January 19, 2022
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 19.01.2022, 13:55
COVID-19 ROMANIA – 16,610 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported on Wednesday in Romania in addition to 58 related fatalities, of which 2 were prior to the reference period, the Group for Strategic Communication has announced. Half of Romanias counties are in the so-called red zone with a high incidence rate. Since the start of the pandemic, over 1.9 million Romanians got infected with COVID-19 and some 60,000 died to the virus. Against the backdrop of the anti-vaxx campaign fuelled by part of the media, a number of politicians and other public figures, Romania has the second-lowest national vaccination rates at EU level after Bulgaria.
COVID-19 WORLD – The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has warned global leaders that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over. The WHO official warned against the misleading assumption that the Omicron strain is mild and thus less threatening. “An exponential rise in cases, regardless of the severity of the individual variants, leads to inevitable increase in hospitalizations and deaths,” Dr. Ghebreyesus argues. The warning comes amidst an alarming surge in the number of infections across Europe. Today, Bulgaria reported nearly 11,200 new COVID-19 infections over the course of 24 hours. The Czech Republic too reported 28 thousand new infections, a daily record since the pandemic began. In turn, France reported nearly 500 thousand infections yesterday.
PLAGIARISM – The “Carol I” National University in Bucharest has launched a process examining the observance of quality and academic standards in the case of Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucăs PhD thesis, defended in 2003. The decision follows revelations and plagiarism allegations from the media. The Prime Minister has denied the allegations, claiming he observed all legal and academic requirements. Ciucă is the third head of government facing plagiarism allegations after Social-Democrats Victor Ponta and Mihai Tudose. Last month Research Minister Florin Roman resigned after facing similar accusations regarding his MA thesis.
STRIKE – Education trade unions have today staged a two-hour warning strike. During the interval, all teaching activities were suspended, although pupils remained under their teachers supervision. Teachers demand an increase in their base salaries stipulated in a law passed in 2017, as well as bonuses for specific work conditions and the payment of extra hours. Trade unions also call on the authorities to earmark 6% of the GDP to education spending and to increase the number of teaching staff positions. Also today, law enforcement and National Statistics Institute trade unions staged actions protesting the Governments salary policies.
PROGRAM – The authorities have today launched the National Program for Combating Cancer in an event attended by president Klaus Iohannis. In February 2021, the European Commission launched the Europes Beating Cancer Plan, allotting €4 billion to finance cancer prevention, research and treatment programs across the community bloc. Meanwhile, the Romanian Parliament set up a special task force charged with transposing the Commissions plan into national law. Right now, part of the cancer treatments, lab tests and prevention programs are funded under a nationwide program.
UKRAINE – US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is today paying a visit to Kiev, as part of a new effort to deescalate the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border. Antony Blinken will meet with Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. According to the US State Department, the purpose of the visit is to reiterate Washingtons commitment to safeguarding Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. On Tuesday, Blinken talked on the phone to Russias Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, ahead of their meeting on Friday in Geneva. Russia has built up a sizable military force on the Ukrainian border, although it has denied allegations over its planned invasion. Last weeks talks between Moscow and Washington over the future European security framework yielded no result, the Americans having dismissed Russias requests as unacceptable. Moscow has called on NATO to rule out any eastward enlargement, to cease all cooperation with ex-Soviet countries and to cancel all maneuvers and troop deployments in Eastern Europe.
TENNIS – Three Romanian tennis players are competing in the second round at the Australian Open. On Thursday, Simona Halep (15 WTA) will take on Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil (83 WTA). Sorana Cîrstea (38 WTA) will take on Kristina Kucova of Slovakia (96 WTA), while Irina Begu (64 WTA) will play Elise Mertens of Belgium (26 WTA). Another Romanian, Jaqueline Cristian, was knocked out today in the second round by Madison Keys of the United States, 6-2, 7-5. In the womens doubles, Raluca Olaru of Romania and Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany have advanced to the second round after ousting Alizé Cornet and Diane Parry of France, 6-4, 6-4.
HANDBALL – Romanian handball champions, CSM Bucharest, are today playing Brest Bretagne of France in a Champions League Group A fixture. On Saturday, CSM defeated Buducnost Podgorica of Montenegro 28-20 away from home. The team is ranked 4th in the group tables with 10 points. The next fixture for CSM is the home match against BV Borussia 09 Dortmund of Germany on January 22. (VP)
