January 11, 2025 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 11.01.2025, 20:00

A roundup of local and international news.

ENERGY – Electricity and thermal energy production is expected to register a 2% decrease this year compared to 2024, but will go up in the next three years, according to the autumn forecast of the National Strategy and Forecast Commission for 2024-2028. Thus, in 2026, electricity and thermal energy production is estimated to increase by 1.4%. In 2027, it will increase by 1.5% and in 2028 by 1.3%.

TRANSNISTRIA – The regime in Transnistria, an autonomous region part of the Republic of Moldova, has extended the state of energy emergency until the beginning of February. Since January 1, the Transnistrian region has no longer received natural gas from Russia, and more than 50,000 households have been left without gas and almost 1,500 blocks of flats have had no heat or hot water. The authorities in Tiraspol refused the help offered by the Chisinau administration, which so far has managed to ensure the supply of natural gas and electricity to the right bank of the Dniester. Since the beginning of the year, more than half of the electricity needed has been ensured thanks to imports from Romania. Meanwhile, Chisinau has started the steps to connect several localities in the security zone to the energy system on the right side of the Dniester, which are now connected to the gas and electricity networks of Transnistria.

CATHEDRAL – The construction of the National Cathedral in Bucharest will be completed this year, in fall. On October 26, it is to be consecrated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church. According to the Patriarchy’s press agency, the event will also mark the 140th anniversary of the Romanian Orthodox Church’s recognition of its status as an autocephalous church and 100 years since it was elevated to the rank of patriarchy. The works on the cathedral are almost complete. This year, the cross on the main spire is to be installed. Other works are also needed, such as completing the interior installations or installing the exterior stained glass windows. At the same time, over 200 painters are working on the completion of the mosaic icons. In fact, the mosaic iconostasis on an area of ​​over 400 square meters is the largest of its kind in the Orthodox world.

CULTURE – The President of the Romanian Cultural Institute and of the European Union National Institutes for Culture, Liviu Jicman, is in the United States, from January 10 to 17, for a series of meetings, in New York and Washington DC, with leaders of the cultural sector, the American administration and technology. Jicman will convey the message of the importance of culture and the arts in international relations, including transatlantic ones, and will advocate for the intensification of cultural-artistic partnerships between cultural institutions and personalities located in Europe and the United States. Liviu Jicman will also open, together with the Romanian Ambassador in the US, Andrei Muraru, the New York and Washington performances of the North American tour of the show inspired by Marin Sorescu’s novel “Vision of the Burrow”, performed by Simona Măcănescu and Mircea Florian. The show is performed on the occasion of National Culture Day both in the United States and in Canada, in Vancouver, with the support of the Romanian Embassy in the US and the Consulate General of Romania in Vancouver.

LEGISLATION – The Bucharest Government will adopt, next week, the necessary legislation for the presidential elections, according to the calendar agreed on by the PSD-PNL-UDMR ruling coalition, with the first round on May 4 and the second on May 18. It is one of the priorities announced by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu in the most recent meeting. Another priority, Ciolacu said, is the completion and approval of the draft budget for this year by the end of the month, so that the document is debated and voted on by Parliament in the very first week of the Parliament’s session. The third major priority mentioned by Marcel Ciolacu is establishing the best way to continue supporting the population through capped prices for energy and gas, after April 1. At the end of March, the current support scheme expires, and its short-term extension – three or six months – was also mentioned by the Minister of Energy as an option. There are, however, other options to be considered, and the decision must be made by February 1.

WILDFIRE – The American authorities have requested the evacuation of the Consulate General of Romania in Los Angeles, in the context of the severe wildfires that have mainly affected Los Angeles in the State of California, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest has announced. Thus, the consular office temporarily suspends its activity. Emergency consular services continue to be provided for Romanian citizens through a mobile consular team, which can be contacted at the emergency phone number of the Consulate General of Romania in Los Angeles: +13107210474. The MFA advises Romanian citizens who are in Los Angeles to follow the instructions of local authorities and to call the single emergency number 911 in case of imminent danger. So far, there are no reports of deceased Romanian citizens, and, at the consular office level, no requests for consular assistance have been received.

VISAS – Romania’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program is seen in Romania as a formidable gesture of friendship from the United States, a gesture that comes to strengthen our common commitment to transatlantic security and prosperity. The statement was made by the Romanian Ambassador to Washington, Andrei Muraru, during the ceremony organized on Friday at the headquarters of the US Department of Homeland Security. According to a statement published on Saturday on the Embassy’s Facebook page, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, congratulated Bucharest for this successful journey and hailed the consistency and remarkable effort of the Romanian side.

COVID – January 11 marked five years since the first officially confirmed death in China from COVID-19. The BBC reports that the first confirmed death from the pandemic was a 61-year-old man who visited a fish market in Wuhan, where the first outbreak occurred. The pandemic has since claimed over seven million lives globally. In Romania, over 3.5 million people have been infected and nearly 70,000 have died from COVID-19.