ASCENSION Orthodox believers who are a majority in Romania and
\nGreek Catholics are today celebrating the Ascension of Christ from the Mount of
\nOlives in Jerusalem, 40 days after his resurrection. Since 1920, the Ascension has
\nalso been celebrated as the Heroes’ Day. Religious and military services have
\nbeen held today in front of churches and monuments dedicated to Romania’s
\nheroes. In his address on this occasion Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis
\nsaid, quote: This special day in which we celebrate both our heroes and the
\nAscension of our Lord Jesus Christ has a special meaning for the Romanian
\npeople. On this occasion we pay homage to the martyrs of the Romanian people
\nwho made the supreme sacrifice for our existence. Iohannis has voiced
\ngratitude for the Romanian soldiers who died in the line of duty in various
\noperation theatres in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Western Balkans. <\/p>\n
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TALKS Romania’s Prime Minister Ludovic
\nOrban on Thursday talked over the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
\nThe two high officials have mentioned the special strategic relations between
\nRomania and Germany and have agreed to carry on efforts to deepen these
\nrelations. Also high on the talks agenda was the situation of the Romanian
\ntemporary workers in Germany. The chancellor has voiced the consistent concern
\nof the officials in Berlin regarding the observation and protection of the
\nrights of the Romanian workers and has underlined the readiness for maintaining
\na tight contact at all levels between the authorities of the two countries
\nfollowing the latest visit paid to Germany by the Romanian Minister of Labour
\nand Social protection, Violeta Alexandru. The federal government has recently
\ninitiated amendments to the domestic legislative framework in order to offer an
\nincreased degree of protection for the rights of the Romanian employees. <\/p>\n
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PANDEMIC According to the John Hopkins
\nUniversity the new coronavirus has infected 5.7 million of people worldwide and
\nthe number of fatalities has exceeded 355 thousand. The situation has worsened in
\nBrazil, where the number of infections exceeds 410 thousand and there are 25
\nthousand fatalities. Brazil has thus become the world’s second most affected
\ncountry after the United States, which has 1.7 million people infected and 100
\nthousand fatalities. In Italy, the third most affected country in Europe, with
\nover 33 thousand fatalities, authorities have started to take fresh measures to
\nprevent a possible second wave of infections after they learnt that part of the
\npopulation does not comply with the social distancing measures. French Prime
\nMinister Edouard Phillipe is expected to present today the situation of the
\npandemic and the measures taken by the government for the second stage of
\nrelaxation due to begin on June 2nd. Spain is seeing the longest
\nperiod of national mourning in the country’s history to the memory of the 27
\nthousand people killed by the pandemic. <\/p>\n
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COVID 19 Another 197 Covid infections have been registered in Romania,
\nwhich has reported a total number of 18,791 infected persons, the authorities
\nannounced on Thursday. 12,629 of those infected have been cured and left
\nhospitals, while 182 patients are in intensive care. Romania has so far
\nreported 1,229 fatalities. The Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has summoned a
\nnew session of talks over the measures to handle the pandemic in Romania. The
\ntalks are attended by the country’s Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, Interior
\nMinister Marcel Vela, the Health Minister Nelu Tataru, the Minister of the Economy
\nVirgil Popescu, Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca and the head of the Department
\nfor Emergency Situations Raed Arafat. The authorities are expected to announce
\nfresh relaxation measures starting June 1st. <\/p>\n
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REPATRIATIONS The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has today announced that
\n64 Romanian nationals have been repatriated from France through the combined
\nefforts of several Romanian institutions. Among those repatriated are students
\nand their families who were unable to extend their stay in France. According to
\nthe Foreign Ministry in Bucharest these repatriations are part of a measure
\ncampaign taken by the Romanian authorities to facilitate the return to Romania
\nof the Romanian citizens abroad who were affected by the air travel restrictions
\nimposed by the efforts to contain the COVID pandemic. <\/p>\n
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(translated by bill)<\/p>\n
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