July 18, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 18.07.2026, 20:00
EBOLA – The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 2,180, according to the latest official figures. Authorities in Kinshasa say that 864 of those infected have died. There is no specific treatment for this strain of the virus, which has a fatality rate of between 25% and 50%. Other strains of Ebola can have mortality rates as high as 90%. The ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has prompted the United States to impose travel restrictions on its citizens in the country. Under the measures, Americans are not permitted to return home on commercial flights unless, after leaving the DRC, they spend three weeks in a third country. In June, Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised its travel advisory for the Democratic Republic of Congo to Level 8 on a nine-point scale and advised Romanian nationals to avoid all travel to the country.
MOLDOVA – Moldova’s Prime Minister-designate, Vasile Tofan, is due to seek a vote of confidence from Parliament on Tuesday for his proposed cabinet and governing programme. Tofan has made only four changes to the ministerial line-up, retaining most of the team assembled by his predecessor, Alexandru Munteanu. On Friday, he said the government’s programme was in its final stages of preparation and would focus on restoring public trust in government, reviving the economy, and securing the signing of Moldova’s European Union accession treaty by the end of 2028. Like his predecessor, Tofan is not a member of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), which holds a commanding majority in Parliament, but comes instead from Moldova’s business community.
WILDFIRE – More than 17,000 vegetation fires were recorded in Romania last year, with the number of such incidents having risen in recent years, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations has warned. Firefighters say vegetation fires can spread rapidly, particularly during periods of extreme heat, posing a serious threat to people and wildlife, as well as homes, farmland and forests. The authorities have reiterated that burning vegetation is strictly prohibited under Romanian law. Those found responsible face substantial fines ranging from 7,500 to 15,000 lei (€1,400–€2,900) for individuals and from 50,000 to 100,000 lei (€9,500–€19,000) for companies and other legal entities.
DEFENSE – Romania signed the final two contracts on Friday for the procurement of helicopters and radar systems under the European SAFE Programme, which is designed to strengthen the defence industry and military capabilities of EU member states. The two contracts are worth more than €1 billion. Combined with the other individual agreements signed by the end of May, the total value of Romania’s SAFE-related contracts now stands at €7.5 billion. Romanian Defence Minister Radu Miruță said that, by 2030, two further agreements remain to be concluded: a contract with Norway covering an air defence system, and a €200 million joint project with Ukraine for the production of drones. The Romanian Ministry of Defence’s total investment under the SAFE Programme amounts to €8.33 billion, with the largest share allocated to the German defence company Rheinmetall, with which seven contracts have been signed.
MIGRANTS – Romania’s General Prosecutor’s Office questioned AUR MP Dan Tanasă on Friday over Facebook posts in which he urged Romanians to boycott immigrant workers. Judicial sources said the investigation concerns allegations of incitement to violence, hatred or discrimination against certain groups of people. Following the hearing, George Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), responded online, accusing the authorities of launching politically motivated attacks against his party, which is in opposition in the Romanian Parliament. The case stems from a Facebook post in which Dan Tanasă called on Romanians to refuse deliveries made by foreign workers. Last year, several violent and xenophobic incidents targeted foreign delivery couriers, with some being physically assaulted or robbed while carrying out deliveries.
MAGISTRATES – Romania’s Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) has rejected the criticism contained in the European Commission’s Rule of Law Report, arguing that the document does not point to any systemic deterioration of the Romanian justice system. The CSM also maintains that the report contains factual inaccuracies, including the claim that the Council’s disciplinary decisions are communicated with undue delay, thereby affecting magistrates’ right to appeal. The Ministry of Justice welcomed the report’s overall conclusions, stating that the country’s recent judicial reforms have helped safeguard the independence of the judiciary. In its report, published on Friday, the European Commission warned that Romania has made little progress in strengthening safeguards for the independence of senior prosecutors and in investigating corruption within the judicial system. The Commission also noted that the broader assessment of the justice system had been suspended following a ruling by Romania’s High Court of Cassation and Justice, and recommended that the country improve both the efficiency and governance of its judicial system.
CYBER ATTACK – Romania’s relevant authorities are investigating the cyberattack that recently targeted the National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration. As a result of the attack, all of the agency’s IT systems are currently offline, including its email services and the electronic cadastre and land registry application. However, the data managed through these systems remain secure and have not been compromised. Romania’s National Cyber Security Directorate (DNSC) said that its immediate priority is to restore the functionality of public services, the agency’s applications and its IT infrastructure. The DNSC identified the group behind the attack as “ByteToBreach”, describing it as a financially motivated threat actor that has been active since 1 June 2025 and is suspected to be of Algerian origin.
UNIONS – Trade unions in Romania’s healthcare sector have announced that more than 400 medical facilities across the country will take part in a two-hour warning strike on Monday, in protest against the government’s economic and social policies. During the strike, only emergency services will be fully maintained, while routine medical activity will be reduced to one third of its normal capacity. Representatives of the Sanitas Federation have warned that a nationwide general strike could follow from 28 July if their demands remain unmet. Meanwhile, trade union federations representing the education sector have also criticised the government’s approach to education in its public sector pay legislation. They have called on Parliament to amend what they describe as “a serious injustice”. The unions argue that the proposed legislation deepens pay disparities, further undermines the attractiveness of the teaching profession, and risks accelerating the decline of Romania’s education system.
PAY LAW- The draft of Romania’s new unified public sector pay law, which overhauls the way salaries for state employees are calculated, has been published and is set to enter parliamentary debate in Bucharest. The legislation, which is due to come into force on 1 December 2026, stipulates, among other provisions, that no public sector employee will see their pay reduced as a result of the reform. Under the proposed system, salaries that currently exceed the new pay scale will be frozen. Where the new grading system would otherwise result in a lower salary, the difference compared with the employee’s November 2026 pay will be maintained temporarily and gradually phased out as future salary increases take effect. The legislation, which is a milestone under Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), was discussed on Friday by representatives of the Presidential Administration and the parties that made up the former governing coalition: the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Save Romania Union (USR) and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania (UDMR). The Social Democrats said they would not support the bill if its implementation resulted in lower incomes for public sector employees, while the Liberals and the USR expressed satisfaction with the draft legislation. Trade unions, however, have firmly rejected the proposed law, arguing that it deepens inequalities across the public sector and risks becoming little more than a symbolic exercise aimed at fulfilling a milestone under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
IRAN – Iran launched fresh attacks on Saturday morning targeting US facilities hosted by Arab states in the region. The drone and missile strikes came after the United States carried out attacks against Iranian targets for the seventh consecutive night, hitting radar installations, military infrastructure, underground weapons storage sites and naval equipment. The main objective of the US air campaign is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iran, with Tehran claiming the right to control maritime traffic through the strategic waterway. The latest escalation in violence followed Iran’s attack on a commercial vessel off the coast of Oman, despite having signed an interim agreement extending the ceasefire and guaranteeing freedom of navigation through the strait. Several US officials told Reuters that a second American objective was to prepare the ground for potential further operations. (EE)
