Radio România Internațional

Tag: Russian aircraft

  • November 24, 2015

    November 24, 2015

    GOVERNMENT SESSION – An informal session of the new Government is today scheduled to address the draft budget for 2016. Government members must list priority projects for next year. The budget planning of the former Government provided for salary rises in the healthcare and education sectors. Parliament subsequently voted a 10% increase of all salaries in the public sector, although the law has not yet been ratified. The Finance Ministry is to establish whether these salary increases are sustainable, without exceeding the deficit target of 3% of the GDP.



    ISIS – French President François Hollande is today meeting in Washington with president Barack Obama, as part of diplomatic efforts to convince the worlds superpowers to join efforts in what he has termed ‘a unique international coalition against the Islamic State terrorist group. Ahead of his visit, the US State Department called on the US-led international coalition, comprising 65 states, to intensify efforts to combat the global network of the jihadist Islamic State. Yesterday in Paris, François Hollande agreed with British Prime Minister David Cameron to step up the offensive against the Islamic State, reiterating that his country is at war with this jihadist group. Tomorrow, the French presidents diplomatic effort to rally the support against the IS will continue in Paris, where he is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and subsequently on Thursday in Moscow, when François Hollande is to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.



    TERRORIST THREAT – The terror threat level for the Brussels Capital Region is being kept at the maximum of 4, the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has announced, adding that the Brussels subway service and schools would reopen on Wednesday, Reuters reports. The level 4 alert, pointing to a serious and imminent threat, was imposed for the Brussels region on Saturday night. The level 3 terror alert for the rest of Belgium will remain in place until November 30. Brussels authorities have announced the arrest of 21 people in the Brussels region and Liege as part of a full-scale counter-terrorist operation. The list of arrested does not however include Salah Abdeslam, the key suspect in the November 13 attacks in Paris.



    CONSULTATIONS – The president of the Republic of Moldova Nicolae Timofti is today resuming consultations with parliamentary factions in order to designate a new Prime Minister. He is today meeting with representatives of the Liberal-Democratic Party, led by former Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet, a party that so far has refused to take part in discussions around creating a new parliamentary majority with its partners from the former pro-Western coalition, the Liberal and the Democratic Parties. We recall the Government was disbanded at the end of last month in the wake of a no-confidence vote filed by the Socialist and Communist opposition, also voted by the Democratic MPs in the Moldovan Parliament.



    COLECTIV – 10 of the 39 people who suffered burn injuries in the Colectiv nightclub fire on October 30 in Bucharest are still in critical condition, the Health Ministry reports. So far 42 people have been released from hospital care, while another 39 were transferred to medical units abroad. At least 60 people were killed in the fire.



    VAT – Romanias VAT is one of the highest at global level and will still be placed in the first fifth of the global ranking even after its planned cut to 20% starting January 1, 2016, reads a recent study by the KPMG consultancy and audit company. At present, Romania ranks among the worlds top ten countries in terms of its VAT, standing at 24%. Hungary has the highest VAT in the world, 27%. On the other hand, Romania has one of the lowest flat corporate tax and income tax rates, standing at 15%, placing our country in the last fifth of the global ranking.



    RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT – The Russian Defence Ministry has today confirmed that the SU-24 fighter jet shot down by Turkish military belonged to the Russian army, claiming however the aircraft was flying in Syrian airspace. This contradicts the original announcement of Turkish authorities, who claimed the aircraft was violating Turkish airspace. This is not the first incident on the Turkish border with Russia since the latter began a military offensive on Syria. On October 3 Turkish fighter jets intercepted a Russian military aircraft in its airspace headed to Syria. At the time Moscow claimed the incident was the result of unfavourable weather conditions. On October 16, the Turkish military shot down a Russian-made drone that violated Turkeys airspace. Tensions between the two countries have escalated recently in the wake of a series of Russian airstrikes on Turkish-speaking areas in Syria, an allegation dismissed by Moscow.


    (translated by V. Palcu)



  • October 6, 2015 UPDATE

    October 6, 2015 UPDATE

    The IMF has operated an upward adjustment of its forecasts regarding the increase of Romanias GDP this year and the next. According to the latest ‘World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday by the IMF, Romanias GDP is expected to go up 3.4% this year and 3.9% in 2016, as against the 2.7% and 2.9%, respectively, estimated in spring. On the other hand, in its financial stability report, the National Bank of Romania notes that the country is not facing severe systemic risks, in spite of the uncertainties related to the international economic context and the danger of a return to inadequate domestic economic policies. According to governor Mugur Isarescu, Romanias public debt is now sustainable, but the continued increase of the weight of the public debt in the GDP may become dangerous. Without financial stability, free market economy cannot work properly and efficiently, and fiscal relaxation becomes a “hoax, in that it reduces taxes, but triggers rises in inflation, depreciation rates and budget arrears, says Mugur Isarescu.



    State Secretary for global affairs, Carmen Burlacu, received on Tuesday Riva Ganguly Das, the ambassador agree of the Republic of India, who presented her credentials. On this occasion, the two officials highlighted the positive dynamics of bilateral relations in recent years, emphasizing the multiple cooperation opportunities, as laid down in the joint declaration establishing an enhanced partnership between the two countries, signed in New Delhi on March 8, 2013.



    The American anti-missile system in Deveselu, the military base in southern Romania that will become operational by the end of the year, is exclusively defensive in nature. It is designed to strengthen collective defence, a key mission of NATO, and to discourage ballistic attacks, the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said in Seville on Tuesday. He took part in the ‘2015 Multinational Ballistic Missile Defence’ Conference organised by the US Missile Defence Agency. According to the Romanian official, the Iranian ballistic programme is being developed and there are other state and non-state actors interested in obtaining or developing this technology. According to Bogdan Aurescu, Russias statements that the missile shield is useless are not justified. In Seville, the Romanian official had a meeting with the director of the US Missile Defence Agency, Vice-admiral James D. Syring.



    Ukraine and the EU Tuesday welcomed the east Ukrainian separatists announcement that local elections in the regions they control will be postponed to 2016. Brussels views the decision as a “fundamental step towards the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. Alongside the recent agreement to pull out light weapons, this announcement gives fresh hope that the conflict may see a long-term political solution, a spokesperson for the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said. In a rare occurrence, Russia joined Ukraine and the EU in hailing the decision of the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the conflict, in April 2014, more than 8,000 people have died in that country.



    Turkish military planes were again harassed at the Turkish-Syrian border, the Turkish Army announced on Tuesday. The incidents came after, late last week, Russian aircraft violated Turkeys air space, causing tensions between Russia and Turkey, a NATO member country. The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warned Moscow that this may undermine relations with his country and said Turkey will not have violations of its airspace go unanswered. Russia launched air strikes in Syria on September 30, but the West accuses Moscow of targeting the opponents of President Bashar al-Assad. Russia claims however that it targets IS sites and other extremist groups.