September 2, 2022

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 02.09.2022, 13:55

Energy. Almost 8 million households in Romania will
benefit from a cap on electricity and natural gas prices for another year,
according to a new emergency order adopted on Thursday by the government. The
order provides for the establishment of a national energy transition fund and
for tougher sanctions for energy companies that increase prices artificially to
enhance their profits. The budget impact of these measures is estimated at 1
billion lei per month, accounting for 200 million euros.

Open doors. The Romanian foreign ministry is
organising Open Door Day on Friday, as part of events to celebrate the 160th
anniversary of its establishment. The ministry’s headquarters are open to the
public. Open Door Day is an initiative aimed at bringing the diplomatic and
consular activity closer to citizens. Visitors will benefit from a guided tour
of the foreign ministry headquarters showcasing the changes undergone by the
Romanian diplomatic service in its 160-year existence and the activity of some its
most emblematic figures, reads a foreign ministry statement. Manuscripts and
other relevant international documents are also on display in the original.

Nuclear plant. The physical integrity of the nuclear
power plant in Zaporizhzhia, in southern Ukraine, has been violated several
times, said the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi after inspections of the plant, which is
under Russian occupation. Grossi is heading a mission of experts, some of whom
he said will stay at the facility until Sunday or Monday. The international
experts are checking installations at the site, with the Ukrainians and the
Russians accusing each other of shelling the plant, causing fear of a possible
nuclear disaster. The International Atomic Energy Agency is hoping to
establish a permanent presence at the plant. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr
Zelensky again called for the demilitarisation of the site where the plant is
located and said it was regrettable that the IAEA did not ask for the
evacuation of Russian troops and weapons deployed at the nuclear facility. The
Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross Robert Mardini called during a trip to Kiev for a halt in
all military operations around the nuclear plant, warning that an attack may
prove catastrophic. The slightest miscalculation could trigger devastation
that we will regret for decades, he said.

Swimming. Romanian swimmers won two new
medals at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru: a silver in the mixed 4X100 m
freestyle relay and a bronze in the 800 m freestyle race, won by Vlad Stancu.
The relay team made up of David Popovici, Patrick Sebastian Dinu, Rebecca
Diaconescu and Bianca Costea lost to Hungary, who came in the first place,
while Italy came third. The 800 m freestyle race was won by Spain’s Carlos
Garach Benito, with Vlad Stancu in second place and Turkey’s Batuhan Filiz in
third place. Romania has so far won five medals at the World Junior Swimming
Championships, two gold, two silver and one bronze. The gold came from the
men’s 4X100 freestyle relay team made up of David Popovici, Alexandru
Constantinescu, Ştefan Cozma and Patrick Sebastian Dinu and from David Popovici
in the 200 m freestyle event; the silver came from Vlad Stancu in the 400 m
freestyle race and the mixed 4×100 m freestyle relay team made up of David
Popovici, Patrick Sebastian Dinu, Rebecca Diaconescu and Bianca Costea; while
the bronze came from Vlad Stancu in the 800 m freestyle race.

Tennis. Romania’s Sorana
Cîrstea lost to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the second round
at the US Open. Irina Begu, another Romanian player, was defeated by China’s
Yue Yuan 6-3, 7-6, also in the second round. Cîrstea and Begu were the only two
Romanian players still in competition in the women’s singles. In the women’s
doubles, the Romanian-American pair Ana Bogdan and Sabrina Santamaria defeated
the all-American pair Elizabeth Mandlik and Katrina Scott in the first round
and will next be playing the winners between the all-Romanian pair Monica
Niculescu and Gabriela Ruse and the all-Czech pair Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina
Siniakova. (CM)