August 27, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 27.08.2022, 23:35

Aid. A new payment of 250 lei, the equivalent of 50 euros, was transferred to the social cards distributed as part of a financial aid scheme for Romania’s most vulnerable people and which they can use to buy food and warm meals. The total sum amounts to around 600 million lei and comes out of European funds. The scheme provides for four such payments, made every two months by the end of the year. 2.4 million Romanians in difficult financial situations benefit from this type of assistance.

Anniversary. The majority Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova on Saturday celebrated the 31st anniversary since its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. Created on some of the eastern Romanian territories annexed by Stalin’s Soviet Union in 1940, following an ultimatum, the Republic of Moldova became independent after the failure of a neo-Bolshevik coup against the then reformist Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev. Adopted on 27th August 1991 by the Moldovan Parliament, the declaration of independence was recognised by Romania on the same day and by the international community on 2nd March 1992, when the new state was admitted into the United Nations Organisation.

Support. Romania will continue to be the biggest supporter of the Republic of Moldova, its citizens and its European integration, said Romanian president Klaus Iohannis on the 31st anniversary of Moldova’s independence, while prime minister Nicolae Ciucă said in a statement that Romania will continue to firmly support the Republic of Moldova on its path to opening EU accession talks. Romania has always stood by Moldova on its path towards development, while the shared language, history and culture of the citizens of the two countries will be reinforced within a common future within the European space of democracy and shared values, the prime minister’s statement also reads. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the US stands with the people of Moldova in their efforts to protect their sovereignty and territorial integrity and to resist foreign influence from actors seeking to interfere with Moldova’s European integration.

Promotion. The 77 Romanian fire fighters who helped extinguish forest fires in France as part of the European Civil Protection Mechanism were promoted on Saturday. they were also awarded the Emblem of Honour of the Department for Emergency Situations, with the head of the department Raed Arafat saying the work of the Romanian fire fighters was praised internationally, which demonstrates that Romania has a well-equipped and well-prepared civil protection structure.

Water polo. Romania lost to Germany 10-15 in their first ever appearance at a Women’s European Water Polo Championship, whose current edition is hosted by Croatia. Romania are in Group A, together with The Netherlands, Greece, Croatia and Hungary and will next be playing Greece on Sunday.

Tennis. 7th seed Simona Halep of Romania will play her opening US Open match against a qualifier. Halep last year reached the tournament’s fourth round, but her best result was a semifinal back in 2015. Romania has four more players on the main draw in women’s singles. Irina Begu has a difficult opening match against Belgium’s Elise Mertens, having lost all three previous matches against her. Sorana Cîrstea will play Germany’s Laura Siegemund; Gabriela Ruse, who has had a lot of medical problems this year, will play Australia’s Daria Saville; and Jaqueline Cristian, who has just come back after a serious injury, will face second seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia.

Swimming. Paul Georgescu becomes the first Romanian to swim across the North Channel, the strait between Ireland and Scotland and considered one of the most difficult in the world. Aged 43, Georgescu, who is a former national water polo champion, is the 107th man in history to swim across the cold waters of the North Channel. He swam 34.7 km for 11 hours and 7 minutes. He is also the first Romanian to win the Man of the Year award in 2021 from the World Open Water Swimming Association, the world’s biggest open water swimming organisations. (CM)