WAR IN UKRAINE – The USA will send
ammo and military vehicle to Ukraine as part of a new assistance package worth
725 million USD, meant to help Kyiv fend off the Russian invasion, the US
Department of Defense has announced. Saudi Arabia will also send to Ukraine
humanitarian aid worth 400 million USD. Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman told
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that his country is willing to
continue its efforts to mediate a truce between Kyiv and Moscow. On the ground,
Ukrainian investigators have exhumed Ukrainian military buried in one of the
two mass graves discovered in the wake of the Russian withdrawal from Lyman,
eastern Donetsk. Meanwhile, a power plant in Belgorod, Russia caught fire in
what the regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has described as a Ukrainian
attack.
REFUGEES – According to the
Romanian Border Police Inspectorate, some 96 thousand people entered Romania,
of whom 8,800 were Ukrainian nationals, representing a 7% increase compared to
the previous day. According to a press release published on Saturday, some 2.5
million Ukrainians have entered Romania starting February 10. Most of them were
in route to countries in Western Europe. According to the Interior Ministry,
over 4,300 Ukrainians were given asylum in Romania, thus benefiting from every
right under the Romanian law. Some 70,000 Ukrainians have obtained stay permits
and benefit from temporary protection.
COVID-19 – 478 new cases of
SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported in the last 24 hours, 157 less compared to
the previous day, the Romanian Health Ministry announced on Saturday. Most new
infections were reported in Bucharest, Brașov and Timiș counties. Some 3.2
million cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Romania since the pandemic
broke out.
VACCINES – The European
Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has confirmed it is conducting an
investigation into the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines in the European Union.
In a post on Facebook, the EPPO stated no further details will be made public
at this stage. The Social-Democratic Party (PSD) claims the EPPO should also
investigation Romania’s own vaccine acquisition campaign carried out in 2021,
which the party says resulted in a prejudice of 1 billion EUR. PSD says USR
Health Ministers in charge of the campaign are yet to provide a relevant
explanation to justify the acquisition.
NICOLESCO – Countless
celebrities in Romania mourn the death of soprano Mariana Nicolesco, who passed
away on Friday aged 73. Also known as Regina del Belcanto, Primadonna Assoluta
or Diva Divina, Mariana Nicolesco leaves behind a universe that she expanded
throughout her career, musicologists say. Mariana Nicolesco was an honorary
member of the Romanian Academy, Doctor Honoris Causa and honorary professor of
several universities in Romania and neighboring Moldova. She is the recipient
of numerous distinctions and awards, including Commander of the Italian
Republic, Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters from France and the National
Order of the Star of Romania in the Rank of Grand Cross. According to a study,
Mariana Nicolesco featured in the largest numbers of premiers at Teatro alla
Scala in Milan. She was invited by Pope John Paul II to perform Romanian carols
as part of the Vatican Christmas Concert of 1993, broadcast live all over the
world.
EXPLOSION – At least 40 miners
were killed in an explosion at a coal mine in northwestern Turkey, according to
the latest announcement made on Saturday by Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.
Labor accidents are frequent in Turkey, where the vast economic development in
the last decade was encouraged to the detriment of safety measures,
particularly in constructions and the mining sector. In 2014, 301 people died
in Soma after an explosion caused an underground coal mine to collapse.
HANDBALL – Romania’s handball
champions CS Rapid Bucharest are today playing Buducnost Podgorica of
Montenegro in a new Champions League Group B fixture. Rapid is undefeated in
the last four matches, with three wins and one draw. On Sunday, in Group A,
Romania’s vice-champions, CSM Bucharest, will take on DHK Banik Most of the
Czech Republic at home. CSM is undefeated in the last four games, having
grabbed three wins and a draw. Bucharest is the only European capital with two
teams performing in the most important women’s European inter-club competition.
(VP)