April 11, 2017 UPDATE
21 people have died of measles in Romania since September last year.
Newsroom, 11.04.2017, 19:22
G7 — Foreign Ministers of the G7 countries met on Tuesday in the Italian town of Lucca. Britain and America failed to win immediate support from European allies for new sanctions on Russia, the main ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In his turn, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that Assad’s reign has come to an end. After the meeting, the American official left for Moscow, in an attempt to convince Russia to withdraw its support for Assad. The move comes after last week’s US air strikes, in response to the use of chemical weapons that killed 89 people in Syria.
MEASLES — The Romanian Health Ministry announced on Tuesday that 21 people have died of measles. Around 4 thousand cases have been reported since September last year. Health authorities continue the immunization campaign for children aged 9 months to 9 years, in an attempt to prevent the spreading. Also on Tuesday the Health Ministry made public a vaccination bill. The bill stipulates the setting up of an immunization committee at the level of each county, that should intervene in case parents refuse the compulsory immunization scheme for their children. Health Minister Florian Bodog has said that following public and parliamentary debates, sanctions will also be stipulated in the bill.
NATO – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis asked Parliament to approve the opening, on the country’s territory, of a NATO counterintelligence unit. The new structure will carry out its activity within the Command of the Multinational Division Southeast in Bucharest. Romania already hosts two NATO structures set up following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. NATO has asked to establish a counterintelligence centre in Bucharest to act against “reported threats” and to support alliance structures in the country against espionage and sabotage by hostile forces. The request comes amid intense preparations for deployment in Romania of the largest NATO exercise in the country’s history, some 30,000 troops from 11 countries.
DIPLOMACY — The Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu made an official visit to Tallinn on Monday and Tuesday, at the invitation of his Estonian counterpart, Sven Mikser. Melescanu also held talks with PM Juri Ratas and parliament Speaker Eiki Nestor. The Romanian Minister and the Estonian officials approached, among other things, the bilateral economic ties and the cultural exchanges. Teodor Melescanu also took part in the opening of the Romanian Embassy in Tallinn and visited the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.
UNIVERSITY — The Hungarian Government gave assurances that it would not close down any university, the Central European University (CEU) inlcuded. Thus, according to Hungarian authorities, the Central European University can stay open once an agreement between Hungary and the US is reached. On Monday, President Janos Ader signed the controversial legislation backed by the governing right-wing Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Demonstrators in Budapest on Sunday had urged the President not to sign the bill into law. The government passed amendments to the Higher Education Act, which would make it impossible for the CEU to continue working in Budapest, 26 years after it was set up by the Hungarian-born American philanthropist and financier George Soros.
STOCK EXCHANGE — The Bucharest Stock Exchange on Tuesday launched an Internet platform that would offer extensive information on the shares listed. Under the name InvestingRomania.com the platform includes information on 13 major companies on Romania’s capital market. The published data come from several sources, including a news agency, analyses and estimates by financial pundits and current and periodical reports sent to the stock exchange. Users also get access to a platform which allows for the selection of portfolios based on two types of indicators.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
