August 6, 2024
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 06.08.2024, 14:00
Coal. Romania is looking for technical arguments to delay the deadline agreed with the European Commission to close its coal-fired power stations. Minister Sebastian Burduja explained on Monday that more time is needed to make the transition to gas-fuelled energy sources, given that 15% of the country’s energy production is still dependent on coal. Before closing its coal plants, the latter must be replaced by gas sources, said the minister, adding that investments in this respect are delayed. He made these statements during the signing in Belgrade of a memorandum on the construction of a gas interconnector between Romania and Serbia. This will lead to lower prices for natural gas for users and more diverse supply sources.
Middle East. The White House administration reiterated calls on Iran and Israel to avoid war, warning that a possible Iranian response to the killing of a top Hamas leader in Tehran may generate a conflict that could get out of control and saying escalation benefits no one. The White House meeting took place amid rising fears of a possible extended conflict in the Middle East, with Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah last week vowing to retaliate for the killing of Islamist leaders. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also called for urgent action to prevent wider war in the Middle East, press agencies report. In another move, the foreign ministers of the 57 countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation are to meet in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss “the continued crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people,” including the killing in Tehran of the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh. They will also discuss Israel’s “aggressions against the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” according to a statement issued by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, quoted by EFE news agency.
Recycling. In fewer than 8 months since the introduction of the guarantee-return system in Romania, one billion packages have been collected, said environment minister Mircea Fechet. “This includes PET bottles, glass bottles and cans. PET bottles account for the largest share, and if we place them one next to each other they would form a line that goes around the world five times. At the moment, the big PET processors are no longer importing this type of material, because the guarantee-return system supplies enough raw material. The target this year is 3.2 billion packages and I’m optimistic because people’s response has been amazing”, the minister posted on his Facebook page.
Olympics. Romania’s Alina Rotaru-Kottmann, a bronze medalist at the 2023 World Championship in Budapest, today reached women’s long jump final at the Olympic Games in Paris. Ilie Sprîncean and Oleg Nuţă qualified for the semifinals of the men’s canoe double 500 m. So far, Romania won seven medals, three gold, three silver and one bronze. Swimmer David Popovici won the gold in the 200 m freestyle event and the bronze in 100 m freestyle; two more gold medals came from Andrei Cornea and Marian Enache in Men’s Double Sculls and from Maria Magdalena Rusu, Roxana Anghel, Ancuţa Bodnar, Maria Lehaci, Adriana Adam, Amalia Bereş, Ioana Vrînceanu, Simona Radiş and Victoria Ştefania Petreanu in women’s eight. The silver medals came from Ancuţa Bodnar and Simona Radiş in Women’s Double Sculls; Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel in Women’s Pair; and Gianina van Groningen and Ionela Cozmiuc in Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls. The Romanian athletes who win medals in Paris will be rewarded with 140,000 euros for the gold medal, 100,000 euros for the silver and 60,000 euros for the bronze.
Football. 79-year-old Mircea Lucescu, Romania’s most successful football manager, has been named the manager of the national side, a post he previously also held 38 years ago. Lucescu has also managed Corvinul Hunedoara, Dinamo Bucharest, Pisa, Brescia, Reggiana, FC Rapid Bucharest, Inter Milano, Galatasaray Istanbul, Beşiktaş Istanbul, Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit Saint Petersburg, the Turkish national side and Dinamo Kyiv. As the new manager of the Romanian national side, Lucescu signed a two-year contract whose objective is to qualify the team for the 2026 World Cup hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
