PROGRAMME Romania has kicked off
a social programme called ‘Seaside for Everyone’, which allows tourists to find
accommodation in hotels on the Romanian Black Sea coast for prices starting
from 7 Euros per night. Representatives of the employers associations in the
field say that prices are almost 70% lower than in the summer holiday season. Over
4 thousand accommodation facilities have been made available for tourists who
can also pay with holiday vouchers. The most sought-after Black Sea resorts are
Mamaia, Eforie Nord, Neptun and Saturn. The ‘Seaside for Everyone’ programme is
presently at its 40th edition and is the only social programme in
Romania entirely supported by the business environment.
UKRAINE President of Ukraine,
Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the
Ministers of Defence from 40 countries due to convene in a virtual conference
on Monday to approve the delivery of Multiple Launch Rocket Systems to the
Ukrainian army. According to the European site Politico, the USA, which has
this weapon, is reluctant to offer it to Ukraine as it would enable the latter
to hit targets deep into the Russian territory as the missiles fitting these
systems have a range of up to 500 kilometers. Zelensky request comes against a
stepped up Russian onslaught in eastern Ukraine, the invaders’ main target
after the defeat suffered in Kyiv. The Russian troops are pressing the
Ukrainian forces mainly in Lugansk, which together with Donetsk are forming the
so-called Donbas. Clashes in Donbas have intensified after Russia managed to
take over Mariupol after a violent siege of nearly three months during which
the city was almost entirely destroyed. According to Reuters, Russia is using
aviation, artillery, tanks and rockets along the entire eastern front. In the
meantime, Polish president Andrzej Duda, is currently paying a visit to Ukraine
where he is going to speak before Parliament. According to a communiqué posted
on his site, Duda has thus become the first foreign president talking to the
Ukrainian legislature since the beginning of the war Russia started in Ukraine
on February 24th.
TOUR US president Joe
Biden has arrived in Japan, the second and last leg of his first Asian tour,
which is meant to strengthen the US’ relations with countries in Asia-Pacific. As
part of this tour Biden paid a two-day visit to South Korea where talks mainly
focused on the danger posed by North Korea’s nuclear programme. Joe Biden is to
meet Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Emperor Naruhito before attending the Quad
meeting, which brings together political leaders from the USA, Japan, India and
Australia.
DAVOS After a two
year recess caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s political and economic
elite again convenes in Davos, a forum expected to be dominated by the war in
Ukraine, AFP reports. Organisers of the renowned World Economic Forum late last
year announced that a meeting in person would be held in the mountain resort of
Davos over May 22 and 26, after several online editions caused by the pandemic.
A wide range of topics are high on the agenda, from climate changes to energy
prices and fears about a potential global food crisis, gender equality,
football and the metaverse. However, the world economic forum in Davos has become
famous for the talks held outside of its official programme. Among the most
famous events it saw along the years was the first ministerial meetings between
the South and North Korea in 1989 or the talks on Apartheid between the
president of South Africa, Frederik De Klerk and the then dissident Nelson
Mandela. This year’s edition of the Davos forum is expected to bring together
roughly 25 hundred participants, including numerous company directors and over
50 heads of state and government.
TENNIS Two Romanian tennis players, Sorana Cirstea and Gabriela Ruse are today
playing in the first day of the grand slam tournament Roland Garros. Cirstea
will be playing Tatjana Maria of Germany, while Ruse will be up against Elise
Mertens of Belgium. In the tournament’s first round, 19th-seeded
Simona Halep and Roland Garros champion in 2018 will be up against Nastasja
Schunk of Germany. Seven Romanians are on the tournament’s main board. Besides
the already mentioned two, these are Irina Begu, Ana Bogdan, Irina Bara and
Mihaela Buzarnescu who came as ‘lucky loser’ after the qualifying match she
lost on Friday.
(bill)