THE WEEK IN REVIEW

5-10 August, 2024

Corina Cristea, 10.08.2024, 14:15

Gas interconnector between Romania and Serbia

The Romanian Minister of Energy, Sebastian Burduja, signed, this week, together with the Minister of Mines and Energy from neighboring Serbia, Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic, the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Construction Project of the Gas Interconnector between Romania and Serbia. The two countries will make every effort to start the actual construction next year, and the investment should be completed by 2028. The project represents a major step in strengthening the energy security of both countries, and in the regional integration of the markets, by diversifying the routes supply. According to Minister Burduja, through this investment, the country will provide benefits for all Romanians: a more competitive market, which will bring the lowest price to consumers, energy security, integration of energy systems, and diversification of supply sources. The project will connect the natural gas transmission system in Serbia with the BRUA main in Romania.

Female doctors detained for premeditated murder

The court accepted the request of the prosecutors for preventive arrest for 30 days of two female doctors from a hospital in Bucharest, accused of intentionally causing the death of a patient hospitalized in intensive care. The investigators claim that the 54-year-old patient, in serious condition, went into cardio-respiratory arrest, after they suddenly reduced his dose of noradrenaline, an essential substance in intensive care, with the role of maintaining blood pressure. In the same case, a nurse was charged with perjury. The prosecutors opened a criminal file regarding the crime of premeditated murder, after, in April, they received a notification from a nurse at the hospital related to the death of 17 patients between April 4-7 in the IC ward.

The reaction of the authorities to complaints regarding acts of sexual harassment in the university environment

The Bucharest government has decided to amend the legislation on acts of sexual harassment to allow anonymous complaints and to adopt measures to protect victims. It is the reaction of the authorities to the situations reported recently in the university environment in Romania – former students have launched accusations of sexual harassment in the public space against three university professors, against some of whom cases have already been opened with the police. One of them, Alfred Bulai from a major university, was dismissed from his position by the management of the school, while the other two – Dorin Ştefan Adam from the University of Architecture in Bucharest and Marius Pieleanu, from the same school as Bulai, requested the suspension of their own activity. Meanwhile, the public consultation period for the Ministry of Education’s project regarding regulation of university ethics commissions was extended until August 23. According to the document, complaints regarding abuses or violations of other rules can also be submitted anonymously to the registry of the university institution.

A new edition of the ‘Start Up Nation – Romania’ program

The executive approved, on Thursday, a new edition of the ‘Start Up Nation – Romania’ program, which has a budget of almost 450 million euros for a maximum of five years. The program has two components: one for access to training courses for young people under 30 years of age, and the second is intended for those between the ages of 30 and 35 who want to start a business. Start Up Nation is dedicated to young entrepreneurs, as well as those who live in underprivileged areas, or belong to disadvantaged categories. The project is coordinated by the Ministry of Economy, and the line minister, Radu Oprea, stated that, this year, more money is allocated for each participant compared to previous years. 80% are European funds and 20% from the state budget.

A new edition of the UNTOLD festival

In Cluj-Napoca, in the northwest of Romania, the ninth edition of the UNTOLD festival is taking place. During the four days of the festival, over 250 artists from Romania and from all over the world will perform on the eight stages of the event. Among them are famous performers who have performed in Romania before, such as the pop rock legend Lenny Kravitz, or the DJ Salvatore Ganacci, Some artists are premiering here, such as the British Sam Smith, or Burna Boy – the only African artist who had two events sold-out, two years in a row, at the London Stadium. UNTOLD, a festival that comes in 3rd in the ranking of the 100 biggest festivals, annually attracts fans from all corners of the world.

Tally for the Romanian athletes at the Olympic Games

Romania has so far won eight medals at the Paris Summer Olympics – three gold, four silver and one bronze. Gold was won by swimmer David Popovici in the 200 meter freestyle, rowers Andrei Cornea and Marian Enache in the men’s double sculls, and the women’s crew of eight plus one (Maria Magdalena Rusu, Roxana Anghel, Ancuța Bodnar, Maria Lehaci, Adriana Adam, Amalia Bereş, Ioana Vrînceanu , Simona Radiş, Victoria Ştefania Petreanu). The silver was obtained by Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș in the women’s double rowing, by Ioana Vrînceanu and Roxana Anghel in the women’s double sculls, by Gianina van Groningen and Ionela Cozmiuc in the women’s double rowing – light category, and by weightlifter Mihaela Valentina Cambei, in the 49 kg category. Finally, a bronze medal was won by David Popovici in the 100 meters freestyle.