COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – The vaccination campaign continues
\nin Romania, a total of 1.5 million doses of vaccine having been administered so
\nfar. Over 900 thousand people have received the vaccines developed by Pfizer \/
\nBioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna. Another 2,800 new COVID-19 infections were
\nreported on Sunday by the Group for Strategic Communication, the total number
\nof infections exceeding 801 thousand. 90% of people infected with COVID-19 have
\nrecovered, while some 20,350 people have died. 1,000 people are in intensive
\ncare.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The third wave of the pandemic
\ncomes with the reintroduction of harsh restriction in several European states.
\nMeanwhile new vaccines are being greenlit across the globe, and doctors say
\nthey are viable against the new strains of COVID as well. Schools in the
\nRepublic of Moldova will close down for two weeks, although nursery schools
\nremain open. As of Monday, a lockdown will be in place in the Czech Republic.
\nPeople are not allowed to leave cities or villages, while schools and stores
\nselling non-essential products will be closed. In Italy, the Government will keep
\nanti-COVID measures in place until after Easter celebrations, with gyms, public
\npools, entertainment areas and ski resorts staying closed. All bars and
\nrestaurants will close at 6 PM. In Germany, most people seem to favor the idea
\nof a vaccination passport, if this will allow them to go to theatre, do sports
\nor travel abroad. In Hungary, the country’s president has taken the Chinese
\nSinopharm vaccine. It is the only EU state to have accepted vaccines developed
\nby Russia and China. According to the latest worldometers.info update, at least
\n114 million infections have been confirmed worldwide since the start of the
\npandemic, 2.5 million people have died while 89 million people have recovered. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
BUDGET – The Romanian Parliament’s committees on
\nSaturday adopted the 2021 state and social security budget bills. The documents
\npassed in the form presented by the Government, and none of the 3,000
\namendments were adopted. The opposition says this is an austerity budget,
\nproviding for no increases in salaries, pensions and state allowances, while
\nthe power claims the allocations will help overcome the health and economic
\ncrisis caused by the pandemic. Labor Minister Raluca Turcan said the
\nsocial-security budget is higher than that of the past two years, and child
\nbenefits will be increased in two stages. According to the calendar established
\nby the joint Permanent Bureaus, the joint sitting of the Chamber of Deputies
\nand the Senate on the state and social security budgets is scheduled for
\nMonday. The bill will get the final vote on Tuesday. The budget is based on a
\ndeficit target of 7.16% of the GDP, and an economic growth rate of 4.31%.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
POSEIDON 21 – Some 700 soldiers, 13 military ships, 9
\naircraft, a pyrotechnic intervention vehicle and a remote-controlled underwater
\nrobot will be deployed during the exercise ‘Poseidon 21’ organized by the
\nRomanian Naval Forces between February 26 and March 6. It is the first
\nmultinational exercise in the Black Sea this year, and involves the
\nparticipation of forces and equipment from France, Greece, Romania, Spain, USA
\nand Turkey. Bulgaria had to cancel its participation due to last-minute COVID
\ninfection cases reported among its sailing crews. The NATO maritime command has
\nauthorized the participation of NATO permanent anti-mine naval forces. The
\nexercise will include training against underwater threats, involving
\nhydrographic mapping operations to identify and neutralize mines and IEDs,
\ncombat sequences to suppress air strikes, as well as towing damaged ships,
\nat-sea resupplying and rescue maneuvers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
EUROSTAT – Romania was one the countries that
\nearmarked the least funds to social protection in 2019, according to a recent
\nEUROSTAT report. Romania’s social welfare budget stood at 11.9% of the GDP,
\nnearly 7% under the EU average. Other countries with comparatively low social
\nwelfare allocations were Ireland, Malta and Bulgaria. At the opposite pole are
\nFinland, France, Denmark, Italy and Austria, with over a 20% budget share for
\nsocial welfare. According to the same report, Romania’s healthcare allocations
\nwere also below the EU average of 7%, while its education spending was also
\nunder the EU average of 4%. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
M\u0102R\u0162I\u015eOR – M\u0103r\u0163isor, the celebration of the start of spring
\non March 1, will be marked by the Romanian Cultural Institute abroad by means
\nof children’s workshops, screening documentaries, hosting debates featuring
\nethnologists, sociologists and anthropologists and the publication of a series
\nof digital postcards signed by Romanian artists, comic books or the
\npresentation of March porcelain and ceramic amulets. The Institute’s branches
\nin Brussels, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, New York, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stockholm,
\nTel Aviv, Warsaw and Venice will be promoting the M\u0103r\u0163isor celebration online. Cultural
\npractices associated with M\u0103r\u0163isor in 2017 were included on UNESCO’s list of
\nthe Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as part of a joint application
\nfiled by Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova and Romania. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
FILM – The Berlin Film Festival will
\nbe held online starting Monday. There will be no red carpet or grandiose film
\nscreenings this year, and even no jury president. The 71st edition
\nwas divided in two phases, as screenings in front of the public were postponed
\nfor June. For the first time in a major film festival, the Silver Bear prizes
\nfor best acting will go gender neutral. Romanian film director Radu Jude, who
\nwon the Golden Bear in 2015 with his film, Aferim!,
\nis returning to the competition with his latest feature, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, a Romania-Luxembourg-Croatia-the
\nCzech Republic coproduction, which will be premiered in the event. The film
\ndeals with individual relations with society, and tells the story of a school
\nteacher who finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex
\ntape is leaked on the Internet. Adina Pintilie, the 2018 winner of the Golden
\nBear award for best film for Touch Me Not,
\nwill be part of the jury this year. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
GAUDEAMUS – The spring edition of
\nthe Gaudeamus book fair is being held on line over March 1-31. Organized by
\nRadio Romania, the book fair awaits its visitors on www.gaudeamus.ro. Some 70
\npublishers will take part in scores of events, while the latest releases and
\nmany other surprises are the highlights of this year’s marathon edition. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(V.P.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[36071,29923,35374,34400,29517,31664,36063,36068],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-2021-budget-laws","tag-berlin-film-festival","tag-covid-19","tag-eurostat-report","tag-gaudeamus","tag-martisor","tag-poseidon-21","tag-vaccination-passports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n