September 14, 2022

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 14.09.2022, 14:30

RELIGION – Christians all over the world celebrate today the Elevation of the Holy Cross. This feast is also referred to as the Exaltation of the Cross. Marked on September 14, it commemorates the finding in the year 326, by Saint Helena, of the Cross on which Jesus Christ had been crucified. Helena and her son, Constantine the Great, ordered the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, at the site of the discovery. The Cross was taken inside the church on September 14, 335. This is one of the two feast days which is held as a strict fast. The other is the commemoration of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist on August 29.

SOFTWARE – The Bucharest Government is poised to curb the use of Russian anti-virus software and apps in central and local public institutions, for fear they may be used as a spying tool by Moscow. A draft law on this issue will be discussed by the Government today. Similar decisions have already been taken by countries like Germany and Italy. Kaspersky, the company producing one of the world’s most popular anti-virus solutions, will be directly affected by this measure, as all its programs will have to be uninstalled from the public IT systems across the country. Many Romanian public institutions, including the Bucharest City Hall, purchase and use Russian software due to their low price.

PROJECT – A number of projects aimed to support underpriviledged pre-school and primary school children and to stimulate them to get good academic results are on the Government’s agenda today. Thus, children from 350 education units will receive a meal while at school. According to the draft emergency order, the schools and kindergartens benefitting this pilot project have been selected from among underprivileged communities. Its initiators say the project will prevent school dropout and strengthen the family-school ties.

ENERGY — The new compensation and capping scheme for energy is being discussed today by the Parliament’s expert committees. The new scheme is due to take effect on September 1st. According to the emergency order, the consumption threshold for receiving the compensation has been decreased to 255 kWh/hour, in the case of electricity. The Government thus wants to persuade people to save energy. The legal act does not bring changes for natural gas household consumers.

FUNERAL — The coffin of Queen Elisabeth II was brought to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening and was received by King Charles II and other family members in a small private ceremony. Today, during a ceremonial procession, the coffin will be taken to Westminster Hall for her four-day lying in state. The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will be held on September 19. President Klaus Iohannis, the Custodian of the Crown of Romania, HRH Margareta, and Prince Consort Radu will attend the funeral service which will be held at Westminster Abbey in London.

FORUM — Strengthening commercial ties and supporting investment is vital for the consolidation of the bilateral strategic partnership and for Moldova’s EU accession, Romanian PM Nicolae Ciuca said at a Bucharest forum on capital market collaboration. Attending the event, his Moldovan counterpart, Natalia Gavrilita, said her country needs a more active capital market and more foreign investment. She also said that an investment in the Republic of Moldova should be seen as an opportunity to also gain access to the Romanian market.

POPE — Pope Francis has warned today, the second day of his visit to Kazakhstan, against “fundamentalism” France Press reports. “The sacred must never be a prop for power, nor power a prop for the sacred” the Pope said at the opening of the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan. The Catholic leader defended religious freedom as a fundamental right that must be promoted everywhere. The congress, first held in 2003, is marked by the absence of Patriarch Kirill, amid tensions related to the war in Ukraine. The congress in Nur-Sultan brings together Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and other faiths among the 100 delegations present to discuss the role of religion in the development of humanity in the modern world. (EE)