October 22, 2022

COVID The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has cautioned against the spread of a new Omicron subvariant, which is expected to increase the number of infections in Europe, the EFE Agency has reported. Preliminary surveys conducted in Asia have shown the aforementioned subvariant could evade the immune response of the human body. Andrea Ammon, director of the aforementioned institution has called on European states to remain vigilant about the spread of the new subvariant and monitor the number of infections as well as the hospital treatment of patients. According to the same institution, raising the vaccination rate remains a priority, and that risk groups, such as the elderly and the people with comorbidities, need additional booster doses.  

TENNIS Romania's best tennis player and two-times major winner, Simona Halep, has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned anti-anemia blood-booster called roxadustat at the latest edition of the US Open. The world's former number one, Halep described the ban as 'the biggest shock of her life' and denied knowingly taking any banned substance. "Throughout my whole career, the idea of cheating never even crossed my mind once, as it is totally against all the values I have been educated with. Facing such an unfair situation, I feel completely confused and betrayed", the athlete wrote on Twitter. The 31 year old Romanian athlete and winner of the Roland Garros tournament in 2018, says that her fight was not about 'titles and money' but her honour and that she hoped the truth would eventually come out.

PERMITS Specialised structures with the Romanian Interior Ministry have in the past 24 hours issued 302 residence permits for Ukrainian refugees. A total of 78 thousand such permits have been issued since March. According to authorities in Bucharest only one Ukrainian citizen has applied for asylum in the past 24 hours. Roughly 44 hundred Ukrainians have applied for asylum in Romania since the beginning of the conflict and they are benefitting from all the rights stipulated in the national legislation. According to the same sources, 83 thousand people have crossed the borders into Romania in the past 24 hours, out of which 93 hundred are Ukrainian citizens.

HANDBALL Romania's vice-champions in women's handball, CSM Bucharest are today playing defending champions Vipers Kristiansand of Norway in an away match counting towards the Champions League group A. In their previous game, CSM managed to outperform the last side in the group's ranking Banik Most of the Czech Republic. CSM ranks second in the group after German side Bietigheim and before Kristiansand. Romanian champions Rapid Bucharest is also ranking second in the Champions League's group B after Hungarian side Gyor. Rapid will be playing a home game against the Norwegians of Storhamar on Sunday. Rapid comes after a draw against Buducnost Podgorica of Montenegro.

VISIT The use by Russia of the nuclear weapon would be 'an act of hostility against humankind', Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during his visit to Australia on Saturday, France press reports. The Russian intimidation concerning the use of nuclear weapon is a severe threat to the peace and security of the international community and is absolutely unacceptable, says the leader of the only country ever hit by a nuclear weapon. In 2023, Kishida is expected to welcome the G7 leaders in Hiroshima, the town which was razed to the ground by an atomic bomb in 1945 when 140 thousand people died. The city of Nagasaki was also bombed three days later. In another development, Australia and Japan on Saturday signed an agreement on security issues aimed at offsetting China's military power in the region.

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