Radio România Internațional

Tag: North Macedonia

  • July 21, 2024

    July 21, 2024

    Mission – The Romanian Air Forces have reached the end of their mission in North Macedonia, and on Saturday a Spartan type aircraft performed five missions to limit and extinguish fires in this country. According to the Defense Ministry, the aircraft crew operated in difficult conditions, with multiple outbreaks and strong wind, which made the extinguishing operations more difficult. In support of the aerial missions, ground teams provided real-time images and data about the situation on the ground. All in all, the aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces performed 21 firefighting missions in North Macedonia.

     

    Energy – Coal production and import are estimate to decrease, in Romania, in the period 2024-2027, as other energy production capacities will be put into operation, show estimates published by the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis. The Commission mentions that the year 2023 was marked by the continuation of the downward trend in coal production, after the drop of more than 7% in 2022, with a higher contraction of 16.2% estimated. In terms of import, it is estimated that it registered significant reductions, namely -28% for coal and -11.8% for coke. Most of the coal resources were used for the production of electricity and thermal energy. The Energy Minister, Sebastian Burduja, said that he would do everything possible to extend the operating terms of coal-fired power plants, a process started in Brussels since last year.

     

    Olympiad – Six high school students from Romania won medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad, according to an Education Ministry press release. They won one gold medal, four silver and one bronze medal. All six students are from Bucharest. The 65th edition of the Olympiad took place in Bath, Great Britain.

     

    Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu was defeated by Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-1, on Saturday evening, in the semifinals of the WTA 250 tournament in Palermo (Italy), which has total prizes up for grabs worth over 230,000 Euros. Irina Begu (142 WTA), the 2022 champion, and Muchova (35 WTA), seed no.2 in Sicily, are now tied, 2-2. The Romanian player defeated her in the second round at Roland Garros in 2019, and in the second round in Madrid, in 2023. Muchova won, in 2023, in the third round at Roland Garros.

     

    Organized crime – The Director of the Directorate for Fighting Organized Crime within the Romanian Police, Cătălin Şerban, said, on Saturday, in a press conference, that in the first semester of this year the police officers and prosecutors of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) organized almost 900 operative actions, of which a third were large-scale operations, increasing by 2.5% compared to the first six months of 2023. About 3,400 people were investigated and 1,275 people were detained for 24 hours. More than 1,000 people were remanded in custody, 8.9% more compared to the same period of last year, said Cătălin Şerban. The Directorate for Fighting Organized Crime participated in the EUROPOL policy cycle, assuming coordinating roles and carrying out activities in the areas of human trafficking, migrant trafficking, cyber crime and drug trafficking.

     

    Israel – Israel bombed the port of Hodeidah in Yemen, controlled by the Houthi rebels on the Red Sea, after the drone attack in Tel Aviv, claimed by the Yemeni group and left one dead and 10 wounded. The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that anyone who attacks Israel will pay dearly. According to the Yemeni media, controlled by the rebels, three people died and more than 80 were injured in the Israeli attacks. It is Israel’s first direct response to the Houthi drone and missile attacks that have targeted its territory in recent months. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Jerusalem, the Israelis targeted oil, gas, ammunition and weapons depots, and after the attack, fires could be seen from all parts of the city. The Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that that image was captured throughout the Middle East and that every enemy of Israel can now understand that the arm of the Israeli army is long. The Houthi rebels have promised a painful response in retaliation to the Israeli attack. (LS)

     

  • July 19, 2022

    July 19, 2022

    TALKS The president of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas is on an official
    visit to Romania today, at the invitation of president Klaus Iohannis. The 2
    leaders will discuss ways to encourage and strengthen bilateral cooperation in
    areas of mutual interest, particularly political dialogue, home affairs,
    education, economy and trade. The agenda of talks also includes regional
    developments in the Middle East, the progress and prospects of the Peace
    Process, the security situation and the consequences of Russia’s illegal
    aggression against Ukraine, the Romanian Presidency says. Also today, president
    Iohannis is scheduled to receive Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs and
    minister for defence, Simon Coveney.


    DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu had a meeting on
    Monday with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on the sidelines of the
    Foreign Affairs Council held in Brussels. According to the Romanian Foreign
    Ministry, the Greek party thanked Romania for the assistance given by Romanian
    fire-fighters in containing the recent wildfires in Greece. The 2 officials
    also discussed the situation in Ukraine, with a focus on the consequences and impact
    at regional and EU level of Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked military campaign
    in that country. They highlighted the importance of ensuring energy security, a
    sector in which Romania and Greece have converging interests and approaches.
    Bogdan Aurescu welcomed the consolidation of bilateral dialogue and cooperation
    in this field, mentioning the recent opening of the Greece-Bulgaria natural gas
    interconnecting pipeline, a major step in consolidating the energy security of
    the countries in the region.


    EDUCATION Romanian students won 3rd place in the world, after
    Singapore and Lithuania, at the International Geography Olympiad. As many as
    209 students from 54 countries took part in this year’s competition. This
    success comes after the outstanding performances of Romanian students in other
    international competitions. They won 2nd place at the International
    Physics Olympiad organised online by Switzerland, while Romania’s team won 1st
    place in Europe and 5th in the world at the International Maths
    Olympiad in Oslo, out of 105 competing countries.


    LOAN The World Bank
    and Romania Tuesday signed a EUR 600 mln development policy loan, with a focus
    on inclusive green economic growth, the WB announced. This is the first of 2
    such financing operations, and is accompanied by USD 24.2 mln non-reimbursable
    financial assistance. The WB is currently running 10 investment projects in
    Romania, totalling USD 1.78 bln, in addition to 31 technical and analytical
    assistance projects worth USD 104 mln.


    COVID The Romanian
    health ministry Tuesday announced 7,658 new SARS-CoV-2 infections in the last
    24 hours, over 4,000 more than on Monday. The number of patients in intensive
    care has also increased to 136, and 9 people died from the disease in 24 hours.


    EU ACCESSION The European Union Tuesday opened the accession
    negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, the president of the European
    Commission, Ursula von der Leyen announced. The 27 EU member states Monday
    night agreed to open accession talks, after Skopje and Sofia signed a protocol
    that eliminates the last remaining obstacles. North Macedonia has been a
    candidate country since 2005, and Albania since 2014.


    UKRAINE The president of Russia Vladimir Putin and the president of
    Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are attending a summit in Tehran today, together
    with their Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi. According to the BBC, following
    the sanctions introduced by the West, Putin will use this opportunity to prove
    that Moscow still has strong allies. Putin will also have separate meetings
    with the leaders of the two states. Turkey negotiated with Russia and Ukraine
    to unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, while Iran and Russia are
    looking for new trade routes to bypass sanctions, the BBC also says. Meanwhile,
    in Ukraine, Russian forces carried on the shelling of Nikopol, with scores of
    attacks launched during the night. Several people, including a child, were also
    wounded after Russian missiles hit Odessa.


    DROUGHT Nearly half of the EU territory is facing drought risks, the
    European Commission warns, as a new heat wave has hit the continent. France,
    Romania, Spain, Portugal and Italy will likely have to handle a drop in
    agricultural yield, especially grains, the Commission explains. Germany,
    Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia will also be affected. In turn, the
    European Commissioner for crisis management Janez Lenarčič said that the worst
    is yet to come. Europe is struggling with an extreme heat wave these days, with
    temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius reported in France and the UK, and even
    43 degrees in some areas in the north of Spain. Wildfires
    also destroyed thousands of hectares of land in
    France, Greece, Portugal and Spain, forcing thousands of residents and tourists
    out of those regions. (AMP)

  • April 14, 2022 UPDATE

    April 14, 2022 UPDATE

    Gas. The offshore bill regulating the exploitation of natural gas in the Black Sea will be submitted to Romanias Parliament this week, said the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu. The amendment of the bill was sped up by the ruling coalition after a final version was agreed by its members, the National Liberal Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Under the bill, the state is to benefit from 60% of the profits generated by the exploitation of natural gas, with the rest of 40% going to private companies. The current legislation provides for progressive taxation, ranging from 30 to 70%, on additional returns obtained from the rise in gas prices, with companies being obliged to sell 50% of their natural gas production on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.



    Macedonia. “Romania strongly supports Macedonias accession to the European Union”, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said in Skopje on Thursday, where he held political consultations with his counterpart, North Bujar Osmani. Aurescu has stated that North Macedonia “is completely ready” for negotiations, accession, and, against the background of Russias invasion of Ukraine, it has a strategic importance for the entire EU. Aurescu has also said that the negotiations for EU accession also mean reforms, and Romania is ready to provide North Macedonia with all the necessary support. At the same time, the Romanian official has criticized the crimes against humanity committed by Russian forces in Ukraine saying these acts must be investigated as soon as possible by international courts. Also, the Romanian minister congratulated the Skopje executive for aligning with the European measures against Moscow, which proves that “North Macedonias commitment to the European path is a real one”. In this context, Aurescu invited North Macedonia to join the NATO battle group that will be deployed in Romania, as well as the Euro-Atlantic Center for Resilience and the EU Cyber ​​Center in Bucharest. Also on Thursday, Bogdan Aurescu was received by President Stevo Pendarovski and had talks with the head of the Parliamentary Assembly, Talat Xhaferi.



    Visit. The speakers of the two chambers of the Romanian Parliament will travel to Kyiv at the invitation of the chair of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk. The speaker of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu will travel to Kyiv on 27th April and he is expected to visit several areas affected by the war, including sites of atrocities committed by the Russian army. He may also address the Ukrainian Parliament. The Senate speaker Florin Cîţu has not announced a date for his trip, but said he will visit areas affected by the war and will discuss with Ukrainian officials Romanias involvement in Ukraines reconstruction plans.



    Human rights. Romania still has problems with discrimination and corruption, according to the US State Departments Country Reports on Human Practices for 2021. Despite some prosecutions, corrupt practices and misuse of public funds remained widespread in Romania, the report says. Also, while the judiciary took steps to punish officials who committed abuses, the authorities did not have effective mechanisms to do so, with the result that many of the cases ended in acquittals. With respect to the media, some reporters throughout the country continued to be harassed, sued, or threatened by authorities they investigated or by their proxies. Other problems identified in the report are the widespread use of bribery in the public sector, especially in health care, and anti-Semitic incidents.



    Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia continue to prepare for the great battle expected in Donbas, the main objective of the Russian forces after they had to withdraw from around Kyiv. Ukraine continues to call for deliveries of heavy weapons from the West, which it sees as vital in this stage of the conflict. The United States for the first time decided to deliver such weapons as part of a military support package announced by president Joe Biden worth 800 million dollars. The European Union also announced plans to provide further 500 million euros in humanitarian aid to Ukraine, on top of the 1 billion provided earlier. In another development, the Russian defense ministry announced that its Moska guided missile cruiser was seriously damaged after a fire caused a munitions explosion, but that its crew had been evacuated. The Russian authorities did not state the location and cause of the incident, but the governor of the Odessa region said the ship was hit by two Ukrainian missiles.



    Geopark. Buzău Land, in the south-eastern part of Romania, has become a UNESCO global geopark, being recognized as a unified geographical area with natural and cultural values of international significance. This is the second area in Romania to win this status after Haţeg Land, in the west of the country. The official ceremony to award the geopark title will be held online on 21st April. Of the 16 areas that applied to be designated global geoparks this year, eight have been validated, which takes the total number of geoparks to 177, from 46 countries. The biggest attractions in Buzău are the muddy volcanoes, the salt domes, the sandstone concretions, the eternal flames, the cave settlements and the regions deep-red amber deposits.



    Covid-19. Some 1,500 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Romania on Thursday, in 24 thousands tests. Also, the authorities have announced 12 related deaths. 1800 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized, 251 in intensive care units. The WHO has decided to maintain Covid-19 at the level of pandemic and an international health-care emergency. WHO experts say that the evolution of the pandemic is still unpredictable, and the mortality rate still high. (MI)