DESIGNATION
\n– President Klaus Iohannis has designated Liberal leader Ludovic Orban as Prime
\nMinister of Romania. Orban must make up a new Government which will need
\nParliament’s vote of confidence. Iohannis made the decision after consultations
\nwith parliamentary parties, reiterating early elections is the best option
\nright now. The previous Orban Cabinet was ousted on Wednesday after the censure
\nmotion filed by the Social-Democrats in opposition and the Democratic Union of
\nEthnic Hungarians passed. The motion criticized Orban’s choice to take
\nresponsibility in Parliament over the law reintroducing the two-round voting
\nsystem for the local elections. Under the Constitution, the designated
\ncandidate has 10 days to make up a Cabinet and a governing program before
\nParliament’s vote of confidence.<\/p>\n
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MEETING – Romanian President Klaus
\nIohannis is today meeting in Brussels with European Council President, Charles
\nMichel. It is part of a wider series of meetings the EU official is preparing
\nwith leaders of Member States, ahead of the extraordinary European Council
\nmeeting, aimed at negotiating the upcoming multiannual budget, considering the
\nUK, one of the Union’s largest contributors, has left the community bloc.
\nCharles Michel has this week held consultations with several heads of
\ngovernment regarding the 2021-2027 financial framework. Charles Michel wants
\nthe Council meeting, scheduled for February 20, to result in an agreement that
\nshould benefit citizens. Several European states fear the next agreement would
\nresult in major budget cuts, heightened by the end of budget contributions from
\nBritain starting 2021. The European Commission and the European Parliament have
\nasked member states to increase their contributions to cover the gap left by
\nGreat Britain. Representatives of the biggest budget contributors have however
\nargued in favor of shrinking the EU budget by slashing cohesion and agriculture
\nfunds. <\/p>\n
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CORONAVIRUS – The death toll of the coronavirus epidemic has reached 636 today,
\nwith the number of infected reported in China exceeding 31,000. The Chinese
\ndoctor who warned in December last year against the upcoming epidemic died on
\nFriday due to the virus, triggering a wave of discontent and criticism in China
\ntargeting the Government. Some 320 cases have been reported in 27 other
\ncountries and regions outside continental China, two people being killed, in
\nHong Kong and the Philippines. In Hong Kong, 3,600 passengers and crew members
\nare kept in quarantine for the third day in a row, after three people onboard
\nhad been confirmed to be carriers of the coronavirus. Another 41 people on
\nboard a cruise ship kept in quarantine in Japan tested positive for coronavirus
\non Friday, increasing the number of confirmed cases to 61, while thousands of
\npassengers have been confined to their cabins while the testing continues. 17
\nRomanians are on board this ship, two tourists and 15 crew members.<\/p>\n
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YUKON ARCTIC
\nULTRA – 45-year-old Tiberiu Useriu, representing Romania, on Thursday
\nfinished in second place the Yukon Artic Ultramarathon in Canada, close to the
\nPolar Circle, after covering 500 kilometers in 7 days. Ranking first was a
\nSwiss. The two were the only ones to reach the finish line, the other 19 competitors
\nhaving withdrawn. Yukon Artic Ultra is tougher than the 6633 Artic
\nultramarathon, which Useriu won three years in a row. This was the second
\nparticipation in the Yukon Artic Ultra for Tiberiu Useriu. In 2019 he dropped
\nfrom the race due to frostbite. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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FED CUP
\n– Romania’s Fed Cup team is playing Russia today and tomorrow, matches being
\nvenued in Cluj-Napoca. Today, Elena Gabriela Ruse (166 WTA) is playing
\nEkaterina Alexandrova (28 WTA), while Ana Bogdan (90 WTA) will take on Veronika
\nKudermetova (38 WTA). Simona Halep, Irina Begu and Monica Niculescu will not be
\nrepresenting Romania, preferring to focus on WTA tournaments so as to qualify
\nto the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Fed Cup matches will decide which team qualifies
\nto the final tournament in Budapest, to be held over April 14-19. Romania has
\nnever played Russia in the Fed Cup, although it did play the USSR twice, in
\n1978 in the quarterfinals in Melbourne (nil-3), and in 1986 in Prague in the
\nsecond round (nil-3).<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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