January 27, 2020 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 27.01.2020, 19:45
PARLIAMENT – The
Romanian Parliament on Monday met in an extraordinary sitting, which will last until
Wednesday evening, to discuss the elimination of special pensions and the
election of mayors in two rounds, with the government seeking to pass the
latter bill by assuming responsibility for it. The Social Democrats, supported
by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, are planning to file
the motion next week. President Klaus Iohannis said that if the motion passes,
he will nominate Ludovic Orban again for the position of Prime Minister. With
regard to the pensions bill, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban says his party is in
favour of calculating pensions based on the contribution principle, with the
exception of service pensions for the military. The interim president of the
Social Democratic Party Marcel Ciolacu says the bill is unconstitutional because
it also eliminates the special pensions for magistrates.
COMMEMORATION -
Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Monday attended in Poland the official
events marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi
concentration camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Over 200 Holocaust survivors and
delegations from 50 countries attended the events. Polish president Andrzej
Duda was joined by Holocaust survivors in paying floral tributes to the Death
Wall, where Nazi SS troops executed thousands of people. Israeli President
Reuven Rivlin pointed out racism and anti-Semitism should be combated
decisively, with determination and zero compromise. The Romanian government has
reiterated its commitment to continue efforts to assume responsibility for the
country’s past, to promote education and research on the Holocaust and
commemorate the victims. Last week, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis attended
an international Holocaust remembrance forum in Israel and on Monday he
decorated several Holocaust survivors.
MERGER – Talks
are ongoing in Bucharest over a possible merger between Save Romania Union and
PLUS, currently forming an alliance. The permanent bureaus of the two parties
agreed on Monday to summon a congress on this matter in July. The branches of
the two parties are encouraged to designate common candidates for the upcoming
local election.
CORONAVIRUS – The
authorities in Bucharest are considering whether to introduce thermal scanners
on airports in Romania. These instruments can detect the persons whose body
temperature is higher than 38 degrees Celsius, as high fever is one of the
symptoms of the new coronavirus. There is currently one unconfirmed case in
Romania, although doctors say it is very unlikely for the patient to be a
carrier of the coronavirus. In China, tighter measures are being taken to
contain the spread of the virus, which has already killed over 80 people. In
Beijing, the authorities have postponed the reopening of schools, more travel
restrictions are in place and wearing a face mask is becoming obligatory. The
director of the World Health Organization arrived in Beijing on Monday to
discuss the possibility of a global outbreak. In China, the number of confirmed
cases is nearing 3,000. The coronavirus, which originates in animals and causes
pneumonia, has spread to Europe, the United States and Australia. The symptoms
include severe coughing, fever and breathing problems, and in some cases
failure of the vital organs.
FLU VIRUS -
Another person has died in Romania because of the flu, with the total number
reaching four since the beginning of the season. The latest victim is a
43-year-old man from Sibiu County. Several schooling units have been shot down
due to viral respiratory infections or the flu virus. Doctors recall that
vaccination is the only effective prevention measure. The number of people who
have taken the anti-flu vaccine in Romania is higher than last year, when
almost 200 people died because of the complications caused by the flu.
TENNIS – World
no. 3 Simona Halep of Romania on Monday defeated Belgium’s Elise Mertens, world
no. 17, in straight sets, in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the
first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year. In the next round, Halep will
face the Estonian player Anett Kontaveit, world no. 31. A finalist in Melbourne
in 2018, Halep has won both of her previous matches against Kontaveit, which
took place in 2017, in Miami and Rome. Also on Monday, in the women’s doubles,
the Romanian-Japanese pair Monica Niculescu and Misaki Doi lost to Hao-ching
Chan and Latisha Chan of Taiwan in straight sets in the fourth round. On
February 3, Simona Halep will become the tennis player with the most
consecutive weeks in the top 10 WTA among the players born after 1980. She will
reach the 315 mark, overtaking the current holder of the record, the Swiss
player Martina Hingis, who spent 314 consecutive weeks in the top 10.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
