COVID-19 Over 4,100 new COVID-19 cases and 16 related fatalities were reported on Monday out of around 30,700 tests. At least 400 patients are in intensive care. In 11 cities the COVID-19 infection rate is above 3 per thousand, with the capital city Bucharest and Ilfov County in the south now on the yellow list, alongside Cluj (north-west), with rates of over 2 per thousand. Meanwhile, the vaccination rate remains low. Only 2,700 people got the first dose in the last 24 hours, nearly 3 times below the average of the last few days. So far, approx. 42% of the population have received at least one vaccine dose. The spread of the Omicron variant triggered a number of protection measures. 160 outpatient evaluation centres will be operational as of this week, to reduce pressure on hospitals.
INTEREST The Board of the National Bank of Romania may decide today to further raise the policy interest rate, currently standing at 1.75% per year. The increase is expected, given the rise of the inflation rate in Romania and abroad. The policy interest rate was last increased in November, but only by 0.25%, which is less than analysts had expected.
DIPLOMACY Romanias foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu has talks today with his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi in Bucharest. The visit takes place in the context of recent positive developments in bilateral relations, including Islamabads support for the Romanian authorities efforts to evacuate Romanian and Allied citizens as well as 156 vulnerable Afghan nationals from Afghanistan in August and September 2021. The 2 officials are to discuss means to strengthen bilateral relations, to consolidate political dialogue and economic cooperation. A cooperation agreement between the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Association of Pakistani Chambers of Commerce and Industry, as well as a framework agreement on student exchanges between the Polytechnic University in Bucharest and the University of Islamabad are some of the documents signed during this visit.
KAZAKHSTAN Monday is a day of national mourning for the victims of the recent violent protests in Kazakhstan, where the situation seems to have stabilised. However, president Kassym Tokayev carried on removing suspected opponents from the countrys security services, with 2 more top-level officials dismissed. They were the deputies of the former head of the National Security Committee, Karim Masimov, dismissed and arrested last week on charges of treason. Masimov was an ally of former president Nursultan Nazarbaev. The latter stepped down in 2019, but he preserved control on key posts until a few days ago. The crisis in Kazakhstan started early this month, after gas prices were raised. The originally peaceful protests quickly spiralled into violent clashes resulting in human casualties and many buildings damaged, especially in the countrys economic centre Almaty. Thousands were arrested. Tokaev requested and received the support of a military alliance headed by Russia, whose troops are currently protecting strategic sites in Kazakhstan.
TALKS Talks are held in Geneva, Switzerland today by US and Russian officials over the situation in Ukraine. The parties have voiced reserves with respect to a prospective compromise. Russia said on Friday it would not yield to pressure, and warned that talks may be suspended, while Washington said hopes for success were rather low. The talks take place amid worries over Russias military build-up close to its border with Ukraine and fears that Moscow may once again attack the country, after having occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014. Ukraine is seeking NATO membership, but Moscow wants guarantees that NATO would not continue to expand eastwards. The meeting in Geneva will be followed this week by talks between Russian and NATO officials in Brussels, while an OSCE meeting due in Vienna is also scheduled to focus on the situation in Ukraine.
HANDBALL Romanias national mens handball team qualified into the second round of the 2023 World Championship qualifiers, after defeating the Republic of Moldova 33-23, on Sunday night, at home in Cluj-Napoca, in the last match of the first preliminary round, Group 3. In the previous group matches, Romania defeated Israel 33-30, which in turn beat Moldova 42-31. Romania came out 1st with 6 points, followed by Israel (4), Moldova (2), and Cyprus, (0). Cyprus was unable to take part in the tournament because of a COVID-19 outbreak in its team, and all its games were forfeited with a score of 10-0 for the opposing team. The top 2 teams in each group moved into the second round of the qualifiers. Four times a world champion, Romania has so far taken part in 14 mens handball World Championships, but its last participation dates back to 2011. (tr. A.M. Popescu)
