December 6, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

România Internațional, 06.12.2023, 19:52

The Romanian Health Ministry has declared a national
measles epidemic. The measure comes after the confirmation of almost 2,000
cases since the beginning of the year. In the last week of November alone,
almost 200 cases were reported. The Ministry officials emphasise that the
number of cases has increased alarmingly and more and more children need
hospitalisation in the paediatric and infectious disease wards. The measure
taken by the authorities facilitates the vaccination of children aged between 9
and 11 months, as well as the recovery of those who are not vaccinated or whose
vaccination schedule is incomplete. Measles is an extremely contagious viral
disease, which can lead to complications such as encephalitis and pneumonia and
even death.

The Romanian foreign ministry announced that 30 Romanian
nationals and family members evacuated from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday were
flown to Romania on board an army plane. To date, 279 Romanian citizens and
family members have been evacuated from Gaza according to the foreign ministry.
The ministry is in dialogue with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to
facilitate the evacuation of the other Romanian citizens who have requested
this.

Survey. Seven out of ten
people in Romania believe EU memberships is beneficial for their country,
according to the latest European Parliament Eurobarometer. The main benefits
cited by Romanian respondents are job opportunities, the improvement in the
living standard and the contribution of the European Union to maintaining
peace. According to the opinion poll, 75% of Romanian respondents would vote in
the European elections if the latter were held within a week, in one of the
highest percentages in the Union. The Eurobarometer was presented by the
European Parliament six months ahead of the EU elections due to take place
between 6th and 9th June next year. In 2019, the voter
turnout in EU elections in Romania was 51%.

Romania will be facing Germany on Thursday in the
Danish city of Herning, in their first match in the Main Round Group III match
at the World Women’s Handball Championship. Romania will next play Poland and
Japan. The two best-ranked teams in the group will advance into the quarterfinals.
Romania reached the group with 2 points, as they defeated Chile and Serbia and lost
to Denmark in the first stage of the competition. The star of the Romanian
national team, Cristina Neagu, four times named the best handball player in the
world, is yet to make an appearance. Romania are the only team to take part in
all 26 editions of the World Women’s Handball Championship winning one gold
medal (in 1962), two silver medals (in 1973 and 2005) and one bronze medal (in 2015).
In the previous edition of the world championship, Romania ranked 13th. (CM)