August 26, 2021 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 26.08.2021, 20:00

CORONAVIRUS Romanian authorities are preparing for a new wave of the coronavirus
pandemic, which children are believed to be most vulnerable to. The head of the
National Department for Emergencies, Raed Arafat, has said that the number of
infections is expected to rise in the upcoming period but that, unlike previous
pandemic waves, there are now several million people vaccinated. 953 new infections were reported in Romania on Thursday,
as well as14 new fatalities. 228 people are in intensive care. Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis on Thursday made an appeal to parents and teachers
urging them to get immunized. In a press statement after the meeting he had
with the Ministers of Education and Health, the Romanian president said it was
important that the education process be held in person, adding that online education
can be only a temporary solution. He confirmed that Romania is currently seeing
the fourth wave of the pandemic whose effects largely depend on the number of
vaccinated people.

VISIT Romania’s
president Klaus Iohannis on Friday will be participating in the events occasioned
by the anniversary of 30 years of independence by the neighboring Republic of
Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian speaking country. The events will also be
attended by the presidents of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky and of Poland Andrzej
Duda. The four presidents of Moldova, Romania, Ukraine and Poland are also
expected to have talks on this occasion. Created on a part of Romania’s eastern territories, annexed
by the Soviet Union through an ultimatum in 1940, the Republic of Moldova won
its independence after the abortive coup in Moscow against the then Soviet
leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. Adopted on August 27th 1991 by
Parliament in Chisinau, the declaration of independence was recognized by
Romania on the same day. The Republic of Moldova got international recognition
on March 2nd 1992 upon its entry into the United Nations
Organisation.

AFGHANISTAN At least two explosions were reported close to the international
airport in Kabul on Thursday. Earlier, the United States, Britain and Australia
had urged their citizens to avoid Kabul airport due to the high risk of terror
attacks, after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. On Wednesday, the British
Foreign Office warned people not to travel to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai
International Airport, where thousands of people are waiting for planes to take
them out of the country before the August 31st deadline, when the US
and its allies will have withdrawn their last troops from Afghanistan. On
Wednesday, in Bucharest, the Higher Defense Council decided that 200 Romanian
military will take part in the NATO mission of evacuation and relocation of the
Afghan citizens who worked for the Alliance’s mission in Afghanistan. The
Romanian military will take part in this mission for 6 months at the most.

REPORT – The interest in electric vehicles is on the increase
in Europe, with 55% of consumers and 100% of fleet managers stating their
intention to buy such vehicles in the next two years, according to a
e-Readiness Report survey conducted this year by the PcW’s global strategy
department. In Romania, authorities want to support the purchase of
non-pollutant cars through the Rabla Plus car scrapping programme, offering an
eco-voucher of 45,000 lei for the purchase of a new electric vehicle and of
20,000 lei for the purchase of a hybrid vehicle. The
main factors mentioned by the respondents for choosing an electric car are the
fuel economy, the impact on the environment and the ability to charge the car
at home. The arguments against such purchases include charging times and the
lack of a public charging infrastructure.

PARALYMPIC GAMES – Romanian
cyclist Eduard Novak came out 11th in the 1,000-m race at the Paralympic Games
in Tokyo. Novak is the first minister in office to attend the Olympic or
Paralympic Games. He won Romania’s three out of the four medals in previous
editions. Romania competes with 7 athletes at the current edition of the
Paralympic Games, in tennis table, judo, athletics, cycling and archery.

THEATRE – The Sibiu International theatre festival
continues in Romania. The show Shakespeare-Bach/ Le Main du temps, featuring
Charlotte Rampling and Sonia Wieder-Atherton has its world premiere today,
being one of the most expected events of the festival. On this occasion, the
two stars will meet with the public in the big hall of the Radu Stanca National
Theatre in Sibiu. A French-British production, the play brings to the stage
sonnets by William Shakespeare and suites by JS Bach. (DB)