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Covid-19Ro<\/strong>.The Romanian
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Pandemic.<\/strong> The United
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Visit.<\/strong> Romanian Foreign
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Negotiations.<\/strong> The United
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Protests.<\/strong> More than 5,000
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Tennis.<\/strong> Romanian tennis
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[28963,35374,36493,36492,35416,28900],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-bogdan-aurescu","tag-covid-19","tag-kassym-jomart-tokayev","tag-makhdoom-shah-mahmood-hussain-qureshi","tag-pandemic","tag-simona-halep"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nauthorities expect that in the next period new levels of COVID cases that were
\nnot reached in the previous waves of the pandemic will be reported and stress
\nthe importance of observing individual protection measures, and of vaccination.
\nWith the extension of the alert state, textile or plastic masks are no longer allowed
\nas of January 8, the date on which several measures imposed in the context of
\nthe spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus came into force. Specialist
\nanalyzes have so far confirmed almost 300 cases of Omicron, but epidemiologists
\nestimate that the actual number of infections with this strain is much higher.
\nOne of the largest providers of private medical services in Romania has
\nannounced that in just one week the percentage of positive Omicron cases in the
\nstudied groups has increased from 35 to 78. Epidemiologists warn that a
\ndifficult period is coming, and Romania is likely to get to report 50,000 daily
\ncases over the next two weeks, under proper testing. The latest report
\nindicates just over 4,700 new cases in 24 hours and 14 associated deaths.
\nNearly 8 million people have received at least one dose of vaccine. <\/p>\n
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\nKingdom is the first country in Western Europe to exceed 150,000
\nCOVID-associated deaths and the seventh in the world after the United States,
\nBrazil, India, Russia, Mexico and Peru. Although Omicron seems less dangerous
\nthan the Delta strain, due to the high number of infections, hospitals, which
\nare affected by lack of medical staff, are being stormed again. In Italy, where
\na high level of contamination is also reported, a new government decree in Rome
\nwill come into force in two days, further limiting the activities of people who
\nhave not been vaccinated against COVID-19. On the other hand, protests against
\ngovernment measures to combat the pandemic took place on Saturday in several
\ncountries. Some 40,000 people protested in Vienna, Austria, where vaccination becomes
\nmandatory as of next month. Several thousand people also protested in several cities
\nin Germany and France.<\/p>\n
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\nMinister Bogdan Aurescu will hold political consultations with his Pakistani
\ncounterpart Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi on Monday during his official
\nvisit to Romania. The visit comes amid recent ‘positive dynamics’ in bilateral
\nrelations, including in the wake of Pakistan’s ‘essential support’ for
\nRomania’s efforts to evacuate from Afghanistan its own citizens, citizens of
\nallied countries and 156 Afghan citizens at risk in August and September 2021.
\nThe two ministers will discuss ways to develop the bilateral relationship,
\ndeepen political dialogue, as well as economic and sectoral cooperation. During
\nthe visit, a cooperation agreement will be signed between the Romanian Chamber
\nof Commerce and Industry and the Association of Pakistani Chambers of Commerce
\nand Industry, as well as a framework cooperation agreement providing for an
\nexchange of scholarships between the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and
\nthe University of Islamabad.<\/p>\n
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\nStates and its allies are ready to discuss with Russia, during the talks on
\nUkraine, the possibility of each side restricting its military exercises and
\nthe deployment of missiles in the region, a senior US official said. In the
\ncontext of the start of crucial talks in Geneva on Monday, a senior Biden
\nadministration official said that the United States was not willing to discuss
\nlimits on the deployment of US troops or the position of US forces in the NATO countries
\nin the region. The Geneva talks, followed by other sessions in Brussels and
\nVienna, are aimed at avoiding a crisis, Reuters reports. The talks take place
\nin the context in which Russia has amassed some one hundred thousand soldiers
\nalong the border with Ukraine, generating fears that it is preparing for an
\ninvasion. Moscow, however, says it only wants to end NATO’s eastward expansion
\nand is demanding security guarantees, which the United States considers
\nunacceptable.<\/p>\n
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\npeople have been arrested in Kazakhstan during violent protests in recent days,
\nthe country’s interior ministry has announced. The biggest wave of protests in
\nthe country was sparked by popular anger over a significant rise in fuel
\nprices, but turned into a wider uprising against the authoritarian government.
\nThe head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, on Friday authorized security forces
\nto shoot to kill in order to quell any rebellion and, backed by
\nRussia, refused any negotiations with protesters. Dozens of people lost their
\nlives. News agencies report that the situation seems to be stabilizing, but the
\ninformation blockade continues. Due to internet outages and mobile telephony
\nissues, Kazakhs are unable to communicate with relatives in other parts of the
\ncountry. There are endless queues at banks to withdraw money from ATMs, and
\nstore shelves are empty.<\/p>\n
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\nplayer Simona Halep won the Melbourne Summer Set 1 (WTA 250) tournament, with 239,477
\nUS dollars in prize money, after defeating the Russian Veronika Kudermetova,
\n6-2, 6-3. After a 2021 season she largely missed because of health problems,
\nHalep (20 WTA), former world leader, had a perfect start this year, winning the
\n23rd title of her career. This was the last rehearsal for Simona Halep before
\nparticipating in the Australian Open (January 17-30). (MI)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"