April 17, 2021

april 17, 2021 A roundup of domestic and international news

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA - 3,474 new cases of COVID-19 infection have been reported in the last 24 hours, the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Saturday. During the interval, 135 fatalities were also reported. 1,505 patients are currently in intensive care. A quarter of Romania's counties remain in the red zone, reporting an incidence rate over 3 per thousand inhabitants. Meanwhile the vaccination campaign continues. People who want to get the AstraZeneca jab without an appointment can now do so. According to Prime Minister Florin Cîţu, Romania is expected to hit the 35% mark in early June in terms of the total number of people who've got immunized, which will allow for a gradual relaunch of the economy. The Prime Minister said herd immunity will be achieved when 70% of the total population gets immunized, which in Romania is tantamount to some 10 million people.



RATING - Standard and Poor's financial rating agency has confirmed Romania's BBB- rating but improved its prospect from negative to stable. According to the Finance Ministry, this is the first positive evolution in Romania's financial rating operated by this agency since November 2013. Standard and Poor's says the stable prospect is indicative of the credibility of fiscal consolidation measures promoted by Romania. The agency also believes the Government's planned reforms could create a more robust fiscal framework, thus limiting the risks of reversing fiscal consolidation policies, which would lead to an improvement in Romania's rating.



DIPLOMACY - Romania's Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, hailed the decision of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, to appoint Romanian Dan Steonescu as the head of the EU Delegation to Syria, headquartered in Beirut. The appointment comes as an official recognition at EU level of Romania's expertise in the Middle East, as well as its diplomatic skills, Aurescu said. According to a Foreign Ministry release, stabilizing Syria is key to the security of the entire region, while stepping up efforts to solve the crisis at political level remains a priority for the EU and the international community. A career diplomat with a wide experience in the Middle East, Dan Stoenescu has served as Romania's ambassador in Tunisia since 2017. In 2015-2016 he was Minister Delegate for Romanians Worldwide. He previously worked for Romania's embassies in Madrid and Beirut. Another four Romanians are currently part of the EU delegation: Oana Popa in Montenegro, Denisa Ionete in Nigeria, Traian Hristea in Mongolia and Cristian Tudor in Kuwait.



TENNIS - Romania is playing Italy in the playoffs of World Group of the Billie Jean King Cup. In the women's singles, Irina Bara is today playing Martina Trevisan, while Mihaela Buzărnescu will take on Elisabetta Cocciaretto, while in the doubles Monica Niculescu and Elena-Gabriela Ruse will play Jasmine Paolini and Giulia Gatto-Monticone. Italy leads 2-nil after Friday's matches, when Trevisan defeated Buzărnescu 6-2, 2-6, 7-6, while Cocciaretto defeated Bara 6-1, 6-4. Simona Halep and Patricia Ţig couldn't play for Romania, both injured, while Camilia Giorgi, the best-rated Italian player, tested positive for COVID-19. The team that wins the playoffs will play in the World Group qualifiers for 2022, while the other team in Group 1 in the Euro-Africa Zone.



HANDBALL - Romania are facing North Macedonia on Saturday in Bucharest in the first leg of the 2021 World Championship play-offs in women's handball. The return match is due to take place on April 21, in Skopje. Commentators say booking a place should not be a problem, given that the number of participants grew to 32. The tournament will be hosted by Spain. Europe has 50% of the available places. Romania is yet to miss a women's World Championship, where it has won four medals over the years: gold in 1962, silver in 1973 and 2005 and bronze in 2015. (V.P.)



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Publicat: 2021-04-17 14:00:00
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