July 20, 2022

Click here for a roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 20.07.2022, 13:55

WEATHER Romanian authorities have issued an amber heat alert valid today
in 12 counties in the west of the country, and amber and orange alerts covering
more than three-quarters of the country for the period July 22 – 24. As of
Thursday, the extreme heat wave will cover most of the country, with the
temperature-humidity index (THI) exceeding 80. Highs will generally range from
35 to 37 degrees Celsius, with temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius
expected on Friday and Saturday in the west, north-west and south-west.

NATO The Senate, as the decision-making chamber in the
Parliament of Romania, convenes today in a special meeting to ratify the NATO
Accession Protocols of Finland and Sweden. Previously,
the Chamber of Deputies had endorsed the
bill ratifying the protocols. The documents were signed on July 5 in Brussels. Finland’s and Sweden’s decision to
join the North-Atlantic Alliance comes amid security concerns related to
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

HOLIDAY Every year on July 20 Romania
celebrates Aviation and Air Forces Day, which overlaps the religious holiday of St.
Elijah, regarded as the patron saint of pilots. In Bucharest, a military ceremony is held
today, which brings together over 20 military aircraft of the Romanian, British
and Italian Air Forces, Interior Ministry and Intelligence Service helicopters,
a Tarom plane and 4 planes from the Romanian Air Club. Military aircraft will
be flying over other cities across the country. The Romanian military aviation
was established in 1910,
when Aurel Vlaicu designed the first military aircraft.

COVID In Romania, the National Public
Health Institute announced that in the previous week 171 Omicron infections
were confirmed in the country. All of these are SARS-CoV-2
variants that cause concern. According to the institution, by July 17, as many
as 6,611 Omicron infections had been reported. The number of COVID-19 cases
continues to rise, and experts say the current wave is caused by an Omicron
sub-variant of the coronavirus, which spreads a lot more quickly and is able to
infiltrate the protection given by
the current vaccines and previous infections.

GOVERNMENT The government of Romania is
scheduled to pass a bill today concerning the procurement of some of the
most advanced electric trains, powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Only 3 countries
in the EU are currently using or testing such trains. The Transport Ministry
plans to purchase a total of 12 hydrogen electric trains. Also in the transport
sector, the government intends to start expropriation procedures in order to
widen the Bucharest South ring road. The Cabinet will also discuss the
2022-2027 National Strategy on Research, Innovation and Smart Specialisation,
which will create the framework for an efficient and effective spending of national
funds. Two other documents are due to be reviewed today, a memorandum concerning
talks with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on non-reimbursable
EU funding, and another memorandum endorsing the 2022-2024 strategy for
governmental debt management.

ANTI-SEMITISM The
pandemic context, vaccination campaigns, public campaigns raising awareness on
the rise in cases of anti-Semitism and the information on the history of the Holocaust
are the main factors contributing to a strengthening of online and offline hate
speech, reads the latest monitoring report issued by the ‘Elie Wiesel’ National
Institute for Holocaust Research in Romania. According to the institution, vandalism
cases, the praising of inter-war far-right figures and people convicted for war
crimes or known for their extremist attitude, anti-Semitic messages in
Parliament and minimising the memory of Holocaust victims remain common
occurrences in Romania. Central authorities have reconfirmed their commitment
to fight extremist actions by endorsing a National Strategy for preventing and
fighting anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalisation and hate speech and by
introducing Jewish and Holocaust history as a school subject, the report also
says. However, the lack of awareness and responsibility among local authorities
hinders the implementation of the principles upheld by the central authorities. (AMP)