July 15, 2021

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 15.07.2021, 13:53

Covid-19 update. With 62 new Covid cases recorded on Thursday, the number of new infections remains low in Romania, but health experts and
the authorities fear the highly transmissible Delta strain may
become dominant in autumn. In their opinion, the only solution to counteract
the unfortunate effects of this variant is vaccinating as many people as
possible. From December last year, when the mass vaccination campaign got
under way in Romania, over 9 million doses were administered to some 4.8
million people, of whom 4.7 million are fully vaccinated. Unhappy with these
figures, the authorities are looking for ways to boost vaccination rates.

Protests. Dozens of thousands of people
protested on Wednesday across France against the new coronavirus restrictions.
President Emmanuel Macron announced that vaccination will become mandatory for
healthcare workers and other professions and a health pass will be required to
gain access to public places like cinemas, theatres, trains and long-distance
flights. Rallies were also held in Greece, where thousands protested against
the government’s measures to contain the spread of the virus. The country’s
prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the staff of care homes for the elderly
must get the vaccine or face dismissal. 4.3 of Greece’s 10.7 million population
are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, but the Greek government fears a new rise
in cases and pressure on hospitals.

Afghanistan. The end of the Romanian Army’s
mission in Afghanistan this month will be marked on 21st July in a
special ceremony in Bucharest. Troops representing the different units who
served in Afghanistan since 2002 will march under the Arch of Triumph in the
centre of the city. The Romanian defence ministry says the parade will be
opened by a detachment of Romanian soldiers wounded during missions in
Afghanistan. The military flags of various command structures and units that
led or carried out missions will be decorated and the soldiers killed in
foreign theatres of operation will be commemorated. 27 Romanian soldiers were
killed during Romania’s presence in Afghanistan and over 200 were wounded.

Climate. The European Commission on Wednesday
proposed ambitious measures to reach its climate goals. Together with the
distribution of national targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, these are
likely to be subject of heated debates among the 27 EU member states, Reuters
notes. The proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% compared with
1990 include increasing costs for emissions generated by heating, transport and
the industrial sector, taxing the fuel used in air and naval travel and
banning, from 2035, the sale of new diesel and petrol cars. In Romania’s case,
the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will increase from 2% to 12.7%.
The plan will be negotiated with member states and the European Parliament.

Tennis. The Romanian-Italian pair Irina Bara and Sara Errani reached the
doubles semifinals at the Budapest WTA tournament worth over 235,000 dollars in
prize money. On Wednesday, they defeated the first seeds Anna Kalinskaya and Yana Sizikova in straight sets,
7-6, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, the Romanian-Hungarian pair Mihaela Buzărnescuand Fanny Stollar are facing the all-Hungarian pair
Anna Bondar and Dalma Galfi, with the winners of the match due to play Bara and
Errani in the semis. In men’s tennis, the Romanian-German pair Horia Tecău and Kevin
Krawietz on Wednesday reached the doubles semifinals in Hamburg, at an ATP
tournament worth over 1 million euros in prize money. They defeated the
all-German pair Daniel Altmaier and Rudolf Molleker. (CM)