Radio România Internațional

Tag: Netanyahu

  • November 22, 2024

    November 22, 2024

     

    WEATHER Nearly 3-quarters of Romania’s territory is under various severe weather alerts, valid at least until tonight. A code red warning for snowstorms at altitudes of over 1,700 m is in place in several counties in the centre and south of the country. Parts of Romania’s mid-west are subject to code orange alerts for strong wind, ranging from 80 to 120 km/h, and heavy snowfalls are expected in the mountains. Mixed precipitation and wind are also forecast for the west, north-west and centre of the country, according to a code yellow alert.

     

    ELECTION Voting has begun abroad, in the first round of Romania’s presidential election. Voting is already underway in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South Korea. Those who have already cast their ballots today join the over 4,200 who voted by mail. Voting abroad takes place over three days, from November 22 to 24. In the country, Romanians will be able to vote for their next president on Sunday, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., with extensions granted only if there are still voters in polling stations or queuing outside. Almost 19,000 polling stations are set up in the country and 950 abroad for this election. The most polling stations abroad are in Italy – 158, Spain – 147 and the United Kingdom – 107. 13 candidates take part in the race for the president post. Also on Sunday, a local referendum is held in Bucharest, with three questions related to administrative issues, including the distribution of tax revenues and the issuance of construction permits, as well as the fight against drug use. A 30% turnout is needed for the referendum to be valid.

     

    SCHENGEN The interior ministers of Romania and Bulgaria, Cătălin Predoiu and Atanas Ilkov respectively, are meeting today in Budapest with their Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, to discuss the 2 countries’ full Schengen accession, vetoed by Austria so far. The Romanian PM Marcel Ciolacu, as well as his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, will also attend the meeting, held under the auspices of the Hungarian Presidency of the EU. During the talks, the officials will consider an agreement on the full accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen. A decision on lifting external border controls could be taken on December 12 in Brussels, in the Justice and Home Affairs Council, but this needs the support of all EU member states. Romania and Bulgaria partially joined Schengen at the end of March, by suspending controls at air and sea borders. Land border controls remained in place, however, because of Austria’s veto, which Vienna says is related to concerns about illegal migration.

     

    DEFENCE Signing the agreement with the US for the procurement of F-35 aircraft is another decisive step forward for Romania towards a modern and efficient national defence, well connected to our international partners, PM Marcel Ciolacu said on Thursday. He attended the signing of the Protocol launching the Romanian Air Force’s transition to 5th generation F-35 aircraft. The document was signed by the defence minister Angel Tîlvăr and the US Ambassador to Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec.

     

    UKRAINE Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said Russia had hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a new type of medium-range missile designed to carry nuclear warheads, in response to Ukraine’s attacks on Russian territory with Western-supplied missiles. Addressing the nation, Putin said the war in Ukraine had acquired elements of a global conflict after the United States, France and Britain agreed with the use of their missiles against Russia, and he warned that his country had the right to use its weapons against the military facilities of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against Russian territory. In case of escalation, Putin added, Russia would respond decisively and symmetrically. The United States, which according to Reuters was informed shortly before the Russian missile launch, said Moscow was the one escalating the conflict in Ukraine. Washington, however, said it had no reason to change its nuclear doctrine based solely on Putin’s irresponsible rhetoric.

     

    NETANYAHU Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu said he would continue to defend the country in any way he could, after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Netanyahu described the court’s decision as an anti-Semitic act, while Israel’s president and the parliament speaker called it an attack on justice and truth. The US President Joe Biden called the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, “outrageous”, and promised the US would stand by Israel in the face of a threat to its security. According to Biden, the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction in this case. As for President-elect Donald Trump, he did not react to the decision to issue the arrest warrants issued against Netanyahu and Gallant, but his future national security adviser, Mike Waltz, promised a “strong response” to the ICC’s anti-Semitic leaning. (AMP)

  • March 3, 2020

    March 3, 2020

    HEARINGS The ministers nominated in PM designate Florin Cîţus cabinet are interviewed by the specialised parliamentary committees today, on Wednesday and Thursday, and the day of the investiture vote is to be chosen early next week. The only change compared to the Ludovic Orban Government is at the finance ministry, where former minister Cîţu has been replaced with Lucian Ovidiu Heiuş. The president of Save Romania Union, Dan Barna, says the Liberals have not asked explicitly for support for the new cabinet. The leader of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, Kelemen Hunor, says that no decision has been made yet as to endorsing the new government or not. Pro Romania MPs will attend the parliamentary sitting, but will vote against the cabinet, party leader Victor Ponta announced. The Social Democrats and ALDE were the only parties with which the PM designate has not discussed. The Peoples Movement Party decided to vote in favour of the Cîţu Cabinet. The latters nomination by president Klaus Iohannis came after the Constitutional Court found it unconstitutional for the president to designate the interim PM Ludovic Orban to form a new cabinet after being dismissed by Parliament through a no-confidence vote.



    COVID-19 In Romania, 42 people are in quarantine centres and over 9,400 are under home monitoring, the Strategic Communication Group announced on Tuesday. So far 3 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Romania, one of whom has recovered and the other 2 are hospitalised and in a good state. Meanwhile, the National Emergency Committee has introduced strict quarantine rules for the people returning home from risk areas. The new coronavirus is now spreading a lot more quickly outside China than in the source country. Around 91,000 cases have been confirmed in over 70 countries worldwide. Of these, 48,000 patients recovered and over 3,100 died. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank announced they are ready to provide help, including emergency funds, for member states to tackle the difficulties caused by the quickly spreading epidemic.



    VACCINATION The healthcare committee in the Chamber of Deputies unanimously voted the introduction of an amendment making immunisation mandatory. The Chamber of Deputies is to cast the decisive vote on the bill. Representatives of the Parents Alliance, of Pro Consumers Association and of the “Informed Decisions Association protested the current form of the bill, opposing the idea of compulsory vaccination. They believe each citizen must have the right to decide as concerns their own body. On the other hand, an association called Mothers for Mothers warns that vaccination saves lives and the body of scientific evidence in this respect goes back over a century.



    INTERIOR MINISTRY The interim interior minister Marcel Vela has today presented the institutions annual report, and said in 2019 the work load of interior ministry staff was higher than in the previous year. Marcel Vela explained that 27 counties and the capital city Bucharest reported over 4% rises in street crime and crimes against persons and property. “The presidential election was well organised, with 30% fewer incidents in the first round and 54.18% fewer incidents in the second round than in 2014, Marcel Vela added. The National Police Union organised a protest concurrently with the meeting at the ministry headquarters. They demand the implementation of current regulations regarding salaries, and the payment of overdue benefits for the last 3 years.



    UNEMPLOYMENT The January unemployment rate in Romania was 3.9%, down 0.1% since December, the National Statistics Institute announced in Tuesday. According to the institution, the estimated number of unemployed people in January was 350,000, which is lower than both the previous month and the corresponding month of 2019. Statistics also indicate that in the first month of the year the unemployment rate among men was 1% higher than among women.



    ISRAEL The Israeli PM Beniamin Netanyahu claimed victory in the 3rd election within a year, held on Monday. With 90% of the votes counted, Netanyahus right-wing party Likud secured 35 out of the 120 seats in Parliament, as against 32 for Kahol Lavan, led by his challenger Benny Gantz. None of them however has the required majority to form a government. Netanyahu tried to secure his re-election while facing a corruption trial. In his address, Netanyahu promised to put an end to the Iranian nuclear threat, to build peace with moderate Arab countries, economic reforms, a defence pact with the USA, and also spoke about his proposal to annex settlements in the West Bank.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The US peace plan for the Middle East

    The US peace plan for the Middle East

    Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has this week again turned down the US peace plan for the Middle East, this time before the UN Security Council. Proposed by President Donald Trump, the US peace plan for the Middle East is ‘a gift for Israel and unacceptable to Palestinians. Under the new plan, ‘East Jerusalem is no longer under the sovereignty of the state of Palestine – that alone is enough for us to reject this plan, Abbas said in a statement. According to him, the state carved out for Palestinians looks like a fragmented Swiss cheese. ‘This is the state that they will give us. It’s like a Swiss cheese, really. Who among you will accept a similar state and similar conditions? Mahmoud Abbas asked the representatives of the 15 members of the UN Security Council, adding that the deal “carries within it dictates, reinforcement of the occupation, annexation by military force and anchoring of an apartheid system.



    Presented as the deal of the century, President Trump’s plan, the product of three years’ efforts by senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, would recognize Israel’s authority over the settlements in the West Bank and would require the Palestinians to meet a series of conditions to have a state, with its capital in a West Bank village, east of Jerusalem.



    Here is Dragos Ciocarlan, Radio Romanias correspondent in Israel with more on the issue: “Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said before the UN Security Council that the US peace plan allowing for the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank violates the Palestinians rights to self-determination and statehood. In his opinion, ‘this is an Israeli-American pre-emptive plan in order to put an end to the question of Palestine. He deplored the fact that under this plan, Jerusalem is not under the authority of the Palestinian state, though such a state never existed. Abbas has congratulated all the Palestinians who took to the streets of the West Bank and Gaza to protest the US peace plan adding that the Israelis and Palestinians ‘should be allowed to reach peace on their own, rather than it be imposed. Israels ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon says that ‘Israel is willing to enter into direct talks with the Palestinians. ‘Abbas should come to Jerusalem, not New York. And instead of being committed to peace, Abbas is committed to incitement against Israel, Danon added referring to former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, who spoke in the Knesset before signing a peace treaty with Israel.



    Peace is still possible between the Israelis and Palestinians but not through the ‘unfair plan drafted by the Trump administration, which is trying to legitimize ‘what is illegal, concluded the president of the Palestinian Authority. On the other side, the American plan is supported by the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and by Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White centrist Alliance. ‘If they are really ready to make peace with the Jewish state, Israel will be ready to negotiate immediately said Netanyahu, while underlining the need to disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.



    Leaving statements aside, news agencies have written for the first time that, in this conflict, an agreement was reached with Israel for a map that delineates the borders between two neighboring states. A guest in Radio Romanias studios, political analyst Iulian Chifu believes that, despite differences, this peace plan may include enough elements that could attract especially the new generations of Palestinians who were not caught in this internal struggle and who do not necessarily regard Israel as their historic enemy:



    Iulian Chifu: “I believe that this plan should be neither minimized nor destroyed, because it has elements that could be used in a direct negation, even if its not necessarily the form in which it was publicly delivered and supported that benefits both sides. The very announcement of relocating the embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel by the US was not hailed by the Palestinian Authority or the Arab States. Maybe things should be thought out more carefully, but the plan does have many interesting elements. The plan deserves careful consideration. It could be a new attempt at assessing and solving one the most complicated conflicts of the world. Because it is a very old conflict, there have been many generations going through this conflict.



    According to analyst Iulian Chifu one can no longer speak of reconciliation when the conflict has been ongoing between generations for 70 years already, and maybe its high time they put an end to this conflict. (translation by D. Bilt and L. Simion)

  • Nachrichten 17.12.2017

    Nachrichten 17.12.2017

    Rumäniens letzter König, Mihai I., ist am Samstag in der Königlichen Gruft im südrumänischen Curtea de Argeş mit militärischen Ehren beigesetzt worden. Dort ruhen auch seine Ehefrau, Ex-Königin Anna, sowie die anderen drei rumänischen Könige. Zu Ehren des ehemaligen Monarchen, der während des Zweiten Weltkriegs Marschall und Oberster Befehlshaber der Rumänischen Armee war, wurden 21 Kanonenschüsse abgefeuert. Die Ehrengarde erwies seiner Majestät König Mihai I. zum letzten Mal die Ehre, während der Musikkorps die Rumänische Staatshymne sowie die Hymne des Königshauses spielte. Der Sarg mit dem Leichnam des Königs war aus Bukarest mit dem Königlichen Zug nach Curtea de Argeş gebracht worden. Der gesamte Trauerzug wurde von unzähligen Menschen begleitet, die auf Bahnhöfen oder entlang der Bahngleise gewartet hatten. In Bukarest hatten zuvor Zehntausende dem Monarchen die letzte Ehre erwiesen. Dort fand auch die eigentliche Bestattungszeremonie unter der Leitung des Patriarchen der Rumänisch-Orthodoxen Kirche, Daniel, statt. Bei den Bestattungsfeierlichkeiten waren auch die meisten königlichen und kaiserlichen Familien aus Europa vertreten.



    Israels Ministerpräsident Benjamin Netanyahu hat der rumänischen Königsfamilie und dem rumänischen Volk sein Beileid ausgesprochen. Die Regierung des Staates Israel teile den Schmerz der königlichen Familie und des rumänischen Volkes angesichts des Todes von König Mihai I., ein Freund des jüdischen Volkes“, heißt es in der Mitteilung der israelischen Botschaft in Bukarest. Wir erinnern uns mit Dankbarkeit an den Einsatz des Königshauses für die Rettung der Juden während der dunklen Tage des Holocausts in Rumänien. Vor allem würdigen wir das Engagement der Mutter seiner Majestät König Mihai I., der Königin Elena, die mit dem Ehrentitel Gerechter unter den Völkern ausgezeichnet wurde“, heißt es in der Mitteilung noch. Indes haben die meisten internationalen Medienkonzerne ausführlich über die Bestattungsfeierlichkeiten für König Mihai I. berichtet, das Ereignis stand dabei meistens in den Schlagzeilen. Mehrere internationale Fernsehsender zeigten Berichte von der Zeremonie in Bukarest. Die BBC vermeldete die Anwesenheit zahlreicher Vertreter der europäischen Königshäuser, darunter der britische Prinz Charles und Spaniens Ex-König Juan Carlos. König Mihai von Rumänien wird vor allem für seine im August 1944 getroffene Entscheidung in die Geschichte eingehen: Bis dahin Alliierter Hitlerdeutschlands wechselte Rumänien die Fronten und kämpfte fortan für die Alliierten Mächte, berichtet die BBC. Auch France Presse erwähnte in seinen Berichten die Teilnahme Tausender Rumänen an der Bestattungszeremonie von König Mihai I.



    Im westrumänischen Temeswar ist der Sonntag zum Trauertag erklärt worden – im Gedenken an die Helden der Revolution vom Dezember 1989. Auf dem gesamten Stadtgebiet fanden Totenmessen und Kranzniederlegungen statt. Auf der Treppe vor der Kathedrale im Stadtzentrum wurden Kerzen mit den aufgedruckten Bildern der Opfer von damals angezündet. Am 17. Dezember 1989 starben 58 Menschen und weitere Hundert wurden verletzt, als die Armee auf Anweisung von Diktator Ceauşescu auf die Demonstranten schoss. Die Gedenkfeierlichkeiten zur antikommunistischen Revolution in Timişoara hatten am Samstag begonnen, als am späten Abend zwei Märsche entlang des Revolutionsweges stattfanden. Der Höhepunkt der Verstaltungen soll ein Rock-Konzert am 20. Dezember sein, dem Tag als Timişoara vor 28 Jahren zur ersten kommunismus-freien Stadt erklärt wurde. Die durch eine missbräuchliche Maßnahme der Lokalbehörden ausgelöste Revolte breitete sich rasch auf das ganze Land aus und erreichte mit der Flucht von Diktator Nicolae Ceauşescu und seiner Ehefrau Elena den Höhepunkt. Zwischen dem 16. und 25 Dezember starben bei Gefechten mit den systemtreuen Sicherheitskräften gut 1000 Menschen, fast 3400 wurden verletzt. Rumänien war der einzige Ostblockstaat in dem das Ende des kommunistischen Regimes mit Gewalt herbeigeführt und in dem die Staatschefs hinrichtet wurden.



    Rumäniens Justizminister Tudorel Toader hat im Rahmen seines Besuchs in Malaysia ein Memorandum zur Verständigung mit dem Generalstaatsanwalt des Landes, Mohamed Apandi bin Ali, unterzeichnet. Dabei geht es vor allem um die Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Regierungen Rumäniens und Malysias im Justizbereich. Laut einer Mitteilung des Justizministeriums in Bukarest soll die Zusammenarbeit Erfahrungsaustausch im Bereich der Gesetzgebung, gegenseitige Arbeitsbesuche der Verantwortlichen sowie gemeinsame Programme im Justizbereich umfassen. Bei seinem Besuch in Malaysia besuchte Justizminister Toader auch den 2012 verhafteten und wegen Drogenhandels zum Tode verurteilten rumänischen Staatsbürger Ionuţ Alexandru Gologan.

  • Relaţiile româno-israeliene

    Şedinţa guvernelor român şi israelian va fi condusă de premierii Victor Ponta şi Benjamin Netanyahu. Agenda reuniunii cuprinde, în principal, evaluarea stadiului proiectelor de cooperare bilaterală şi propuneri concrete de intensificare a acesteia, în plan sectorial. Cu acest prilej, vor fi semnate o Declaraţie politică, la nivel de guverne, precum şi o serie de documente în domeniile afacerilor externe, cercetării şi dezvoltării tehnologice, tehnologiilor informaţionale şi comunicaţiilor, muncii şi afacerilor sociale, dezvoltării regionale, protecţiei mediului, sănătăţii.



    Înaintea plenului executivelor, ministrul român al afacerilor externe, Titus Corlăţean a avut, duminică, o întrevedere cu omologul său israelian, Avigdor Lieberman, ocazie cu care a fost semnat programul guvernamental comun de colaborare culturală, educaţională şi ştiinţifică. Cei doi miniştri au evocat, cu acest prilej, stadiul excelent al dialogului politico-diplomatic bilateral, reconfirmând legătura specială creată în cei 66 de ani de relaţii bilaterale neîntrerupte şi hotărârea de a înainta către o dimensiune strategică a cooperării.



    Cei doi premieri au analizat si evoluţiile recente din vecinătatea estică a Uniunii Europene, cu referire la Ucraina şi la traseul european al Republicii Moldova, precum şi la relaţia dintre Uniunea Europeana şi Israel. Potrivit Ministerului Roman de Externe, în 2013, valoarea schimburilor comerciale ale României cu Israel a fost de 491,8 milioane de dolari. Este cel mai ridicat nivel al schimburilor comerciale şi al exportului pe această relaţie. În primele 4 luni din 2014, schimburile au atins 162 milioane de dolari, cu 24% mai mult decât în perioada similară din 2013, iar exportul – 116 milioane dolari, cu o creştere de 39%.



    Titus Corlăţean, a avut o întrevedere şi cu preşedintele Partidului Muncii şi lider al opoziţiei din Knesset, Isaac Herzog. Într-o declaraţie pentru Radio România, şeful diplomaţiei de la Bucureşti apreciază că reuniunea celor două guverne confirmă o relaţie privilegiată a României cu statul Israel – un partener strategic al României în Orientul Mijlociu. El s-a referit şi la legăturile bilaterale speciale, create de comunitatea evreiască originară din România, comunitate care, spune Corlăţean, contează foarte mult, în continuare, pentru România. Potrivit statisticilor oficiale, în Israel, trăiesc 86.200 de cetăţeni născuţi în România şi peste 125 de mii de descendenţi ai acestora.