September 18, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 18.09.2021, 20:00
CORONAVIRUS – The government passed a resolution making the green certificate, attesting vaccination, negative testing or recovery from COVID-19, compulsory upon entering restaurants, gyms, or attending public and private events in areas where the infection rate is over 3 per thousand. This is the same digital certificate required this summer for travel within the EU. On Saturday, authorities announced almost 5.388 new cases of COVID-19 infection in 24 hours, from over 52,000 tests. In the same interval, 97 related fatalities were also reported and 798 patients treated in intensive care. Meanwhile, the National Committee on Emergencies approved a new list of high-risk countries, valid as of September 19. Bulgaria and France are now back in the yellow zone, and Spain is listed as a green-zone country.
NEW MEDIA ART – The biggest new media art event in Romania started on Saturday in Bucharest. iMapp Bucharest — Winners league is also among the top three international video mapping competitions. The works of teams from the US, Germany, Ukraine, Japan and Hungary will be presented on the world’s biggest screening area, namely, the façade of the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, of 23,000 sqm. The theme of this year’s edition is “The Show Must Go On” and celebrates through works that blend light, technology and music, the way in which people have been returning to normal life.
ENESCU — Radio Romania’s Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Tiberiu Soare, performed on Saturday evening at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, as part of the George Enescu Festival. The renowned American cellist Alisa Weilerstein was the soloist. Also on Saturday, the Zurich Orchestra, conducted by the famous Paavo Järvi performed on the stage of the Palace Hall. The Radio Romania Children’s Choir also took to the stage at the Palace Hall. This is the 25th edition of the George Enescu Festival.
ELECTIONS — Russia’s three-day parliamentary elections have started on Friday, when around 20 million people, that is 17% of the eligible voters, cast their ballot. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Moscow, from those 450 deputies, half are elected by party lists from among the representatives of 14 political parties. The other half of the seats are chosen in individual constituencies, where 2,300 candidates are running. People affiliated to organizations banned by the law, including that of the opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, seen as extremists, were not allowed to run. Polls indicate that the presidential party, United Russia, will get over 40% of the votes, followed by the Communist Party.
SUMMIT – Southern EU leaders, convened in Athens, have pledged their adherence to the climate targets of the Paris 2015 agreement and have agreed to collaborate more closely to address illegal migration. Greek PM, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who chaired the summit, reminded of the devastating fires this summer in the Mediterranean countries and the flooding in northern Europe. Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia and Portugal have signed a declaration in favor of an ambition result at the conference on climate change due in November, in Scotland. The nine countries have also pledged to strengthen cooperation to combat extremism and terrorism.
