Radio România Internațional

Tag: Attack

October 18, 2023

GOVERNMENT The first joint meeting of the Romanian and Ukrainian governments takes place in Kyiv today. The agenda includes the development of
infrastructure in the border region, economic cooperation and regional security.
The main topic is a mechanism allowing Ukraine to export grains to Romania. First
of all, the grain quality must be similar to that of grains in Romania and the
EU, and secondly, only the Romanian farmers who prove they no longer have grain
stocks will be authorised to import from Ukraine. Another topic is the ethnic
minorities in Ukraine, with Bucharest requesting that their rights be the same
as the rights enjoyed by minorities in Romania. The Romanian government
believes Ukraine should no longer recognise the Moldovan language, arguing that
in fact it does not exist. Marcel Ciolacu is accompanied by the minister of
defence, Angel Tâlvăr, the minister of public health, Alexandru Rafila, the
economy minister, Radu Oprea, the agriculture minister, Florin Barbu and the
secretary of state with the interior ministry, Raed Arafat. The Romanian PM
will have talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal, and with the
chairman of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk. Marcel Ciolacu is also
scheduled to meet the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in
Bucharest last week.

BUDGET The Constitutional Court dismissed the
notification filed by Save Romania Union and the Force of the Right in
opposition in Romania with respect to the bill on fiscal and
budget-related measures for which the Government has undertaken responsibility
before Parliament. The Constitutional Court president, Marian Enache, said the
Cabinet’s responsibility concerned a sole and unified purpose, namely to
increase revenues to the public budget and to cut down on expenditure, and that
the responsibility procedure was in line with the requirements of the
Constitutional Court and its case law. Marian Enache also says the Court’s
decision was made on a majority of votes. After the decision of the
Constitutional Court, the bill may be signed into law by the president of
Romania, Klaus Iohannis.

GAZA
The Romanian foreign ministry voices shock and deep sadness at the news of the
blast and loss of innocent lives on Tuesday night at
the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza. In a message issued on Wednesday, the
ministry emphasises that all civilians and civilian infrastructure must be
protected at all times, and that responsibility must be
clearly identified. Hundreds of people were killed or wounded
in a missile strike on the hospital in Gaza, for which Israel and the
Palestinians blame each other. The Israeli army denies that its forces were
responsible for the attack, and blames the incident on a failed launch of a
missile from Gaza by the Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian armed group, which
in turn denies the allegations. The attack was condemned by the international
community, with several Arab leaders accusing Israel of war crimes. The US leader Joe Biden, who is on a solidarity
visit to Israel today, has voiced regret and anger at the event. Jordan has
cancelled a summit in which Joe Biden was to discuss the war with King Abdullah II, with
Mahmoud Abbas and the president of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. On the other hand, the UN secretary general
Antonio Guterres will be in Cairo on Thursday, for talks with Abdel Fattah al-focusing
on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The talks take place as Egypt calls on Israel to allow aid
shipments to that territory. On Tuesday,
the US authorised its non-essential embassy staff to leave Beirut, as security
worsens in Lebanon as well, in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas.

ALERT Belgium,
France, Italy and Spain have raised their terrorist alert levels to a maximum, following
attacks in western Europe over the past few days. On Monday 2 Swedish nationals
were killed in Brussels by a Tunisian illegal migrant, later on identified and
shot by the Belgian police. The Islamic State group
claimed the attack and said it targeted Sweden because of its affiliation to
the global coalition against Jihad movements. On Tuesday, Versailles palace
in Paris was evacuated and stayed closed for the day after a new bomb alert,
just as it happened with the Louvre Museum on Saturday. The president of France
Emmanuel Macron said Islamic terrorism is rising once again and that all
European countries are vulnerable to this threat. Over 100 people have been
arrested over the past week in France under anti-Semitism charges and for
terrorism support. On Tuesday, EU leaders, including the president of Romania
Klaus Iohannis, discussed the conflict between Israel and Hamas which killed more
than 4,000 people in the last 10 days, and agreed to do whatever they can to
avoid a regional escalation of the conflict. (AMP)

18 October 2023
October 1, 2023 UPDATE

ATTACK
The explosion in front of the Parliament building in Ankara
on Sunday morning was a terror attack, the Turkish Interior Ministry has
announced. Two terrorists came with a light commercial vehicle in front of the
entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of
Internal Affairs and carried out a bomb attack the Turkish Interior Minister
Ali Yerlikaya said adding that two policemen were wounded. The same sources
have announced that one of the terrorists blew himself up and the other was
neutralized. According to the Turkish media, the central district is home to several
ministerial buildings and the nearby Parliament. The country’s president Recep
Erdogan was set to attend the opening of the new session of Parliament, which
is these days expected to validate Sweden’s entry into NATO. During a series of
bloody incidents in 2015 and 2016, Kurdish militants, Islamic State and other
groups either claimed or were blamed for several attacks in major Turkish
cities.

ELECTION Former Prime Minister Robert Fico and his populist, leftist
party, SMER-SD have won the early Parliament election in Slovakia after 99.9%
of the votes cast on Saturday were counted. The result contradicts the exit
polls, which indicated the victory of the pro-European Progressive Slovakia.
SMER-SD, which promoted anti-NATO and EU messages during their campaign and
pledged to cut the military support given to Ukraine, has mustered 23.3% of the
votes, 6% more than the Progressive Slovakia. Radio Romania correspondent in Slovakia
says that a coalition is envisaged involving SMER, Hlas, which is a splinter
group from Fico’s party and the Christian-Democrats, which together have most
of the Parliament seats. Robert Fico was forced to step down in 2018 amid
protests caused by the killing of an investigative journalist.

ART Almost
100 works of art by Romania’s famous sculptor Constantin Brancusi are on
display as of Saturday in Timisoara, western Romania, in the most important
exhibition dedicated to this major artist in the past half a century. The
exhibition includes sculptures, photos, archive documents and film footages on
display at the local National Art Museum until late January. The exhibits’
total insured value stays around half a billion euros. Under the suggestive title,
Brancusi, Romanian sources and universal prospects the exhibition invites the
public to explore the way in which Brancusi managed to cross all geographic,
historical, formal and gender borders in order to ensure that special place
unattached to any artistic current. The exhibition has on view a series of
artefacts borrowed from the National Museum of Modern Art, Pompidou Center, in
Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Art
Museum in Bucharest, the Art Museum in Craiova and some private collections.
Among the famous artefacts visitors can admire in Timisoara, there is the Bird
in Space, the Kiss, Mademoiselle Pogany or Sleeping Muse. The aforementioned
exhibition is part of the programme Timisoara – European Capital of Culture.

RUGBY Romania’s national rugby side lost
their third game in group B of the World Cup in France. On Saturday in Lille,
our rugby side came a cropper in their match against Scotland 0-84, the most
dramatic defeat in its history. Our players have so far lost to world leader
Ireland and the en-titre champions South Africa and will be playing their last
game against Tonga on October 8.

TENNIS The
Romanian-Ukrainian pair made up of Monica Niculescu and Nadiia Kichenok on
Sunday qualified for the round of 16 of the doubles contest of the WTA 1000
tournament in Beijing, a competition with more than 8 million dollars in prize
money after a 6-3, 6-3 win against Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara of Japan. In the
eight finals Niculescu and Kichenok will be up against the winners of the match
pitching Ana Danilina of Kazahstan and Alexandra Panova of Russia to Beatriz
Haddad Maia of Brazil and Veronika Kudermetova of Russia. The main draw of the
doubles contest also includes another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea who joined
Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the USA for a match against Hao-ching Chan of Taiwan
and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico.

(bill)

1 October 2023
October 1, 2023

ATTACK The
explosion in front of the Parliament building in Ankara on Sunday morning was a
terror attack, the Turkish Interior Ministry has announced. Two terrorists
came with a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the
General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of Internal Affairs and carried
out a bomb attack the Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya says adding that
two policemen have been wounded. According to the same sources, one of the
terrorists blew himself up and the other was neutralized. According to the
Turkish media, several ministries and the building of Parliament are located in
the aforementioned district. The country’s president Recep Erdogan was set to
attend the opening of Parliament’s new session at 7 hours local time.

BRATISLAVA Former Prime Minister Robert Fico and his populist, leftist
party, SMER-SD have won the early Parliament election in Slovakia after 99.9%
of the votes cast on Saturday were counted. The result contradicts the exit
polls, which indicated the victory of the pro-European Progressive Slovakia.
SMER-SD, which promoted anti-NATO and EU messages during their campaign and
pledged to cut the military support given to Ukraine, has mustered 23.3% of the
votes, 6% more than the Progressive Slovakia. Radio Romania correspondent in
Slovakia says that a coalition is envisaged involving SMER, Hlas, which is a
splinter group from Fico’s party and the Christian-Democrats, which together
have most of the Parliament seats. Robert Fico was forced to step down in 2018
amid protests caused by the killing of an investigative journalist.

ART Almost
100 works of art by Romania’s famous sculptor Constantin Brancusi are on
display as of Saturday in Timisoara, western Romania, in the most important
exhibition dedicated to this major artist in the past half a century. The
exhibition includes sculptures, photos, archive documents and film footages on
display at the local National Art Museum until late January. The exhibits’
total insured value stays around half a billion euros. Under the suggestive
title, Brancusi, Romanian sources and universal prospects the exhibition
invites the public to explore the way in which Brancusi managed to cross all
geographic, historical, formal and gender borders in order to ensure that
special place unattached to any artistic current. The exhibition has on view a
series of artefacts borrowed from the National Museum of Modern Art, Pompidou
Center, in Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, the Guggenheim Foundation, the
National Art Museum in Bucharest, the Art Museum in Craiova and some private
collections. Among the famous artefacts visitors can admire in Timisoara, there
is the Bird in Space, the Kiss, Mademoiselle Pogany or Sleeping Muse. The
aforementioned exhibition is part of the programme Timisoara – European Capital
of Culture.

RUGBY Romania’s
national rugby side lost their third game in group B of the World Cup in
France. On Saturday in Lille, our rugby side came a cropper in their match
against Scotland 0-84, the most dramatic defeat in its history. Our players
have so far lost to world leader Ireland and the en-titre champions South
Africa and will be playing their last game against Tonga on October 8.

WEATHER The
weather is incredibly warm for this time of the year, especially in Romania’s
southern and south-eastern regions. Showers have been reported in the north,
center and east and also in the mountains. The highs of the day are ranging
between 18 and 30 degrees with a noon reading in Bucharest of 30 degrees
Celsius.

(bill)

1 October 2023
August 2, 2023

BUDGET The ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the National Liberal Party carry on talks on the fiscal measures that must be implemented in order to reduce the state budget deficit. Overall public expenditure cuts of some EUR 1.2 bln are targeted, concurrently with tax increases by a similar amount. Public institution mergers, the scrapping of 200,000 public sector jobs that are currently vacant, personnel downsizing and cuts in the management allowances paid by public companies are some of the measures considered by the government. The 2 parties have also agreed on 2 VAT rates, 9% and 19%, although a 5% VAT rate will be in place as an exception for books alone. The Social Democrats and the Liberals however differ as regards a proposed additional 1% tax on luxury homes and on the profits of companies with more than EUR 100 mln in turnover.

E-COMMERCE Last year Romanians spent nearly EUR 7 bln online, one-quarter of the amount on clothes and footwear alone. According to a survey, the Romanian e-commerce market comprises a rough 100 online stores reporting over 1,000 orders per day. One in 5 Romanians regularly order online, and 50% of them do so twice every 3 months. In Europe, the share of online shopping rose from 55% in 2012 to 75% in 2022, with the highest increases reported in Estonia, the Czech Republic and Romania.

FORESTRY A new draft Forestry Code was released for public consultation on Tuesday in Romania. The surface areas where forest clearing is banned will be increased approx. 10 fold, and the vehicles that carry wood illegally will be seized. The bill will also enable the government to take over the task of reforesting land that has been cleared and subsequently abandoned by its owners. The measures come after the European Commission initiated an infringement procedure against Romania for failure to implement several environment-related directives.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS The Romanian foreign ministry warns citizens who are traveling or intend to travel to the Italian island of Sardinia that local authorities there have issued a code orange alert for wildfire risks. On the other hand, the ministry also announced it was taking steps to repatriate 4 Romanian nationals from Niger, as the security situation in that country is worsening.

UKRAINE Russia’s continued attacks against the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on Danube, in the proximity of Romania, are unacceptable. These are war crimes and they further affect Ukraine’s capacity to transfer their food products towards those in need in the world, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis posted on Wednesday on social media. A Russian drone attack hit Ukrainian port infrastructure in Izmail, on the Danube, close to NATO-member Romania. According to Kyiv, the attack caused fires at the port and industrial infrastructure and damaged the elevator there. Russia started targeting Ukraine’s ports after terminating a UN deal enabling the country’s grain exports via the Black Sea.

UNTOLD Thousands of gendarmes, firefighters, anti-drug and local police officers, as well as 800 private security guards, have been mobilized for the 4-day music festival UNTOLD in Cluj-Napoca, which begins on Thursday, to make sure that safety measures are complied with by all participants. Two mobile hospitals and 3 first-aid stations will be located near the festival site. The line-up for the 8th edition of UNTOLD, one of the largest music festivals in Europe, includes over 250 artists from Romania and abroad. Tens of thousands of music lovers from around the world are expected to attend. (AMP)

2 August 2023
July 30, 2023

GOVERNMENT The government
prepares to pass a set of fiscal measures in the coming days, designed to bring
more money into the state budget and to keep the deficit close to this year’s
target of 4.4% of GDP. As of this autumn, employees in agriculture,
constructions and IT may have to contribute 10% of their incomes to the public
healthcare fund. The government also intends to keep only 2 VAT rates, 9% for
foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and hospitality services, and 19% for all other
sectors. Governmental sources say the ruling coalition are also discussing a
reorganization of the public sector, by scrapping 200,000 posts which are
currently vacant. At the same time, the Cabinet is working on measures to support
citizens cope with the rising inflation. The government is considering an
increase in minimum wages in 2 stages: to roughly 670 euro in September and to
750 euro as of January next year. But the plan is opposed by private
entrepreneurs, who say they cannot afford to raise minimum wages for employees.
According to a recent poll, should this measure be introduced, more than half
of the private entrepreneurs in the country said they would raise prices for
their products and services or downsize their staff.

FIRE A Romanian fire fighter unit specialising in
wildfires is leaving for France today, as part of a redeployment programme
organised by the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and
Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). As many as 40 Romanian fire fighters
with fire engines, water tanks and other equipment will be stationed in
Marseilles, on the Mediterranean Coast.

TRIBUTE The Bucharest National
Opera orchestra performs tonight for the first time at the Musikverein hall in
Vienna, in a tribute concert to the Romanian composer Ciprian Porumbescu. The
year 2023 was declared the year of Ciprian Porumbescu, to mark 170 years since
the birth and 140 years since the death of the famous composer. The concert
will consist exclusively of works by Ciprian Porumbescu: New Moon, the first
Romanian operetta, the Ballad, the Romanian Rhapsody. The soloists, choir
and orchestra of the National Opera House in Bucharest are conducted by Daniel
Jinga, with special guests including maestro Gheorghe Zamfir and the soloist
Maria Coman.

UKRAINE A Ukrainian drone
attack on Moscow hit 2 office buildings last night, the mayor of Russia’s
capital city Sergei Sobyanin said, according to France Presse. According to the
Russian defence ministry, a drone was shot down and 2 others were neutralized but
crashed into a building compound. This was the latest in a string of attacks
that Moscow blames on Kyiv, while also claiming the US and their NATO allies
have provided assistance to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities say
at least 2 were killed and 1 wounded in a Russian missile attack on the city of
Zaporizhzhia.

SPORTS Romania finished 4th
at the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival in Maribor (Slovenia), with 9
gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze medals. This is the best performance for Romania in
this competition, after the ones in 1995 (Bath) and 2003 (Paris), when it came
out 3rd. On Saturday, the last day of the event, Romania won 2 gold medals,
thanks to Alin Şavlovschi, in the men’s 2,000 m hurdles race and Bianca Maria
Tiţa, Ştefania Balint, Maria Denisa Capotă and Alexandra Ştefania Uţă, who won
the women’s relay race with a new competition record (2’06”13). Romania’s
women’s handball team won the silver after losing the final to France, 32-27. Three other
medals were won in the tennis competition, by Giulia Safina Popa in the women’s
singles, Giulia Popa and Alexia Tatu in women’s doubles and Yannick Theodor
Nicolas Alexandrescou/Alejandro Mateo Berge Vega Nourescu in the men’s doubles.
In the gymnastics competition, Alexia Gabriela Vânoagă won the silver in the
beam final. Romania participated in the Festival with a team of 92 athletes. (AMP)

30 July 2023
Russia attacks port on Danube river

The Romanian defence ministry says at the moment there are no direct military threats against the countrys national territory or its territorial waters. In turn, the foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu says that, as a NATO and EU member country, Romania has the most important and strongest security guarantees in its history. She had a phone conversation with the US State Secretary Antony Blinken, and together they condemned Moscows recent attacks on Ukrainian civilians and river and maritime infrastructure, as well as Russias cynical undermining of the worlds food security.

The statements come after a Russian drone attack hit a Ukrainian port near Odessa and destroyed a grain hangar. Ukraines southern operational command says the Russian attack targeted particularly the ports on the Ukrainian side of the Danube River, seen as alternative routes for the countrys grain exports.

Specifically, the Russians targeted the river ports in Ismail and Reni, in the south of Bessarabia, a former Romanian territory annexed by Stalins Soviet Union following an ultimatum in 1940, and taken over by Ukraine after the USSR collapsed in 1991.

The port of Reni, vital to the transport of commodities on the Danube, is just 13 km across the river from the Romanian city of Galați. At least 3 drones were destroyed by the Ukrainian defence, but a fourth one managed to strike a grain hangar. In turn, the head of the administration of the port city of Ismail, Rodion Abashev, confirmed in a Facebook post that Russias attack left 6 people wounded.

The week before, Russia terminated a deal adopted in July 2022 under the UN aegis and brokered by Turkey, which enabled Ukraine to export 33 million tonnes of agricultural products in spite of the war. According to Kyiv, more than 400 million people around the world rely on the food products exported by Ukraine.

The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, firmly condemned Russias attack on the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on the Danube. “This recent escalation poses serious risks to the security in the Black Sea. It also affects the transit of grain from Ukraine, and implicitly global food security in the near future,” the Romanian official said on Twitter. Also in Bucharest, PM Marcel Ciolacu said targeting port infrastructure is yet another proof of Russias intention to undermine Ukrainian grain exports to global markets, which severely destabilises global food security. (AMP)

25 July 2023
Radio Romania International Sports Club

The main European inter-club competition, the Champions League, this year as well, will see no Romanian team booking its place for the event. In the first preliminary round, holders Farul Constanta lost to Republic of Moldova title holders, Sheriff Tiraspol. In the first leg on home turf Farul grabbed a 1-nil win, yet this past Tuesday Sheriff Tiraspol secured a 3-nil win after extra time.

The fixture was initially scheduled in Republic of Moldovas capital city, Chisinau, yet the match was eventually hosted by the very arena of Sheriff football club, located in the main city of separatist region Trans-Dniester, Tiraspol. A small party of Constanta-based fans was in the stands, people who stopped at nothing on their way to Tiraspol, in a bid to support their favorite team.

With a minimum advantage, Farul began the match on a predominantly defensive note, with no bouts of their usual, combinatorial and aggressive game. They withstood their opponents game towards the end of the first half when Moroccan player Amine Talal drew first blood for Sheriff as Cameroon Ngom Mbekeli crossed the ball in front of Farul s goal.

The second half was a little bit more balanced yet Gheorghe Hagis trainees were unable to secure a vigorous comeback on the pitch and have the upper hand throughout the game. The scoreboard for the regular, 90-minute time displayed a 1-nil advantage for Sheriff Tiraspol so two extra time halves followed. Taking advantage of Farul flawed defensive game, Sheriffs footballers scored twice, through Ngom Bekeli on 99 minutes and Nigerian Peter Ademo in minute 105. Farul will thus play in the preliminary round of the third-tier European competition, Conference League, where they are pitted against Armenias title holders, FC Urartu. We recall the latter team was eliminated from the Champions League preliminaries by Bosnian opponents Zrinjski Mostar.

Four Romanian teams will play in the second round of Europa Conference League preliminaries. The first leg in scheduled next week, On Wednesday, FCSB take on ŢSKA Sofia 1948, away from home, in a match hosted by the Bulgarian capital citys Vasil Levski stadium. On Thursday, in a fixture hosted by the Bălgarska Armia stadium, also in Sofia, Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe face ŢSKA-Sofia. CFR Cluj play a home match against Turkeys Adana Demirspor, while Farul play FC Urartu of Armenia.

19 July 2023
June 25, 2022

SUMMIT Romanian president
Klaus Iohannis has attended the European Council in Brussels during which the
Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have been granted the status of EU-candidate
countries. The European leaders have also tackled the ways in which the EU
members can avoid a major energy crisis in winter. High on the summit agenda
was the situation in Ukraine, the bloc’s relation with the Western Balkans as well
as a series of economic issues. Iohannis has reiterated Romania’s consistent
support for Kiev and presented the efforts to facilitate the exports of
Ukrainian cereals adding that Romania’s ports and transport corridors are
functioning at full capacity. During the Euro summit in Brussels, president
Iohannis has reiterated his conviction for the European future of the countries
in the Western Balkans and the support for the opening as soon as possible of
the talks with North Macedonia and Albania and the identification of solutions
for the process of bringing Bosnia-Herzegovina closer to the union.

ATTACK The alleged
assailant on Friday night in Oslo is a Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin who
is known to the intelligence services, a police official said on Saturday. He
didn’t reveal the identity of the suspect, but mentioned the assailant’s previous
brushes with the law for carrying weapons and drug possession. The attack in
downtown Oslo left two dead and 21 wounded, out of whom 10 severely. According
to police sources, the suspect was being held on suspicion of murder, attempted
murder and terrorism, based on the number of people targeted at multiple
locations.

NATO At the NATO summit in
Madrid next week, the Black Sea region will be acknowledged as having a
strategic importance in the collective defence and battle groups in Romania and
other eastern countries could be given the status of brigades. The alliance’s
deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoana said the summit would bring good news
for Romania, but also for Ukraine for the transatlantic relation and the
alliance per se. ‘From the military and security viewpoints’, Geoana says ‘and
because Russia is an unpredictable and aggressive player, Romania will have the
same quality in terms of national security as Germany and Belgium. There will
be no difference in what NATO has on the eastern flank and in Western Europe.
Next week we are going to attend the NATO summit in Madrid and we are expecting
historic news for Romania’. The talks in Madrid will also be focusing on the
requests from Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, although no decision is
expected in this respect because of Turkey’s opposition.

FESTIVAL Until July 3rd, the city of Sibiu in central Romania is
seeing the International Theatre Festival currently at its 29th
edition. The festival, which is unfolding under a theme simply entitled
Beauty, includes productions of theatre, dance, circus, film, musical and
opera. Street performances, concerts, book launches and exhibitions have also
been included in the festival’s agenda. For ten days artists of the world stage
are offering the public the possibility of enjoying live performances that have
been acknowledged at international level being also recipients of prestigious
awards.

(bill)

25 June 2022
April 26, 2022

LAW In Bucharest, the Offshore Bill is to be
discussed this week by the specialised committee of the Senate, the first
parliamentary chamber to vote on the act. The bill regulates the development of
the natural gas reserves in the Black Sea, and stipulates that the Romanian
state has pre-emptive rights to purchase these resources. The Senate is still
waiting for the official opinion of the Economic and Social Council before
discussing the bill, for which the leaders of the ruling coalition have taken
responsibility. The Senate’s vote is expected to take place in May.

REFUGEES The Romanian Border Police announced that
the number of Ukrainian nationals that entered the country on Monday was 38.3%
higher than on the previous day. According to a news release, 4,412 Ukrainian
citizens entered Romania in 24 hours. Since the start of the crisis, over
786,000

Ukrainian citizens have crossed the border into Romania. According to the
Border Police, measures have been taken to reinforce border security.

HEALTH According to the latest official data, 321
COVID-19 cases and 1 related fatality were reported in Romania in the past 24
hours. More than 1,200 patients are currently in hospitals, 221 of them in
intensive care. In other news, one case of acute severe hepatitis was reported
in Romania, in a 5 year old. On April 21, the WHO announced 169 cases of acute
hepatitis of unknown origin among young children worldwide. At least one child
died and 17 needed liver transplants, the institution said.

MOLDOVA The president of
the ex-Soviet Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, has called for a meeting of the Supreme
Security Council concerning the recent incidents in the pro-Russian separatist
region of Transnistria, in the east of that country. Two blasts were reported today in Maiak, where
two communication towers in the radio and television centre were blown up. No
victims have been reported. On Monday, the headquarters of the Security Service
in Tiraspol had been attacked with rocket launchers, and a shell was found near
the building. The doors and windows of the office were broken, and so were the
windows of nearby buildings. According to
Moldova’s Reintegration Policy Bureau, the goal
was to create tension in the region, which has been out of the Moldovan
authorities’ control since 1992, when an armed conflict that had killed
hundreds of locals was ended by the intervention of Russian troops supporting the secessionist rebels, less than a year after Chișinău had
proclaimed its independence. The ex-president of Russia Boris Yeltsin promised
to pull out the troops from Transnistria at the 1999 OSCE summit, but some 1,500
military and substantial amounts of Russian weapons appear to still be there.

UKRAINE In its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has
increased attacks on civilian targets, particularly railways, to prevent
Ukrainian forces from receiving weapons from the West. At least 5 civilians
were killed. Russian troops also destroyed 6 electricity generating units of
the Ukrainian railways, and a weapons storage facility in Slovyansk. The
Ukrainian forces withstood the attacks and said victims were reported, but did
not provide any details.

AID NATO and EU foreign
ministers convene today at the Ramstein US military base in Germany, to discuss
additional military assistance for Ukraine. At the beginning of the conflict,
the West hesitated to provide weapons to Ukraine for fear that the violence
would spiral into a larger-scale war. This reluctance subsided, however, and
today’s talks will focus on how Kyiv could be supplied with the necessary
weapons not just to withstand the Russian attack in Donbas (east), but also to
counter-attack. Previously, the Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov accused NATO
of involvement in a proxy war, and said the weapons delivered by the West to
Ukraine will be legitimate targets. (AMP)

26 April 2022
Athlete of the week

Last weeks attention-grabbing sports event was hosted by Hungarian capital city Budapest. At the recently-held European Wrestling Championship, Romania sent in a strong delegation, mostly made of young wrestlers. The record did meet the expectations, as the Romanians walked home with four medals, of which pride of place holds the gold medal won in the womens version of the competition by Andreea Ana, in the 55-kilogram category. Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Andreea Ana the Athlete of the week.

Andreea Anas trail at the European championships was indeed blazing; in the quarterfinals, Andreea overpowered Germanys Anastasia Blayvas, 4-nil. Then in the semifinals, Ana defeated Mariana Drăguţan of the Republic of Moldova, 6-nil. Andreea Anas confrontation in the final was literally dramatic, since the Romanian grabbed a hard-fought 7-5 win against Ukrainian challenger Oleksandra Khomenets. Ana secured her win with a last-gasp attack against her opponent a couple of seconds from time. Also in the womens version of the competition, Alina Vuc and Kriszta Incze won bronze in the 50 and the 65-kilogram category, respectively. In the mens version of the championships, in the Greek-Roman style, Nicu Ojog won silver, in the 87-kilogram category.

Andreea Beatrice Ana was born on November 14, 2000 in the town of Mangalia, in the south-east. In 2018, Andreea won the bronze medal in the World U-23 Championships in Bucharest. In 2019, Andreea Ana walked away with bronze in the European Seniors Championships, also hosted by the Romanian capital city Bucharest. We recall that in Warsaw, in 2021, Andreea also won silver. As a member of the Romanian delegation at the Tokyo Olympics, Andreea Ana came in 16th. Then an all-gold record followed, for Ana, at the World U-23 Championships in Belgrade and the European U-23 Championships in Plovdiv, but also at the European Seniors Championships in Budapest. Andreea Anas most recent gold medal is an absolute first in the history of Romanian womens wrestling.

(EN)

5 April 2022
Athlete of the week

Last weeks attention-grabbing sports event was hosted by Hungarian capital city Budapest. At the recently-held European Wrestling Championship, Romania sent in a strong delegation, mostly made of young wrestlers. The record did meet the expectations, as the Romanians walked home with four medals, of which pride of place holds the gold medal won in the womens version of the competition by Andreea Ana, in the 55-kilogram category. Reason enough for Radio Romania International to designate Andreea Ana the Athlete of the week.

Andreea Anas trail at the European championships was indeed blazing; in the quarterfinals, Andreea overpowered Germanys Anastasia Blayvas, 4-nil. Then in the semifinals, Ana defeated Mariana Drăguţan of the Republic of Moldova, 6-nil. Andreea Anas confrontation in the final was literally dramatic, since the Romanian grabbed a hard-fought 7-5 win against Ukrainian challenger Oleksandra Khomenets. Ana secured her win with a last-gasp attack against her opponent a couple of seconds from time. Also in the womens version of the competition, Alina Vuc and Kriszta Incze won bronze in the 50 and the 65-kilogram category, respectively. In the mens version of the championships, in the Greek-Roman style, Nicu Ojog won silver, in the 87-kilogram category.

Andreea Beatrice Ana was born on November 14, 2000 in the town of Mangalia, in the south-east. In 2018, Andreea won the bronze medal in the World U-23 Championships in Bucharest. In 2019, Andreea Ana walked away with bronze in the European Seniors Championships, also hosted by the Romanian capital city Bucharest. We recall that in Warsaw, in 2021, Andreea also won silver. As a member of the Romanian delegation at the Tokyo Olympics, Andreea Ana came in 16th. Then an all-gold record followed, for Ana, at the World U-23 Championships in Belgrade and the European U-23 Championships in Plovdiv, but also at the European Seniors Championships in Budapest. Andreea Anas most recent gold medal is an absolute first in the history of Romanian womens wrestling.

(EN)

5 April 2022
March 8, 2022

COVID-19 Today is the last day
of the COVID-19 state of alert in Romania. The epidemic sees a declining trend
across the country, with the 5th wave of the pandemic close to the
end, president Klaus Iohannis said last week. Romania was on alert for nearly 2
years, beginning on May 15, 2020. Five pandemic waves hit the country during
this period, triggering protection measures, some of which will be lifted once
the state of alert has come to an end. Over these 2 years, says the Strategic
Communication Group, some 64,000 SARS-CoV-2 patients died in Romania. By
Monday, the country had seen roughly 2.78 million infection cases. The number
of new cases reported on Tuesday for the past 24 hours is around 5,500, with 101 related fatalities also
registered, 4 of them from a previous date.

UKRAINE Russia
has sent to Ukraine most of the forces it had deployed along the borders, with
a majority of the 150,000 Russian troops currently on Ukrainian territory, the
Pentagon says. On Tuesday, the 13th day of war, the Russian
offensive focuses on the capital Kyiv in the north and in the south, where
Moscow seeks control over the Black Sea and Sea of Azov coasts. Russian ships
have changed position and are preparing a rocket attack on Odessa, Radio
Romania’s correspondent in the region reports, and mentions that local
authorities continue to urge citizens to leave the city, which is believed to
be a strategic target for the Russian invasion. Meanwhile, a new ceasefire
attempt has been announced for this morning, to enable civilians to leave
several cities that are under attack, including the capital Kyiv, where a
Russian attack is expected in the coming days. President Zelensky accused the
Russian army of preventing the evacuation of civilians, while the West
described Russia’s offer to secure humanitarian corridors only to Belarus and
Russia as cynical. Adjusting the corridors and their logistics was announced
last night, after the 3rd round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in
Belarus. Fresh talks are planned for the coming days, without an exact date
announced as yet. On Thursday, a meeting is scheduled in Antalya, Turkey, between
the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers, also attended by Turkey’s
diplomacy chief and mediated by the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The
UN has also called for corridors in the Ukrainian battle zones, to deliver aid
to the civilians struggling with substantial shortages.

REFUGEES Nearly 30,000 Ukrainian nationals entered Romania in
the past 24 hours, according to the Romanian border police. Since the start of
the crisis a total of around 300,000 Ukrainian citizens have entered Romania.
Bucharest approved on Monday a new set of measures to support the refugees
coming from the neighbouring country, both children and adults, whose rights
the Romanian government will fully observe. The Ukrainian children in Romania
will have access to education at the same standards as Romanian children, the
elderly and the disabled will be able to request social services, and people
seeking a job here will be able to get employed.

RESOURCES The price of all raw materials has soared
around the world since the start of the war in Ukraine and in the context of
the sanctions against Russia. The most substantial price rises were reported
for natural gas, wheat, oil and uranium. Romania will have no natural gas
shortages if Russian imports are cut, and stocks will be restored this spring,
the authorities say. The energy minister Virgil Popescu says Romania has
alternative sources. According to analysts, Romania should begin storing
natural gas as soon as possible, and it should also move to increase the local
output.

STEEL The Târgovişte Special Steel Works in southern Romania
has been taken over by the Italian group Beltrame, one of the world’s leaders
in steel flat bars, local authorities have announced. According to the
investor, apart from revamping the plant, this year 200 new jobs will be
created, followed by another 1,000 in the next 5 years. The steel works,
privatised in 2002, was held by the Russian group Mechel, but was declared
bankrupt last year.

WOMEN
The rights of women and girls have been subject to alarming pressures over the
past year, Amnesty International warns. Events in 2021 and in the early months
of 2022 have conspired to crush the rights and dignity of millions of women and
girls, said Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callamard. In a
statement posted on International Women’s Day, Callamard pointed out that the
COVID-19 pandemic and the rollback on women’s rights in Afghanistan were among
the developments that had a disproportionate impact on the rights of women and
girls. She also listed in this respect the widespread sexual violence
characterizing the conflict in Ethiopia, attacks on abortion access in the US
and Turkey’s withdrawal from the landmark Istanbul Convention on Gender Based
Violence,” and called on governments to revoke the decisions that have
worsened the situation of women and girls. (A.M.P.)

8 March 2022
March 1, 2022 UPDATE

UKRAINE The European Parliament, which convened
on Tuesday in a special session devoted to the situation in Ukraine, endorsed a
resolution ‘inviting the EU institutions to take action in order to grant
Ukraine the status of candidate to joining the EU. The resolution firmly
condemns the illegal invasion of Ukraine and calls on Moscow to cease all its
military actions in Ukraine. The MEPs have reminded Russia its international
obligations and caution against the danger of nuclear escalation. Ukrainian
president Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called on the European Union to prove
that it is on Ukraine’s side in this war against Russia, a day after the
country had officially applied for joining the bloc. According to Zelensky,
Ukraine fights to be a fully-fledged member in Europe. The president of the
European Council, Charles Michel says the Union will have to seriously analyze
Ukraine’s application. ‘It is not only Ukraine that is under attack.
International law, rules-based international order, democracy and human dignity
are also under attack. This is geopolitical terrorism, pure and simple’, the EU
official went on to say. NATO’s
Chief Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia on Tuesday to end the war in Ukraine
and withdraw all its forces. The NATO official has also said that the alliance
will not send troops or jet fighters to support Ukraine, as it doesn’t want to
become part of the conflict. The G7 finance ministers on Tuesday tackled fresh
sanctions against Russia, which is already under a series of measures seriously
affecting its economy. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Russia isn’t
occupying Ukraine, but the West is using the Ukrainian people against Moscow. The
Russian army on Tuesday carried on its actions against Ukraine’s main cities,
Kiev, Kharkiv and Mariupol.

COVID-19
Romania on Tuesday reported almost 8,500 new Covid infections and 164 related
fatalities, including four from an earlier date. The incidence rate in Bucharest dropped to 22
cases per 1,000 inhabitants, while fewer than 1,000 Covid patients are in
intensive care around the country. The vaccine uptake is still low, with only
4,500 people receiving the vaccine in the last 24 hours. The health ministry
has proposed lifting a series of restrictions, following a constant drop in all
relevant indicators, health minister Alexandru Rafila said on Tuesday.

DRILL Almost 900 Romanian and American soldiers and over 70 pieces
of military hardware will be training together between 2nd and 10th
March at the Secondary Combat Training Centre for Romanian Land Forces in
Smârdan, in the south-east of Romania, as part of the Justice Eagle 22.1
exercise. The drill is based on an imaginary scenario adjusted for possible
operational threats and it involves T-55 tanks, the TAB-77 wheeled amphibious
armoured personnel carriers, Bradley armoured fighting vehicles and Stryker
infantry carrier vehicles, the Romanian defence ministry said in a statement.
The Justice Eagle multinational exercise is held annually in Romania and is
designed to increase interoperability among NATO forces and maintain the
ability to deploy and train together. The US military participating in the
exercise form part of the detachments deployed in Romania as part of measures
to strengthen tallies posture on the entire NATO eastern flank.

CSAT Speaking before the country’s Higher Defence
Council on Tuesday, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis again condemned Russia’s
brutal attack against Ukraine, a sovereign and independent state. Iohannis said
the we cannot accept for the map of Europe to be redrawn through violence.
According to the Romanian official, Russia’s aggression has caused an
unprecedented reaction of solidarity and Romania’s EU and NATO membership, as
well as its strategic partnership with the USA have been the country’s main
achievements in the past 30 years. Iohannis says that Romania needs to increase
its defence capabilities and for this reason 2.5 % of the country’s GDP will be
earmarked to defence.

(bill)

1 March 2022
Reactions to Russia’s attack on Ukraine

Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis has firmly condemned Russia’s armed aggression against
Ukraine. This act, which follows the illegal recognition by the Russian
Federation of the self-proclaimed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in
Ukraine, is a blatant infringement of international laws, mainly of the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the prohibition of the
use of force in international relations’ – the head of the Romanian state says.

Romania
has thus joined the international community of democratic states, firmly
rejecting such an irresponsible act, which is undermining the foundation of the
international relations and law.
Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has also condemned the Russian
Federation’s decision to invade the territory of Ukraine, which he describes as
‘an illegal act of aggression’ and has stated the solidarity of the Executive
in Bucharest with the Ukrainian government. He reiterates the fact that Romania
enjoys all the guarantees of security and solidarity entailed by its NATO
membership, advising the Romanian citizens to stay calm.

All
Parliament parties in Bucharest, both in the government coalition PSD-PNL-UDMR
as well as in opposition such as USR and AUR have condemned the military
aggression in Ukraine. According to the country’s minister of defence Vasile
Dincu, Romania is prepared to receive over 500 thousand refugees from Ukraine.
There is a plan in this respect in all major cities at the border, the
minister says. Romania’s borders with Ukraine stretch over 600 kilometers and
the Romanian community in that country accounts for over 400 thousand people, most
of them in North Bukovina, northern and southern Bessarabia and the Hertza
Land, Romanian territories annexed by Stalin in 1940 and taken over by Ukraine
in 1991, after the dismantling of the USSR.

The
governments in the entire civilized world have reacted with indignation towards
the new war triggered by what the Western leaders called the megalomania of the
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. NATO
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has described it a
reckless and unprovoked attack, which puts at risk countless civilian lives.

The US
and European partners of Ukraine have denounced the new Russian aggression and
have reiterated their support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Ukraine.

(bill)

24 February 2022
September 3, 2021

Dismissal – The Romanian PM, the Liberal Florin Cîţu, on Friday convened a meeting of the governing coalition in order to solve the current political crisis generated by the dismissal of the justice minister, Stelian Ion representing the USR-PLUS Alliance. USR PLUS are asking for the resignation of the prime minister and his replacement with another representative of the Liberals, warning that, otherwise, they will table a censure motion. The Liberals who support Florin Cîţu believe that the solution for overcoming the political crisis is a new proposal from USR PLUS for the Justice Ministry. The representatives of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania – UDMR (in the governing coalition) consider that, at this moment, there is no alternative to this coalition and hope that a solution will be reached through which the current governmental formula will remain in place. On the other hand, the “Anghel Saligny” Investment Program, which is supposed to have triggered the current crisis in the ruling coalition, will be again on the table of the government on Friday and will be discussed in a meeting which is not going to be attended by the USR PLUS ministers. The interim justice minister, the Liberal Lucian Bode, announced last night that he would approve the project, unlike his predecessor, Stelian Ion. The “Anghel Saligny” program is intended for the local infrastructure and would have a funding of 50 billion lei (about 10 billion Euros).

Forum – Romania remains a pillar of stability in the Black Sea and Western Balkans region, and one of the priorities is to defend common strategic interests, President Klaus Iohannis said in a message in the opening of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum hosted by Bucharest. The head of state said that “during all this difficult period, Romanias efforts to support its partners in the region are a concrete proof of the fact that only through unity and solidarity crisis situations can be overcome and the best solutions can be found to be able to move forward”. The 5^thedition of the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum takes place on Friday and Saturday in Bucharest, the Romanian Defense Ministry reports. The forum is organized by the New Strategy Center (NSC), with the support of NATOs Public Diplomacy Division, in partnership with the Defense and Foreign Ministries. NSC is a Romanian think tank founded in 2015, which operates in the field of international relations, security and defense. It organizes various events and publishes specialized studies, especially to promote the strategic importance of the Black Sea region and the Balkans.

COVID-19 Ro–While interest for vaccination is dropping in Romania, the number of new Covid-19 cases in on the rise. 1,470 new cases were reported on Thursday and 26 Covid-associated deaths. Also on Thursday the authorities announced that almost 11 thousand people have got vaccinated. The coordinator of the national vaccination campaign, doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă said that people should understand that vaccination provides protection to the immunized people and reduces the pressure on the health system. On the other hand, Valeriu Gheorghiţă warns that those who buy vaccination certificates do nothing but waste money and take the risk of getting sick, being hospitalized and even losing their lives. He called for drastic sanctions against these acts and urged doctors who receive such requests to address the authorities. 400 people are being investigated in approximately 200 criminal cases related to false vaccination certificates.

List – In Bucharest, the National Committee for Emergency Situations has updated the list of countries with an epidemiological risk for visitors. Spain moves out of the red list and enters the yellow list, while Austria moves from the green list to the yellow one, following the increase in the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate. Israel, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey and Portugal remain in the red zone, and the Netherlands and Bulgaria remain on the yellow list. The new list takes effect on Sunday.

Football – The Romanian national football team defeated, on Thursday evening, in Reykjavik, the national team of Iceland, in a match from the 2022 World Championship preliminaries. The next matches of the national team will be on September 5, with Liechtenstein in Bucharest, and on September 8, with Northern Macedonia in Skopje. Romania ranks 4^th in the 2022 World Cup qualification Group J, with 6 points, being outranked by Armenia, with 10 points, Germany, with 9 points and Northern Macedonia, with 7 points. The first-ranked team is directly qualified, and the second goes to the playoffs.

Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, seed no. 12, today meets Elena Ribakina from Kazakhstan, in the third round of the US Open tournament, the last Grand Slam of the year. Halep remained the only representative of Romania in the singles competitions. Sorana Cirstea lost, yesterday, in the second round, to the American Shelby Rogers.

Enescu – The George Enescu International Festival continues today, at the Romanian Athenaeum, with a concert given by the Royal Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Constantin Grigore. Also today, the Palace Hall in Bucharest will host a new concert by the La Scala Theater Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, featuring violinist Julian Rachlin. Friday’s program also includes a concert in Bacău, by the Mihail Jora Philharmonic Orchestra there, under the baton of Jessica Cottis. In Cluj-Napoca, pianist Yeon-Min Park and violinist Valentin Șerban, both winners of the 2020/2021 George Enescu International Competition will give a recital. 32 orchestras from 14 countries are participating in the 2021 anniversary edition of the “George Enescu” International Festival.

Attack – Six people were injured at a supermarket in Auckland, New Zealand, after an attack with a knife committed by an extremist who was already in the attention of the police. The attacker was a Sri Lankan citizen who had been living in New Zealand for ten years and was shot dead by the police. The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the attacker was a “violent extremist” and described the incident as a “terrorist attack”. The man was allegedly inspired by attacks by the Islamic State jihadist group. Tough restrictions against COVID-19 are in place in Auckland, with only supermarkets and medical centers being open. In May, four people were stabbed in a supermarket in Dunedin, in the south of New Zealand. In March 2019, 51 people were killed in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch by a supporter of the white supremacy. (LS)

3 September 2021