November 1, 2020

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 01.11.2020, 14:01

ELECTION Presidential elections are underway in the neighboring Republic
of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country. According to Radio
Chisinau, the president will be decided in the second round between the two
candidates, the incumbent pro-Russia president Igor Dodon and the former
pro-Europe Prime Minister Maia Sandu. 13 polling stations have been made
available in Romania for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova to cast their
ballot. Dodon came to power in 2016 amid a scandal involving the pro-Western
political groups being ahead of all the other 7 candidates. Maia Sandu, a former
economist with the World Bank, who also studied at Harvard and is known for her
anti-corruption stance, has pledged that if she wins she will try to get additional
funds from Brussels, whereas Dodon promised an agreement with the breakaway
region of Transdniester. In 2014 the EU signed an agreement on boosting trade
and political relations with the former soviet republic, which unfortunately
has attracted a lot of criticism for its failure to implement reforms.

RADIO November 1st is the
day of Romania’s National Radio, as in 1928, the country inaugurated its first
radio station with a broadcast announced by professor Dragomir Hurmuzescu as ‘Hello,
Hello, this is Radio Bucharest, Romania. During its existence spanning 92
years, the public radio has covered all the major events in Romania’s history. In
WWll, the station announced the country’s decision to join the Allies and
covered the anti-communist revolution of 1989. For 92 years, in times of peace
or war, in prosperity or crisis, the national radio managed to remain a
reference point in terms of accuracy and credibility. Romania’s Parliament has
endorsed the day of November 1st as the National Radio Day in
recognition of the role it played in the country’s history. According to the
latest audience measurements, Radio Romania is a market leader with a 30%
national share and over 3.6 million daily listeners.

COVID-19 Over 5,324 new infections with the novel coronavirus were reported in
Romania on Sunday by the Strategic Communication Group. The total number of
infections since the onset of the pandemic exceeded 246 thousand. 910,
are being treated in IC units. 99 new
fatalities have been registered and the death toll has exceeded 7 thousand.
Bucharest has reported the highest number of infections and authorities are presently
looking for solutions to the overcrowded ER units. Romania’s Health Minister
Nelu Tataru has recalled that 43 thousand rapid tests will become available
next week and pledged that the number of these tests are to reach one million
soon.

NATO
Romania’s Frigate Queen Marie is in the Turkish port of Aksaz until Monday to
restore its battle capabilities. The ship has on board a Puma Naval helicopter
and a Special Operation unit and is carrying out missions of monitoring
maritime traffic and deterring illegal activities on NATO’s southern flank,
being part of the permanent Standing NATO Maritime Group -2 (SNMG-2) until
November 23rd. The group, which is also made up of the Spanish
Frigate ‘Alvaro de Bazan’, the Spanish transport ship ‘Patino’ and Turkish
frigate Gaziantep is operational in southern Mediterranean being one of the Alliance’s
collective security efforts. The Queen
Marie frigate is part of the military forces Romania has made available for
NATO and has been participating in the SNMG-2 missions for the third time.

(bill)