Radio România Internațional

Tag: tanks

  • January 2, 2024

    January 2, 2024

    PRICE HIKES The new year has brought a
    series of fiscal amendments to the Romanians, ranging from new VAT rises to other
    majored excises and taxes. Fines have also been raised, and companies reporting
    over 50 million euros in turnover will pay taxes of at least one percent of
    their turnover. Tobacco excises have been raised and there are VAT raises
    between 9 and 19 % for certain products and services. A special tax has been
    introduced for expensive goods, such as houses and cars as well as raised
    excises for sweet products. Fuel excises have also been raised and experts
    believe the new fiscal measures will translate into a higher inflation and a depreciated
    local currency against the Euro. Romania’s budget deficit this year has been
    estimated at 5% of the GDP with an economic growth of 3.4%. 7% of the country’s
    GDP has been earmarked for investment.






    QUAKE Authorities in Japan are in
    a battle against time in their attempt to find survivors after the 7.6
    magnitude earthquake on Monday, which was followed by many aftershocks.
    According to provisional tolls, scores have been killed and hundreds of
    buildings destroyed. Numerous fires caused by broken pipelines have been
    reported in the north of the Noto peninsula, close to the quake’s epicenter. As
    temperatures went below zero at night, rescuers are making great efforts to
    find survivors.






    GAZA Israel has pulled out its
    tanks from some parts of the Gaza city announcing a new stage in its war
    against the terrorist group Hamas. The new change in Israel’s tactics involves
    the partial pull out of its troops from the Gaza Strip and an increased focus
    on smaller-scale targeted operations. Israel says one of the key objectives is
    the complete elimination of the Hamas threat and the release of the hostages
    still kept by the famous terrorist group. According to Radio Romania
    correspondent in Israel, the attempts to release the Israeli hostages, which seemed
    to be compromised at a certain point, have these days been given a fresh
    impetus thanks to the mediation efforts of Qatar and Egypt. The war in Gaza,
    which broke out after the attack on Israel masterminded and conducted by the
    terrorist group Hamas on October 7, when 12 hundred people were killed and 240
    kidnapped, has so far caused the death of roughly 22 thousand Palestinians in
    the Gaza Strip. At the same time, most of the region’s 2.3 million people
    residents has been displaced.






    WEATHER The
    weather remains warm in Romania with temperatures higher than those usually
    registered at this time of the year. Showers have been reported in small areas
    in the country’s south-east. Wind has intensified at higher altitudes in the
    mountainous area of the Eastern and Western Carpathians. The highs of the day
    are ranging between 4 and 12 degrees Celsius while the capital city Bucharest
    reports higher temperatures than usual for the winter season, of at least 10-11
    degrees Celsius.




    (bill)

  • November 9, 2022

    November 9, 2022

    ENERGY Romania’s ruling coalition
    convenes today in an attempt to reach consensus with respect to regulating
    energy prices and increasing pensions. The Social Democratic Party and the
    National Liberal Party are struggling to reach common ground on these major
    issues. While the Social Democrats plead for a regulated energy market, the
    Liberals favour a semi regulated market. As for public pensions, the Liberals
    want a 15% increase, whereas the Social Democrats would like smaller pension
    benefits to be increased by a higher percentage. Meanwhile, on Tuesday the
    Chamber of Deputies passed a law on the decarbonisation of the energy sector.
    Also on Tuesday, Deputies approved the sale of the country’s uranium
    concentrate reserve to the Nuclearelectrica national corporation. Both
    laws will be forwarded to president Klaus Iohanis for promulgation.


    ELECTIONS The Republicans are set to
    win the US House of Representatives majority following Tuesday’s midterm
    elections. In the Senate, the race is still tight, with voting on-going in the
    western states. According to CBS News, the Republicans won 198 seats and
    the Democrats 167 seats in the House of Representatives, but ballot counting
    continues. The shift in the House majority will significantly affect president
    Joe Biden’s agenda in the second half of his term in office, including the US
    approach of the situation in Ukraine, Radio Romania’s correspondent in
    Washington reports. Final election results may still take days or even weeks to
    be announced, given the differences in ballot counting systems and possible
    court proceedings in the states with more competitive races.


    AWARD The European Parliament last
    night awarded its 2022 European Citizen’s prizes. The 30 winners include the
    Save the Children Romania organisation, for its assistance to the children in
    Ukraine. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Save the Children
    organisation has provided basic food products, hygiene, clothing, footwear,
    children’s products, blankets and other immediate assistance products.It has responded to the acute needs
    of immediate humanitarian assistance, information and emotional support, both
    at the border and in the centres where refugee mothers and children are housed.
    Awarded every year, the European Citizen’s prize goes to projects organised by
    people or organisations that encourage mutual understanding between people in
    the EU, cross-border cooperation that builds a stronger European spirit and EU
    values and fundamental rights.


    NATO The meeting of NATO foreign ministers in
    Bucharest on November 29th and 30th confirms Romania’s
    role in the current security context and reflects the Allies’ interest in the
    region. The statement was made by Romania’s permanent representative to NATO,
    Dan Neculăescu. He mentioned that Romania hosted a summit in 2008, a
    meeting of NATO defence ministers and a meeting of the NATO Military Committee,
    the organisation’s highest military authority. The meeting of foreign ministers
    in late November will be the first of this kind ever hosted by Romania. It will
    include 4 sessions focusing on the implementation of the Madrid Summit
    decisions, the war in Ukraine, energy security and partners. Invited to attend
    the meeting are also Ukraine, the R. of Moldova, Georgia, Finland, Sweden and
    Bosnia.


    MILITARY The French Army is sending
    13 Leclerc tanks to the Cincu military base in Romania. The equipment is
    scheduled to reach the military base in central Romania by rail in about a week.
    The Leclerc is one of the most
    expensive tanks in the world, able to hit targets 4 km away while moving at 50
    kmph. France will send to Cincu a total of nearly 150 combat vehicles with
    complete equipment and ammunition, in order to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank
    in the context of the war in Ukraine. The NATO battle group in Romania was
    created in May and is spearheaded by France. (AMP)