January 9, 2024
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 09.01.2024, 13:55
Government. The Romanian government should adopt a decision by the end of this month for the implementation of the National Plan to combat school violence and drug use. Students will attend health education courses and will be able to be tested with the parents consent for drug use, according to the National School Safety Plan. Compared to the measures applied so far, the document provides for the establishment of action groups at the level of each pre-university education unit, which will include specialists from the institutions that have undertaken this program. The aim is to combat the trafficking and consumption of psychoactive substances in schools, stop bullying, but also violent crimes. The pre-university education law obliges school principals to report cases of violence against students to the national number 119, and minors involved in such acts, together with their parents, must attend counseling sessions. In case of a refusal, the provision can be applied by court decision.
Israel. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel again on his latest regional tour aimed at preventing the escalation of the Gaza war. According to our correspondent, the head of the US diplomacy will try, once again, to convince the Israeli government to restrict its military operations in order to protect Palestinian civilians. The US would like the Israeli authorities to officially declare that they are moving to the third phase of the war, in which they will reduce their forces in the Gaza Strip and give up massive bombing. Israel is going through a very difficult moment, but has real chances of integration with its Arab neighbors, said Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv, where he already met with President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Israel Katz. On Monday, the Israeli army managed to liquidate two field commanders, one in Lebanon, a member of the leadership of the elite force of the Hezbollah organization, and the second in Syria, who was responsible for Hamass missile attack program on Israel from Syrian territory.
Unemployment. In Romania, the unemployment rate in November 2023 was 5.4%, a value equal to that recorded in October last year, according to the data published on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics. The unemployment rate among men was 0.9 percentage points higher than for women. The high level of the unemployment rate among young people (15-24 years), of 21%, continues to be worrying, the NIS warns.
Health-care. The Romanian Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, has announced that new memoranda on unblocking jobs in the system have been finalized. He stated that he hopes that the Government will approve the memoranda as soon as possible, so that the employment contests can be organized and the vacant positions can be filled. The Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloş, has also stated that the issue of jobs in the health-care will be resolved this week.
Invoicing. The national e-Invoice system took receipts worth a total of 16 billion lei (3.2 billion euros) in just seven days since it was introduced for transactions between companies , the Romanian Minister of Finance, Marcel Boloş, has announced. He has stressed again that the system designed to reduce VAT fraud, introduced on January 1 this year, will work in parallel with the classic one until the middle of this year, when it will become mandatory. Starting July 1, companies that do not report invoices electronically will be fined up to 5,000 lei (1,000 euros). Last year, following fiscal and anti-fraud inspections, the state collection budget was supplemented by 11 billion lei (2.2 billion euros), Minister Boloş also said.
Handball. The European Mens Handball Championship starts in Germany on Wednesday, a competition that will end on January 28. Romania will play in Group B, along with Austria and the strong teams of Spain and Croatia. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the main groups. Romania had not qualified for a European Championship since 1996.
Weather. The weather is cold in most of Romania, even frosty in the east. The severe weather of the last few days has affected this part of the country, where several localities were left without electricity. In Galati county (south-east), the red intervention plan was activated after a minibus with 17 passengers overturned due to powerful gusts of wind. The authorities temporarily closed traffic on several sections of the national road. Several trains are delayed on the railway. In Iaşi county (northeast), after the heavy snow and blizzard on Monday, the authorities agreed to keep schools, high schools and kindergartens closed today. The activity is also suspended in some educational units from other counties. (MI)
