Radio România Internațional

Tag: Mariupol

  • August 9, 2022

    August 9, 2022

    BANK Romania’s Central Bank (BNR) has changed its
    inflation forecast for the end of this year to 13% and also estimates an
    inflation rate of 7.5% for the end of next year, shows a report presented today
    by the bank’s governor Mugur Isarescu. In May 2022, the bank forecast an
    inflation rate of 12.5% for this year and 6.7% for 2023. According to the National
    Institute for Statistics, the annual inflation rate stood at 15.1% in June this
    year from 14.5% the previous month. Last Friday, the bank’s board of directors
    decided to increase the policy interest rate to 5.5% a year from 4.75% starting
    August 8.








    TRADE Romania’s trade deficit went up to 15.44 billion
    euros in the first six months of the year, 4.74 billion higher than in the
    similar period last year, a report released by the National Institute for Statistics
    on Tuesday shows. According to the same sources, exports rose by 24% while imports
    went up by 28,5%. Romania’s exports and imports mainly consisted of machinery,
    transport equipment and other manufactured products.










    DROUGHT Roughly 243 thousand hectares of farmland in 30 Romanian counties have
    been affected by drought, the latest data released by the Ministry of
    Agriculture and Rural Development show. The surface affected has significantly grown
    since last week with many grain crops destroyed by the scorching weather.










    FESTIVAL The ‘Anonimul’ International Festival dedicated
    to indie film productions kicked off on Monday in the Danube Delta, southern
    Romania with ‘Mariupolis 2’ the last film by Lithuanian director Mantas
    Kvedaravicius, who was captured by the Russian army and killed in the Ukrainian
    region of Mariupol. The 19th edition of the festival includes two
    contests of Romanian and international short-reels. 12 titles are vying for a
    prize in the Romanian short-reel section, whereas 10 productions are to be
    screened in the international section. Another 13 film productions are to be presented
    during the festival whose winners will be decided by the public. The event also
    includes a series of round table talks between film lovers and filmmakers.








    PLAN The EU plan on the voluntary reduction of
    natural gas demand by 15% comes into effect today. Almost half of the community
    states have already been affected by reduced gas deliveries from Russia and
    most of them started to take measures to curb consumption and store gas for the
    winter season. Authorities in Germany, a country heavily relying on gas supplies
    decided that warm water should no longer be available in public institutions,
    while wells and parts of the public lighting have been shut down in several cities.
    Doors must be closed in air conditioned rooms in France while Greece has
    announced a 640 million Euro programme for renewing windows and air-conditioning
    in state institutions. Although Romania hasn’t announced a national strategy on
    reducing gas consumption yet, authorities here have recommended that citizens avoid
    excessive gas consumption.




    (bill)

  • April 24, 2022 UPDATE

    April 24, 2022 UPDATE


    Easter. Orthodox Christians, who are the majority in Romania, and Greek Catholics celebrated the first day of Easter on Sunday. On Saturday night, more than 1 million people attended Resurrection services held all across the country, after two years of restrictions because of the pandemic. In his Easter message, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, urges believers to pray for an end to the war in Ukraine and to continue to help refugees and all those in need. He also makes an appeal for brotherly love for all Romanians, around the countrys borders and in the diaspora. High officials in Bucharest, have also sent messages of peace and solidarity with the Ukrainian people on the occasion of the Easter holidays.



    Ukraine. In a message occasioned by Orthodox Easter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that the “evil” will not be able to destroy Ukraine and prays for a good and happy life for all Ukrainian children, Reuters reports. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak stated that Russian forces kept bombarding the port city of Mariupol and urged Moscow to accept a “real Easter truce”. He also proposed a “special negotiating session to exchange soldiers” , a proposal ignored by Moscow. The United Nations also called for an “immediate” ceasefire in Mariupol on Sunday, to allow the evacuation of about 100,000 civilians still stranded in the Russian port city controlled almost entirely by the Russian military, FP reports. The city at the Azov Sea has been besieged by the Russian army since early March, and especially the Azovstal steelworks, as the last stronghold of resistance for the Ukrainian fighters.



    Refugees. Some 5,100 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania in the past 24 hours, 24% less than on the previous day. Most refugees crossed the borders with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. Since the start of the war in the neighboring country, some 800 thousand Ukrainians crossed Romanias borders.



    Bookfair. Between April 22 and 24, Romania participated in the Paris Book Fair, one of the most important events of this kind in the world. The show was held in the form of a festival, after two editions canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Romania was present with its own stand organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute, and Radio Romania News was a media partner. The stand exhibited volumes edited by publishing houses from Romania and the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, predominantly Romanian-speaking). This years guest of honor was India.



    Diaspora. The number of money transfers from the diaspora to Romania will increase by about 15% in April compared to the previous month, according to estimates by a company specializing in international money transfers. According to a study, the main reason why Romanians in the diaspora regularly send money to the country is to support their families and relatives left at home. Compared to the previous year, the company recorded a 30% increase in transfers to Romania from the Nordic countries and Germany, which indicates that many Romanians have moved in the last two years to countries with a more stable political and economic situation.



    Covid-19. The Romanian authorities announced, on Sunday, almost 500 new cases of COVID-19 in approximately 9,300 tests. The figures are slightly lower than on Saturday. The counties where the biggest figures were registered are Cluj (northwest) and Hunedoara (west). Six coronavirus-related deaths were reported in 24 hours. There are currently less than 1,200 coronavirus patients in hospitals, of whom 216 in the Intensive Care Units. We recall that since March 9, in Romania, no anti-Covid restrictions are in force.



    Security. In Romania, over 25,000 police have been mobilized for the Easter holidays. On the busiest national roads, 1,600 traffic police officers are present daily, operating with approximately 370 radar devices, the Romanian Police announced. For the monitoring of road traffic and the coordination of traffic devices, on the main roads, in the intervals when heavy traffic is expected, helicopters from the General Aviation Inspectorate will be used, depending on the atmospheric conditions and the evolution of the registered traffic values. (MI)


  • March 25, 2022 UPDATE

    March 25, 2022 UPDATE

    LOAN The Romanian government on Friday
    approved a non-reimbursable 100 million euro loan for the neighboring Republic
    of Moldova. Romania thus wants to support the authorities in Chisinau in their
    efforts to accomplish a series of development projects and reforms. In the same
    session, the Executive decided to include 50% from the net profits of two
    national companies, Romgaz and Transelectrica, into the state budget.








    MEETING Romania’s
    President Klaus Iohannis had a bilateral meeting with the German Chancellor
    Olaf Scholz on Friday on the sidelines of the European Council meeting. The two
    talked about further strengthening bilateral relations, with a focus on
    economic and energy cooperation, as well as on Romania’s accession to the
    Schengen area. ‘We continue coordination in relation to the security situation
    and the ways to help the refugees from Ukraine, Klaus Iohannis wrote on
    Twitter. Romania’s President attended the European Council meeting on Thursday
    and Friday. On the first day of the meeting, he met with the Prime Minister of
    Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov. Talks with the Bulgarian official focused on
    coordinating the security situation in the region, helping Ukrainian refugees,
    deepening economic and energy cooperation and accelerating interconnectivity
    between the two countries. On Thursday, Klaus Iohannis also attended the
    Extraordinary NATO Summit.








    REFUGEES Roughly 3.7 million people have left
    Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24th,
    says a UN report published on Friday, which also confirms that the exodus has
    slowed down of late. Over 10 million people, more than a quarter of Ukraine’s
    population have left their homes. UN estimates that around 6.5 million people have
    been relocated inside the country. Close to 90% of those who fled the country
    because of the conflict are women and children. According to the Romanian
    border police, nearly 10 thousand Ukrainian citizens entered Romania on
    Thursday. Over 537 thousand Ukrainian refugees have entered Romania since the
    beginning of the crisis.








    COVID-19 On Friday Romania reported 3,725 new Covid cases in 24
    hours as well as 41 related fatalities. 415 people are presently being treated
    in ICUs across Romania, the lowest number in the past 3 months. No anti-Covid
    restrictions have been applied in Romania in the past two weeks though the
    country’s Health Minister Alexandru Rafila has recommended the observance of
    individual protection measures.








    GROUP The United States and the European Union announced on Friday the setting up
    of a working group that will aim to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russia’s
    fossil energy resources due to Moscow’s war against Ukraine, AFP reports. The US
    is expected to supply the European Union with an additional 15 billion cubic
    meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) this year as part of an initiative
    announced by US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula
    von der Leyen. Both the NATO and G7 summits were held in the Belgian capital on
    Thursday, with the participation of US President Joe Biden. NATO has decided to
    provide additional assistance to Ukraine and continue to strengthen the eastern
    flank by sending four new multinational combat groups to Romania, Bulgaria,
    Hungary and Slovakia.






    UKRAINE The Ukrainian army’s counterattacks and the difficulties of the Russian
    forces in relation to their supply lines have allowed Ukraine to reoccupy
    cities and defensive positions up to 35 kilometers east of the capital Kyiv,
    the UK Ministry of Defense was quoted by EFE as saying on Friday. The Ukrainian
    forces are likely to continue trying to push the Russian army along the
    northwest axis between Kyiv and the Hostomel airfield, about 70 kilometers from
    the capital, according to British intelligence services which have data from
    the ground. In southern Ukraine, the Russian forces are still trying to bypass
    the city of Mikolaiv (Nikolaiev) in an effort to advance westward in the
    direction of Odessa, according to the British Ministry of Defense. However,
    their progress is slowed by logistical problems and Ukrainian resistance. The
    humanitarian situation in the besieged city of Mariupol continues to
    deteriorate, while Russia is blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid, the city
    mayor said. Most of the city is now in ruins. About 100,000 people remain
    stranded in Mariupol, and the large-scale evacuation efforts have failed. In
    another development, the peace talks between the two sides are making little
    progress in the key issues, Moscow’s Chief Negotiator Vladimir Medinski said on
    Friday. However he admitted that some headway was made in secondary issues,
    France Press Reports. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said on Friday
    that the negotiation process is very difficult and no consensus with Moscow is
    envisaged in the present stage of the negotiations.






    (bill)








  • Ukraine, dernières évolutions

    Ukraine, dernières évolutions

    Ukraine – La
    crise humanitaire dans les villes ukrainiennes assiégées par l’armée russe ne
    cesse de s’approfondir. Selon les autorités locales, la plupart de la ville de
    Marioupol a été détruite par les bombardements. On ne connaît pas le nombre
    exact des victimes, mais les estimations font état de quelque milliers de
    civils qui ont perdu la vie. Ceux qui restent n’ont pas accès à l’eau potable,
    ni aux médicaments, à l’électricité ou au chauffage. 100 000 personnes
    souhaitent quitter Marioupol, affirment les autorités de Kiev. Plusieurs
    tentatives d’ouvrir des couloirs humanitaires ont été vouées à l’échec, vu que
    le cessez-le-feu n’a pas été respecté. Les autorités ukrainiennes parlent aussi
    d’une catastrophe humanitaire à Kherson, ville conquise par les Russes qui y
    auraient imposé un blocus. Du coup, la population de cette ville ne peut plus
    être approvisionnée. Par ailleurs, les agences de presse internationales notent
    que les forces russes sont bloquées sur presque tous les fronts, certaines ont
    dû même reculer suite à différents combats, y compris près de Kiev, la
    capitale. Selon Reuters, les Russes ont quand même pu avancer dans le sud et
    l’est de l’Ukraine.

    Parallèlement, les pourparlers entre Moscou et Kiev se
    poursuivent, le président ukrainien Volodymyr Zelensky ayant affirmé que des
    progrès avaient été enregistrés. Ce mercredi il doit s’adresser au Parlement
    français, comme il l’a déjà fait devant d’autres assemblées d’élus de
    différents pays. Pour rappel, dans son message au Congrès américain, au
    Bundestag de Berlin, au Knesset israélien et au Législatif de Rome Volodymyr
    Zelensky a demandé aux hommes politiques du monde à s’impliquer pour arrêter la
    guerre qui est en train ravager son pays.

  • March 1, 2022 UPDATE

    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)

  • Nachrichten 26.01.2015

    Nachrichten 26.01.2015

    BUKAREST: Eine Delegation des Internationalen Währungsfonds kommt am Dienstag nach Rumänien, um Gespräche über die dritte Evaluierung des Stand-by Abkommens vorbeugender Art zu führen. Bis zum 10. Februar wird die IWF-Delegation mit Vertretern der rumänischen Behörden, der Privatunternehmen, der Gewerkschaften, der politischen Parteien und der Zivilgesellschaft diskutieren, teilte der Internationale Währungsfonds mit. Zu den Themen gehören das Gesetz über die Privatinsolvenz und die Krise der Kredite in Schweizer Franken, berichtet die Bukarester Wirtschaftspresse. Inzwischen haben am Sonntag ungefähr 1.500 Rumänen bei einer Demonstration von den rumänischen Behörden eine Lösung für die Krise verlangt, die durch die starke Aufwertung des Schweizer Franken gegenüber dem rumänischen Leu um mehr als 20% entstanden war. Die Demonstranten lehnten die Lösungsansätze der Geschäftsbanken ab — diese hatten vorgeschlagen, den Wechselkurs einzufrieren oder die Zinsen zu senken. Stattdessen haben sie eine Gesetzvorlage eingereicht — die Kredite sollen nach Vorstellung der Kunden in die rumänische Landeswährung zum Wechselkurs des Tages der Vertragsunterzeichnung, zuzüglich einer Differenz von 20%, umschrieben werden.



    CHISINAU: Hunderte Menschen haben am Montag in Chisinau gegen den Beschlu‎ß der Liberal-Demokraten und Demokraten in der ex-sowjetischen, mehrheitlich rumänischsprachigen Republik Moldau protestiert, auf die Koalition mit den Liberalen zu verzichten und die parlamentarische Unterstützung der russlandnahen Kommunisten zu akzeptieren. In Bukarest sagte der ehemalige Au‎ßenminister, Titus Corlatean, die zukünftige moldauische Regierung sollte keine Kompromisse machen, wenn es um die Priorität der EU-Integration geht. Rumänien habe die Republik Moldau bei ihren Bestrebungen um den EU-Beitritt immer unterstützt, so Corlatean weiter. 2014 unterzeichnete die Republik Moldau ein Assoziierungs- und Freihandelsabkommen mit der Europäischen Union. Mehr dazu nach den Nachrichten.



    ATHEN – Ein Tag nach nach dem Wahlsieg der Bündnisses SYRIZA in Griechenland ist ihr Vorsitzender Alexis Tsipras vor Präsident Karolos Papoulias als Ministerpräsident vereidigt worden. Der Syriza-Chef hatte sich zuvor mit der nationalistischen Partei der Unabhängigen Griechen (Anel) auf eine Koalition geeinigt, nachdem seine Partei am Sonntag zwar stärkste Kraft geworden war, aber mit 149 Sitzen knapp die absolute Mehrheit von 151 Mandaten verfehlt hatte. Der 40jährige Politiker hatte den Griechen bereits am Sonntagabend ein Ende der “desaströsen Sparpolitik” versprochen und Verhandlungen mit den Kreditgebern über einen Schuldenschnitt angekündigt. Er werde mit den Gläubigern eine “neue machbare Lösung” aushandeln. Entgegen Spekulationen über einen Austritt seines hochverschuldeten Landes aus der Eurozone hatte Tsipras wiederholt versichert, dass Griechenland den Euro behalten werde. Das hochverschuldete Griechenland wurde seit dem Beginn der Krise 2010 mit 240 Milliarden Euro vor dem Staatsbankrott gerettet. Im Gegenzug musste sich Athen jedoch zu schmerzhaften Reformen und Sparma‎ßnahmen verpflichten, die äu‎ßerst unpopulär sind.



    KIEW – Die ukrainische Regierung hat beschlossen, den Notstand in den Gebieten Donezk und Lugansk auszurufen, wo prorussische Kräfte eine neue Offensive gegen die ukrainischen Truppen gestartet haben. Auf dem gesamten Gebiet der Ukraine gilt zudem höchste Alarmbereitschaft. Auf Antrag der Ukraine hat die NATO am Montag vor diesem Hintergrund ein Sondertreffen der gemeinsamen Kommission auf Botschafterebene in Brüssel organisiert. Das Bündnis werde die Ukraine sowohl politisch als auch praktisch unterstützen, sagte NATO-Generalsekretär Jens Stoltenberg. Der Konflikt in der Ostukraine war am Samstag eskaliert, als ein Raketenangriff auf die Stadt Mariupol, zu dem sich die Separatisten in der Region bekannt haben, 30 Tote und rund 90 Verletzte forderte. Die EU-Au‎ßenministerin Federica Mogherini warnte Russland, dass die Eskalierung die bilateralen Verhältnisse noch mehr verschlechtern werde.



    WÄHRUNGSKURS: Die rumänische Zentralbank BNR ermittelte am Montag einen Kurs von einem Euro zu 4,48 Lei. Der Franken liegt mit 4,4840 Lei nur leicht darüber. Der amerikanische Dollar kostet 3,98 Lei, ein Gramm Gold ist 164,42 Lei wert.



    DAS WETTER: Im Süden vereinzelt Nieselregen. Es schneit im Gebirge, sowie in der Landesmitte und im Norden. Tageshöchsttemperaturen liegen zwischen plus 1 und plus 7 Grad Celsius.