August 10, 2021

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 10.08.2021, 13:46

Covid-19. Romania recorded 312 new Covid infections today, the highest
daily figure since the end of May, as well as 4 new related fatalities. The
number of Covid patients receiving hospital treatment is also on the rise,
passing 660, including 86 in intensive care. The infection rate in Romania went
up to 0.12 per 1,000 inhabitants. The coordinator of Romania’s mass vaccination
campaign Valeriu Gheorghiţă made a new call on public radio for the population
to comply with Covid protection rules and to get the vaccine. He warned that
the Delta variant is much more contagious. Some 5 million Romanians accounting
for a quarter of the country’s population have been fully vaccinated to date.

Climate. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis promised to take an active
involvement in the processes aimed at solving the climate crisis following the
stark warning issued by a major UN report on the accelerated pace of climate
change caused by human action. The report notes that global warming may exceed
by 1.5 degrees Celsius the levels recorded at the end of the 19th century
by around 2030, ten years earlier than previously estimated. UN experts speak
of a genuine red code for humanity and unprecedented disasters, including more
heat waves and floods. In response to the UN report, the European Commission said
it is not too late to stop this trend provided the countries of the world act
immediately and do so together. The US said the world cannot delay ambitious
climate action, and the UK said the transition to renewable energy must be made
fast, an idea supported by France. Greenpeace insists that it is now up to the
world’s governments to take measures and commit to the reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions by 2030.

Attack. Romania reiterated its strong condemnation of any acts of
aggression that represent violations of the principles and norms of
international law and voiced its concern over the negative effects of these
actions on regional and international security. This view was shared on Monday
at an open debate of the UN Security Council held in video-conference format
discussing maritime security as an expression of international cooperation. The
foreign ministry in Bucharest said the attack on the Mercer Street oil tanker
is a threat to peace and a blatant violation of international law. The European
Union also condemned the attack and called for compliance with the principles
and norms of international law. The Romanian foreign ministry recalled that
Romania’s and Britain’s permanent representatives at the UN together with
Liberia’s permanent representative (under whose flag the ship was sailing)
signed a joint letter to the president of the UN Security Council and the UN
Secretary General on the subject of the attack on the Mercer Street tanker, in
which a Romanian was also killed. The US presented information that the drone
that hit the vessel was an Iranian-made kamikaze drone.

Tennis. The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea reached the fourth
round of the WTA 1000
tournament in Montreal, in Canada, worth over 1.8 million dollars in prize
money. She defeated Alison Riske of the US, 6-3, 6-4. Another Romanian player, Simona
Halep, who is seeded sixths at this event, will be playing straight in the
second round against the winner between Danielle Collins of the US and Jil
Teichmann of Switzerland.

Football. The Romanian football champions CFR Cluj are today playing the
decisive match in the Champions League third preliminary round against the
Swiss side Young Boys Berne. In the first leg at home, CFR drew 1-all. If they
qualify, CFR will play the Champions League play-offs against the winner
between Ferencvaros Budapest and Slavia Prague and if they lose they will be
playing the Europa League play-offs against the losing side in the match
between Red Star Belgrade and Sheriff Tiraspol. If they lose this latter match,
CFR will in any case have a seat in the Europa Conference League groups. (CM)