Tag: NATO funds

  • October 15, 2022 UPDATE

    October 15, 2022 UPDATE

    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.




    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.




    NATO – Romania’s Foreign
    Ministry announced it has redirected unused sums of money previously allotted
    to supporting Afghan security forces to NATO funds designed to assist countries
    in the region. The total value of these funds stands at 1.4 million USD.
    Romania thus contributes to consolidating Ukraine’s resilience and defense
    capacity by earmarking up to 400 thousand USD.
    Romania will also provide 600 thousand USD to neighboring Moldova and
    300 thousand USD to Georgia, another two countries affected by the war in
    Ukraine. 100 thousand USD will be delivered to consolidating Jordan’s defenses.
    The Government took the decision in line with Romania’s foreign policy and
    security priorities, designed to increase our country’s standing at NATO level
    and achieve objectives tied to the consolidation of security and stability on
    the Alliance’s Eastern Flank, particularly in the Black Sea region.




    COMMEMORATION – Festivities were held in Alba Iulia on Saturday
    marking 100 years since the coronation of King Ferdinand I, and his wife, Queen
    Marie. Held on October 15, 1922, the coronation was a majestic event, lavishly
    described by the chronicles of the time and transparent in a large number of
    photographs. A century away, the city of Alba Iulia relived the emotion and
    grandeur of that event through various exhibitions, film screenings, historical
    reenactments, concerts and live performances attended by representatives of the
    Royal House of Romania. Ferdinand succeeded his uncle Charles I to the throne
    of Romania, becoming the second king of Romania in 1914. At the end of World
    War I, with Ferdinand as king, historical provinces inhabited by Romanians
    united under one single nation. Therefore, on October 15, 1922, Ferdinand
    became King of Greater Romania. The monarch passed away in 1927. (VP)