George Costita is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Romanian Service. Before joining RFE/RL in January 2022, he worked for 10 years at Digi24 and Aleph News.
Romanian authorities have fined a popular Romany hip-hop artist, Gheboasa, following days of outrage after a performance at a music festival, where teenagers sang along to his raunchy lyrics.
The Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian port of Reni was only 200 meters from Romania.
The macabre images and shocking accounts of maltreatment at privately run eldercare facilities have transfixed Romanians since a bombshell exposé that led to dozens of raids, arrests, and charges earlier this month. But the political fallout has been a long time coming.
At least 100,000 Romanian teachers and tens of thousands of support staff this week launched a strike that is upending millions of lives, endangering final exams, and delaying a government reshuffle. It could also have a domino effect, encouraging workers in other beleaguered sectors to do the same.