September 3, 2021
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 03.09.2021, 14:19
Dismissal – The Romanian PM, the Liberal Florin Cîţu, on Friday convened a meeting of the governing coalition in order to solve the current political crisis generated by the dismissal of the justice minister, Stelian Ion representing the USR-PLUS Alliance. USR PLUS are asking for the resignation of the prime minister and his replacement with another representative of the Liberals, warning that, otherwise, they will table a censure motion. The Liberals who support Florin Cîţu believe that the solution for overcoming the political crisis is a new proposal from USR PLUS for the Justice Ministry. The representatives of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR (in the governing coalition) consider that, at this moment, there is no alternative to this coalition and hope that a solution will be reached through which the current governmental formula will remain in place. On the other hand, the “Anghel Saligny” Investment Program, which is supposed to have triggered the current crisis in the ruling coalition, will be again on the table of the government on Friday and will be discussed in a meeting which is not going to be attended by the USR PLUS ministers. The interim justice minister, the Liberal Lucian Bode, announced last night that he would approve the project, unlike his predecessor, Stelian Ion. The “Anghel Saligny” program is intended for the local infrastructure and would have a funding of 50 billion lei (about 10 billion Euros).
Forum – Romania remains a pillar of stability in the Black Sea and Western Balkans region, and one of the priorities is to defend common strategic interests, President Klaus Iohannis said in a message in the opening of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum hosted by Bucharest. The head of state said that “during all this difficult period, Romanias efforts to support its partners in the region are a concrete proof of the fact that only through unity and solidarity crisis situations can be overcome and the best solutions can be found to be able to move forward”. The 5th edition of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum takes place on Friday and Saturday in Bucharest, the Romanian Defense Ministry reports. The forum is organized by the New Strategy Center (NSC), with the support of NATOs Public Diplomacy Division, in partnership with the Defense and Foreign Ministries. NSC is a Romanian think tank founded in 2015, which operates in the field of international relations, security and defense. It organizes various events and publishes specialized studies, especially to promote the strategic importance of the Black Sea region and the Balkans.
COVID-19 Ro–While interest for vaccination is dropping in Romania, the number of new Covid-19 cases in on the rise. 1,470 new cases were reported on Thursday and 26 Covid-associated deaths. Also on Thursday the authorities announced that almost 11 thousand people have got vaccinated. The coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă said that people should understand that vaccination provides protection to the immunized people and reduces the pressure on the health system. On the other hand, Valeriu Gheorghiţă warns that those who buy vaccination certificates do nothing but waste money and take the risk of getting sick, being hospitalized and even losing their lives. He called for drastic sanctions against these acts and urged doctors who receive such requests to address the authorities. 400 people are being investigated in approximately 200 criminal cases related to false vaccination certificates.
List – In Bucharest, the National Committee for Emergency Situations has updated the list of countries with an epidemiological risk for visitors. Spain moves out of the red list and enters the yellow list, while Austria moves from the green list to the yellow one, following the increase in the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Israel, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey and Portugal remain in the red zone, and the Netherlands and Bulgaria remain on the yellow list. The new list takes effect on Sunday.
Football – The Romanian national football team defeated, on Thursday evening, in Reykjavik, the national team of Iceland, in a match from the 2022 World Championship preliminaries. The next matches of the national team will be on September 5, with Liechtenstein in Bucharest, and on September 8, with Northern Macedonia in Skopje. Romania ranks 4th in the 2022 World Cup qualification Group J, with 6 points, being outranked by Armenia, with 10 points, Germany, with 9 points and Northern Macedonia, with 7 points. The first-ranked team is directly qualified, and the second goes to the playoffs.
Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, seed no. 12, today meets Elena Ribakina from Kazakhstan, in the third round of the US Open tournament, the last Grand Slam of the year. Halep remained the only representative of Romania in the singles competitions. Sorana Cirstea lost, yesterday, in the second round, to the American Shelby Rogers.
Enescu – The George Enescu International Festival continues today, at the Romanian Athenaeum, with a concert given by the Royal Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Constantin Grigore. Also today, the Palace Hall in Bucharest will host a new concert by the La Scala Theater Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, featuring violinist Julian Rachlin. Friday’s program also includes a concert in Bacău, by the Mihail Jora Philharmonic Orchestra there, under the baton of Jessica Cottis. In Cluj-Napoca, pianist Yeon-Min Park and violinist Valentin Șerban, both winners of the 2020/2021 George Enescu International Competition will give a recital. 32 orchestras from 14 countries are participating in the 2021 anniversary edition of the “George Enescu” International Festival.
Attack – Six people were injured at a supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand, after an attack with a knife committed by an extremist who was already in the attention of the police. The attacker was a Sri Lankan citizen who had been living in New Zealand for ten years and was shot dead by the police. The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the attacker was a “violent extremist” and described the incident as a “terrorist attack”. The man was allegedly inspired by attacks by the Islamic State jihadist group. Tough restrictions against COVID-19 are in place in Auckland, with only supermarkets and medical centers being open. In May, four people were stabbed in a supermarket in Dunedin, in the south of New Zealand. In March 2019, 51 people were killed in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch by a supporter of the white supremacy. (LS)
