Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
PANDEMIC According to worldometers.info, the total number of infections with the novel coronavirus has exceeded 40,600,000 worldwide. The United States is the most affected country with over 8,400,000 cases followed by India with roughly 7,600,000. The situation is bad in Europe as well. Authorities in Ireland want to impose a period of six-month restrictions for the entire population starting on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Micheal Martin has announced. The Irish official has said that schools are going to remain open but all the other less important activities are to be suspended. Bars and restaurants will make only deliveries. The epidemiological situation in Belgium is more difficult than in spring while in Brussels and Wallonia, authorities are fearing what they described 'a tsunami of infections' with the new virus. The number of infections has doubled in the past month and new restrictions have been imposed to contain the spreading and maintain the hospitals' capabilities to cope with the new situation.
COVID-19 Authorities in Romania on Monday announced 2,466 new infections with the novel coronavirus in 24 hours. Since the onset of the pandemic, 182 thousand people have been infected and 5,931 people have died. 757 patients are currently being treated in intensive care units. Bucharest has been placed in the red zone, due to the large number of infections, which has exceeded three per one thousand. For two weeks starting today, schools, high-schools and kindergartens are providing online course while universities are yet to decide how to carry on their activities. Face coverings are now compulsory both in outdoor and indoor spaces in Bucharest. All indoor activities in restaurants, bars, cinemas, theatres and casinos have been suspended. The infection rate has also been exceeded in Cluj Napoca, in the country's west, Miercurea Ciuc in the center and Caracal in the south.
VOTING According to the election bureau for the Romanians abroad, the candidacies announced by 8 political groups and two independents for a Parliament seat are definitive. Romanians living abroad are invited to the polls on December 5th and 6th. The Permanent Election Authority has recalled that the deadline for the Romanian residents abroad to register for postal voting is October 22nd.
GROUP Romania and the United States will have a joint working group for including Romanians in the Visa Waiver programme, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu has announced after his meeting in Washington with secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The two officials have also tackled the USA's involvement, including financially, in projects like those connecting the region's north with its south, which also includes Romania, such as Via Carpatica and the railway linking Constanta to the city of Gdansk, in northern Poland with economic benefits and a strategic impact over military mobility. The USA also plans to increase its military presence in Romania.
RAIDS Police in France have raided houses of Islamist radicals after the beheading of a history teacher by an 18-year-old Islamist in Paris. 15 people have been taken into custody, including four pupils believed to have helped identify the victim to his killer. One of them confessed to have received money from the assassin. According to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, police will continue investigation into the case in the following days while authorities have decided to temporarily close down a mosque in northern Paris known to be frequented by religious extremists.
HANDBALL Romania's handball champions Dinamo Bucharest tonight play on their own turf Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon in their debut match in Group B of the EHF European League, Europe's second major competition. In the past edition of the Champions League, Dinamo edged Sporting out after a 26-25 away win and a 26-24 win in Bucharest and qualified for the first time in the round of 16 but the rest of the season was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
(bill)
Useful Links
Copyright © . All rights reserved