November 1, 2020

ELECTION Presidential elections are underway in the neighboring Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian-speaking country. According to Radio Chisinau, the president will be decided in the second round between the two candidates, the incumbent pro-Russia president Igor Dodon and the former pro-Europe Prime Minister Maia Sandu. 13 polling stations have been made available in Romania for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova to cast their ballot. Dodon came to power in 2016 amid a scandal involving the pro-Western political groups being ahead of all the other 7 candidates. Maia Sandu, a former economist with the World Bank, who also studied at Harvard and is known for her anti-corruption stance, has pledged that if she wins she will try to get additional funds from Brussels, whereas Dodon promised an agreement with the breakaway region of Transdniester. In 2014 the EU signed an agreement on boosting trade and political relations with the former soviet republic, which unfortunately has attracted a lot of criticism for its failure to implement reforms.  

RADIO November 1st is the day of Romania's National Radio, as in 1928, the country inaugurated its first radio station with a broadcast announced by professor Dragomir Hurmuzescu as 'Hello, Hello, this is Radio Bucharest, Romania. During its existence spanning 92 years, the public radio has covered all the major events in Romania's history. In WWll, the station announced the country's decision to join the Allies and covered the anti-communist revolution of 1989. For 92 years, in times of peace or war, in prosperity or crisis, the national radio managed to remain a reference point in terms of accuracy and credibility. Romania's Parliament has endorsed the day of November 1st as the National Radio Day in recognition of the role it played in the country's history. According to the latest audience measurements, Radio Romania is a market leader with a 30% national share and over 3.6 million daily listeners.

COVID-19 Over 5,324 new infections with the novel coronavirus were reported in Romania on Sunday by the Strategic Communication Group. The total number of infections since the onset of the pandemic exceeded 246 thousand. 910, are being treated in IC units. 99 new fatalities have been registered and the death toll has exceeded 7 thousand. Bucharest has reported the highest number of infections and authorities are presently looking for solutions to the overcrowded ER units. Romania's Health Minister Nelu Tataru has recalled that 43 thousand rapid tests will become available next week and pledged that the number of these tests are to reach one million soon.

NATO Romania's Frigate Queen Marie is in the Turkish port of Aksaz until Monday to restore its battle capabilities. The ship has on board a Puma Naval helicopter and a Special Operation unit and is carrying out missions of monitoring maritime traffic and deterring illegal activities on NATO's southern flank, being part of the permanent Standing NATO Maritime Group -2 (SNMG-2) until November 23rd. The group, which is also made up of the Spanish Frigate 'Alvaro de Bazan', the Spanish transport ship 'Patino' and Turkish frigate Gaziantep is operational in southern Mediterranean being one of the Alliance's collective security efforts.  The Queen Marie frigate is part of the military forces Romania has made available for NATO and has been participating in the SNMG-2 missions for the third time.

 (bill)