September 5, 2020

Bucharest hosts Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum./ Sorana Cirstea in third round action at US Open.

Newsroom, 05.09.2020, 13:55

Coronavirus. 1,269 new daily coronavirus cases
were reported on Saturday in Romania, taking the infections number to almost
94,000. 38 new deaths were also reported, which raises the death toll to 3,850.
The highest number of new cases were in Bucharest, 352, followed by Iasi and
Bacau counties. 476 people are in intensive care. Among the Romanian nationals
living abroad, 6.599have contracted the virus, mostly in Germany,
Italy and Spain, and 126 have died.

Forum. The
European Union is still divided with respect to defence and military industry -
was the conclusion of discussions on day two of the Black Sea and Balkans
Security Forum organised in Bucharest by the New Strategy Center with the support
of the foreign affairs
and defence ministries. Talks looked at all types of security risks and threats
in the Black Sea region and the Balkans, including those arising in the context
of the coronavirus pandemic. On day one of the forum on Friday, the Romanian
defence minister Nicolae Ciuca warned that the Black Sea is one of NATO’s most
vulnerable regions and that the entire region has become the place where NATO’s
credibility and defence and deterrence posture are most frequently tested. NATO
must defend Bucharest and Sofia the same way it defends Brussels or Lisbon,
said the Romanian minister. He added that NATO needs the consolidation of
allied capacity and posture in the region. The minister also explained that Russia’s
aggressive attitude, the growing militarisation of the Black Sea area and of
the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed illegally, as well as a number of
frozen conflicts make this region a source of risks not only for the area and
Europe, but also for the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Ukraine’s defence
minister Andriy Taran, who attended the forum, called for
Romania’s expert assistance to improve Ukraine’s defence planning and
capabilities and boost the interoperability of Ukraine’s troops with those of
NATO. On Saturday, the defence ministers of Romania and Ukraine signed
an inter-governmental agreement for technical and military cooperation.

UN. The Romanian foreign
minister Bogdan Aurescu on Friday addressed an informal UN Security Council
meeting held online on the human rights situation in Belarus, a meeting
initiated by Estonia and backed by Romania alongside the UK, the US, Canada,
Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. Aurescu said Romania
would continue to call on the Belarus authorities and their supporters to put
an end to repression and intimidation, to engage in genuine dialogue with the
opposition and civil society, to stop unfounded accusations against neighbouring
states and to act responsibly to achieve social peace and prosperity based on
democracy and respect for fundamental rights in a free, independent and
sovereign Belarus. The Romanian minister recalled that Romania, alongside EU
member states, has condemned the violation of human rights in Belarus, has not
recognised the result of elections and has called for the release of all
political prisoners and for starting political dialogue as soon as possible. Bucharest
is also in favour of EU sanctions against those responsible for repression and
for rigging the elections and is looking for ways to support civil society and
the free press in Belarus, the Romanian minister also said. The citizens of
Belarus deserve to have their rights respected and the international community
must act efficiently, he added.

Music. 13 young cellists
from 54 participants have reached the second stage of the George Enescu International
Competition. The participants selected after the second stage will take part in
the competition’s semifinal, which will be held on the 13th of May
next year at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. This year’s edition of the
George Enescu International Competition, which was due to take place between 29th
August and 20th September, has bern reorganised because of the
pandemic into two separate events: the first two stages are held online in
September, as initially scheduled, while the semifinals and the finals in each
category will be held in May next year. The competition has brought together
205 musicians from 39 different countries. 184 are competition in the three
instrument sections, namely violin, cello and piano, while 21 are competition
in the composition section.

Football. Romania drew 1-all against Northern Ireland
on Friday night in Bucharest in a Group 1 League B match as part of the Nations
League competition. On Monday, Romania will be facing Austria away. Romania are
also in the group with Norway, which they will be playing next month. These are
Romania’s first matches with a new manager, Mirel Radoi, the man who last year took
Romania’s Under 21 side to the semifinals of the European Championship. On
October 8, Romania will be playing Iceland away in the semifinals of the 2020
EURO qualifying playoffs. If they qualify, Romania will further play the winner
of the other semifinal, Hungary or Bulgaria. Also on Friday night, Romania’s
under-21 side defeated Finland 3-1 in a qualifying match for next year’s
European Under-21 Championship.

Tennis. Sorana Cirstea of Romania is
today facing Karolina Muchova of the
Czech Republic in the third round at the US Open. Cirstea is the only Romanian
singles player still in competition. In the doubles, the Romanian-Dutch pair
Horia Tecau and Jean-Julien Rojer are today playing against the first seeds
Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Colombia.