Radio România Internațional

Tag: Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

  • July 23, 2023 UPDATE

    July 23, 2023 UPDATE

    Patients. Belgium will continue to treat patients with severe burns from Romania. An agreement on this matter will be signed soon, the Minister of Health in the Bucharest government, Alexandru Rafila, has announced. He has also stated that, at national level, the number of beds in hospitals for major burns will increase from 30 to 50, with support from the World Bank.



    Wildfires. Dozens of Romanian firefighters, stationed in Greece, will participate in extinguishing the strong fires on the island of Rhodes, the Department for Emergency Situations in Bucharest has announced. 30,000 locals and tourists from this island were evacuated to safer places, 3,000 of them by water. The countrys fire service has described the fires as the most difficult right now. Firefighters are battling flames fueled by strong winds amid a heat wave that has hit most of Europe. According to the authorities, tourists are being safely evacuated from the affected areas and are being redirected to other hotels on the island.



    Vessel. The training ship “Mircea” of the Romanian Navy will dock, on Monday, in the Port of Izmir in Turkey. It will make a stopover until Thursday, during which it will have the mission of promoting the maritime values ​​and traditions of Romania. The diplomatic mission of Romania, through the General Consulate in Izmir, planned during the stopover in the port of Izmir visits of the crew and cadets on board to the tourist attractions in the area, official meetings of the ships commander with the local public authorities, as well as a reception on board the ship, with guests from among the diplomats, civil and military authorities in the region. The ship has a crew of 145 people and is conducting an international training march in the Black Sea until July 31. The ships crew includes 64 second-year students of the “Mircea cel Bătrân” Naval Academy in Constanta (south-east, on the Black Sea) and 10 foreign cadets from partner academies in Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, Turkey, Italy and Spain. “Mircea” has so far called in the ports of Piraeus in Greece and Taranto in Italy.



    AUR. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR, in opposition in the Bucharest Parliament) has launched its candidates for next years European Parliament elections. Among them are the senator Claudiu Târziu, president of the National Management Council of the party, the MEP Cristian Terheş, elected in 2019 on the lists of another party, or the entrepreneur Mugur Mihăescu, a former non-professional comedy actor, who gained notoriety playing the role of an idiot policeman named Garcea. Before 1989, Mihăescu was a collaborator of the Securitate, the political police of the communist dictatorship. The average age of AUR candidates to the European Parliament is 45 years, and almost half of the list was reserved for women. The decision to announce the candidates for the European Parliament about a year before the election date is a challenge for the electoral competitors and a test of transparency towards the voters, who have 11 months to get to know those who are asking for their votes – the Alliance for the Union of Romanians has stated. The elections for the representatives of the member states of the Union in the European Parliament will take place between June 6-9, 2024.



    Ukraine. The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, has convened for Wednesday, at the request of Kyiv, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. This will take place at the level of ambassadors and will focus on consultations on the latest developments, including the transport of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea – said the spokesperson for the Alliance, the Romanian Oana Lungescu. Shortly before the announcement, Stoltenberg had a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after which he wrote on Twitter: “We strongly condemn Moscows attempt to make a weapon out of food.” For his part, Zelensky said that he identified, together with the Secretary General of NATO, future measures for unblocking and supporting the grain corridor through the Black Sea.



    Rowing. Romania ended the World Rowing Under-23 Championships in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) with two gold medals. The Romanian athletes won the double sculls on Sunday, and the quadruple sculls on Saturday. In the medal ranking, our country took sixth place. At the World Under-23 Championships in 2022, hosted by Varese (Italy), Romania won three medals: gold in the womens double sculls, silver in the womens quadruple sculls and bronze in the mens double sculls.



    Tennis. Romanian tennis player Ana Bogdan won the BCR Iasi Open (WTA 125) tournament, with 100,000 euros in prize money, for the second year in a row. She defeated her compatriot Irina Begu, 6-2, 6-3, in the final on Sunday. In the doubles final, the Romanians Irina Bara and Monica Niculescu were defeated by the Slovenians Veronika Erjavec and Dalila Jakupovic, 6-4, 6-4. (MI)


  • July 23, 2023

    July 23, 2023

    Patients. Belgium will continue to treat patients with severe burns from Romania. An agreement on that will be signed soon, the Minister of Health in the Bucharest government, Alexandru Rafila, has announced. He has also stated that, at national level, the number of beds in hospitals for major burns will increase from 30 to 50, with support from the World Bank.



    AUR. The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR, in opposition in the Bucharest Parliament) has launched its candidates for next years European Parliament elections. Among them are the senator Claudiu Târziu, president of the National Management Council of the party, the MEP Cristian Terheş, elected in 2019 on the lists of another party, or the entrepreneur Mugur Mihăescu, a former non-professional comedy actor, who gained notoriety playing the role of an idiot policeman named Garcea. Before 1989, Mihăescu was a collaborator of the Securitate, the political police of the communist dictatorship. The average age of AUR candidates to the European Parliament is 45 years, and almost half of the list was reserved for women. The decision to announce the candidates for the European Parliament about a year before the election date is a challenge for the electoral competitors and a test of transparency towards the voters, who have 11 months to get to know those who are asking for their votes – the Alliance for the Union of Romanians has stated. The elections for the representatives of the member states of the Union in the European Parliament will take place between June 6-9, 2024.


    Ukraine. The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, has convened for Wednesday, at the request of Kyiv, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. This will take place at the level of ambassadors and will focus on consultations on the latest developments, including the transport of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea – said the spokesperson for the Alliance, the Romanian Oana Lungescu. Shortly before the announcement, Stoltenberg had a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after which he wrote on Twitter: “We strongly condemn Moscows attempt to make a weapon out of food.” For his part, Zelensky said that he identified, together with the Secretary General of NATO, future measures for unblocking and supporting the grain corridor through the Black Sea.



    Vessel. The training ship “Mircea” of the Romanian Navy will dock, on Monday, in the Port of Izmir in Turkey. It will make a stopover until Thursday, during which it will have the mission of promoting the maritime values ​​and traditions of Romania. The diplomatic mission of Romania, through the General Consulate in Izmir, planned during the stopover in the port of Izmir visits of the crew and cadets on board to the tourist attractions in the area, official meetings of the ships commander with the local public authorities, as well as a reception on board the ship, with guests from among the diplomats, civil and military authorities in the region. The ship has a crew of 145 people and is conducting an international training march in the Black Sea until July 31. The ships crew includes 64 second-year students of the “Mircea cel Bătrân” Naval Academy in Constanta (south-east, on the Black Sea) and 10 foreign cadets from partner academies in Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, Turkey, Italy and Spain. “Mircea” has so far called in the ports of Piraeus in Greece and Taranto in Italy.



    Wildfires. Thousands of people have been evacuated from houses and hotels on the Greek island of Rhodes, due to wildfires. The countrys fire service has described the fires as the most difficult they are currently facing. Firefighters are battling wildfires fueled by strong winds amid a heat wave sweeping across Europe. No injuries have been reported, according to the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in Greece. According to the authorities, tourists are being safely evacuated from the affected areas and are being redirected to other hotels on the island.



    Rowing. Romania has today won the gold medal in the womens double sculls at the World Rowing Under-23 Championships in Plovdiv (Bulgaria). Andrada-Maria Moroşanu and Iulia-Liliana Bălăucă won the race in 06 min 48 sec 50/100. This is the second Romanian gold medal, after the one won on Saturday by the womens quadruple sculls team, made up of Emanuela-Ioana Ciotău, Alexandra Ungureanu, Cristina Drugă and Patricia Cireş. At the World Under-23 Championships in 2022, hosted by Varese (Italy), Romania won three medals: gold in the womens double sculls, silver in the womens quadruple and bronze in the mens double sculls.



    Tennis. Romanians Ana Bogdan and Irina Begu are playing, today, the final of the BCR Iaşi Open tournament (eastern Romania), with 100,000 euros in prize money. Bogdan, number 49 WTA, the reigning champion and second seed at the tournament, qualified in the last act after defeating Raluka Şerban, a Romanian player representing Cyprus, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. For her part, Begu, ranked 31st in the world and the competitions first seed, defeated the Slovenian Tamara Zidansek 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. (MI)


  • August 17, 2021 UPDATE

    August 17, 2021 UPDATE

    Covid-19. Over 1.9 million EU Digital Covid Certificates were issued in Romania until August 17, Andrei Baciu, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health, announced on Tuesday. He said that most of these certificates – almost 96% – are proof of vaccination against COVID-19. The issuance of the European digital certificates started in Romania on July 1. Also on Tuesday, the coordinator of the National Vaccination Campaign against COVID-19, doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă, presented the results of the first study on vaccine effectiveness in Romania, carried out during the third wave of infections in the spring. According to the study, people vaccinated against COVID-19 are faced with a 14 times lower risk of death than the unvaccinated, 12 times lower risk of hospitalization and hospitalization in ICUs and a 10 times lower risk of infection. Doctor Valeriu Gheorghiţă stressed again the importance of vaccination, especially in the context of the negative evolution of the pandemic lately. A new record high for this summer was reached on Tuesday: 544 new cases of COVID-19 were reported out of nearly 39,000 tests performed in 24 hours. Six related deaths were also recorded. In hospitals, the number of coronavirus patients has exceeded 1,000, of which 126 are in intensive care. On the other hand, interest in vaccination remains low, despite repeated calls from authorities to boost the vaccination campaign. Just over 5 million Romanians have been fully vaccinated.



    Afghanistan. The EUs priority is the safe evacuation of European citizens in Afghanistan and Afghan citizens who have worked with us for more than 20 years if they want to leave the country, the EU Security Chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday, at the end of a video conference with the Unions foreign ministers. According to Borell, Western intervention has failed to build an Afghan state, the Taliban have “won the war” and so the EU will have to engage in dialogue as soon as possible to avoid a humanitarian and migration catastrophe in Afghanistan. Also on Tuesday, the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg criticized the failure of the Afghan authorities to stand up to the Taliban and prevent them from seizing power in Kabul. Stoltenberg told a news conference that international terrorism is once again a threat as the Taliban return to power in Afghanistan and “NATO needs to stay vigilant, to stay at the forefront of the fight” against it. The speed of the collapse of the Afghan army in the face of the Taliban advance was a surprise and there are lessons that NATO can learn from it, but the main priority today is to get vulnerable people out of the country, Jens Stoltenberg also said. On Monday, US President Joe Biden stressed that the responsibility for the current situation lies with the Afghan political leaders, who fled the country, as well as the security forces who refused to fight. The US President defended his decision to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan. The situation in Kabul was relatively calm after the Taliban took over the city, but chaotic scenes were reported at the airport, with thousands of civilians trying to find a place on the planes that were taking off. The airports activity was suspended for several hours, but flights were resumed during the night.



    Repatriation. Bucharest – The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis convened, on August 25, the Supreme Council of National Defense, to discuss the security situation in Afghanistan and its implications for Romania, the Presidential Administration announced on Tuesday. On Monday, the head of state ordered the emergency involvement of the Romanian Air Force for the evacuation of Romanian citizens from Afghanistan. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu informed that 27 Romanian citizens currently at the international airport in Kabul are to be evacuated with the Romanian Air Force aircraft sent to Afghanistan on Tuesday and, at the same time, steps are being taken to recover other Romanian citizens from a former US military base. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense in Bucharest had announced that a team of soldiers from the Special Operations Forces was on board the aircraft for protection. The mission is being carried out at the request of the Foreign Ministry, as a result of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. Also, a C-27 J Spartan plane is ready to take off to repatriate Romanian citizens who have already been evacuated from Afghanistan by aircraft of other NATO member countries. The MFA in Bucharest informed on Tuesday that 16 other Romanian citizens managed to leave Kabul during the night of August 16/17. The Foreign Ministry strongly recommends that Romanians in Afghanistan urgently contact the Romanian Embassy in Islamabad and inform them of their current location, so that they can be contacted if necessary.



    GDP. Romanias gross domestic product increased by 6.5% in the first half of this year, compared to the same period in 2020, according to data published on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics. In the second quarter of this year, the GDP grew by 1.8% compared to the previous quarter, and compared to the same quarter of 2020 the economy registered a growth of 13%. Also on Tuesday, Eurostat reported that, with 13.6%, Romania is among the European Union countries with the highest annual economic growth in the second quarter, compared to the same period last year. According to the president of the Fiscal Council in Bucharest, Daniel Dăianu, however, “one cannot compare, without clarifications, a quarter in which the economy is recovering with a quarter in which the economy was partially closed”. Daianu also said that Romania has a structural budget deficit and big external deficits. The opposition Social Democratic Party says that, compared to the level before the pandemic, the economy grew by only 1.9%, and for 99% of the citizens the living standard deteriorated significantly due to the galloping inflation.



    Senate. The Senate in Bucharest was convened, on Tuesday, in an extraordinary session for an information on the adoption by the Government, on August 11, during the parliamentary break, of three emergency ordinances. They concern the transfer of pension rights of EU officials, the equivalence of the position of social inspector and the hiring by contest of the personnel necessary for the implementation of projects financed from external loans contracted or guaranteed by the state. The convening of the Senate for the fifth time in an extraordinary session for emergency ordinances without justification is a defiance against Parliament, the Social Democratic senator Robert Cazanciuc said. According to the opposition representative, extraordinary sessions should be used only in special situations. (MI)