May 22, 2024 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 22.05.2024, 20:00
PAY RAISE The government of Romania intends to raise the salaries of some categories of public sector employees by 10% this year, in 2 equal installments. A draft order in this respect has been put up for debate by the Labour Ministry. Some of the employees targeted by the measure have recently organised protests, but Prime Minister Ciolacu explained on Tuesday that the budget did not allow for more pay raises. The draft order concerns the employees of various cultural institutions, of the trade registry offices, diplomatic staff, defence personnel, town hall staff and employees of other institutions funded from the government’s and Parliament’s own sources.
SECURITY President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that there is no direct threat against Romania and “no sign or indication” of any attacks or other “undesired events” targeting Romania. “Of the information I have, I can tell you that Romania is a safe country. Romanians have no reason to fear, but obviously we must always be ready for unexpected occurrences,” he explained. According to Iohannis, Romania, thanks to its NATO membership, benefits today from the most important security guarantees in its history. “It is very, very important for us to understand that we are not alone, we are together with our Allies and we can handle any situation quite well,” Klaus Iohannis pointed out.
BSDA The Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu Wednesday said there are good prospects for the Romanian defence industry to conclude impressive contracts worth billions of euros. Attending the international exhibition “Black Sea Defense and Aerospace” in Bucharest, the PM said this is the biggest event devoted to the defence industry in the Black Sea region. The presence of 400 companies from 31 countries proves the importance of this event, Ciolacu went on to say. All the five operational fields (land, air, naval, cyber and space) are being represented, and the event’s main attraction is the multi-role F-35 jet fighter that the US Navy has for the first time brought to an exhibition in Europe. The event is aimed to identify opportunities and find production and business cooperation solutions contributing to the promotion of Romania’s defence industry worldwide.
BACCALAUREATE In Romania, the high school graduates who were part of Olympiad teams and international arts or sports competitions Wednesday stood the compulsory speciality test in a special Baccalaureate session. The exam started on Tuesday with the Romanian language and literature test, with the alternate speciality test scheduled for Thursday and the native language and literature test on Friday. Students’ digital and linguistic skills will be tested in the following days, and the final results will be announced on June 4.
FESTIVAL The International Theatre Festival ‘Shakespeare’ continues in Craiova, south-western Romania with a new series of theatre shows, multi-media installations, outdoor film screenings, book launches and round table talks. ‘Macbeth’, produced by the Chisinau-based Teatrul Fără Nume company in the Republic of Moldova, and the ‘Twelfth Night’ directed by Andrei Serban at the State Theatre in Constanta were the festival’s main events on Wednesday. Shakespeare village, a British village from the 1600s built from scratch on the local hippodrome, is the venue for scores of concerts and shows, while the Craiova Promenade is hosting the Shakespeare Dimension cube, providing a virtual immersion into the Shakespearian world. At its 30th edition this year, the international event consists of 300 shows and events bringing together some of the world’s most famous directors and actors, such as Robert Wilson, Declan Donnellan, Peter Brook or Robert Lepage. (AMP)
