September 6, 2015

For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.

Newsroom, 06.09.2015, 12:00

CORRUPTION – Anti-corruption prosecutors on Saturday night arrested Bucharest General Mayor Sorin Oprescu for bribe-taking, after he was caught receiving the sum of 25,000 euros. According to prosecutors, in the 2013-2015period a well-organized crime group, including Sorin Oprescu, set up a system in the local administration in Bucharest, forcing companies bidding in public tenders organized by the Bucharest City Hall to submit part of their profits in bribes to key decision makers with the City Hall. Sorin Opescu himself pocketed 10% of the value of each contract. A former member of the Social Democratic Party, Sorin Oprescu became Mayor of Bucharest in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012.

AGRICULTURE – Romanian Agriculture Minister Daniel Constantin on Monday will call on EU officials for urgent support for Romanian farmers affected by the prolonged drought this season and for those animal breeders whove incurred major losses due to the milk crisis. Daniel Constantin is attending the emergency Farm Council organized on Monday in Brussels. Overseen by Luxembourgs presidency of the European Council, debates will tackle difficulties in certain agricultural fields at European level. Additionally, the EU Commissioner for Agriculture will hold technical talks in order to identify concrete measures to implement solutions.

GEORGE ENESCU FESTIVAL – The “George Enescu International Music Festival continues in Bucharest. Today, Elisabeth Leonskaja, dubbed the “last lady of the Russian school of music, will hold a recital. Climbing on stage will be the Hyperion ensemble, with Stephen oMalley as special guest. Until September 20, over 3,000 Romanian and foreign artists from the worlds music elite will perform live on the stage of the festival, one of the most prestigious events of its kind in Europe. This years edition brings together famous orchestras, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, the latter under the baton of Romanian conductor Ion Marin. The agenda of the festival also includes dozens of outdoor concerts.

RUGBY – The Romanian national rugby team lost on Saturday to Tonga, 21-16 on home turf, as part of the last friendly match ahead of the World Rugby Cup, due to kick off on September 18 in England. The Romanian team displayed a solid performance, but lost to a superior opponent. The adversaries displayed a better physical condition. At the World Cup, Romania is part of Group D, alongside France, Ireland, Canada and Italy. Known as the Romanian Oaks, Romanias rugby team has taken part in every edition of the World Cup, although it never went past the group phase.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, WTA 2nd ranked, has qualified to the US Open round of 16, after defeating Shelby Rogers of the US in the third round, 6-2, 6-3. In the next round the Romanian will play Sabine Lisicki of Germany, 24th ranked in WTA standings. Simona has also qualified to the mixed doubles round of 16 alongside Horia Tecau of Romania. The two players will next take on Julia Goerges of Germany and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia. In the womens doubles, Raluca Olaru and Irina Begu will play Yung-Jan Chan and Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan. Also in the US Open, the pair made up of Florin Mergea of Romania and Rohan Bopanna of India and the pair made up of Horia Tecau of Romania and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands have qualified to the mens doubles round of 16.

FOOTBALL – Romanias national football team is on Monday playing Greece as part of the 2016 European Championship preliminaries. On Friday, Romania held Hungary to a blank draw away from home. Following this result Romania is no longer top of Group F, lagging 1 point behind Northern Ireland, who defeated the Faeroe Islands in their last fixture. Romania last qualified to a European Championship in 2008, when it didnt move past the group phase. Romanias Under-21 team on Tuesday is playing Armenia away from home, as part of the 2017 Under-21 European Championship. On Friday, our young players lost nil-2 to Bulgaria at home.