May 29, 2024

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 29.05.2024, 13:51

Elections. The president of the Permanent Electoral Authority, Toni Greblă, has made a series of clarifications about the ballot on 9^th of June, when Romanian voters are casting their votes in the local and European Parliamentary elections, held on the same day for the first time. Over 200,000 candidates have registered in the competition for the local elections and 494 for the European Parliament. He said there will be almost 19,000 polling stations around the country and 915 abroad, double compared with the previous elections. The foreign ministry sent as early as last week the materials needed for the voting process to the Romanian diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad. The list of voting stations abroad is available on the foreign ministry’s internet page in the section dedicated to the European Parliamentary elections. In another move, the Central Electoral Bureau said it would provide real-time updates online about voter turnout on election day.

Measles. Romania has recorded over 16,500 new measles cases and 16 casualties in the last year, said the Public Health Institute in Bucharest. Most infections were reported in the centre of the country and in the capital city. The World Health Organisation has published a report warning that measles cases are growing at an alarming rate around the world, amid a drop in vaccination rates. At over 60,000, the number of cases recorded in Europe this year is higher than in all of 2023. More than 56,000 cases were reported in the first three months of the year alone, as well as 4 deaths. According to the World Health Organisation, Romania has the 5^th highest rate of measles infections in Europe and the highest in the European Union, with some 240 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Minimum wage. The labour ministry has published for public debate a government order on raising the minimum wage to the equivalent in lei of some 740 euros from 1^st July. The order is to be adopted by the government this week, following a decision to this end by the ruling coalition formed by the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party. Labour minister Simona Bucura-Oprescu said the move was the result of a European directive. She added that pensions would be recalculated from 1^st September based on a new formula that takes into account the idea of contribution, with persons who have contributed to the pension system for more than 25 years to see the highest increases.

Visas. Thailand has included Romania on the list of countries whose citizens will no longer need visas to enter the country. The measure will come into effect on 1^st June and comes at a time when the Thai authorities are seeking to boost tourism, which is the driving engine of the country’s economy. So far, Romanian citizens wishing to travel to Thailand needed to get their visa online or straight from the airport. Visas were also lifted for citizens of 36 other countries.

Book fair. The 17^th edition of the Bookfest International Book Fair got under way today in Bucharest in a ceremony attended by officials from Romania and the Republic of Moldova. The fair brings together 200 exhibitors and 150 publishing houses from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, the guest country this year, as well as 400 different events, including book launches, debates, workshops, activities for children and a competition. A project co-funded by the ministry of culture, Bookfest is organised by the Association of Romanian Book Publishers. Previous guest countries were Spain, Hungary, France, German-speaking countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Israel, Sweden, the US, the UK, Japan and Italy. Bookfest has local editions in Timişoara (west), Cluj-Napoca (north-west), Târgu Mureş and Braşov (centre) and an international edition in Chişinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova.

Tennis. Romanian  tennis players Irina Begu and Ana Bogdan will play in the second round at Roland Garros on Thursday. Begu, number 127 in the world will face the Czech player Linda Noskova, world no. 29, while world no. 64 Ana Bogdan will play world no. 22 and 2021 Roland Garros finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Begu and Bogdan are the only Romanian players still in competition at Roland Garros.