January 6, 2022
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 06.01.2022, 13:55
EPIPHANY – Christians in Romania celebrate the Epiphany today, one of the most important religious holidays in the country. This holiday marks the day when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. On this day, priests hold special services and distribute holy water, called agheasma, to believers. The believers use it to bless their houses, goods, and animals, as it is believed that this blessed water has miraculous powers and protects them. They also drink the water every morning, for eight days. Because this holiday involves the participation of numerous people, in all the churches across Romania, measures were taken to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Winter holidays in Romania are due to end on Friday with a festivity celebrating the birth of St. John the Baptist.
PROTESTS — Trade unionists with ALRO Slatina, in southern Romania, the largest aluminium plant in Central and Eastern Europe, have today taken to the streets in protest at the leadership’s decision to reduce production due to the energy crisis. According to protesters, more than 1,000 employees risk being laid off. Protests were also held at the aluminium plant in Tulcea, in the south-east, over the growing energy prices. The plant has already reduced production and the workers fear they may lose their jobs. In another development, the Social Democratic party (in power) has announced it will ask for a revision of the legislation regarding the protection of citizens from the constant increase in the energy and gas prices.
EDUCATION – The Romanian students’ associations have announced they will protest in front of the Education Ministry in Bucharest today and will challenge in Court the Minister’s order that leaves 730,000 of them without scholarships. The National Students’ Council have condemned the measure by which the education ministry decided to deprive tens of thousands of children of their right to education. The threshold for a merit scholarship was raised from 8.5 to 9.5, a criterion that students see as ineffective and unfair. Students also want the new criterion to be enforced only starting next year. In his turn, Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu has recently said that during the classes held online due to the pandemic, grades were distorted so that 50% of Romania’s students could have received merit scholarships.
CORONAVIRUS — The number of Covid-19 infections in Romania has increased four times as against last week. More than 6 thousand cases have been announced today, as the Romanian authorities are getting ready for the 5th wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds of patients are in intensive care. The Department for Emergency Situations passed a decision that reintroduces compulsory face covering both outdoors and indoors. Also, only surgical masks or FFP2 masks can be used, as they provide better protection than cloth masks. Other restrictions will be reintroduced, depending on the number of new infections. The infection rate per one thousand people is on the increase in most counties and in Bucharest, and it stands at 0.67 at national level.
KAZAKHSTAN – Russia sent paratroopers into Kazakhstan on Thursday to quell a countrywide uprising after deadly violence spread across the former Soviet state, Reuters reports. Authorities said they had killed dozens of rioters in the main city Almaty, while13 members of the security forces had died, including two who had been decapitated. According to Reuters, a presidential residence and the mayors office were both ablaze. As the Internet had been shut down across the country the full extent of the violence was impossible to confirm. Protests started after a sudden increase in fuel prices but spread rapidly, taking authorities by surprise. Romania’s diplomatic personnel in Almaty is safe and the diplomatic mission in Kazakhstan is in touch with those almost 100 Romanian citizens in this country, mostly experts working in private companies, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced.
HANDBALL – Romanias mens national handball team is training for the preliminary qualifying tournament of the World Championship, on home turf in Cluj-Napoca (northwest). Between January 7-9, 2022, the Romanians will take on the national teams of Israel, Cyprus and the Republic of Moldova. Last week, Romania played, also in Cluj, two training matches with the Turkish national team, and won both of them. The friendly matches replaced in the program of the two teams a new edition of the traditional Carpathian Trophy, which was canceled, as several members of the Swiss and Iranian teams tested positive for Covid-19. The coach of the Romanian team is the famous Spanish Xavi Pasqual, who won the Champions League with Barcelona three times. (EE)
