August 16, 2026
A roundup of local and world news
Daniel Bilț, 16.08.2026, 14:00
DRONE A drone that entered Romania’s airspace on Saturday night was intercepted and shot down by two Spanish F-18 fighter jets over Galaţi county, eastern Romania, the country’s Defence Minister, Radu Miruţă says. The minister voiced his gratitude towards the Spanish pilots and the Romanian servicemen with the command center for a successful mission. Another drone discovered in Tulcea county, south-eastern Romania, was safely neutralized on Saturday through controlled detonation by a specialized team of the National Defence Ministry. Another drone was discovered close to the stabilopodes in the seaside resort of Costinesti, on the Romanian Black Sea coast, on Thursday. A lot of drone debris has been discovered in Romania recently mainly in the coastline and the delta. Miruta explained this situation through the stepping up of Russian attacks in Ukraine. According to sources with the Defence Ministry, since the onset of the war in Ukraine, fifty incidents involving drones and fragments of drones have been reported in Romania. Miruta explained that not only aircraft can shoot down the drones but ground artillery as well. Romania is presently making efforts to upgrade its anti-drone capabilities.
FILM Romanian director Florin Serban’s film ‘You Don’t Belong Here’ won the top prize—the Golden Leopard—on Saturday at the 79th edition of the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. The film also received a special mention for acting, awarded to young actor Teodor Butănescu, who was making his debut. The jury praised “the strength of its writing, the singularity of its vision, and the exceptional mastery of its cinematic language.” France Presse describes the director as a key figure of the Romanian New Wave and notes that the film portrays the relationship between a father and his teenage son in somber tones. The film tells the story of a doctor devastated to learn that the police suspect his teenage son—whom he raised alone—of killing an elderly Roma man. The doctor discovers that his son leads a double life at night, roaming the city on a bicycle and vandalizing cars alongside a gang of masked vigilantes. ‘You Don’t Belong Here is set to premiere in Romania this November. After studying philosophy and journalism, Florin Şerban studied film directing at Columbia University. His debut feature, If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, reaped several awards, including the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2010.
AMENDMENTS This weekend, the Labour Ministry submitted to the Presidential Administration a series of fresh amendments to the Public Sector Wage Law. President Nicusor Dan has asked for these amendments ahead of a new meeting with the political leaders with a view to reaching an agreement on endorsing and promulgating the law by August 31, the deadline assumed through the PNRR. According to the acting Labour Minister, Dragos Pislaru, the present version has been significantly improved in two areas, healthcare and education. The Minister also says the amendments are targeting the salary scale for high-ranking officials. He says he has received the salary scale by e-mail from the Chamber of Deputies, and that it was agreed upon by the leaders of the political Parliamentary groups. According to him, the interim government cannot amend this proposal. 770 million Euros worth of European funds are hinging on the endorsement of the aforementioned law.
PNRR Romania has officially submitted payment request No. 5 under the NRRP, totaling 2.84 billion Euros, the interim Minister of Investments and European Projects, Dragoş Pîslaru has announced. This request covers 75 targets and milestones (21 reforms and 54 investments), comprising a net value of 1.65 billion Euros in non-repayable European funds (grants) and 433 million Euros in loans. This is the penultimate payment request under the NRRP. With this submission, Romania reaches a 78% absorption rate for the grant component. Romania’s Recovery and Resilience Plan is funded with 21.41 billion Euros, consisting of 13.57 billion Euros in grants and 7.84 billion in loans.
WEATHER The weather in Romania is warm in most of the territory and hot in the West, where thermal discomfort is on the rise and the Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) has cleared the critical threshold of 80 units. The highs of the day are ranging between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius with a noon reading in Bucharest of 25 degrees.
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