September 17, 2019

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 17.09.2019, 14:00

ATTACK – The
Romanian Foreign Ministry firmly condemns the September 14 attacks on two oil facilities
in Saudi Arabia. We convey our full support for and solidarity with the Saudi
authorities and people. We reiterate the fact that any attack on civilian
infrastructure is unacceptable, in breach of international law and a genuine
threat to regional stability, while taking into account the escalating tensions
in the area, the Foreign Ministry writes in a release. The Ministry also
writes that the attack is bound to heighten uncertainty on the global market by
affecting the oil production capacity of Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil
producer, by potentially increasing oil prices on the international market and
undermining dialog efforts with a view to identifying solutions to existing
disputes. On the other hand, President Donald Trump said the United States has
the means to respond to the drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, but
for the time being the focus is on identifying those responsible. The attacks
were claimed by Shiite and Houthi militias supported by Iran, at war with Saudi
Arabia and its Sunni allies for the past four years.

EUROSTAT -
Bulgaria, Greece, Poland and Romania reported the largest employment share in
the field of agriculture at EU level, reads a Eurostat report released earlier
today. Among the eastern and southern areas of the EU, 27 different regions
reported an employment share at least three times as high as the EU average of
4.5%, including five out of the six regions in Bulgaria, eight out of the
thirteen regions in Greece, six regions in Poland, and five out of the eight
regions in Romania. The Vest development area of Romania had a share of
employment in industry nearly three times as high as the EU average of 15.3%.

EXERCISE – Some
5,400 military from 16 countries, including Romania, are taking part in the
Saber Junction 19 multinational exercise hosted by Germany until September 30.
The Romanian Land Forces General Staff has announced. Also taking part are
military from Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Italy, Kosovo,
Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, the United States, Turkey and Ukraine.
Saber Junction 19 is contributing to boosting Europe’s security, promoting
regional security and stability. For the joint exercise in Germany the Romanian
army is represented by 150 infantry soldiers and 20 pieces of technical
equipment. Another 50 military of the Romanian Land Forces are training with
military from the Republic of Moldova as part of the Shield Fire 19.2 exercise
held until September 20 at the Combat Training Center of the Moldovan National
Army.

ENESCU FESTIVAL -
The George Enescu International Music Festival continues in Bucharest, held
over August 31 – September 22 and bringing together over 2,500 of the world’s
most prestigious musicians as part of 84 concerts and recitals. The capital
city in Romania and cities in Germany, France, Italy, Canada and the Republic
of Moldova are hosting concerts as part of the festival.

ELECTION IN ISRAEL
– Legislative elections are being held today in Israel for the second time this
year. The main political parties fighting for seat in the Parliament are the
right-wing Likud Party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the
center-left Blue-White Party. Pundits recall that April’s ballot was followed
by weeks of chaos, as parties struggled to form a ruling coalition. A debate
has flared up society over the religious or secular character of the Jewish
state, although pundits say it was meant to overshadow Netanyahu’s corruption
accusations.

VOLLEYBALL – The
Romanian men’s volleyball team lost 1-3 to Greece in a Group A match at the
European Championship hosted by Montpellier, France. Our team will play in the
last group fixture against Portugal on Wednesday. Romania previously lost to
France, Bulgaria and Italy in Group A, and now holds only mathematical chances
of securing 4th place in the standings, which could ensure
qualification to the round of 16. This is Romania’s first appearance in a
European Championship after a 24-year break. In the women’s competition,
Romania was knocked out in the round of 16 by Serbia.

TENNIS -
Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan has today advanced to the round of 16 at the
WTA tournament in Seoul, South Korea, totaling 250,000 dollars in prize money. After
making it past the qualifying phase, Bogdan, 143 WTA, surprisingly knocked out
Polona Hercog of Slovenia, the competition’s 6th seed, 6-1, 3-6,
6-1. Another Romanian, Mihaela Buzarnescu, who last week reached the
semi-finals of the tournament in Hiroshima, lost to 21-year-old Priscilla Hon
of Australia, 6-3, 6-4. Also today, Patricia Tig is playing the number one seed
Maria Sakkari of Greece in the first round.

(Translated by V. Palcu)