September 18, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.09.2020, 13:55

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – 1,527 new
SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, the Group
for Strategic Communication has announced. 48 people have died during this
interval, taking the death toll to 4,360. Overall, 110,217 cases of COVID-19
have been reported at national level since the start of the pandemic. 88,235
patients have recovered. 447 people are now in intensive care. 6,599 Romanian
citizens have tested positive for COVID-19 abroad. 126 of them have died. Most
of these cases were reported in Germany, Italy and Spain.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The global number of infections has exceeded 30 million, with an
alarming contamination rate reported in Europe. Unlike other European states
introducing regional measures, Israel has today reintroduced nation-wide
restrictions to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Under an Israeli Government
decision, only food and drug stores and other key services will remain
operational. People are allowed to move within 1 km of their homes. The Police
has set up roadblocks all over the country, as traffic remains limited to
emergencies only.

COLECTIV – The Bucharest
Court of Appeal has today set the appeal ruling in the Colectiv case for
September 30. The case investigated the fire at the Colectiv nightclub in
Bucharest, where 64 lost their lives. The then mayor and employees of the
Bucharest District 4 City Hall, the club owners, two firefighters,
pyrotechnicians and representatives of a fireworks company were awarded prison
sentences of up to 13 years in the court of first instance. Issued by the Bucharest
Tribunal, the rulings were appealed by both the defendants and prosecutors. In
its motivation, the Tribunal claims the tragedy at the Colectiv nightclub is
the result of a chain of crimes, while the defendants’ attitude does not
reside in their lack of judicial education, but in greed, irresponsibility and
ignorance towards the law.

RESOLUTION – The European
Parliament has passed a resolution whereby it no longer recognizes Alexander
Lukashenko as President of Belarus. Voted by a landslide majority, the
resolution does not recognize the presidential election of August 9, won by
Lukashenko with 80% of the vote. Parliament believes the election was rigged, and
that international standards in the matter were breached. In addition, MEPs
have called for the introduction of sanctions against Belarus. Member States of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have assigned a
team of independent experts to investigate possible human rights violations and
election fraud in Belarus. In power for the last 26 years, Lukashenko is often
labeled as Europe’s last dictator.

FOOTBALL – Romanian Cup title
holders FCSB on Thursday qualified to the Europa League third preliminary round
after defeating FK TSC Backa Topola 5-4 at the end of the penalty shootout. The
score was 6-all at the end of regular time, which marked a new record for a
European inter-club match. Struggling to assemble a first team lineup after
multiple COVID-19 cases were reported at the club, FCSB was rated
second-favorite to win. In the third round, FCSB will play Slovan Liberec of
the Czech Republic at home. Also on Thursday, FC Botosani was knocked out after
losing nil-1 to KF Skhendija of North Macedonia at home. Eliminated from the
Champions League preliminary rounds, Romania’s champions CFR Cluj will play
Djurgaarden of Sweden in the third preliminary round of Europa League. All the
round’s matches are scheduled for next week and consist of only one leg.

TENNIS – Romania’s tennis
player Simona Halep, world no. 2, is today playing Dayan Yastremska of Ukraine
(29 WTA) in the round of 16 at the WTA tournament in Rome. Another Romanian,
Irina Begu (77 WTA) was knocked out on Thursday by Britain’s Johanna Konta (13
WTA). The Romanian pair Simona Halep – Monica Niculescu was knocked out in the
round of 16 in the doubles, after losing to Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of
Japan. Another pair, made up of Raluca Olaru of Romania and Anna-Lena Friedsam
of Germany, qualified to the quarterfinals. They are today playing Magda
Linette of Poland and Bernarda Pera of the United States. The competition is
unfolding without public attendance to prevent COVID-19 infections. Total
prizes stand at some €1.7 million.

(Translated by V.
Palcu)