DROUGHT Drought has affected
\n106,389 hectares of land in Romania, according to figures published by the
\nagriculture ministry. The southern counties of Teleorman, Olt and Dolj have run
\nout of water for irrigation because of the significant drop in the Danube’s
\nriver flow, agriculture minister Petre Daea announced on social media. Waters
\nhave retreated so much that they no longer reach the pumping stations feeding
\nthe irrigation system, with part of the Danube’s bed now looking like sandy
\nbeach. In the areas where irrigation was used, the state of the crops is good.
\nDaea said the authorities are speeding up investment works to rehabilitate the
\nnational irrigation network and to bring Danube water closer to pumping
\nstations. The minister recently said there is no reason yet to declare a state
\nof disaster over the drought.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
TALKS
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
COVID-19 In Romania,
<\/p>\n
CORRUPTION Lucian
<\/p>\n
ENERGY More than
<\/p>\n
EMPLOYMENT Five out
<\/p>\n
TENNIS The Romanian
Click here for a roundup of local and world 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":[29096,28950,35374,33827,29163,34307,28918,29199,36909,36908,31191,28939],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-begu","tag-corruption","tag-covid-19","tag-crops","tag-drought","tag-employment","tag-energy","tag-irrigation","tag-palermo","tag-renewable","tag-sentence","tag-tennis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe Romanian state secretary for strategic affairs, Iulian Fota, Monday had
\ntalks in Bucharest with the US deputy under-secretary for national security Kelli
\nAnn Burriesci, who is on a regional tour in Europe. The US official was later
\nreceived by the Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu. Talks focused on Romania’s
\nparticipation in the Visa Waiver Program
\nand on means to strengthen bilateral cooperation to this end. Bogdan Aurescu reiterated
\nthat including Romania in the Visa Waiver
\nprogram is a top political goal for Bucharest and a topic of particular
\ninterest to the Romanian public.<\/span> He also
\nhighlighted the importance of the successful implementation of a joint
\nawareness raising campaign and voiced Romania’s willingness to work together
\nwith the US to help reduce the visa rejection rate.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nthe number of coronavirus infections is on the rise. Nearly 5,000 new cases
\nwere reported on Monday for the last 24 hours, most of these in Bucharest,
\nCluj, Ilfov, Constanta and Brasov counties. Around 3,400 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised,
\n204 of them in intensive care. Most of the patients in critical condition are
\nunvaccinated. Five COVID-related deaths have also been reported. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nDu\u0163\u0103, the former chief of Romania’s National Health Insurance Agency (CNAS), Monday
\nreceived a final 6-year prison sentence. He was charged by the National
\nAnti-Corruption Directorate for receiving EUR 6.3 million in bribe in exchange
\nfor awarding a public service contract to 2 software companies. The Bucharest Court
\nof Appeals upheld the ruling pronounced by the court of first instance in
\nNovember 2020, and the court’s decision to seize the EUR 6.3 million from Lucian
\nDu\u0163\u0103. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n3,500 MW of renewable energy will be installed in Romania in the coming period,
\nboth solar, using photovoltaic panels, and wind-generated, according to data
\nprovided by a consultancy firm in the field. Almost 700 such projects have been
\nsubmitted on the platform made available by the energy ministry to receive
\nfunding under the recovery and resilience plan. The secretary general of the
\nemployers’ association in the field of renewable energy Mihai Ver\u015fescu said
\ninvestment is needed in this sector, but that business people are reluctant because
\nof frequent legislative changes. He emphasised that while funding sources are
\navailable, legislation is needed to ensure predictability.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nof ten Romanian employees changed their jobs in the last two years, according
\nto a poll published by an online recruitment platform. Many job applicants look
\nfor less stressful jobs and more benefits. Four out of ten people who change
\ntheir jobs were driven by higher pay, 27% because they had lost their jobs a
\nresult of a wave of redundancies, and 3% because their employers did not agree
\nto their working remotely. 35% of respondents said they are currently looking
\nand applying for new jobs and only 21% are completely satisfied with their
\ncurrent jobs. In conclusion, Romanians seeking new employment want better pay,
\nthe possibility to work from home, more additional benefits besides their wages
\nand the possibility to relocate abroad.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\ntennis player Irina Begu won the WTA 250 tournament in Palermo, Italy, worth
\n200,000 US dollars in prize money. In Sunday’s final, she defeated Italy’s
\nLucia Bronzetti in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. This is Begu’s fifth WTA title,
\nhaving also won in Tashkent in 2012, Seoul in 2015, Florianopolis in 2016 and
\nBucharest in 2017. Begu also played the finals in Budapest, Marbella, Moscow
\nand Cleveland. She is 31 years old and is ranked 45th in the world. Until now,
\nIrina Sp\u00e2rlea had been the only Romanian player to win the singles title in
\nPalermo, in 1994 and 1995. (CM, AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"