September 27, 2020 UPDATE

Newsroom, 27.09.2020, 23:14

ELECTION -
The independent candidate Nicusor Dan, supported by the National Liberal Party
and the Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance, has won the vote for the Bucharest
City Hall according to exit polls released on Sunday evening. Dan grabbed 48%
of the vote, while his main opponent, the current Mayor, Social-Democrat
Gabriela Firea, won 38% of the vote. Nicusor Dan thanked the people of
Bucharest for their trust and promised to change the administration for the
better. The candidates designated and supported by the National Liberal Party
and Save Romania Union – PLUS Alliance have also reported victories in 3 of the
6 districts of Bucharest. Liberal leader, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, has
hailed what he has called the most spectacular win for the Liberals in the
local election in the last 30 years. The co-leader of the Save Romania Union -
PLUS Alliance, Dan Barna, said the result in Bucharest confirms the fact that
this alliance is an alternative to traditional parties. In turn,
Social-Democrat leader Marcel Ciolacu said the National Liberal Party lost
their hold on Bucharest due to the chaos it created during the pandemic, thus
becoming the third political force in the capital city. We recall the National
Liberal Party has won the election for the European Parliament and the
presidential election, both held last year. The local election is seen as a
test ahead of the presidential election slated for December 6. The voter
turnout at national level stood at 46%. Romanians voted to elect 41 presidents
of county councils, 1,300 county councilmen, 40,000 local councilmen and 3,200
mayors. The election was held in a single round. Originally slated for June,
the local election was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the
mandates of local officials were extended. The ballot was held with the strict
observance of health safety regulations.

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Another 1,438 new cases of COVID-19
have been reported in the past 24 hours in Romania, taking the total number of
infections to 122,673, according to data published on Sunday by the Strategic
Communication Group. Another 31 people infected with the new coronavirus have
died, taking the total death toll to 4,718. More than 98,600 patients have
recovered, with 535 people currently in ICUs. The number of Romanians from
abroad confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 is 6,693, with 126 people having died. Family
physicians have recommend the population should take the anti-flu shot to
reduce the risk of a possible overalp of seasonal flu with COVID-19. As part of
a campaign run by the Health Ministry, free immunization will benefit
especially the people over 65 with chronic diseases, children, the
institutionalized elderly, pregnant women and medical staff.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – As many as 33 million people across
the world have got infected with the new coronavirus. Since the start of the
pandemic, in late 2019 in China, almost 1 million people have died. The WHO
warns that the new coronavirus is likely to kill more than 2 million people if
action is not taken internationally to fight the disease. The US continues to
be the country with the biggest number of contaminations and deaths. Over 7.1
million Americans have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and more than 207,000 have
died. Europe is also facing problems, with Russia reporting almost 8 thousand
cases in the last 24 hours. Great Britain is now in the grips of a second wave
of the pandemic.

CONFLICT – The evolution of the situation between Armenia
and Azerbaijan is troubling and Romania is calling on both sides to resume
political dialogue to work out solutions through peaceful means, said the
Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu, as quoted by Agerpres. The president
of the European Council Charles Michel in turn asked for the cessation of
hostilities between the troops of Azerbaijan and the separatists in
Nagorno-Karabakh and for the immediate start of negotiations. He made this
appeal after Armenia on Sunday decreed martial law and total military
mobilization following clashes with Azerbaijan in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia said that Azerbaijan had launched an air and artillery attack in
Nagorno-Karabakh while Azerbaijan accused the Armenian forces of bombing
military and civilian targets from its territory. The two countries from the
Caucasus have been stuck in an unresolved conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic
Armenians. Although a ceasefire agreement was concluded in 1994, Armenia and
Azerbaijan have been frequently accusing each other of attacks on the region of
Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict worries the West as it might increase
instability in South Caucasus, a region serving as corridor for the oil an gas
pipelines towards the world markets.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world no. 2
and seeded first at Roland Garros, on Sunday qualified to the second round of
the Grand Slam tournament in Paris after ousting Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain
in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0. The winner of the title in 2018, Halep will next take
on another Romanian player, Irina Begu (73 WTA), who in the first round
defeated Jil Teichmann of Switzerland (53 WTA) at the end of three sets.
Another five Romanian players will be competing in the women’s singles on
Monday. Monica Niculescu (141 WTA) will be playing Danielle Collins of the
United States (57 WTA), Irina Bara (142 WTA) will take on Donna Vekić (30 WTA)
of Croatia. Patricia Ţig (59 WTA) will play Stefanie Voegele (117 WTA) of
Switzerland, Sorana Cîrstea (84 WTA) will go up against Elena Rybakina (18 WTA)
of Kazakhstan, while Ana Bogdan (93 WTA) will take on Timea Babos (107 WTA) of
Hungary. Romania is also represented in the doubles events.

(Translated by L. Simion & V. Palcu)