February 21, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 21.02.2020, 20:32
Attack – The Romanian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that a Romanian citizen is among the victims of the double attack in Germany that targeted immigrants. The attack occurred in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt, in central Germany. The Romanian authorities conveyed condolences to the family of the victim and firmly condemned any act of violence and Xenophobia. A 43 year old German killed 9 people on Wednesday evening in two cafes in Hanau. The other victims, besides the Romanian citizen, are immigrants of Kurdish, Bulgarian and Bosnian origin and 3 German citizens. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has denounced what she called the poison represented by racism in Germany adding that the German authorities will stand strongly and determinedly against all those who are trying to divide Germany. The political class has accused the far right group Alternative for Germany of instigating people to violence through its messages. The co-president of the Alternative for Germany, the former Christian Democrat Alexsander Gauland has vehemently rejected the accusations. Solidarity manifestations took place on Thursday night in several cities across Germany. At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin several hundred people commemorated the victims of the attack, making a human chain around the gate.
Green Deal – Romania got 750 million Euro from the Just Transition Fund to deal with the implementation of the European Green Deal. The information was made public on Friday by the European Green Deal Rapporteur, the Romanian Siegfried Muresan. He has stated that the money will be used for economic development in the mining regions and not on welfare measures. He has given assurances that the miners in Jiu Valley and in Oltenia will not lose their jobs when the deal is implemented, as they will be able to work in the field of renewable energies and in industry. Romanian ranks third among the EU countries in terms of green reforms in energy development, after Poland and Germany. The Green Deal is aimed at turning Europe into the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050.
Coronavirus – The new coronavirus has killed another 118 people in continental China, in particular in the Hubei province, raising to 2,236 the death toll at national level. In all, some 75,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 in China, and several hundreds in more than 25 countries. The number of new cases of infection is dropping, which is very encouraging, said in Geneva the Secretary General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus. Hes also stated, though, that its much too early to know if the downward trend will be maintained. The virus has spread to several Iranian cities, including capital Teheran, and Lebanon has confirmed one case, a person coming from Iran. Ghebreysus has termed as very worrying the fact that Iran has reported 18 cases of infection and 4 deaths in just two days, adding that the WHO has sent equipment to test the patients in Tehran. In northern Italy, in the small town of Codogno, six people have tested positive and on Friday the mayor decided to close all public venues.
Chisinau – Romania is not convinced that the Moldovan authorities are serious with regard to the European path of the Republic of Moldova, the Romanian ambassador to Chisinau, Daniel Ionita, has said. He has stressed the fact that Moldovas foreign partners do not want promises, they want to see results. However, the Romanian projects benefiting the population in Moldova will continue, the Romanian official has also said.
Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, worlds no.2, on Friday qualified for the final of the Dubai tournament, with some 2.6 million dollars in prize money. She scored an easy win against the American Jennifer Brady (24 WTA), 6-2. 6-0. On Saturday, in the final, Halep will take on Elena Ribakina of Kazakhstan, no. 19 in the WTA rankings. Also on Friday, the Romanian womens handball vice-champions CSM Bucharest defeated Ferencvaros of Hungary 27 to 24, in the Champions Leagues main groups.
