May 30, 2023 UPDATE

VISIT Romanian president Klaus Iohannis will be receiving King Charles III of the United Kingdom at the Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest on Friday. After the welcome ceremony, His Majesty will be having face-to-face talks with the Romanian president, and is expected to meet local authorities, representatives of civil society and members of the diplomatic corps. The British Ambassador in Bucharest, Andrew Noble, has told the AGERPRES news agency that His Majesty's visit is private and that he will meet the Romanian president as a courtesy gesture. This will be the first visit of a British Monarch to Romania. King Charles III owns property in Romania, which he used to visit regularly when he was Prince of Wales.

STRIKE After a new round of talks with the government in Bucharest, trade unions in Romania's education sector have threatened to carry on their all-out strike as their request for a pay rise has been turned down by the authorities. According to them, the government offered only the equivalent of 800 euros in bonuses for teachers and 300 euros for the auxiliary personnel. Over 15 thousand teachers protested in front of the government building and the presidential palace on Tuesday calling on the Romanian president, who used to be a teacher before becoming the country's president, to get involved in the process of finding a solution to their claims. President Iohannis has voiced readiness to act a mediator in the talks aimed at finding a solution to the crisis in Romania's education system. He described the teachers' claims as natural and legitimate but underlined that overcoming the deadlock in education and ending the strike are crucial for the good functioning of the school year and for maintaining a stability climate in the educational system. Students in schools across Romania have voiced their support for their teachers' protests and for their claims.

AID The National Committee for Emergency Situations, convened on Monday by the Prime Minister of Romania, Nicolae Ciucă, approved the granting, free of charge, of humanitarian aid to Syria. It is intended for the population affected by the major earthquake produced on the territory of Turkey on February 6, which caused casualties and big material damage in Syria as well. The support is granted based on the humanitarian assistance request initiated by Damascus through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. The Romanian state, through the National Administration of State Reserves and the Romanian Patriarchate, will send basic goods, food, medical devices and shelter items. The transport will be carried out by air, with the support of the Ministry of Defense.

UNITER The UNITER Gala, which awards the best Romanian theatrical productions, will take place on June 12, in Timișoara, with a new concept, specially created for the city in the west of the country, which holds the title of Cultural Capital of Europe, the organizers announce in a press conference on Monday. In the preamble, between June 7-10, three of the best shows of 2022, nominated for the UNITER awards, will be presented:  "Oedipus King" of the "Marin Sorescu" National Theater in Craiova (south), "Antonin Artaud. The Cenci Family" of the "Vasile Alecsandri" National Theater in Iasi (east) and "Seaside Stories" of the Constanta State Theater (south-east). The performances will be followed by interactive question-and-answer sessions with the audience.

(bill&MI)