October 31, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 31.10.2023, 19:45

Salaries. The Romanian
government on Tuesday issued an emergency order establishing the new levels of
the minimum wages in constructions, agriculture and the food industry to apply
from November 1. The minimum gross salary will be around 900 euros in
constructions and around 700 euros in agriculture and the food industry. The
measure will benefit almost 600,000 workers and is intended to compensate for the
elimination of the exemption from paying health insurance, which is to come
into effect as of November 1, as part of a package of tax and budget measures.

Parliament. The Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday
rejected a simple motion filed by the Save Romania Union and the Force of the
Right against finance minister Marcel Boloş, with 85 deputies voting in favour
and 160 against. The Save Romania Union criticised the fiscal measures adopted
by the government and accused Boloş of promoting legislation that is
detrimental to working people. The minister responded that the measures are
necessary given the high budget deficit of over 11 billion euros and a level of
public debt of around 160 billion euros.

Aircraft. The
first F-16 aircraft the Netherlands is donating to Ukraine will arrive at the
training centre set up in Romania within a fortnight, the Dutch Prime Minister
Mark Rutte has announced. In a videoconference with Ukrainian president
Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr. Rutte said the present situation in the Middle East
must not and cannot distract the Netherlands from Ukraine’s fight against the
Russian aggression. Reuters recalls that Denmark, Norway and Belgium also pledged
F-16 aircraft to Ukraine. Romania, the Netherlands and the US giant Lockheed
Martin on August 29 signed a letter of intent for setting up a training centre
for F-16 personnel at the air base in Fetesti, southern Romania. Intended as a
regional centre for NATO countries, it will also train Ukrainian pilots.

Middle East.
Clashes continued in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Israeli soldiers are engaged in
fierce fighting in the north of Gaza with
the al-Qassam
Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas Islamist group. The Israeli
army said it engaged Hamas gunmen in the Gaza underground tunnels, as the main
objective of its ground attack is to neutralise this vast tunnel network.
Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in recent days and its tanks
made incursions into Palestinian territory. The United Nations said the
humanitarian situation was dire for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the
Palestinian enclave, which, following Israel’s blockade, no longer has access
to water, food, energy and fuel. Hundreds of thousands of people are still
believed to be in the northern part of the Strip, and the UN believes that many
are sheltering in the ten hospitals in the area, which have received evacuation
orders.

Hostage. The
wife of an Israeli-Romanian citizen held captive in the Gaza Strip met Romanian
prime minister Marcel Ciolacu and the members of the Senate’s foreign policy
committee. Ella Chaimi urged the Romanian politicians to keep up efforts to
secure the release of the hostages. Senate speaker Nicolae Ciucă said the
situation is extremely delicate and solving it requires a lot of attention and
diplomacy, as well as determination. He recalled that on 11th
October, the Romanian Parliament adopted an official declaration of solidarity
with Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks. (CM)