September 13, 2020 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 13.09.2020, 19:20

TALKS Romanian Foreign Ministry hails the beginning on 12th
September of the peace talks in Doha, Qatar between representatives of the
government in Kabul and the Taliban. According to the ministry, the head of
Romania’s diplomatic mission in Qatar attended the inauguration of the peace
talks upon the invitation of the authorities in Qatar. The diplomacy in
Bucharest believe the peace talks are an opportunity for the parties involved
to put an end to a long time conflict, which has negatively impacted the entire
region. This historic moment is a first step towards obtaining sustainable
peace in Afghanistan, involving all the segments of society. Romania will
continue its moves to ensure peace and security in Afghanistan in full
coordination with its NATO allies – the same sources have reported.

WINNER Romanian cyclist Eduard Michael Grosu has won the 53rd
Romania’s Tour, which ended in Bucharest on Sunday. Grosu, who has been leader
of the general ranking since the first leg of the competition, secured wins in
the tour’s third and fourth legs. Romanian Serghei Tvetcov, Matvei Nikitin of
Kazahstand, and Lucas Carstensen became winners in the three Sunday’s sprinting
races.

COVID-19 The government in Bucharest is expected to endorse on Monday a
decision on extending the state of alert on Romania’s territory against the
background of the latest developments in the pandemic. Romania presently
registers a daily number of infections of 13 hundred and the total number of
infections since the beginning of the pandemic has exceeded 102 thousand with a
death toll of 41 hundred. 126 Romanians have been killed by the virus abroad.
The number of infections worldwide has almost reached 29 million and 924
thousand people have died, data released by the Johns Hopkins University has
revealed. The US is the most affected country with more than 6.6 million cases
and over 198 thousand fatalities. India has registered more than 4.7 million
cases and 78 thousand dead. Brazil comes next with 4.3 million infections and
more than 131 thousand deaths. The situation is worrying in many European
countries, France has exceeded 10 thousand infections a day while in Spain, the
first week of school has ended with thousands of infections, which led to the
isolation of several classes. France and Spain were together with Italy and the
UK the most affected countries in the first months of the pandemic.

SCHOOL A new school year is due to begin in Romania on Monday under
conditions adjusted to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Courses
will be taking place according to the latest epidemiological developments. Most
of the country’s schools, over 12 thousand, have been considered to be in the
green zone where students are allowed to go to courses. Rotating schedules are
in place at the nearly 5 thousand schools currently in the yellow zone, while
online courses have been made available for students at those nearly 240 in the
red zone. According to Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, local authorities and
schools have at their disposal 175 million Euros to buy tablets for online
courses. According to the Romanian official, money has been earmarked for
buying masks and disinfectants in schools. Furthermore, Orban has given
assurances the authorities are ready to intervene in any situation, which might
appear in an epidemiological context after the beginning of the school year.

MESSAGE Romania’s
president Klaus Iohannis has conveyed a message on the Firefighters Day celebrated
on September 13th in Romania, saying that in these days, when the workd is
facing the Covid pandemic, firefighters have again shown professionalism and
courage, determination and sacrifice in order to contribute together with other
state institutions to the citizens’ safety and health. The president has
mentioned the responsible way in which firefighters have continued to do their
jobs and fight calamities and natural disasters, being an essential support
institution, a guarantor of normality, the right to life, private property and
health inside communities.

TENNIS Romanian
tennis player Patricia Tig has qualified for the finals of the WTA tournament
in Istanbul after a 6-3, 6-3 win against Tereza Martincova of the Czech
Republic. The Romanian player is due to take on Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in
the finals. Bouchard comes after a 6-3, 6-2 win against Paula Badosa Gibert of
Spain in the semis. This would be Tig’s third WTA finals after the ones in Baku
in 2015 and Bucharest in 2019. Her prize closet includes a WTA 125K title in
Karlsruhe last year.

(translated by bill)