force starting Monday, November 2, two days
earlier than previously expected, being valid until the end of the month, the
Radio Romania correspondent in Germany reports.

SENTENCE The former Liberal President of
the Bucharest Chamber of Deputies, Bogdan Olteanu, has been sentenced today to
5 years in prison for influence peddling in a case in which he is accused of
receiving one million euro from a controversial businessman. The sentence is
final. Olteanu led the lower chamber of Parliament between 2006 and 2008, and
in 2009 he was appointed deputy governor of the National Bank. He resigned
after being detained by anti-corruption prosecutors in 2016, to be heard in the
influence peddling case.

GREENEPEACE
The environmental organization Greenpeace Romania launches a campaign entitled
Green barrier for replanting forest curtains and protection forests in
plain areas. In the next 30 years, over 40% of Romania’s territory will
become an arid steppe, and climatologists claim that over 11 million Romanians
will be affected by rising temperatures, drastic reductions in water reserves
and desertification. According to Greenpeace Romania, illegal logging in recent
years has exceeded the darkest estimates: 20 million cubic meters of timber
disappear annually without a trace, including from plain areas.

AL-QAEDA A senior UN official has
warned that al-Qaeda remains a global threat, even though the Taliban have
vowed to prevent the terrorist group from launching further attacks from
Afghanistan. The US intervention in Afghanistan, following the 9/11 attacks,
aimed to eliminate al-Qaeda and overthrow the Taliban regime that hosted the
group. 19 years later, President Donald Trump is determined to withdraw the US
forces from Afghanistan. The agreement his administration signed with the
Taliban earlier this year sets a temporary timetable for withdrawal, provided
insurgents prevent their former allies from further attacks against the West.

FOOTBALL
The Romanian football champion, CFR Cluj (northwest) plays, tonight, on home
turf, against Young Boys Bern of Switzerland, its second match in Group A of
Europa League. Also today, in the same group, the Italians from AS Rome meet
the Bulgarians from TSKA Sofia. In the first matches, last week, CFR won 2-0 in
Sofia, and Rome 2-1 in Bern. The Cluj team is the last representative of
Romania in this year’s edition of the European football cups. (M. Ignatescu)