Radio România Internațional

Tag: attack in Belgium

  • October 17, 2023

    October 17, 2023

    VISIT TO ISRAEL – Prime Minister
    Marcel Ciolacu is on a visit to Israel, where he is holding talks with Prime
    Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and representatives of the Romanian community,
    affected by the escalation of the security climate in the region. The Romanian
    official will also meet Menachem Hacohen, a great rabbi of the Jewish community
    in Romania over 1997-2011. I went to Israel to convey our message of
    solidarity with the Israeli people and our strong support for the Romanian
    community in this country. In these troubled times, Romania remains a pillar of
    stability and peace, defending democratic values and human rights and firmly
    combating terrorism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia and hate speech, Prime Minister
    Marcel Ciolacu said. Accompanying the Prime Minister’s delegation are also Defense
    Minister Angel Tîlvăr, Foreign Minister Luminița Odobescu, deputy Silviu
    Vexler, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, as well
    as Romania’s Ambassador to Israel, Radu Ioanid.




    WAR IN GAZA – Romania’s
    president, Klaus Iohannis, is today attending a special meeting of the European
    Council, held by video conference and called by European Council president
    Charles Michel in the context of concerns the war between Israel and Hamas
    could exacerbate tensions between communities and trigger a new migratory wave
    towards Europe. We need to ensure assistance to affected civilians. We need to
    avoid the conflict from escalating by engaging all regional actors. The
    solution is sustainable peace based on a two-state solution. This conflict can
    breed tensions between our communities and amplify extremism. Finally, there is
    a major risk of migration and movements of a large number of people to
    neighboring countries, Charles Michel said.




    US SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL – US President Joe
    Biden will also travel to Israel on Wednesday for talks with the Israeli Prime
    Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel has a right to defend itself, State
    Secretary Antony Blinken said. President Biden is expected to reaffirm US
    solidarity with Israel ahead of this country’s planned offensive against Hamas
    militants in Gaza, Secretary Blinken also said. According to the US official,
    president Biden will be briefed concerning Israel’s operations, which are aimed
    at minimizing the loss of civilian lives and allowing humanitarian aid to reach
    Gaza before being intercepted by Hamas. In turn, Prime Minister Benjamin
    Netanyahu is holding talks with other leaders. The Israeli official talked to
    the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, who conveyed his condolences for the victims
    of the October 7 Hamas attack, condemning any and all attacks on the civilian
    population. Today, Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz is also expected to arrive
    in Israel to meet Prime Minister Netanyahu, president Herzog and Defense
    Minister yoav Gallant. Chancellor Scholz will also meet with the parents of the
    young German people held hostage in Gaza. Olaf Scholz is the first head of
    state to visit Israel to express solidarity with this country.




    ATTACK – The man suspected
    of killing two Swedish tourists yesterday night in Brussels has been detained
    this morning in the Belgian capital. A Federal Prosecutor’s Office spokesman
    told AFP the man was arrested after police officers opened fire, without
    however revealing his authority or mentioning if the attacker was wounded in
    the exchange. The attack had been claimed in an online video by an individual
    who said the attack was inspired by the Islamic State, which prompted the
    authorities to treat the incident as a terrorist attack and raise alert levels.
    The attacker could be of Tunisian origin, Belgian media writes.




    NATURAL GAS – Romania’s gas deposits are at full
    capacity, which means our country could get through the winter without gas
    imports, provided it is mild, Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said. Romania
    can also provide assistance to the Republic of Moldova, if needed. Maintaining
    the cap on electricity and gas prices for household users is necessary in the
    context of the crisis in the Middle East impacting global energy markets,
    Minister Burduja went on to say. (VP)





  • June 21, 2017

    June 21, 2017

    MOTION – Romanias Parliament is today discussing and voting on the no-confidence motion filed by the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the ruling coalition against Sorin Grindeanus Cabinet. Grindeanu refused to step down after coalition parties withdrew their political support for him. Grindeanu has dismissed the conclusions of an analysis of the Governments first six months in office conducted at party level. The other parliamentary factions, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania and the Peoples Movement Party announced they would not vote on the motion, as this is a matter for the Social-Democrats to solve on their own. President Klaus Iohannis has called for an immediate way out of this crisis, saying, however, that Romania remains a stable country despite this political crisis, with a strong economy, seen as a trusted partner.



    CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – The Constitutional Court of Romania ruled that any persons with an expired prison sentence, who have been pardoned or rehabilitated or whove been sentenced for something that is no longer considered a crime, can be members of the Government. Court judges claim the law is inconsistent in this respect, as someone who is criminally prosecuted cannot be part of the Government, although he can be president or a member of Parliament. The Court thus responded to a notification filed by the Ombudsmans Office earlier this year. The legislation in force did not allow Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea to be Prime Minister, after his party won the December 2016 legislative elections. Dragnea got a suspended sentence for election fraud attempt in the 2012 referendum to impeach the then president, Traian Basescu.



    FARMING – Business in the farming sector has doubled in the last seven years, to reach some 3,5 billion euros in 2015, reads a recent KeysFin survey. Over 7,000 enterprises with more than 40,000 employees are currently operating in the field, a number which went up by nearly 30% as compared to 2009. The KeysFin analysis also shows that, according to the latest data provided by the European Commission at the end of May, Romania has become the main cereal exporter at EU level. On the other hand, National Bank Deputy Governor Liviu Voinea said Romania has been making constant progress in bridging the development gaps separating it from other developed states.



    FINANCING – Over 400 million euros will be made available for funding Romanian SMEs after the European Investment Bank signed funding protocols with six local banks. Based on these agreements, banks can give loans both for starting SMEs as well as for developing those already on the market. The collaboration agreement between the EIB, the European Commission and the Government of Romania was signed in October last year.



    GAC – State Secretary with the Romanian Foreign Ministry Bogdan Manoiu on Tuesday attended the General Affairs Council meeting held in Luxembourg, focusing on preparing the European Council meeting of June 22-23. The Romanian official said security and defense measures to be adopted must be balanced, lead to more cohesion between Member States and ensure added value for the EUs security contribution and its complementarity with NATO measures in this field. At the same time, Secretary Manoiu reiterated Romanias interest to implement all measures aimed at strengthening the EUs external borders. Referring to migration, the Romanian official underscored the need to consolidate progress reported in cooperation with countries of origin and transit countries based on the Partnership Framework adopted in 2016. Bogdan Manoiu also expressed Romanias readiness to continue dialogue in order to identify a consensual solution in terms of reforming the Common European Asylum System.



    ATTACK –Belgian security forces shot dead a man suspected of being a suicide bomber on Tuesday evening in Central Station in Brussels. Previously he had detonated a small explosive device, without killing anyone. The incident is investigated as a terrorist attack. In March 2016 Brussels was hit by a wave of suicide bomb attacks at the airport and the subway system, which killed 32 people.



    US-UKRAINE RELATIONS – US President Donald trump on Tuesday met in Washington with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, on the very day the White House announced harsher sanctions against Moscow, whom they accuse of supporting pro-Russian rebel separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Russian immediately criticized the call and promised to retaliate. Broke out in 2014, the conflict in eastern Ukraine has so far killed over ten thousand people. The US and its European allies have called on Russia to observe the Minsk ceasefire agreements of 2015. The White House said that sanctions regarding the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia has illegally occupied wouldnt be lifted unless Moscow withdraws its troops from the region.