DRONE According to the Defence Ministry in Bucharest, its surveillance and monitoring systems last night identified an air target which was flying into Romania’s airspace for nearly one kilometer on its way to Ukraine. Authorities immediately conveyed a RO-Alert message to prevent the population in the area and two F-16s belonging to Romania’s Air Force and two Eurofighters jet planes belonging to the Spanish Air force took off. The same sources have also reported a possible impact on the national soil close to the border with Ukraine, but without any material damage. In another development, the president of the neighboring Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, said today that two Russian drones violated the air space of her country and exploded on the ground. No citizens were in danger. Sources of the Ukrainian army announced that last night Russia attacked Ukraine with 140 drones.
NATO NATO defence ministers are convening in Brussels for the first time since Republican Donald Trump started his mandate at the White House. High on the agenda is a negotiated solution to the war in Ukraine. Tomorrow the participants will be focusing on how to raise military expenses and the war in Ukraine. NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, has called on the allies, which didn’t’ raise their defence budgets over 2% yet, to do that until summer. Rutte has hinted that at the NATO summit this year he will be calling for a 3% raise of the GDP. He has also said the European allies and Canada should raise their support for Ukraine much over what the United States is offering now.
TRADE The expansion of the free-trade zone in the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta is high on the agenda of the Romanian government today. The Executive wants to give an impetus to the region’s economic development and improve trade exchanges in the region. In another development, the coalition government is expected to make a decision aimed at carrying on the present scheme of capped prices in electricity for household consumers, which is supposed to end in late March and lead to higher invoices. Sources of the ruling coalition say that pensioners with a monthly income of 514 Euros will benefit from financial support in two stages. The Labour Ministry is expected to draw up a draft law in this respect, which is going to be endorsed by the government. We recall that early this year, the Executive decided not to adjust pensions to the inflation rate as envisaged, a move, which has triggered a wave of discontent.
FCSB Romania’s football champions FCSB will take on the Greek champions, PAOK Thessaloniki, in an away match tonight which counts towards the first round of the play-offs for qualifying for the Europa League’s round of sixteen. The return match is due in Bucharest on February 20. PAOK, which is coached by Romanian Razvan Lucescu, and FCSB also met this season in the competition’s main stage, and the Romanians won the match in Thessaloniki 1-0. FCSB ended the main stage in the eleventh place, whereas PAOK in the 22nd. The first eight sides have qualified directly for the eighth finals, while the others ranking from the ninth position to the 24th have joined a double-legged playoff to make it to the round of 16.
(bill)
