Radio România Internațional

Tag: plane

  • July 17, 2022 UPDATE

    July 17, 2022 UPDATE

    COVID-19 Over 2,160 new SARS-CoV-2 were registered in Romania in the past
    24 hours after 96 hundred tests had been conducted, the Health Ministry
    announced on Sunday. A related fatality was also reported. 19 hundred people
    are being treated in hospitals across the country out of whom 108 in ICUs.
    Since the beginning of the pandemic in Romania, 65,800 people have been killed
    by the virus.








    UKRAINE EU Foreign Ministers are going to hold
    talks on Monday on applying tougher sanctions on Russia after Moscow has been
    accused of having deployed rocket launchers to the region of Zaporizhzhia, in southern
    Ukraine. The ministers will have to discuss a European Commission proposal to
    ban gold purchases from Russia to bring the EU sanctions in line with their G7
    partners. Another proposal deals with the inclusion of more Russian officials on
    the EU’s black list. Among other things, the head of the Romanian diplomacy,
    Bogdan Aurescu, is expected to be presenting the latest measures taken by the
    authorities in Bucharest to facilitate Ukraine’s grain exports. Among these
    measures, there is the opening of new checkpoints at the common border,
    completing works on the broad gauge railway in the Danube port of Galati,
    eastern Romania, as well allowing the Ukrainian ships to use the channels of
    Chilia and Bastroe. According to sources from the United States, between 100
    and 150 civilians have been killed by Russian military strikes in Ukraine in
    the past two weeks.






    CRASH A large cargo plane Antonov An-12 crashed in northern Greece on
    Saturday night killing all eight crew on board, the Greek public television has
    announced. According to the same sources, the plane was being operated by a
    Ukrainian air company. Citizens in the area have been advised to keep windows
    closed and refrain from using air conditioning as the plane was carrying 12
    tons of toxic military products. The plane took off from the Serbian city of
    Nis and was bound for Amman in Jordan. Witness reports suggested the Antonov
    An-12 plane caught fire while still in the air.


    IRRIGATIONS The Ministry of Agriculture in
    Romania has earmarked 1.5 billion Euros for streamlining the country’s
    infrastructure of irrigations and drainage. The funds are to be made available until
    the year 2027. The Ministry has launched the project for public debates as it
    is aimed at adjusting the agriculture to the latest climate changes and curbing
    their effects over farm production and the environment. Under the law, the
    number of new irrigation networks is to increase from 89 to 150. The surface
    covered by the new irrigation network is also expected to increase from 1.8 million
    to 2.6 million hectares.






    WEATHER The heatwave that continues to intensify
    in southern Europe has caused large bushfires on the Croatian coast and in
    Crete. Wildfires have also been affecting Spain and firefighters have been
    deployed to Extremadura, the west of the country. 3 thousand people have been
    evacuated from the southern region of Malaga. Emergency services are fighting
    the fires affecting the French region of Gironde. Temperatures are on the rise
    and wildfires have destroyed several forest areas in Morocco and are presently
    threatening residential areas in south-western Turkey.




    (bill)

  • August 21, 2021 UPDATE

    August 21, 2021 UPDATE

    AIR BRIDGE 15 Romanian nationals landed in Bucharest on Saturday on
    board of a Hercules plane belonging to Romania’s Air Forces as part of the government’s
    efforts to repatriate all the Romanian citizens from Afghanistan. The plane,
    which has also evacuated four Bulgarian citizens has so far flown to Kabul
    three times. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has hailed the repatriation of
    the Romanian citizens and the commitment of the authorities involved in the
    process. 30 Romanian nationals have so far been evacuated from Afghanistan by
    planes of partner states. Iohannis pledges that authorities in Bucharest will
    carry on the operations aimed at evacuating the Romanians and Afghan citizens
    who contributed to the Romanian troops stationed there, of the students who are
    owners of Romanian scholarships or those in vulnerable positions. In turn,
    Romania’s Defence Minister, Nicolae Ciuca, has underlined the cooperation with
    the North Atlantic Alliance, with the US partners and thanked the Pakistani
    authorities for the support given to the Romanian crew. According to Minister Ciuca, the Romanian army
    is ready to provide assistance in all the missions involving the protection of
    the country’s citizens wherever they are.








    COVID 591 new Covid infections were reported in Romania in the past 24
    hours out of 40,100 tests conducted as well as 15 related fatalities. 182
    patients are being presently treated in ICUs. Romania’s capital city has
    reported the largest number of infections while authorities are looking for
    ways to convince the people to get the jab. The head of Romania’s vaccine
    rollout, physician Valeriu Gheorghita has told a TV channel, that the idea of
    inviting those vulnerable to vaccination points through SMSes, is being
    considered by the authorities. He has also announced that third booster shots
    could roll out in Romania in October, but authorities here are waiting for a
    recommendation from the European Medicines Agency.










    FESTIVAL The city of
    Sibiu in central Romania on Friday saw the opening of the 28th edition of the
    International Theatre Festival, the largest event devoted to arts in Romania
    and one of the most important in Europe. 600 theatre and dance performances,
    concerts and workshops are to be put up in various historical locations during
    the festival, which also involves the participation of 2,000 artists from 38
    countries. The festival will unfold with a real audience as well as online. 40
    events were scheduled on Friday, performed by artists from 15 countries.








    ASSISTANCE Romania has deployed to Greece 142 firefighters and 30 fire
    engines to help the local authorities put out wildfires that are affecting the
    country. The Romanian firefighters’ mission is due to last ten days but their
    stay could be extended if need be. The firefighters from Romania are going to
    operate in the province of Attica, close to Athens, where it is difficult to
    intervene because this region of pine forests lacks proper roads for vehicles.
    Two weeks ago 108 firefighters from Romania were dispatched to Greece and had a
    good contribution to putting out fires in the island of Evia. Their
    professionalism has been highly appreciated by the population, their Greek
    colleagues and the local press.












    (bill)







  • May 25, 2021 UPDATE

    May 25, 2021 UPDATE

    US-RUSSIA US president Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin
    are to meet in Geneva on June 16th, the White House announced on
    Tuesday. ‘The leaders will discuss the full range of pressing issues as we seek
    to restore predictability and stability to the US-Russia relationship’, the
    White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki has said. This is going to be the first
    meeting between the two leaders since Joe Biden’s coming to power and will be
    taking place amid serious tensions between the two states. The meeting also comes
    after the G7 and NATO summits which are expected to have a joint anti-Moscow position.






    MEETING The Senate and the
    Chamber of Deputies are to convene in Bucharest on Wednesday for talks over the
    National Plan of Resilience and Recovery, Ludovic Orban, the president of the
    Chamber of deputies announced on Tuesday. The main opposition party PSD
    insisted the government present the plan before Parliament otherwise the Social
    democrats may not endorse a European treaty under which the member states are
    to pay higher contributions to the EU budget. Romania has pledged to present
    the plan to Brussels by the end of May, one month after the date required by
    the European Commission.






    CAMPAIGN Romania’s Prime Minister Florin Citu on
    Thursday announced the government would launch a pro-vaccine media campaign.
    Citu says that his role as head of the Executive is to lead a louder campaign
    than the anti-vaccine voices promoted by a couple of TV channels. The Prime
    Minister has given assurances that non-vaccinated people are not going to be
    discriminated against. According to the RO Vaccination platform, since the
    vaccine rollout kicked off in Romania in late December 2020, 25.93% of the
    eligible population, 16 years old and over, more than 4,170,000 people have got
    at least one dose of the anti-Covid vaccine. According to the same sources, 20.69%
    of the eligible population, accounting for 3,330,000 people, has also got the booster.
    On the other hand, the number of Covid infections is on a downward trend. 381
    new infections were reported on Tuesday out of 32 thousand tests conducted in
    the past 24 hours. 63 new fatalities have been reported bringing the death toll
    to 30,040. 545 patients are being treated in IC units.






    AGREEMENT
    The EU leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed to seal off the bloc’s airspace
    to Belarusian planes as part of sanctions against the regime of president
    Alexander Lukashenko, accused to deviating a Ryanair passenger plane flying
    from Athens to Vilnius to arrest dissident
    journalist Roman Protasevich.
    The 27 EU leaders also asked airlines to avoid flying over Belarus, agreed to
    impose additional sanctions, including of an economic nature, and called for
    the immediate release of the journalist and his partner Sofia Sapega, who is a
    Russian citizen, both of whom were arrested on Sunday. EU leaders also asked
    the International Civil Aviation Organisation to investigate what they
    described as an unprecedented and unacceptable incident and called for the
    expansion as soon as possible of the list of Belarus officials and entities
    targeted by European sanctions. Some 88 persons from Belarus, including
    president Alexander Lukashenko, as well as seven entities are already banned
    from entering the EU and have their assets frozen for repression against the
    opposition and the presidential elections of 2020, which the EU believes were
    rigged.






    (bill)



  • May 23, 2021 UPDATE

    May 23, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 The PM of Romania Florin Cîţu said the vaccine rollout must be stepped up so that the relaxation measures planned for the forthcoming period may be implemented as soon as possible. Several vaccination marathons are held this weekend in various towns in the country, and drive-thru centres are operational. Since the end of December, over 7.3 million vaccine doses have been administered in Romania, with nearly 3.2 million people receiving the booster dose as well. Meanwhile, the number of new Covid-19 cases in Romania continues to drop, with 307 new cases reported on Sunday out of nearly 18,500 tests. This is the lowest number in nearly 11 months. In hospitals, the number of coronavirus patients in intensive care is 590. Also, 56 COVID-related deaths were reported for the past 24 hours.



    COUNCIL The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis takes part on Monday and Tuesday in a special European Council meeting to be held in Brussels. According to the presidency, the head of state will plead for quick and consistent implementation of the digital green certificates at European level, but will reiterate that these must not affect citizens freedom of movement. Iohannis will also call for a European mechanism to be put in place as soon as possible to ensure vaccine donations to non-EU countries. the main topics on the agenda of the European Council are the EU-wide coordination of COVID-19 measures, fighting climate change, and the Unions relations with Russia and the UK.



    MIGRANTS Romanian border police in Borş Sunday found 30 Syrian and Iraqi nationals trying to cross the border illegally into Hungary. According to the police, the migrants, aged between 3 and 34, were hiding in a truck registered in Turkey, with a Turkish driver, heading for France.



    EUROVISION The lead singer of the Italian band Maneskin, winner of the 65th edition of the Eurovision song contest, will take a drug test upon their return to Italy, following drug use speculations, announced the European Broadcasting Union, which organized the competition. The allegations were sparked by competition footage showing Damiano David leaning over and touching a table with his nose. The band firmly denies the accusations. The Italian band won this years Eurovision contest with the rock song that had previously won them the San Remo competition as well. Romania failed to qualify into this years Eurovision final. Over the years, Romanias best performances in this competition were two 3rd places (in 2005 and 2010) and a 4th place in 2006.



    ARREST Belarus forced a Ryanair aircraft to land in Minsk, so as to arrest a dissident journalist on board. Roman Protasevich played a key role in the protests against the re-election of Aleksandr Lukashenko. According to independent media, the Athens-Vilnius flight was diverted over an alleged bomb scare. Roman Protasevich, the founder of the Nexta online news channel, which covered the police brutality during the protests against Aleksandr Lukashenkos election, was arrested at the airport and faces capital punishment.



    ROWING Romania won 6 medals on Sunday (one gold, one silver and 4 bronze) at the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland. In the country ranking Romania came 7th, after the UK, China, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland and Germany. Romanian athletes won the gold in the womens double sculls and silver in the lightweight womens double sculls. The 4 bronze medals were in the womens pair, mens pair, mens four and womens four races. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • March 13, 2021 UPDATE

    March 13, 2021 UPDATE

    COVID-19 On Saturday the Strategic Communication Group reported nearly 5,000 new COVID-19 cases in Romania, with 79 new deaths and over 1,200 patients in intensive care. The total number of infections so far is over 855,000, with the death toll standing at over 21,400. As of March 14, Romania extends the state of alert by another 30 days, amid growing numbers of COVID-19 cases. All restrictions valid so far will be maintained, and a night curfew will be in place between 10 pm and 5 am, one hour longer than at present. Accommodation facilities in mountain resorts will only be allowed to receive guests at 70% of their capacity. Meanwhile, the vaccine rollout continues, with nearly 1.4 million people immunised since late December, most of them with the Pfizer vaccine. Romania has temporarily suspended the use of an AstraZeneca vaccine batch, but continues to use doses from other batches. The decision came after several European countries reported severe side effects and even deaths among people who have received doses from the respective batch.




    PANDEMIC The World Health Organisation said there are no reasons not to use the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, after several European countries announced they had suspended it as a precaution, according to WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris. The European Commission calls on states to follow the advice of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which says that so far nothing points to higher blood clot risks in people having received the AstraZeneca shots. Meanwhile, the “digital green passport project to be presented in Brussels on Wednesday will only take into account the COVID-19 vaccines authorised by the EMA, a senior EU official said on Friday. Four vaccines are authorised for use in the EU at this point–Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Oxford and Johnson & Johnson. The Chinese vaccine Sinopharm, used in Hungary even by PM Viktor Orban, is not included, and neither is Russias Sputnik V, ordered by Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and under EMA assessment since March 4. Around the world, according to worldometers, over 119 million people have so far caught the virus. Some 95 million people recovered and more than 2.6 million died.




    FRIGATE The Romanian frigate ‘Regina Maria’ Saturday joined the Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG-2), operating in the Black Sea. The frigate, with a crew of 238, will carry out NATO monitoring missions along with 5 other vessels from Bulgaria, Greece, Spain and Turkey, as part of SNMG-2, subordinated to the Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM).




    CRASH An An-26 military aircraft flying from Kazakhstans capital city Nur-Sultan crashed on Saturday while landing on Almatî Airport. Four of the 6 people on board died, according to the countrys ministry for emergencies. The Russian news agency Interfax quoted one source as saying the aircraft was part of Kazahstans border service in the Committee for National Security.




    MOLDOVA The president of R. of Moldova Maia Sandu presented the government with a set of measures to help the economy overcome the COVID-19 crisis. Under the plan, small enterprises and farmers would have easier access to financial resources thanks to a Loan Guarantee Fund. Maia Sandu explained in a Facebook post that the Fund would be increased to over 1.5 billion Moldovan leu. Procedures will also be simplified, the Moldovan president promised, and added that she was counting on solidarity on everybodys part, including banks.




    HANDBALL The best Romanian womens handball teams, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea and CSM Bucharest, played on Saturday against each other in the second leg of the Champions League eighth-finals. The Bucharest side moved up into the quarter-finals, although they lost to SCM Ramnicu-Valcea 27-21. In the first leg, CSM Bucharest had won 33 – 24, playing away from home. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • January 10, 2020

    January 10, 2020

    EU The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu is taking part in Brussels today in a special meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council, convened by the vice-president of the European Commission Josep Borrell, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy in the wake of the recent developments in the Middle East. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, European officials will exchange opinions and assessments on the situation in Iraq and will identify ways for the EU to contribute to easing the tensions in the region. The developments in Libya will also be tackled.




    ELECTIONS In Bucharest, PM Ludovic Orban announced after todays talks with President Klaus Iohannis, that together they decided to initiate procedures for early parliamentary elections. The PM added that a work group has been put together to handle negotiations with the parliamentary political parties for support in this initiative. Ludovic Orban said that the Social Democratic Party, which has a relative majority in Parliament, hinders the Governments initiatives and that the only solution is to have snap parliamentary elections as close as possible to the local elections scheduled this May. Meanwhile, the Social Democrats are considering a motion of no-confidence.




    UN Romanias representative at the United Nations, Ambassador Ion Jinga, addressed the Security Council as part of a ministerial debate on “Maintenance of international peace and security upholding the UN Charter. The Romanian diplomat mentioned that 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the UN, which remains the most adequate platform for collectively tackling threats to international peace and security, and that the UN Charter remains the reference document in this respect. He emphasised that the recent developments in the Middle East and North Africa prove once again the responsibility of the international community in facilitating political solutions able to support long-lasting peace. Ambassador Jinga also spoke about Romanias contribution to peacekeeping, proven among other things by its participation in 2019 in 10 UN peacekeeping missions.





    AIR CRASH The USA, Canada and Britain said that information from multiple sources indicates that the Ukrainian aircraft that crashed on Wednesday near Tehran has been taken down by Iranian armed forces. 176 people died. Iran may have accidentally shot down the plane in which 63 Canadian citizens were traveling, among other nationals, Canadas PM Justin Trudeau said. The US president Donald Trump and British PM Boris Johnson confirmed the hypothesis. All parties now ask Iran to initiate a detailed and thorough investigation. The Iranian authorities dismissed the latest intelligence as ridiculous and part of an American psychological manoeuvre. The Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev crashed shortly after taking off from the Tehran airport, just hours after Iran had launched ballistic missiles against 2 US military bases in Iraq, with the Iranians subsequently on alert for prospective American retaliation. According to American intelligence, the infrared signature from two suspected missile launches was identified, followed shortly afterwards by the infrared blip from the burning Boeing 737-800. On Thursday Irans Civil Aviation Organisation said the 3-year old plane faced technical problems shortly after take-off.



    HANDBALL Romanias mens handball team plays tonight in Benevento, Italy, against Georgia, in its first match in Group 3 of the qualification phase for the 2021 World Championship in Egypt. On Saturday Romania will play against Kosovo, and on Sunday they will take on the host country. The group winner qualifies into the second qualification phase, scheduled for mid-April. Manager Rares Fortuneanu, who also coaches Saint Raphael, in Frances top handball league, says he is confident Romania can qualify into next years final tournament, the first with 32 teams taking part. In the womens competition, Romania reached the main groups of the World Championship held last month in Japan.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)