COVID-19
\nROMANIA -
\n19,649 new infections were reported in the last 24 hours, an absolute high
\nsince the start of the pandemic, the Group for Strategic Communication has
\nannounced. Yesterday, Romania also reported over 19 thousand cases. Also today,
\n49 related fatalities have also been reported. Health Minister Alexandru Rafila
\nsays the COVID-related mortality rate is at present ten times lower compared to
\nOctober last year. The Romanian official added that an innovative antiviral
\ntreatment will also be made available shortly. 8 million Romanians have so far
\nreceived at least one dose of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine. The rate of
\nvaccination stands at 47.5% of the total eligible population, the head of the
\nNational Committee for the Coordination of anti-COVID-19 Vaccination
\nActivities, medical doctor Valeriu Gheorghi\u0163\u0103 has announced. According to Dr.
\nGheorghi\u0163\u0103, the highest vaccination rate (56%) is reported in the 50-59 age
\nbracket. The Health Minsitry announced that the bed occupation rate in
\nhospitals stands at 22% at national level, meaning classes in schools will
\ncontinue with full physical attendance next week as well. <\/p>\n
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COVID-19 WORLD
\n– The Austrian Parliament on Thursday adopted the law making anti-COVID-19
\nvaccination mandatory for the adult population. Austria thus becomes the first
\nEU country to introduce such a measure to combat the pandemic, despite numerous
\nstreet protests and an unconvincing vaccination campaign. The measure will take
\neffect on February 4. Austria reported a record-high number of infections,
\nnearly 30,000. Around 72% of people have completed the full vaccination scene,
\nbelow the figures reported in France or Spain. Meanwhile, the number of
\ninfections continues to drop in the UK. The Government in London has announced
\nimportant relaxation of anti-pandemic measures starting next week. Masks and
\nCOVID certificates will no longer be mandatory. Around 92,000 are reported
\ndaily, considering 90% of the population has been immunized. In France as well,
\nthe Government is considering a gradual easing of restrictions. Starting next
\nweek, people can access restaurants, bars, coffee shops, shopping centers,
\ncinemas, theatre and concert halls, stadiums and gyms only if they provide
\nproof of vaccination. Similarly, they can travel by train or coach between
\nregions under a similar provision. Yesterday, the UK reported 400 thousand
\ninfections. 93% of the population has received at least one shot of the
\nanti-COVID vaccine. <\/p>\n
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STRIKE – The
\nstrike action staged by trade unionists of the Bucharest Municipal Transport
\nCompany continues today. Drivers this morning refused to do their regular
\nitineraries, although the Bucharest Tribunal yesterday issued a ruling to
\nsuspend the strike and forcing the Company to resume public transport
\nactivities. The court of law today will rule on a second notification advanced
\nby the Company over the legality of the protest. Trade union leader, Vasile
\nPetrariu, says public transport will resume once the Company director, Adrian Cri\u021b\u0103, resigns, also calling for a 10% increase of
\nsalaries. Adrian Cri\u021b\u0103 says that earlier this year he
\ninvited the trade unions to negotiate the collective employment agreement, but
\nhas so far received no response. Bucharest Mayor, Nicu\u0219or Dan, argues the
\nprotest is purely political and has called on the authorities to enforce the
\nlaw. Also today, trade unions in the aluminum manufacturing sector are staging
\na protest in front of the Government building. Employees point to the critical
\nissues facing this industry, as a result of the increase in energy prices.
\nTrade unions have warned that, by cutting back on aluminum production, large
\nnumbers of people will be laid off or put on furlough, which will in turn
\naffect tens of thousands of employees working for enterprises that are directly
\nor indirectly reliant on the aluminum production industry.<\/p>\n
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US-RUSSIA RELATIONS – Geneva is today holding a round of talks between the USA and Russia.
\nAttending will be Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, and the US
\nSecretary of State, Antony Blinken. The US official on Wednesday paid a visit
\nto Kiev, reiterating the US’s unwavering support for Ukraine. Romania’s
\npresident, Klaus Iohannis, on Thursday hailed the announcement made the
\nprevious day by US president Joe Biden over the increase of America’s military
\npresence in Romania on NATO’s eastern flank should the security situation
\ndeteriorate. The Romanian president added
\nthat Romania’s Strategic Partnership with France will also be consolidated in
\nthe Black Sea region, following the announcement of French president Emmanuel
\nMacron regarding France’s willingness to deploy troops on Romania’s territory
\nas part of NATO missions. Russia has
\nrallied over 100 thousand troops on the Ukrainian border, although it has
\ndenied allegations over a planned invasion. The Kremlin has called on NATO
\nmembers to withdraw their troops from countries in Eastern Europe, including
\nRomania. Several rounds of talks between Washington and Moscow have taken place
\nin recent days, producing no results. <\/p>\n
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RUSSIA-ROMANIA
\nRELATIONS – On Friday, Russia called
\non NATO to withdraw its troops from Romania and Bulgaria, as part of its
\nso-called security guarantees. The Russian Foreign Ministry wants NATO to
\nwithdraw its troops, equipment and weapons from ex-Soviet states that were not
\npart of the Alliance in 1997. Such is the case of Romania and Bulgaria,
\nalthough analysts say Russia’s demands might also target Poland and the Baltic
\nstates. The Kremlin claims the West had promised in the 1990s, at the end of
\nthe Cold War, that NATO would never expand to states behind the former Iron
\nCurtain. From Poland to Bulgaria, all former USSR satellites in Central and
\nEastern Europe are today part of NATO, as well as Estonia, Latvia and
\nLithuania. A March 2021 survey shows that 81% of Romanians believe the country
\nshould be focusing on the West in terms of political and military alliances,
\nnamely the EU, the USA and NATO. Only 10.4% of respondents believe Romania
\nshould be focusing on Russia and China. <\/p>\n
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TENNIS – The
\npair made up of Jaqueline Cristian of Romania and Andrea Petkovic of Germany
\ntoday advanced to the second round in the women’s doubles at the Australian
\nOpen after ousting the all-Romanian pair Simona Halep \/ Gabriela Ruse in
\nstraight sets. Raluca Olaru of Romania and Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany were
\nknocked out by Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang of China. The only Romanians left in
\nthe women’s singles, Simona Halep and Sorana C\u00eerstea, are competing in the
\nthird round on Saturday against Danka Kovini\u0107 of Montenegro and Anastasia
\nPavlyuchenkova of Russia, respectively. (VP)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[29795,35374,36519,36517,36518,36516],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-australian-open","tag-covid-19","tag-nato-troops-in-romania","tag-strike-actions","tag-us-russia-talks","tag-vaccination-rate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n