WEATHER The PM of Romania Marcel
\nCiolacu requested all the institutions in charge to centralise data on the damages
\ncaused by the extreme weather over the past few days in Romania. Measures will
\nbe taken subsequently to address the situation and to avoid similar occurrences
\nin the future, a government spokesperson said. According to the General
\nInspectorate for Emergencies, over 50 localities in 19 counties and the capital
\ncity Bucharest have been affected this week by storms and heavy rainfalls.
\nSeveral people died, and houses, buildings and vehicles have been damaged.<\/p>\n
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CANCER The government endorsed a National Plan on
\nCancer Prevention and Treatment. The new programme facilitates quick access to
\nprevention measures, diagnostic, treatment and palliative services. The
\nhealthcare minister, Alexandru Rafila, said investments would be made in the
\nfield of oncology, and all services for patients would be free of charge,
\nincluding advanced radiation therapy. He added that the government would also
\ndevelop an innovation fund, mainly benefiting cancer patients. The plan will be
\nimplemented in several stages over the next 5 years. Representatives of the
\nFederation of Cancer Patients Associations however are unhappy with the absence
\nof implementing rules for the plan, without which, they argue, it is impossible
\nto know how long it would take from diagnosis to the start of the actual
\ntreatment.<\/p>\n
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DISSIDENT The High Court of Cassation and Justice in
\nBucharest Thursday upheld a ruling clearing two former Communist political
\npolice officers, Marin P\u00eervulescu and Vasile Hodi\u015f, of the charges related to
\nthe torturing of dissident Gheorghe Ursu.
\nThey were originally tried for crimes against humanity. The construction
\nengineer, poet and writerGheorghe Ursu was investigated by the Securitate in the ’80s,
\nafter he sent letters to Radio Free Europe and kept a diary of the horrors
\nof the communist regime. He was arrested in September 1985 and died 2 months
\nlater, after being beaten while in detention. After
\nThursday’s ruling of the supreme court, the justice minister Alina Gorghiu said she would have liked not to see
\nany form of repression and torture validated. The Group for Social
\nDialogue, a political and social NGO, says the supreme court’s decision to
\nacquit the torturers of the dissident Gheorghe Ursu is the most radical form of
\nrehabilitation of communist totalitarianism. Prosecutors are looking into
\nexceptional methods to challenge the ruling. <\/p>\n
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GREECE The Romanian foreign ministry warns the Romanian
\nnationals who are in Greece or intend to travel there that the local
\nauthorities said the risks of wild fires remains high today in several parts of
\nthat country. The situation is particularly serious in Rhodes, where 92
\nRomanian fire fighters are also deployed. In order to better respond to this
\nphenomenon, the European Commission announced plans to create its own firefighting
\nfleet, and procure an additional 12 aircraft to this end, deployed around the
\nMediterranean, where most wildfires are reported.<\/p>\n
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SECURITY
\nThe US Senate Thursday night endorsed the National Defence Authorisation Act
\n(NDAA), which included a bill on Black Sea security. With this decision, the US Senate confirms the
\nstatus of the Black Sea as a region of critical geo-strategic importance and
\npaves the way for enhanced US engagement in the region. The US Senate’s
\ndecision also confirms the county’s strong support for a comprehensive US
\npresence in the Black Sea region, jointly with its allies and partners, in
\nstrategic areas such as security and defence, economy, energy and democratic resilience, the
\nRomanian Ambassador to Washington Andrei Muraru
\nsaid. The bill endorsed by the Senate is to be reconciled in September with the
\nversion of the NDAA already approved by the House of Representatives. A bill
\nsimilar to the
\nBlack Sea Security Act is also pending in the House, with good chances to be
\nincluded in the reconciliation procedure and in the final text of the NDAA sent
\nto president Joe Biden.<\/p>\n
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FOOTBALL Three
\nRomanian teams played last night in the Europa Conference League qualifiers. Sepsi OSK Sf\u00e2ntu Gheorghe won, 2-0
\naway from home, the match against the Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia. Romanian
\nchampions Farul Constan\u021ba also won their home match against FC Urartu, 3-2, while former champions CFR Cluj drew
\nat home against the Turkish side Adana Demirspor,
\n1-1. The return leg is scheduled for August 3. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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