STRIKE – The all-out strike in the education system will continue
\nnext week as well. Union leaders are preparing a new rally in Bucharest,
\nfollowing Friday’s protest actions in a number of cities across the country.
\nEducation employees are disgruntled with the Government’s offer of \u20ac500
\nbonuses. The government has accepted to increase salaries for auxiliary staff
\nby 9%, also providing them with bonuses of \u20ac200. Trade unions have called for a
\n25% increase in salaries, raising the entry level salary to some \u20ac600. The
\nstrike action started on May 22, education employees voicing discontentment
\nregarding salaries and work conditions. Union leaders have warned that the
\nstrike will continue unless their demands are met. <\/p>\n
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HEALTH – The Government has adopted a new framework agreement for
\nhealth insurances, to take effect starting July 1. The underlying feature of
\nthe new contract is prevention. Family physicians travelling to rural areas
\nwill receive bonuses. The agreement for the first time regulates
\nperformance-related payments. Family physicians will also be provided with new
\ninstruments to make pre-emptive consultations for patients of various ages. The
\nagreement also stipulates the legal framework for employees’ access to
\nvocational medicine and outpatient rehabilitation services. In the case of
\nhospitals, the agreement introduced some 100 new medical services that can be
\nprovided in the case of one-day hospital admissions. <\/p>\n
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PILGRIMAGE – Some 300,000 Roman-Catholic Christians from all over
\nthe world, including the president of Hungary, Novak Katalin, on Saturday took
\npart in the Catholic Pentecost pilgrimage in \u0218umuleu Ciuc (central Romania). Organizers expect Catholics from all
\nover Europe, particularly Hungary, but also Australia and the USA to attend. Considered
\nthe largest of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, the pilgrimage has a
\nhistory of over 450 years and is devoted to the miracle-working statue to the
\nVirgin Mary in the local Franciscan church. According to legend, in 1567,
\nTransylvanian prince John Sigismund tried to forcefully convert the local
\nRomanian-Catholic population of Ciuc, Gheorgheni and Ca\u0219in to Unitarianism. Only with the help of
\nthe miracle-working statue were the people able to resist and keep their
\nancestral faith. Since then, every Pentecost Eve, Catholics from all over the
\nworld go on pilgrimage to the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary in \u0218umuleu Ciuc, home to the miracle-working statue. <\/p>\n
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SUMMIT – Germany will be moving its Patriot anti-missile defense
\nsystem currently deployed to Slovakia to Lithuania, to protect the NATO Summit
\nof July in Vilnius, the German Defense Minister said. Germany has stationed two
\nPatriot units in Slovakia and another three in Poland. Germany’s Chancellor,
\nOlaf Scholz, said the summit will be particularly devoted to clear-cut
\nassistance to Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg a few days ago
\nadmitted Allies are divided over Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, a topic which will
\nbe addressed at the summit in Vilnius. Stoltenberg recalled that all NATO
\ndecisions need to be unanimous. <\/p>\n
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ELECTION – Tens of thousands of supporters of Turkey’s acting
\npresident, Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, took part in a support rally in Istanbul,
\nahead of Sunday’s presidential run-off. President Erdo\u011fan called on his
\nsupporters to vote for a united Parliament and presidency. His opposition
\nrival, Kemal K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu,
\nthe leader of the People’s Republican Party, addressed his own supporters in
\nIstanbul, highlighting the economic problems facing Turkey at present. We
\nrecall Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan obtained nearly 50% of the
\nvote in the first round, while Kemal
\nK\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu grabbed 45% of the vote. K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7daro\u011flu is leading a coalition of
\nopposition parties. In power for the last 20 years, Erdo\u011fan appears to be close to securing a new five-year term
\nas president, although many expect to be a close call. Over 64 mln Turks are
\nexpected to hit the polls on Sunday, of which 3.4 mln in the Diaspora. According
\nto estimates, voter turnout in the Diaspora is expected to be higher compared
\nto the first round. (VP)<\/p>\n
\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":[37640,37639,29274,35112,30080],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-election-in-turkey","tag-framework-agreement","tag-nato-summit","tag-pilgrimage","tag-strike-action"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n