June 22, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 22.06.2021, 20:00
LAW — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis promulgated on Tuesday a law that allows people to buy seniority for retirement. The law sets the legal framework for non-pensioners to complete their period of contribution to the public pension system. Under the new law, until September 1, 2023, people can sign a social insurance contract, which can be paid in one installment or in monthly installments, until August 31, 2023.
EXAMS – More than 130,000 8th graders are taking the national evaluation exams. The first test on Tuesday was the written Romanian language and literature examination. The mathematics exam will be held on Thursday, followed by the exam in the mother tongue on Friday. The results will be published on 4th July. The marks in the national evaluation exam are important for entering high school. Exams are held amid strict physical distancing and hygiene rules, and wearing face masks is obligatory.
WEATHER — Meteorologists have issued an orange code alert for high temperatures valid for Wednesday in western and south-western Romania, where temperatures will go as high as 39 degrees Celsius. The weather will be hot in all other regions, where minimum temperatures will range from 12 to 24 degrees Celsius and maximums between 24 and 37 degrees.
VOTE – MPs with the National Liberal Party (PNL) the main party in the ruling coalition will attend debates on the censure motion to be tabled by the Opposition, but will not vote, Liberal leader Ludovic Orban said on Tuesday. Orban doubts the fact that any MP with the parties in power will support the censure motion announced by the Social Democrats. On Wednesday, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) will table a censure motion against Florin Cîţu’s cabinet, with the document likely to be voted on next week. PSD leader Marcel Ciolacu believes that the motion stands good chances to pass. PSD says that six months after the parliamentary elections, the Cîţu government is inefficient and on the wrong path. In turn, Florin Cîţu says he is not worried at all.
CORONAVIRUS — The epidemiological situation has a very good evolution in Romania, maybe one of the best in Europe, and this is also due to the fact that the immunization of people from various age brackets has been allowed, Dr. Valeriu Gheorghita, coordinator of the national vaccination campaign said. He also said it is important for the vaccination campaign to continue, in spite of the fact that the number of people who receive the first dose is on the decrease. On the other hand, representatives of the World health Organisation have warned that the Delta variant, which emerged in India, is the most contagious and the most dangerous of all variants known so far and is likely to affect vulnerable people, especially in areas with low vaccination rates. 26 cases of the Delta variant have been identified in Romania, associated with outbreaks involving Indian citizens. 41 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Tuesday in Romania from 17,600 tests, as well as four new related deaths recorded in the last 24 hours. 151 Covid patients are still in intensive care.
PROGROM – The victims of the 1941 Iaşi Pogrom are commemorated these days in Romania and Israel. The Museum of the Jewish People at Tel Aviv University hosted an event organised by the Romanian Embassy in Israel to mark the 80th anniversary of the pogrom. This was the first event attended by Israels new minister for diaspora affairs Nachman Shai. Romanias ambassador Radu Ioanid introduced footage from a documentary film made by the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Bucharest. The WWII pogrom in Iaşi, north-eastern Romania, was one of the most violent episodes in the history of Romanian Jews and was initiated by the regime of general Ion Antonescu, an ally of Hitlers Germany. More than 13,000 Jews were killed in the pogrom. (EE)
