June 5, 2021 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 05.06.2021, 19:27
Covid-19 RO. The national vaccination campaign against COVID-19 continues, though not at the pace desired by authorities. Only some 20 thousand people received a first dose of the vaccine over the past 24 hours, despite efforts to convince the population to go to the immunization centers. Numerous vaccination marathons and other events aimed at increasing the number of immunized people are organized this weekend. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu called for measures to boost the vaccination campaign, stressing that the pandemic is not over. “In order to carry out the vaccination campaign in rural areas now, we need the support of local authorities, county council presidents, prefects, mayors, but also opinion leaders, such as priests, doctors, even the police in the area”, the Prime Minister stressed. The data presented by the authorities show that 4.4 million Romanians have been vaccinated, most of them with both doses. 179 new cases of infection were reported in the last 24 hours, in 32,000 tests. Also, 113 deaths were reported. 329 patients are in intensive care.
Pandemic. The list of countries by Covid-19 incidence rate has been updated by the National Committee for Emergency Situations in Romania. In Europe, only France and the United Kingdom are in the red zone. People who come to Romania from these countries and are not vaccinated will be placed in quarantine for 14 days. The Netherlands, Sweden and Latvia have moved from the red to the yellow zone, and Turkey, Cyprus, Switzerland and Croatia are now in the green zone.
Visit. The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, meets, on Tuesday, in Bucharest, with his Israeli counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, who will pay a state visit to Romania. According to the Presidential Administration in Bucharest, the Israeli presidents state visit is part of the very good dynamics of high-level bilateral contacts in recent times, the most recent meeting between the two heads of state taking place on the occasion of the Romanian presidents participation in the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem, in January 2020, followed by telephone talks in March and June 2020 . The source adds that President Rivlins visit reflects the solidity of the bilateral relationship, as well as the fact that Israel remains a key strategic partner of Romania in the Middle East. The discussions will focus on ways to develop and deepen bilateral relations in all areas of common interest, the visit taking place in the context of celebrating, on June 11, 73 years of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between Romania and the State of Israel. Economic and health cooperation will also be addressed, including the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Holocaust education and other measures to combat anti-Semitism in Romania, as well as cultural and interpersonal exchanges between the two states. “Special attention will be paid to the situation in the Middle East region,” the presidential administration said in a statement.
G7. G7, the group of the most industrialized countries in the world, reached a historic agreement on Saturday on a global minimum tax for multinationals. This would be 15%, applicable to companies in each country where they operate, the goal being to tax multinationals where they make a profit and not just where they are registered. The measure will apply to international companies with a profit margin of at least 10%. According to the agreement, above this threshold, 20% of the profits obtained will be taxed in the countries where the group operates. However, the joint statement of the G7 finance ministers (UK, France, Italy, Canada, Japan, Germany and the US) does not say whether states that have already imposed a tax on digital giant companies, such as the UK, would give it up to apply the new tax. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen welcomed the deal, saying the global minimum tax will do justice to the middle class and workers in the United States and around the world.
Tennis. The Romanian-German pair Horia Tecău / Kevin Krawietz qualified for the quarterfinals of the mens doubles event of the Roland Gaross tennis tournament, the second Grand Slam of the year, after defeating, on Saturday, in three sets, the pair Jamie Murray (UK) / Bruno Soares (Brazil). In the womens doubles, the Romanian-Argentine pair Irina Begu / Nadia Podoroska qualified for the fourth round after a victory, also in three sets, in the match against the Japanese Shuko Aoyama / Ena Shibahara. The Romanian-Latvian pair Monica Niculescu / Jelena Ostapenko was defeated and left the competition. Romanian Sorana Cîrstea (29 years old, 54th place WTA) will meet, on Sunday, the Slovenian Tamara Zidansek (23. 85 WTA) in the fourth round of the tournament. Cîrstea is the last Romanian left in the singles event. (MI)
