Radio România Internațional

Tag: heroes

June 13, 2024 UPDATE

DAY The Ministry of National Defence on Thursday staged a series of military and religious ceremonies dedicated to the Heroes Day at army bases and military installations across Romania. The name of the heroes who fell in various battles and missions were symbolically mentioned, while funeral bell tolling was heard in churches all over the country. ”We are expressing our gratitude for the heroes who survived the horrors of World War Two, for those who opposed the communist dictatorship and fought for liberty during the anti-communist revolution of December 1989, contributing decisively in the process of ousting the totalitarian regime in Romania”, the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said in a message. He has also voiced appreciation for those who are presently involved with the country’s defence systems. As a token of gratitude for the country’s fallen heroes in WWI, the Romanian authorities ruled in 1920 that the Heroes Day is a national holiday celebrated on the Ascension of Jesus Christ, a tradition which was resumed after 1990. The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ is the moment of his bodily ascension into heaven forty days after the resurrection.

LOAN G7 Leaders, who convened in Italy, reached a political agreement on Thursday to use frozen Russian assets in an attempt to help provide Ukraine with a 50 billion dollars loan over the next year in its ongoing war with Russia, a US presidency official has been quoted by AFP as saying. Profits from the 300 billion dollars in frozen Russian assets largely held in countries like Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA will be used to back the loan. Most of the money would be in the form of a loan mostly guaranteed by the US, the same official added. The western states would rather seize the frozen Russian assets and use them in the reconstruction of Ukraine and for the purchase of weapons but such a measure, which was also asked by Kyiv, is, at least for the time being, difficult, as there are numerous obstacles, of legal, geopolitical and financial nature such as the risk of throwing the international financial markets into turmoil and weakening the Western currencies. Also on Thursday Brussels saw the meeting of the US-led Contact Group for Ukraine where Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Ukrainian troops are holding strong on the frontline while the allies are continuing their efforts to provide weapons, mainly air defence systems, such as the Patriot interceptors. He also said the Ukrainian forces are fending off Russia’s new offensive in the Kharkiv region.

BILLS The Romanian Government on Thursday endorsed an emergency decree on creating a special environment budget designed to fund projects aimed at developing integrated waste management infrastructure. The beneficiaries of the aforementioned projects are inter-community development agencies at the level of counties or other structures. The move is aimed at backing the implementation of the projects promoted by the local authorities by providing investment funding aimed at completing the systems of integrated waste management. Also on Thursday, the government endorsed a series of new regulations on the prevention of cyber-attacks against medical units and the creation of a unique registry that should comprise all medical units.

(bill)

13 June 2024
August 6, 2023 UPDATE

WAR President Klaus Iohannis Sunday released a message occasioned by
the centennial of the War Heroes Mausoleum in Mărăşeşti (east). The president
points out in the message that in the most important battle of the 1917 campaign
in World War I, in Mărăşeşti, the Romanian Army with support from the Allies
managed to stop the offensive of the Central Powers and stabilised the front
line for the rest of the war. Construction works on the Mausoleum, erected in
memory of the over 5,000 officers and soldiers who died then, started on August
6, 1923, at the initiative of the Romanian Orthodox Women Society, and ended in
1938. The president’s message also says that the current military conflict in
Ukraine is a reminder of the horrors of war and of the duty to strengthen
Romania’s resilience and defence capacity. A NATO and EU member state, Romania is
at present a pillar of regional stability, a major security provider in
South-Eastern Europe, and it benefits from the most reliable security
guarantees in its history, Klaus Iohannis also says in his message.

HEALTHCARE The task group entrusted with drawing up Romania’s
healthcare digitisation strategy had a first meeting in Bucharest on Sunday. According
to the line minister, Alexandru Rafila, electronic and information technologies
will improve Romanians’ access to healthcare services, will help reduce errors
and optimise management and resource planning in the sector. Calls for
proposals have already been opened for the introduction of electronic
technologies in 200 hospitals and the National Health Insurance Agency, and in
mid-August further calls will be opened for the development of the national
telemedicine system. Romania can spend EUR 400 mln for the digitisation of the public
healthcare sector, under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

FIRES The Romanian
fire-fighters deployed to Greece worked on Saturday and Sunday together with
their Greek colleagues to put out a fire in the Aragonitis area, around 55 km
from the village of Vilia, in the region of Attica, the General Inspectorate
for Emergencies announced. According to the institution, at the request of the
Greek liaison officers, the Romanian unit supported the Greek fire-fighters
with 4 fire engines, personnel rotating every 4 hours, and additional lighting
equipment. Scores of Romanian fire-fighters have already taken part, over the
past few weeks, in similar missions to support the Greek authorities manage
extensive wildfires.

CATHOLICS The South
Korean capital city Seoul will host the next edition of World Youth Day, in
2027, Pope Francis announced on Sunday during a religious service in Lisbon
held at the end of the 16th edition of the event. Initiated in 1986 by
Pope John Paul II, World Youth Day, the largest international gathering of
Catholic youth, is organised every 2 or 3 years and comprises cultural and
religious events. The 2023 edition, postponed by a year because of the Covid-19
pandemic, brought 1.5 million worshippers to Lisbon, where Pope Francis, 86, Sunday
concluded a 5-day visit to Portugal, his 42nd international trip since his election in 2013.
The World Youth Day editions with the largest numbers of participants were in Manila
in 1995 (5 million people), Rio de Janeiro (3.7 million) and Krakow (3 million).
Around 11% of South Korea’s 52-million population are Catholic.

GAMES Romania came
out 2nd in the Francophonie Games hosted by Kinshasa (Congo), after
Morocco, with a total 17 gold, 9 silver and 12 bronze medals. Third came
Cameroon. On Saturday, the Romanian athletes won 2 medals, a silver and a
bronze, in African wrestling. Romania participated in the Games with 57
athletes, competing in athletics, women’s basketball, freestyle and African
wrestling, road cycling, table tennis and judo. The 9th Francophonie
Games were held between July 28 and August 6. (AMP)

6 August 2023
June 2, 2022 UPDATE

GOVERNMENT On Thursday the
Government of Romania passed an emergency order under which pensioners with
pension benefits below roughly EUR 400 will benefit in July from financial aid
amounting to EUR 140. The measure is intended to offset the drop in spending
power for vulnerable people, generated by the recent increase in fuel, food and
utility prices. Around 3.3 million people will benefit from the aid. Wednesday
also saw the start of a social voucher distribution programme called ‘Support
for Romania’. The EUR 50 vouchers are intended for over 2.5 million vulnerable
Romanians, and can be used for food purchases.

HOLIDAY Romania, a country
with an Orthodox majority, Thursday celebrated the Ascension of Lord Jesus
Christ, 40 days after his resurrection. Orthodox believers celebrated the event
with painted eggs and traditional Easter meals. Since 1920 Romanians have also
paid homage to their war heroes on Ascension Day. A series of events have been
staged to the memory of Romania’s heroes like religious services as well as
moments of silence in all major institutions across the country. In a message on Heroes Day, the country’s
Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said ‘our thoughts of gratitude are today directed
towards those who made the supreme sacrifice for the better destiny of the
generations to come.’

POLL Over 70% of Romanians
blame the war in Ukraine on Russia, according to a poll conducted by INSCOP
Research over May 16th and 21st. Over 87% of the Romanians believe that Russian
leaders must be convicted for war crimes and 65% believe the presence of NATO
and US troops in Romania is a good thing. 50% of the respondents believe
Ukraine will win the war, whereas 26% believe Russia will be the victor.
According to the poll, only 25% of Romanians believe Russia is defending
traditional values against the decadence of the West, as compared to 41% in
February. 67% of the respondents believe that extraction of natural gas from
the Black Sea will significantly reduce the country’s dependence on Russian
gas.

LETTER Romania’s president
Klaus Iohannis has sent a congratulation letter to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on her
anniversary and the platinum jubilee, the presidential administration in
Bucharest has announced. The Romanian president voiced his belief that the
Strategic Partnership between Romania and the UK will continue to be
consolidated in the future, for the mutual benefit of both nations. Starting on
Thursday, Britain is celebrating for 4 days the Queen’s 70 years of rule, the
longest in the kingdom’s history. The government has exceptionally approved a
four-day bank holiday allowing millions to participate in various events staged
on this occasion, such as street parties, concerts and military parades.
According to the BBC, the 96-year-old monarch, who has mobility issues and has
recently cancelled several public appearances, is likely to join members of the
Royal Family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to watch the display.

REFUGEES The government of
Romania Thursday approved the provision of new emergency humanitarian aid
amounting to EUR 185,000 for the management of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Also
as of Thursday, a governmental information platform is available to Ukrainian
nationals benefiting from temporary protection in Romania. At
protecţieucraina.gov.ro, refugees can find all the necessary information on the
rights and services they can receive, how they can enter Romania or answers to
frequently asked questions in the legal field. The Romanian Border Police
announced that on Wednesday little over 10,000 Ukrainian citizens entered
Romania, down 13% since the previous day. Since the start of the crisis in
Ukraine on February 24, nearly 1.1 million refugees have entered Romania. Most
of them transited the country towards Western Europe, but several tens of
thousands applied for asylum or temporary protection from the Romanian
government. (AMP)

2 June 2022
December 21, 2021

COMMEMORATION The
heroes of the anti-communist uprising of December 1989 are commemorated in
Bucharest today. Religious services and military ceremonies are held at the
Revolution Heroes Cemetery and at the dedicated monuments downtown. Similar
events are scheduled on Wednesday at the Romanian Revolution Heroes Monument,
at the Radio Hall and the Romanian Television Corporation. Originating in Timișoara
(west), on 16th December, the uprising spread across the country,
culminating with dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu fleeing the capital city on 22nd
December amid the protests of hundreds of thousands of Romanians. Captured by
the Army, Ceauşescu and his wife Elena were subject to a summary trial and
executed in the southern town of Târgovişte. Romania was the only country behind the
Iron Curtain where the change of regime was accompanied by bloodshed. Over 1,000
people were killed and some 3,000 wounded.

BUDGET The draft 2022 state budget and social security budget laws
will be discussed and voted on in Parliament on Thursday. MPs have until this
afternoon to table amendments. Also today, the budgets of the main public
institutions are discussed in Parliament’s specialised committees. The
government passed the bills on Monday and promised they are based on
predictability and stability. The budget is based on an estimated
economic growth rate of 4.6% and a GDP of some 260 billion euro, a predicted
inflation rate of 6.5% and gross average salaries of 1,200 euros per month, with
the budget deficit expected to stay within the limits agreed on with the
European Commission under the excessive deficit procedure, namely 5.84% of GDP.
The public pension fund will receive 7.32% of GDP. The Liberal
president Florin Cîţu criticised the fact that only 6.7% of GDP was earmarked
for investments, instead of 7% as agreed within the ruling coalition. The
Social Democratic leader Marcel Ciolacu argued however that the budget
execution is more important than the exact breakdown of expenditure. The leader
of USR party in opposition, Dacian Cioloş, says the draft budget relies on
over-estimated revenues and said although public education is a priority for
President Iohannis, not enough funding has been earmarked for the sector.

TALKS The PM of Romania Nicolae Ciucă continues his first visit
to Brussels since taking over the office less than a month ago. After last
night’s working dinner with the president of the European Council, Charles
Michel, Nicolae Ciucă has meetings scheduled today with the head of the
European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen, and with the NATO secretary general,
Jens Stoltenberg. Radio Romania’s correspondent in Brussels says Romania’s
Schengen accession is a priority in the prime minister’s talks with EU
officials. European security, with a focus on tensions in Romania’s
neighbouring areas and at Ukraine’s eastern border, will be tackled in the
meeting with the NATO secretary general.

COVID-19 Traffic is hindered in downtown Bucharest today, as protesters
encouraged by the nationalist opposition party AUR are picketing the Parliament
Palace, disgruntled with the authorities’ plan to make the digital COVID
certificate a requirement at the workplace. Measures to prevent a potential new
pandemic wave were discussed by the health minister Alexandru Rafila with
business community representatives, and the idea of a law making access to jobs
conditional on the digital COVID certificate was put forth. According to the
health ministry, the measure could be taken in case the number of COVID-19
infections goes up 1.5 times for 3 consecutive weeks. Today the
authorities announced 826 new COVID infections in 24 hours, and 88 related
fatalities, 22 of them from a previous date. Since the start of the pandemic, some 1.8 million COVID-19
cases have been reported in Romania and over 58,000 COVID patients died. Romania
has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the EU, after Bulgaria. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

21 December 2021
June 10, 2021 UPDATE

Covid-19. The coronavirus infection rate continues to
drop in Romania. Thursday saw 133 new cases, from almost 30,000 tests. 148
deaths in patients infected with Covid-19 were also reported, of which 124 date
from last year and earlier this year but were only now recorded in the data
base by the local Public Health Directorates at the request of the health
ministry, following further checks. 1,500 Covid patients are receiving hospital
treatment, including 256 in intensive care. Since the vaccine rollout kicked
off in Romania in late December, over 4.5 million people have been fully
vaccinated.

State of alert. The government has extended the state of
alert for a further thirty days from 12th June. Several restrictions
are also eased. The number of people allowed to attend private receptions indoors
has been expanded to 200 provided everyone is vaccinated, has a negative test
result or has recovered from the infection. According to the authorities, the
measures imposed during the state of alert will also apply to the stadiums hosting
the football matches as part of the 2020 European Football Championship. The
National Arena in Bucharest, which will host an eighth final match, will be
able to operate at 50% capacity.

Investment. Romanian
prime minister Florin Cîţu says the reported 10% rise
in net investments in the first quarter of the year published by the National
Institute for Statistics is an indicator showing investors’ and multinational
companies’ trust in his government. Investments create bigger production
capacity, which generates economic growth that benefits all Romanians, the
prime minister posted on Facebook. According to the National Institute for
Statistics, net investments in the Romanian economy in the first quarter
of the year amounted to some 4 billion euros, up 9.9% compared with the same
period last year. Almost 36% of these investments went to the building sector,
25% to industry, trade and services and 3.5% to agriculture.

Heroes Day. Religious services and military ceremonies were
held all over Romania on Thursday in memory of the military killed in action in
various wars involving the participation of Romania’s armed forces or in
missions carried out in theatres of operations. Under a law from 2003, the 40th
day after Easter, on the Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, was proclaimed
Heroes Day and has been a national holiday in Romania ever since. Orthodox
Christians, who form Romania’s majority religious group, as well as the Greek Catholic,
celebrated the Ascension on Thursday.

Visit. Israel’s president Reuven Rivlin, who has been on
a trip to Romania ahead of the 73rd anniversary on 11th
June of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between the two countries, on
Thursday attended the commemoration of the seven soldiers, six from Israel and
one from Romania, who died in a helicopter crash in the Bucegi Mountains, in
southern Romania, in 2010. On the first two days of his visit, president Rivlin
held talks with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis, delivered a speech
before the Romanian Parliament and inaugurated the Romania-Israel Business Forum
together with prime minister Florin Cîţu.

Tennis.
The Romanian-Argentinean pair
Irina Begu and Nadia Podoroska will on Friday face Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the
USA and Iga Swiatek of Poland in the semis of the women’s doubles at Roland
Garros. In the quarter finals, Begu and Podoroska defeated Petra Martic of
Croatia and Shelby Rogers of the USA. Begu is the only Romanian player still in
competition at the French Open. (CM)

10 June 2021
June 10, 2021

VISIT Reuven Rivlin, the president of
Israel, has been visiting Romania these days as on June 11th the two
countries are celebrating 73 years of uninterrupted diplomatic relations. The
Israeli president is today attending the commemoration of the 7 servicemen, six
Israelis and a Romanian, who died when their helicopter crashed in the Bucegi
Mountains, southern Romania, in 2010. In the first two days of his visit,
president Rivlin held talks with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis
delivered a speech before the Romanian Parliament and inaugurated the
Romania-Israel business forum together with Prime Minister Florin Citu.

ALERT The government in Bucharest has
extended the state of alert for another month starting June 12th.
Several restrictions have been relaxed on this occasion; the number of people
allowed to attend private events has been increased to 200 provided they are
all vaccinated, tested or had the disease in the past. According to the
authorities, the measures imposed during the state of alert are to be applied
on the stadiums, which are going to host matches of the European Football
Championship UEFA 2020. The National Arena in Bucharest, the venue for the
round of sixteen, will function at 50% of its capacity.

COVID-19 The infection rate with the
novel coronavirus is going down in Romania with most of its territory in the
green tier now. The infection rate stays below 0.16 per thousand with 140 new
cases being reported on Wednesday out of 28 thousand tests conducted.
Authorities have announced 14 new fatalities in the past 24 hours. Less than 15
hundred are being treated in hospitals and 272 of them in intensive care.
61,800 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine are to arrive in Romania today.
Since the vaccine rollout kicked off in Romania in late December, over 4
million people have been fully vaccinated.

INVESTMENT According to data released
by the National Institute for Statistics on Thursday, in the first quarter of
this year, Romania reported 4 billion Euros worth of investment, an increase of
9.9% as compared to the same period last year. The increase has been reported
in all elements of structure: various types of machinery and equipment,
including in the transport area, construction works and other expenditures.
According to the same sources, almost 36% of the investment went to the
construction area, 25% in industry, and the same percentage in trade and
service. Only 3.5% of the total investment went to agriculture.

DAY Army barracks and monuments all over
Romania are today seeing religious services and military ceremonies to the
memory of the servicemen killed in action in various wars involving the
participation of Romania’s armed forces. Wreaths of flowers are to be laid in
cemeteries and at monuments. A brass band of the Romanian Defence Ministry is
to give a concert of patriotic music this afternoon. Under law 379 in 2003 the
40th day after Easter, the Ascension of Jesus Christ, was also
proclaimed the Heroes Day and has been a national holiday here in Romania ever
since.

TENNIS Romanian-Argentinean pair Irina
Begu/Nadia Podoroska will on Friday take on Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the USA and
Iga Swiatek of Poland in the semis of the doubles contest of the Roland Garros
tennis tournament. Begu and Podoroska are coming after a win against Petra
Martic of Croatia and Shelby Rogers of the USA in the quarters. Begu is
Romania’s last representative in the prestigious French competition.

(bill)

10 June 2021
June 8, 2019 UPDATE

UN Romania remains “deeply committed to supporting the UN, and the campaign for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council “has strengthened the countrys international profile, reads a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry. The statement comes after on Friday Romania, supported by only 58 countries, failed to win a seat in the 2020-2021 Security Council, being outrun by Estonia, which got 132 votes. President Klaus Iohannis blamed the failure on “irresponsible statements by some top officials, which generated reluctance with respect to Romanias candidacy. On the other hand, voices in the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats say the President, as coordinator of Romanian diplomacy, has most of the responsibility. The Security Council includes 5 permanent members with veto rights: the USA, Russia, China, France and the UK. Another 10 members have 2-year terms, after which they are replaced by countries from the same region. Next year 5 seats will be vacant, 2 for Africa, one for Asia-Pacific, one for Latin America and the Caribbean and one for Eastern Europe. To be elected in the UN Security Council, a country needs the support of two-thirds of the General Assembly members, which means at least 129 votes out of the 193 voting member states.

G20 The Romanian finance minister Eugen Teodorovici is heading the EU Council delegation at the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held this weekend in Fukuoka, Japan. According to a news release issued by the Finance Ministry, the agenda of talks includes topics like financing for development, global economy, international taxation, global imbalances, population ageing, investments in infrastructure and financial sector issues. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will adopt an official declaration comprising the outcomes of the meeting, the news release also says.

TENSIONS The Government suggests that the National Defence Ministry should take over the administration of the Heroes Cemetery in Valea Uzului and make it an international cemetery. A decision will be made after consultations with all stakeholders, PM Viorica Dăncilă says in a news release. She also calls for respect for Romanias state symbols and for public order, and urges responsibility in all political statements and actions concerning the situation in Valea Uzului, Harghita County. Soldiers of various nationalities, killed in the 2 world wars, are buried here. The Romanian Police opened a criminal investigation concerning the destruction of the access gate to the Valea Uzului graveyard, after on Thursday members of several Romanian organisations forced their way in, to attend a Heroes Day commemoration. According to the gendarmes, tensions were reported, but there were no violent clashes between the Romanian and the Hungarian ethnics in the area or with the police forces, as some Hungarian politicians had claimed.

WHITSUNDAY Roman-Catholic Christians celebrate the Pentecost, which in mostly Orthodox Romania is marked, among other things, through a pilgrimage to Şumuleu Ciuc, attended every year by tens of thousands of Hungarian ethnics. The Marian shrine in Şumuleu Ciuc has become the most important Catholic pilgrimage site in the region. A week ago, it was also visited by Pope Francis, who was on a pastoral visit to Romania.

MOLDOVA The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova Saturday ruled that the appointment of the pro-Russian Socialist Zinaida Greceanyi as Parliament Speaker is unconstitutional. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed. The Socialists and the pro-European right wing voted to appoint Greceanyi after the Court decided that the mandate of the current Parliament ended. The countrys pro-Russian president Igor Dodon postponed signing a decree to dissolve Parliament, and said the republic is on the verge of being destabilised. These developments come after 3-and-a-half months of failed attempts at forming a parliamentary majority. In the February 24 legislative elections, Dodons Socialists won 35 of the 101 seats in Parliament. The ruling Democratic Party, headed by the controversial oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, has 30 MPs, while ACUM bloc, a pro-European right-wing cartel, has another 26. Seven seats were won by the populist party headed by the Mayor of Orhei town, Ilan Shor, a politician sentenced by a court of first instance to 7 and a half years in prison for his involvement in Moldovas billion dollar banking fraud. 3 other MPs are non-affiliated.

FOOTBALL Romanias football team is in Malta, scheduled to play against the host national team on Monday in the Group F qualifiers for the 2020 European Championships. On Friday Romania drew against Norway, 2-all away from home. In the first 2 matches in the group, played in March, the Romanians were defeated by Sweden in Stockholm, and won at home against Faroe Islands. Spain tops the Group F standings with 9 points, followed by Sweden with 7, with Romania coming in 3rd with 4 points. The top 2 teams in each group qualify into the final tournament. The drawing for Euro 2020 takes place in Bucharest on November 30. The Romanian capital city will also host 4 final tournament matches, 3 in the group stage and one in the 8th-finals. In related news, Romanias team will play this month in the European Under-21 Football Championships in Italy and San Marino, in Group C, alongside England, France and Croatia.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

8 June 2019
August 4, 2017 UPDATE

HEAT A quarter of Romanias territory has been placed under code red alert for extreme heat until Saturday night; in 12 counties in western Romania temperatures are expected to soar to 42 degrees Celsius. The rest of the country remains under a code orange alert with temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius. The thermal discomfort index went over 80 and could reach 82-84 units. Weather experts say that the heat wave will last until mid-next week, but only in the south, while atmospheric instability will increase. First-aid tents have been set up in all major cities to provide fresh cold water to people. Mobile ambulance and medical services have been placed on high alert and speed restrictions have been imposed on the national railway network as well as on the countrys main roads with a view to avoiding accidents. The drought Romania is currently facing has wreaked havoc on the corn and sunflower crops. Numerous countries in Europe like Italy, Poland, Hungary, Switzerland, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, France and the Republic of Moldova have also been affected by this heat wave.

HEROES Romania is commemorating its WWI heroes through a series of ceremonies held all over the country these days. At the Soveja Mausoleum, in the east of the country, which hosts an ossuary of over 2,000 Romanian and Russian soldiers, a religious service was held on Friday. The peak of these events will be on Sunday, when the country marks 100 years since the Battle of Marasesti, a watershed moment for Romania in the Great War. In the summer of 1917 the Romanian soldiers stood their ground against a technically superior and better-trained German army, losing 480 officers and over 21,000 troops.

TALKS Romanias government Friday passed an emergency order under which pensions will no longer be adjusted to salary increases, but only to the inflation rate, to the effect that the net pension benefits can no longer be higher than the net salaries an individual has received prior to retirement. The age and length in service required for an employee to be able to retire remain unchanged. The bill only concerns the pensions of Interior and Defence Ministry personnel, of intelligence service employees, of civil aviation pilots, diplomats, of court staff, MPs and other Parliament employees. Another bill concerns the increase of police staff salaries by 10% and of Interior Ministry civilian staff by 15%. Also on Friday, the Government approved a ceiling on child allowances of roughly 1,850 euros per month as of September.

MEASLES Over the past week more than 100 new measles cases have been confirmed, taking the total number up to 8,455, according to the data centralised by Friday by the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control. Thirty-two people, most of them babies and small children, have died since the onset of the measles epidemic in September 2016. Health Minister Florian Bodog said on Friday that the measles vaccination rate grew nearly 4 times in the last 2 weeks.

FOOTBALL Romanias vice champions FCSB formerly known as Steaua Bucharest will be playing in the qualifying play-offs for the Champions League Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon. The first game will be played in Portugal on August 15th and the return match in Bucharest a week later. Also on Friday the champions Viitorul found out their opponent in the Europa League play-off: the Austrian champions FC Red Bull Salzburg. Viitorul will play the first leg at home on August 17 and the return match in Salzburg on August 24. Romania has only these two sides in the European competitions. Another three Romanian sides, Dinamo Bucharest, Astra Giurgiu and CSU Craiova were eliminated from the Europa League, after the defeats they conceded on Thursday, away from home. Contender teams for the Romanians were Athletic Bilbao from Spain, the famous Italian squad AC Milan and Ukraines Oleksandria.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

4 August 2017