September 8, 2025 UPDATE (2)
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 08.09.2025, 20:00
PROTEST – A delegation of protesting teachers on Monday discussed with the president of Romania, Nicuşor Dan, conveying their demands and calling for the resignation of Education Minister Daniel David. Teachers want the government to repeal the decree providing for an increase in the number of teaching hours, the reduction of overtime pay, the increase in the number of groups in some classes and the merger of schools with too few students. After the meeting, education trade unions announced they would hold a referendum to decide how the protests would continue, which could even go as far as a general strike. They are dissatisfied that the President did not make them a clear promise, but asked them to meet again in two months, to analyze the impact of the measures. Several thousand teachers from all over the country participated on Monday, the first day of the new school year, in the so-called Education March, where teachers protested in front of the Government and Presidency buildings. Minister Daniel David said that “these measures helped us save salaries and scholarships until the end of the year. No tenured people were fired, no salaries were cut and we also contributed to the stability of the country”, the Minister said.
EXERCISE – Experts from the Ministries of Defense and the Interior and the Romanian Intelligence Service will take part in an exercise designed to manage the effects of a chemical accident at the Azomureş plant in Târgu Mureş (center). According to a statement from the Defense General Staff, over the next two days, they will practice setting up mobile camps, organizing aid points, decontamination and transporting the wounded. The main objective of the exercise is to strengthen the response capacity in crisis situations and verify common intervention procedures.
BUDGET – Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare on Monday met with World Bank representatives, whom he informed that efforts are underway to create a new budget platform to ensure more rigorous budget planning and better communication between ministries in drafting the 2026 budget. Alexandru Nazare also stressed that the current fiscal measures represent necessary corrections, aimed at balancing the country’s finances and putting them back on a sustainable path. According to Minister Nazare, the main topics discussed with the World Bank representatives were economic growth and investments, structural reforms and strengthening institutional capacity. “We will continue discussing with the World Bank to develop a pragmatic strategy and concrete solutions by means of which we can restore investor confidence and boost economic growth”, the Finance Minister wrote on social media.
MOLDOVA – The president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, will address the European Parliament on Tuesday in a solemn session. The speech takes place ahead of the parliamentary election in Moldova, scheduled for September 28. The plenary session of the Community Legislature will also debate ways to strengthen the resilience of the Republic of Moldova against hybrid threats and Russian interference.
TENNIS – Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus tops the WTA ranking published on Monday. After her second consecutive US Open title, Salabalenka keeps the same advance she had two weeks ago, of over 3,000 points, against runner-up Iga Swiatek of Poland, whereas US player Coco Gauff ranks 3rd, only 59 points behind the Polish player. Romania has three representatives in WTA Top 100. Jaqueline Cristian ranks 43rd, the best position in her career so far. Sorana Cîrstea ranks 66th, while Gabriela Ruse dropped 26 positions down to the 96th place. In the doubles standings, Sorana Cîrstea is ranked 56th, whereas Monica Niculescu is ranked 73rd.
FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team will square up against Cyprus in an away match in Group H of the World Cup preliminaries. Bosnia tops the group tables with 12 points, followed by Austria with 9, Romania with 6, Cyprus with 3 and San Marino with no points. Romania’s last participation in a world tournament was in France in 1998. The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by Canada, the United States of America and Mexico. (VP & DB)
