June 22, 2025

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 22.06.2025, 13:55

PARTIES – The National Political Council of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) on Saturday voted  for being part of the new government makeup, the PSD interim president, Sorin Grindeanu, announced. Another meeting will be held later today, in which the social democrats must agree on the names of the six ministers and the deputy prime minister who will be part of the cabinet led by the liberal Ilie Bolojan. Also on Saturday, the Congress of the Save Romania Union (USR) validated the election of Dominic Fritz as president of the party, after he had won, last week, the internal elections for the party leadership. On the other hand, PNL’s National Political Bureau convenes today to designate its four representatives in the future government. On the other hand, the leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Kelemen Hunor, voiced his dissatisfaction with the portfolios his party has received, that is Development and Culture, and said that this leaves UDMR with no influence on government decisions. However, the UDMR say they are willing to continue negotiations, to make sure they have relevance in the new government.

EDUCATION – The Ministry of Education in Bucharest has approved the framework plans for high school education. The document establishes the mandatory and optional subject matters to be studied, depending on the profile. The curriculum was developed to ensure predictability, decentralization, equity, flexibility and relevance, the ministry said. This avoids overloading students and ensures a unified framework for all specializations. In grades 9 and 10, the emphasis will be on the adjustment and smooth transition from middle school to high school. Modifications will be allowed, including changes in coursework, and specialization will be gradually introduced, which becomes significant in grades 11 and 12. Education Minister Daniel David recently said that teachers will be trained to have the necessary skills to teach according to the new school curricula. He indicated that the framework plans will be implemented progressively, starting from the autumn of 2026, so that they will be fully integrated from the 2029-2030 school year.

DESINFORMATION – The Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) has drawn attention to the fact that, on the social media platform TikTok, accounts have been identified, using names and logos similar to those of the SRI, without having any connection to the institution. In recent days, these accounts have published images and texts on topics such as disinformation, legislative projects and fake news, all presented in a way that can create confusion, notes the SRI. The Romanian Intelligence Service specifies that it does not have any official account on TikTok and that these fake accounts do not reflect the official position of the institution.

EXERCISE – The national exercise on the scenario of an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale in Romania continues today. About 3,000 personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from all branches, mainly the Department for Emergencies and the General Inspectorate for Emergencies, are participating in the exercise, which is joined by the police, gendarmerie and firefighters. The exercise is an important stage in the training of the ministry’s personnel and structures to save citizens in extreme situations, provide them with first aid and shelter them, the interim PM, Cătălin Predoiu, said. He asked Secretary of State Raed Arafat to draw up, at the end of the exercise, a report to be presented to the president of the country and the future prime minister. “Every detail will be analyzed, we will learn and we will improve because citizen safety remains our zero priority,” Predoiu said.

STRIKE – US President Donald Trump announced last night that the United States had struck three nuclear sites in Iran, including the main uranium enrichment facility at Fordow, built deep inside the mountain. In a short speech at the White House, in the presence of Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Trump said that “the strikes were a spectacular military success” and that Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities were completely destroyed. The US President called Iran “the bully of the Middle East” and asked the authorities in Tehran to make peace now, otherwise future attacks will be much larger and easier to conduct. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a public statement this morning, informing his citizens that he kept his promise to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, a promise made at the beginning of the war he launched nine days ago. Iran’s response to the US attacks was to launch at least 27 missiles at Israeli cities, injuring 11 people. The US strikes on Iran were criticized, however, by the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. According to him, the American attack represents “a dangerous escalation that increases the risk of a conflict that quickly gets out of control, with catastrophic consequences for the region and the world.” He believes that there is no military solution to this conflict and that the only way forward is diplomacy. (EE)