August 22, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 22.08.2021, 14:00

CORONAVIRUS – The number of new Covid infections continues to
be high in Romania. On Saturday, authorities reported 591 new cases. There are
no Covid free counties left in the country and Bucharest has the highest number
of daily infections – 168 – according to the latest report. Another
15 Covid-related deaths were reported on Saturday while 182 patients are in
intensive care. The immunization pace is low. 60% of the teaching staff in the
capital Bucharest has been vaccinated. Only 30,000 children aged 12 to 15 have
been immunized in Romania so far. Over 5 million Romanians have been fully
vaccinated.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – The Bulgarian Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev thanked his
Romanian counterpart, Bogdan Aurescu and the Romanian state for supporting the evacuation
of 5 Bulgarian citizens from Afghanistan. The two officials had a telephone
conversation on Saturday, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. Four of the
five Bulgarian citizens evacuated by the Romanian Air Forces from Afghanistan
arrived safely in Bucharest on Saturday, together with 15 Romanian citizens
repatriated from that country. President Klaus Iohannis hailed the repatriation
of the Romanian citizens and the commitment of the authorities involved in the
process. 30 Romanian nationals have so far been evacuated from Afghanistan by
planes of partner states. Iohannis said authorities in Bucharest will continue
to evacuate Romanians from Afghanistan, as well as Afghan citizens who
supported the Romanian troops stationed there, students who have Romanian
scholarships and people in a vulnerable position.

CITIES – Cluj Napoca is Romania’s safest city and the 14th in
the world in this respect, according to data provided by an expert platform
that collects information from the most important cities in the world. Thus,
Cluj Napoca outranks cities such as Prague, Valencia and Luxembourg, due to
investment in infrastructure and surveillance systems in the past few years.
The safest cities in the world are Doha, in Qatar, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab
Emirates and Taipei in Taiwan.

FIREFIGHTERS – Romanian firefighters in Greece today have the
mission to protect three localities in the Attica area, the Romanian Department
for Emergencies announced. The Romanians have the task to prevent the fire from
spreading so as to protect communities. Romania sent to Greece 142 firefighters
with around 30 firefighting machines for a 10-day mission that could be
extended if needed. Two weeks ago, 108 Romanian firefighters were sent to
Greece to help the Greek teams on the island of Evia put out wildfires there.

FESTIVAL – The city of Sibiu in central Romania on Friday saw
the opening of the 28th edition of the International Theatre Festival, the
largest event devoted to arts in Romania and one of the most important in
Europe. Until August 29, 600 theatre and dance performances, concerts and
workshops are to be held in various historical locations during the festival,
which also involves the participation of 2,000 artists from 38 countries. Radio
Romania is a co-producer of the event.