VACCINE – A new tranche
\nof 200,000 dozes of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Romania on Monday.
\nAccording to the National Committee for the Coordination of Vaccination
\nActivities, the total doses administered so far, to more than 820 thousand
\npeople, exceeds 1.4 million. The Minister of Education, Sorin C\u00eempeanu, has
\nstated that approximately 60,000 people employed in the education system want
\nto be vaccinated against COVID-19 next week. According to the minister, in a
\nfirst phase, the teaching staff from primary, secondary, high school and
\nuniversity education benefit from priority vaccination in mobile centers. He
\nhas stated that more than 200,000 employees in the education system have
\nexpressed their readiness for vaccination. 42,000 have already been vaccinated.
\nIn another development, about 1,600 new cases of coronavirus were reported on
\nMonday. In total, since the beginning of the pandemic in Romania, about a year
\nago, over 780,000 cases of infection have been registered in this country.<\/p>\n
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COVID-19 IN THE
\nWORLD – Some 112 million infections with COVID-19 have been confirmed in the
\nworld, in addition to 2.5 million related fatalities. European states have
\nintensified their efforts to combat the spread of the strains of coronavirus.
\nItaly has extended travel restrictions between regions until March 27 due to an
\nincrease in the infection rate. In turn, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
\nannounced a timetable for lifting the hard lockdown in this country in an
\neffort to restart the British economy. The British official expects things to
\nreturn to their normal track at the end of June. <\/p>\n
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PROTESTS – The miners will
\nreceive their due salaries and benefits in three installments, the Romanian
\nLabor Minister Raluca Turcan gave assurances at the end of Monday’s talks with
\nleaders of the coal miners’ trade unions, who have been protesting in Jiu
\nValley for several days. On February 25 and 26 the Government will disburse
\nadditional funds to pay the miners’ overdue salary rights, as well as part of
\ntheir benefits, such as meal vouchers and transport subsidies, Minister Turcan
\nsaid. The Romanian official said this solution allows the Hunedoara Energy
\nPower Plant to reorganize its activity within three months. The 70 miners
\nprotesting in underground shafts in Lupeni on Monday decided to resurface and
\nend their protest. The decision was taken following talks in Bucharest between
\ntrade union representatives and the Ministers of Labor and Energy. <\/p>\n
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MIGRANTS – The Romanian
\nBorder Police discovered 18 migrants originating from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq
\nand Somalia, while crossing the Danube onboard a boat from Romania to Serbia.
\nTen migrants were underage. The boat was navigated by two Syrian nationals who
\nreturned to Serbia and who received some \u20ac1,500 per each migrant to take them
\nacross the border. The Romanian Border Police is investigating the case trying
\nto ascertain the extent of the crime before taking action in this matter. <\/p>\n
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FAC – The Romanian
\nForeign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, on Monday attended a Foreign Affairs Council
\n(FAC) meeting in Brussels. Talks focused on relations with Moscow. According to
\nthe Romanian Foreign Ministry, Minister Aurescu pointed out that EU-Russia
\nrelations are at a turning point, as Russia has become increasingly assertive
\nin its relations with EU institutions and member states. Minister Aurescu
\ncalled for introducing new restrictions on Russia amidst the deteriorating
\nhuman rights context in this country, including the developments in the case of
\nopposition leader Alexei Navalny. Bogdan Aurescu said the EU needs a more
\nstrategic approach to relations with Russia, including in a regional key. Ahead
\nof the meeting, Aurescu and European
\ncounterparts took part in an informal meeting with representatives of the team
\nof Russian opponent Alexei Navalny. On Saturday, Navalny, listed as the
\nKremlin’s main political opponent, received two sentences in a single day: two
\nand a half years in prison, in a fraud case, which he says was politically
\nfabricated, and a \u20ac9,500 fine, on charges of defaming a supporter of President
\nVladimir Putin, a nonagenarian veteran of the Soviet army in World War II. On
\nthe sidelines of the FAC meeting, Minister Aurescu highlighted the need for a
\nfirmer political cooperation with ex-Soviet states in the Eastern Partnership,
\nincluding the Republic of Moldova. In a videoconference with EU Ministers and
\nUS Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, Bogdan Aurescu underlined the need for
\nclose EU-US cooperation in regional dossiers, such as the Eastern Vicinity, the
\nBlack Sea region and the Western Balkans. <\/p>\n
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MOLDOVA – The Republic of
\nMoldova will receive \u20ac15 million from the EU to help combat the effects of the
\ncoronavirus pandemic. According to Radio Chi\u015fin\u0103u, the pro-European
\npresident, Maia Sandu, said the money will be allocated to the hardest-hit
\nsectors, such as healthcare, agriculture and SMEs. President Sandu promised she
\nwould call on the relevant institutions to monitor the money trail, in order to
\nmake sure the funds reach the destination. On Friday, Romania sent a new
\nhumanitarian aid package to neighboring Moldova consisting in medical and
\nprotection equipment to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a press
\nrelease issued by the Moldovan Presidency, the donated equipment, whose value
\nstands at some \u20ac2.3 million, consists in 1.5 million surgical masks, 100,000
\nFFP3 masks, 100,000 isolation gowns and 100,000 single-use gloves. <\/p>\n
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TENNIS – Romanian tennis
\nplayer Simona Halep went down to third place in the world ranking of
\nprofessional tennis players (WTA), published today. The second position is now
\nheld by the Japanese Naomi Osaka, who won the title at the Australian Open on
\nSaturday. We recall that Halep stopped in the quarterfinals of the first grand
\nslam tournament of the year. The Australian Ashleigh Barty remains the WTA
\nleader. Romania has 4 more representatives in the top 100: Patricia \u0162ig, Sorana
\nC\u00eerstea, Irina Begu and Ana Bogdan. (M.I & V.P.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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