Radio România Internațional

Tag: Australia

  • February 15, 2025 UPDATE

    February 15, 2025 UPDATE

    MOTION The opposition SOS Romania has announced it will table a censure motion against the government led by Social-Democrat Marcel Ciolacu, a document also assumed by the opposition AUR MPs and signed by 125 MPs. The opposition USR MPs say they will announce whether they support or not the move. In turn, the ruling coalition has given assurances the motion stands no chances to get endorsed. No PSD MP will say yes to the censure motion against the Ciolacu government says the vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies, Social Democrat Daniel Suciu. He says the move initiated by the opposition would jeopardize the country’s stability. The PNL interim president, Catalin Predoiu, says that the Liberals will defend the government through their vote. Also on Monday, Education Minister, Daniel David, is expected to attend the ‘Government Hour’ hosted by the Chamber of Deputies, upon an AUR request. The AUR MPs are criticizing the measures proposed by the minister on the elimination of the compulsory studying of geography and history by high-school students. AUR has called for keeping the aforementioned subjects in the school programme so that they may contribute to the education of the new generations.

     

    DNA Romanian prosecutors have placed the head of the Joint Logistic Command of the Romanian Army, General Catalin Stefanita Zisu, under legal control on bail for abuse of office with aggravating consequences – according to sources withy the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, known in Romania as DNA. The bail in Zisu’s case stands at 200 thousand Euros, which he must make available in seven days. Retired colonel Lucian Amoraritei has also been charged on several counts, such as forgery, use of forgery and abuse of office. Businessman Ionel Olteanu is also involved with the case. According to prosecutors, between 2022-2023, the two army officers approved the settlements of the invoices issued, although they knew that part of the works at the Ghencea Military Cemetery in Bucharest had not been done. The prejudice they caused was estimated at roughly 12 million lei.

     

    TALKS The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed at the Security Conference in Munich on Saturday that talks are underway with the USA over raw materials exchanges for Washington’s support in countering the Russian invasion. The US president Donald Trump has repeatedly said the US wants access to Ukraine’s vast resources of rare earths and other critical minerals, underlining that the USA should get something in exchange for its military support. At the Security Conference in Munich, Romania is being represented by its Foreign Minister, Emil Hurezeanu. According to a communiqué issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest, Minister Hurezeanu will be presenting Romania’s assessments of the present regional challenges, such as the deterioration of the security situation in the Black Sea area and the implications of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. The Romanian official is also going to underline the danger of the hybrid actions taken by the Russian Federation and the importance of countering suchlike activities. The head of the Bucharest diplomacy will be pleading for the continued solid support aimed at increasing the resilience of the ex-soviet, Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova. During the same conference on Friday, the new vice-president of the United States, Republican JD Vance lashed out at the European leaders, whom he compared with the autocrats who headed the repressive regimes in Europe during the Cold War. He voiced concern over Europe, which he said is retreating from its fundamental values and gave several examples of repressive measures, including the cancellation of the presidential election in Romania late last year.

     

    RUGBY Romania’s national rugby side on Saturday conceded defeat to Portugal, 34-6, in their last match in Group B of Rugby Europe Championships 2025. Both sides have already qualified for World Cup 2027 in Australia after their wins this month in Rugby Europe Championships. The Romanians secured a 48-10 home win against Germany and an away win against Belgium, 31-14. Romania failed to qualify only in one |World Cup edition, namely in 2019, when it was disqualified due to an error of the Romanian rugby Federation, which included in its lineup an ineligible player.

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  • December 27, 2024 UPDATE

    December 27, 2024 UPDATE

    Crime report – Romania is among the states with the lowest level of crime, offering a more favorable situation from this point of view than many Western European countries, shows a press release from the Romanian Interior Ministry, based on the reports of the US Department of State and the European Commission. According to them, Romania is recognized as a very safe country for citizens and tourists. In the ‘Report for American citizens traveling abroad’, Romania is indicated as having a low and very low risk of crime. In recent years, Romania has recorded figures below the European and international average for crimes such as robberies, thefts and other acts committed with violence, the press release also shows.

     

    Survey – More than a quarter of Romanians (27%) are pessimistic about the year 2025, the rate increasing by 8% compared to last year, according to the latest survey conducted by Reveal Marketing Research. Also, 45% of Romanians have neither an optimistic nor a pessimistic perspective, this attitude highlighting the uncertainty they feel about the future. On the other hand, 28% declare that they look optimistically towards the coming year, the share being higher, 33%, among those with incomes over 6,000 lei (the equivalent of 1,200 Euros). The pessimism of Romanians reaches high levels in relation to the prospects of the country’s evolution in the next year. Reducing corruption (54%), reducing inflation (51%) and improving the economic situation (47%) are considered difficult objectives to achieve in the next 12 months.

     

    Tennis – The Romanian tennis players Ana Bogdan and Anca Todoni debuted with victories, on Friday, in the qualifiers of the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane (Australia), with total prizes up for grabs worth 1,520,600 US dollars, which marks the beginning of the new competitive season. Ana Bogdan (32 years old, 114 WTA) passed the Australian Arina Rodionova (35 years old, 164 WTA) in the first preliminary round, 6-1, 6-2, after 64 minutes. Anca Todoni (20 years old, 118 WTA) won just as easily against the Swedish Mirjam Bjorklund (26 years old, 770 WTA), 6-1, 6-2, in 68 minutes. Ana Bogdan will face the Colombian Emiliana Arango (24 years, 169 WTA) in the decisive match for accessing the main singles draw, and Anca Todoni will meet the Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (30 years, 110 WTA).

     

    Plane crash – The Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu sent a message of condolences on Friday following the plane crash reported in Kazakhstan, an aircraft of the Azerbaijan Airlines company crashing near Aktau, a port on the Caspian Sea (west of Kazakhstan). “The Romanian government stands in solidarity with the Azerbaijani people. We are sending our condolences to the families of the victims of the tragic plane crash and we wish a speedy recovery to all those injured,” the prime minister wrote on a social network. With 67 people on board, the aircraft was on a flight from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Groznyy, the capital of the Caucasian republic of Chechnya in Russia, on Wednesday. The plane crashed and caught fire, and 38 of the passengers died. On Friday, the airline announced that the aircraft had suffered ‘external physical and technical interference’ and that it was suspending flights to several Russian cities, especially in the Caucasus. (LS)