August 31, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 31.08.2021, 20:00
CORONAVIRUS — 1,313 new infections with Covid-19 have been reported in the last 24 hours in Romania, out of 45,860 tests, the Group for Strategic Communication announced on Tuesday afternoon. Also, another 31-related fatalities were reported. 2,303 patients are treated in hospital, of whom 291 are in intensive care. Since the start of the pandemic, 1,098,765 people have been infected with the novel coronavirus. Of them, 1,055,059 have recovered. The Bucharest authorities have once again urged people to get vaccinated. Brussels announced on Tuesday that at least 70% of the EU’s adult population has been vaccinated, thus reaching an objective set at the start of this year. This means that at least 225 million people in the EU were fully vaccinated.
PROTESTS — Cartel ALFA Trade Union Confederation has decided to stage street protests against Romania’s government whom they accuse of ridiculous measures and of dictatorial actions, which are against the general interest. In the context of a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic and of elections within parties forming the ruling coalition, the decisions taken by the current government continue to be against the laws in force and against the Constitution, says a communiqué by the trade unionists. The economic results which the PM constantly brags with are not felt by the people, because the economic growth mechanisms that generate development and higher living standards are blocked, the document also says.
CELEBRATION — The cultural events staged simultaneously in Romania, the Republic of Moldova, the historical communities and the Diaspora marked on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, the Romanian Language Day. President Klaus Iohannis hailed the effort made by numerous associations and private initiatives all over the world to keep alive the Romanians’ access to learning their mother tongue. Set in 2013 by the Parliament in Bucharest, the Romanian Language Day coincides with the national day of the Republic of Moldova and is an homage paid to the national awakening movement in the neighboring country. On August 31st 1989, while still under Soviet occupation, the Parliament in Chisinau, surrounded by 750 thousand people, a sixth of the Republics population at that time, declared the Romanian language the state language and officially replaced the Cyrillic alphabet, imposed by the occupants, with the Latin one.
PULL-OUT – The United States on Monday completed its military withdrawal from Afghanistan, putting an end to the longest war in the countrys history. The last American plane took off at the end of a two-week evacuation operation complicated by the unexpected Taliban takeover of Kabul. During the 20-year war, 25 hundred US servicemen and over 1,000 allied troops, including 27 Romanians have been killed in the line of duty. According to Reuters, 24 thousand Afghans have also lost their lives. In 2014, NATO and the United States put an end to war operations in Afghanistan, but foreign soldiers remained stationed in that country for another 6 years. The withdrawal was set through an agreement signed with the Taliban in February 2020. The Taliban took over Kabul in mid-August, which caused panic among the Afghans who wanted to leave the country. 120 thousand people have been flown out of Afghanistan in two weeks, in an operation marked by chaos and tragedies, stampedes, suicide and rocket attacks.
MEETING – EU interior ministers convened on Tuesday in Brussels for talks over the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover and the impact of a potential wave of migrants from that country over the continent. According to news agencies, the EU governments want to avoid a repeat of the chaotic migratory wave of 2015, which took the bloc by surprise causing division among its states. Some European countries fear that Afghanistan may become home to terror groups who may mastermind attacks against the West as it happened on September 11, 2001 in the US. The EU ministers are going to discuss ways of evacuating the Afghans who worked with EU countries and are now expecting reprisals from the Taliban. According to the Romanian Interior Minister, Lucian Bode, the country can receive Afghan refugees, upon a thorough checking from the states structures.
PARALYMPIC GAMES — Romanian athlete Eduard Novak, who serves as Minister of Youth and Sports in the government of Romania, came out 8th in the road cycling race on Tuesday, at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Romania has so far won two medals at the current edition, one silver, brought by Novak in the men’s 4,000-m individual pursuit and one bronze won by judoka Alex Bologa in the 60-kg category. Romania has 7 athletes competitng at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (EE)
