September 3, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

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Newsroom, 03.09.2023, 20:00

REPORT – The head of
the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, on Sunday made public the
preliminary report detailing the firefighters’ intervention following last
week’s explosions at an illegal LPG filling station in Crevedia, which killed
three people. According to the report, the firefighters first sent intervention
robots to cool down the gas tanks, secured the perimeter and evacuated the
civilians, thus avoiding a larger number of casualties among both civilians and
emergency responders. Raed Arafat complained about the disinformation and
manipulation of media outlets regarding the coordination of the intervention.
Three people died and 56 were injured in the wake of the blasts. Some of the
patients in critical condition were transferred to burn clinics abroad. Some 10
houses were completely destroyed by the blasts. The Prosecutor General’s
Office, the Military Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anticorruption
Directorate have launched investigations, while the authorities are inspecting
all LPG stations across Romania.

DEFENSE -
Russia’s attack on the Ukrainian port of Reni on the Danube River does not pose
a direct military threat to Romania or its territorial waters, the Defense
Ministry in Bucharest announced. Defense officials say its internal structures
have had real-time oversight of last night’s Russian drone attacks. The Defense
Ministry gave assurances that it has taken measures to increase the vigilance
of land, maritime and air defenses and to consolidate defense and deterrence
postures on the eastern flank, in line with national and NATO operative plans.

ARREST -
Mining tycoon Beny Steinmetz, who was handed a five-year prison sentence in
Romania, has been detained on Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus under a
European arrest warrant issued by Romanian authorities. It is unclear whether
Steinmetz will be handed over to Romanian law enforcement considering other
European states, including Greece and Italy, have refused to do so in the past.
Greece refused to put Steinmetz into Romanian custody, after local authorities
believed Steinmetz was denied a fair trial. Beny Steinmetz received a final
sentence in December 2020 for property fraud. Steinmetz is also wanted in
Switzerland, where a tribunal passed a five-year prison sentence in his name
for bribing several public servants to win lucrative mining licenses in Guinea.

ACCIDENT -
Two climbers, one Romanian the other German, died on Sunday morning in the
Italian Alps after a member of their group slipped and fell, dragging three
other party members, according to ANSA news agency. The Romanian was 35 and was
living in Italy, while the German climber was 46 and lived in Munich. Another
two people were injured in the accident on Mount Ortler (3,905m) in
northeastern Italy, both medevaced from the area. The climbers were moving in
single file on a rather easy segment of their track, which is why some of the
members were not using safety gear at the time of the accident, ANSA reports.

TENNIS -
Romanian tennis player Andreea Mitu on Sunday won the ITF tournament in Prague
after defeating fourth-seed Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 in
the final. Ranked 450 in WTA standings, Mitu won her most important ITF title
of her career. Bejlek (213 WTA) had ousted Irina Bara of Romania in the
quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-4. Another Romanian tennis player, Bogdan Pavel (1,585
ATP) won the Tennis Club Bucharest Trophy after defeating third-seed Juan Pablo
Paz (590 ATP) in the finals, 7-5, 6-4. This is the first ITF title in the men’s
singles for Pavel, who previously won three ITF doubles tournaments.

WEATHER – A code yellow alert against thunderstorms is in
place until Monday in northwestern Romania. Heavy rainfall, thunderstorms,
strong wind and hail are expected during the interval in widespread areas.
Thunderstorms are also expected in isolated areas in regions in the south and
southeast. The weather remains sunny and warm in the other regions, with
maximum temperatures ranging between 20 and 34 degrees. (VP)