Radio România Internațional

Tag: donors’ conference

  • May 5, 2022 UPDATE

    May 5, 2022 UPDATE

    Conference — Thursday’s international donors conference held in Warsaw to raise funds to help Ukraine managed to gather more than 6 billion Euros, the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said. The online event was also attended by the Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, who presented a new humanitarian assistance package of Romania worth 3.2 million Euros. Nicolae Ciuca reiterated Bucharests multidimensional support for Kyiv: political and diplomatic, humanitarian and refugee assistance, and economic. Nicolae Ciuca said that Romania was ready to participate in the reconstruction process of Ukraine and reiterated his support for the European path of Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. More than 8,000 Ukrainian citizens entered neighboring Romania on Wednesday. Almost 860,000 Ukrainians have crossed the Romanian border since the invasion of Russian troops, most of them transiting to other countries.



    Ukraine — The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday announced the launch of an online crowdfunding platform to help his country fight Russian invaders and rebuild the country’s infrastructure. The platform is called United24, and all funds will be transferred to the National Bank of Ukraine and allocated to the relevant ministries. Zelenski promised that reports on the distribution of donations would be published every 24 hours. “Only together can we stop the war that Russia has started and rebuild what Russia has destroyed. Together we can help freedom overcome tyranny,” Volodymyr Zelensky said. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its army had simulated a nuclear missile launch in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, located between Poland and Lithuania, both members of the European Union and NATO. According to the source, the combat units also carried out “operations in conditions of radiation and chemical contamination”. Russia has placed its nuclear forces on high alert shortly after invading Ukraine on February 24.



    EP — The European Parliament on Thursday approved a resolution calling that the Republic of Moldova should receive the status of a candidate country for EU accession. According to Radio Chisinau, the MEPs appreciated the efforts made by the authorities, and also by Moldovan citizens, while emphasizing the risks which Moldova is running due to the war in Ukraine. The Commission is invited to rapidly complete its assessment and to provide full assistance to Chisinau during the accession process. The European Parliament also calls for a clear and strong political signal to be given at the European Council meeting due in June in relation to the European path chosen by the Republic of Moldova. The European Union has a duty to support the Republic of Moldova, the European Council President Charles Michel said in Chisinau on Wednesday. He said that Brussels was considering additional military support for the Moldovan authorities, which will add to the assistance in the areas of logistics and cyber defense which the Union has already agreed on. At the US State Department, spokesman Ned Price reassured Moldova, a neighbor of Romania and Ukraine, that the US is firm in relation to its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.



    Sanctions – The sixth package of European sanctions against Russia targets senior officials and the military, the banking sector, the media and, for the first time, imposes an embargo on oil imports. The European Commission President Ursula von der Lyen has warned that it will not be easy for Europe without Russian oil, especially as some member states are 100% dependent. Therefore, the package includes exceptions and transitional measures for these countries.



    Meeting — The Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu received Garry Kasparov, president of the Human Rights Foundation, a former world chess champion and human rights activist in Bucharest on Thursday. According to a Romanian Foreign Ministry communiqué, the talks took place “in the context of Russias military aggression and illegal, unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine and of the need to counteract the invasion’s profoundly negative effects at the security, economic and humanitarian levels”. Minister Bogdan Aurescu has once again condemned, “in the strongest terms”, the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine and made a presentation of the humanitarian support provided by Bucharest to the neighboring state and to the Ukrainian refugees in Romania. In turn, Garry Kasparov presented a series of assessments of Russias internal situation and possible developments in the war started by Moscow war. He highlighted the need to strengthen support for Ukraine by the entire international community in order to resist aggression. (LS)

  • February 5, 2016

    February 5, 2016

    5 people have died and around 30 have been wounded in a serious car accident that occurred this morning on a national road in the south east of Romania, 60 kms away from Bucharest. A coach transporting 33 people hit from the back a tipper truck carrying sand. No braking traces have been identified at the accident site. The authorities are considering several scenarios among which technical problems or the likelihood of the bus driver falling asleep. A code red intervention plan has been activated, including the mobilization of human and material resources of all institutions with intervention attributes.



    The Romanian Defense Minister, Mihnea Motoc, met Friday with the French Defense Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, on the sidelines of the informal meeting of the EU defense ministers hosted by Amsterdam. The talks focused on security issues as well as on cooperation as part of international organizations, shows a press release of the Romanian Defense Ministry. Minister Motoc highlighted the importance of maintaining the cohesion and unity of the North Atlantic Alliance and the need to carry on with the process of adapting the organization to the new security environment, stressing the necessity of consolidating the NATO presence on the eastern flank and the Black Sea, the Romanian Defense Ministry shows. Amsterdam hosts on Friday a meeting of the European defense and foreign ministers. Informal talks are taking place for the revision of the European Strategy on foreign and security policy. Romania is represented by the Foreign Minister, Lazar Comanescu.



    Spain has confirmed that a pregnant woman has been diagnosed with the Zika virus, this being the first case reported in Europe. The Spanish Health Ministry says the woman has recently returned from a trip to Columbia where she is supposed to have been contaminated. The World Health Organization set up in early February a Global Response Unit to coordinate the actions meant to fight the propagation of the Zika virus. The measure was taken following the sudden increase in cases of microcephaly and other neurological disorders registered in Brazil, a country that has confirmed more than 400 cases of new born babies suffering of microcephaly, most likely caused by the Zika virus. The WHO has declared the virus, which continues to spread across the two Americas, a global public, medical emergency.



    Friday saw the drawing of lots for the single matches to be played by Romania and the Czech Republic as part of the Fed Cup, to take place on Saturday and Sunday in Cluj (in the north west of Romania). The match counts for the World Group 1st round. The first match will be pitting Simona Halep (3rd in the WTA classification) and Karolina Pliskova (13th in the WTA ranking). The Czech Republic is also represented by Petra Kvitova (9th in the WTA ranking), Barbora Strycova (41st WTA seed) and Denisa Allertova (59th WTA seed). In the absence of Alexandra Dulgheru(61st in the WTA ranking) and Irina Begu (31st) who are injured, Romania’s team is made up of Simona Halep, Monica Niculescu (WTA 40th seed), Andreea Mitu (96th in the WTA) and Raluca Olaru (45th in the WTA, doubles). The Czech team has been the best team of the past years at the Fed Cup, wining 9 titles including in 2015.



    The UN mediator for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, will explain today to the ambassadors of the 15 members of the UN Security Council his decision to suspend the peace negotiations in Geneva. Staffan de Mistura, who has been mediating since Monday the negotiations between the regime in Damascus and the Syrian opposition, announced Wednesday a 3-week break in the negotiations, which are meant to work out a political solution to the crisis. No date has been advanced for the resumption of negotiations in the context in which the Syrian opposition representatives announced they would not negotiate unless the regime in Damascus ended bombardments in the civilian areas and started releasing the prisoners. In another development, donations for Syria worth 11 billion dollars were gathered in London, on Thursday, at an international donor’s conference. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • February 4, 2016 UPDATE

    February 4, 2016 UPDATE

    Romania’s economic growth is to reach a peak rate of 4.2% in 2016 while in 2017 it will drop to 3.7%, show the winter economic forecasts made public on Thursday by the European Commission. In autumn the EC forecast a growth rate of 4.1% in 2016 and of 3.6% in 2017. According to estimates the engine behind economic growth remains internal demand while the net contribution of exports remains negative. Also the reduction of the VAT from 24% to 20% in January and the increase in the minimum wages in May will boost consumption and push economic growth to 4.2% in 2016. The World Bank has also improved forecasts for the Romanian economy in 2016. According to them the economic growth rate in 2016 will increase by 3.9% and up to 4.1% in 2017.



    The head of the Romanian presidential chancellery, Dan Mihalache, and Romanian Ambassador to the US, George Cristian Maior, met on Wednesday James Townsend, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for NATO and Europe. They saluted the plan issued by the US presidency to boost fourfold the budget for defending Europe in 2017. Romanian officials believe that this is a reflection of ongoing efforts to discourage eastern threats by bolstering alliance security.



    The Romanian Defense Minister, Mihnea Motoc, takes part on Thursday and Friday in the informal meeting of defense ministers of EU countries, to discuss major points on the defense and security agenda. The Ministry of Defense in Bucharest said that the meeting would emphasize cooperation in running defense missions and operations. Taking part in the talks are also the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Alexander Vershbow, and the UN under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, Herve Ladsous.



    In Bucharest, the National Center for Communicable Disease Monitoring and Control announced that a 38 year-old man has died from swine flu in Bucharest. This is the first fatal swine flu case this year. The victim had not received any flu shots, and died of complications due to various other conditions. The National Health Ministry published data according to which 72 patients with flu have been confirmed within the last week alone. So far, 563,000 people have been vaccinated. Swine flu has killed over 150 people in Ukraine so far.



    The British PM, David Cameron, said Thursday in London, at the end of the international donors’ conference that the countries and organizations attending the conference pledged to contribute almost 11 billion dollars by 2020 to aid the victims of the Syrian war. The EU has pledged to contribute more than 3 billion euros in 2016 to support Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. These are countries affected by the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian civil war. The US promised 890 million dollars worth of aid for Syria and its neighbors in 2016. Germany will provide help worth 2.3 billion euros in the next 3 years of which 1.1 billion in 2016, while Great Britain promised to contribute 1.7 billion dollars. The conference in London takes place against the backdrop of accusations made by the US and France according to which Russia and the regime in Damascus, supported by Moscow, undermine the peace process through the offensive launched in the Aleppo area in northern Syria. In another development, the negotiations in Geneva between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition, mediated by the UN envoy Staffan de Mistura, have been suspended. The opposition representatives say they will not negotiate unless the government in Damascus puts an end to bombardments in the civilian areas and releases prisoners. Started in March 2011 through peaceful manifestations against the Bashar al-Assad regime, the Syrian conflict has so far killed more than 260,000 people and has caused a major humanitarian crisis in Syria, as many as 13.5 million people having become vulnerable or forced into exodus.



    UNESCO holds Friday in Paris an international conference devoted to increasing security measures for journalists worldwide. On Thursday, in Brussels, the International Federation of Journalists published its annual report which shows that almost 2,300 journalists and media professionals have been killed since 1990 all over the world, of whom 112 in 2015 alone. After the terrorist attack on the headquarters of the satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo, France has the biggest number of journalists killed in 2015, namely 10, alongside Iraq and Yemen, according to an International Federation of Journalists classification. The most devastating year for media professionals remains 2006, when 155 journalists were killed, the report shows. The most dangerous countries for practicing the profession of journalist in the past 25 years have been Iraq, the Philippines, Pakistan, Russia, Algeria, India, Somalia, Syria and Brazil. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)