Romania

Bosniaks wearing face mask gather and pray to mark the Eid aL-Adha holiday in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo on July 31, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/Fehim Demir.

Albanian Muslims have their morning prayers for the Eid Al-Adha holiday in Tirana, the capital of Albania, on July 31, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/Malton Dibra.

At a plenary session on Wednesday, the Chamber of Deputies passed, 307 to 1, a bill amending and supplementing Law 227/2015 on the Tax Code regulating taxation of old-age income and allowances.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu had a telephone conversation on Wednesday with Kenyan counterpart Raychelle Omamo, at the request of the Kenyan side, a release of the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) informs.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) conveyed on Wednesday that 85 Romanian citizens working at a farm in Bavaria tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection between 28 May and 11 June. They are asymptomatic and currently placed in quarantine.

As of June 15, banks had granted loans to the amount of 4 billion lei under the IMM Invest programme, and this week the one billion euro equivalent mark will be passed, Cristian Paun, chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Credit Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises SA - IFN (FNGCIMM SA - IFN), said on Wednesday.

A further 345 cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus have been recorded in Romania since the last briefing, reaching a total of 22,760 illnesses, the Strategic Communication Group (GCS) announced on Wednesday.

Public Finance Minister Florin Citu says that his objective is to minimize the negative impact of the global economic crisis on Romania's economy, and that the best measures to this effect have been taken so far, a fact confirmed by official data. "The real economy proves me right! We have taken the best measures for the economy and this is confirmed by official data.

The National Institute of Statistics (INS) announced on Wednesday that it is canceling the publication of the June 17, 2020 press release regarding the tourist expenses of non-residents in Romania related to the first quarter due to the data collection problems during the restrictive measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bucharest Airports National Corporation (CNAB) organizes on Wednesday the event "Everything will be fine!" to mark the resumption of flights after the coronavirus-induced halt of services that saw Romania's air traffic plunge by about 98 percent. "For the entire mankind, the first half of 2020 has posed the greatest health, economic and social challenge of the century.

On Tuesday, President Klaus Iohannis penned a message on the unveiling and consecration in Bucharest of a bust of Pope Francis.