Radio România Internațional

Tag: war

  • Three years of war in Ukraine

    Three years of war in Ukraine

     

    Three years after Russia’s invasion, EU leaders went to Kyiv to express their support for Ukraine, in a summit dedicated to a common defence and security strategy. “We are in Kyiv today, because Ukraine is Europe. In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny,” the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said. She was accompanied in Kyiv by the College of Commissioners, and emphasised the need to strengthen military aid.

     

    According to European Commission data, the EU and its 27 member states have provided almost EUR 134 billion to Ukraine in the past 3 years, of which EUR 48 billion in military assistance. Kyiv has also received substantial support from Washington.

     

    However, Donald Trump’s new administration is approaching the situation differently. The White House said on Saturday that the US is close to an agreement with Ukraine on sharing the profits from Ukrainian minerals as part of efforts to end the war. Washington wants to recover the billions of US dollars given to Ukraine in military aid, which is why it is demanding rare minerals, oil or “anything we can get,” says Donald Trump.

     

    Thrown off balance by the unexpected US-Russian dialogue on Ukraine, as Washington started talks with Moscow to end the war without having the EU or Kyiv involved, Europeans fear that Donald Trump could end the war on terms favourable to Russia, without offering security guarantees to Ukraine.

     

    The successive meetings of European leaders in Paris organised last week by Emmanuel Macron have shown, on the other hand, that they are rather divided and have failed to come up with a joint response to the start of US-Russian negotiations on peace in Ukraine.

     

    As such, news agencies say, “the French president is going to Washington on Monday on behalf of his country alone, without having an EU mandate for Europe to be able to speak with one voice.” He will be followed on Thursday by British PM Keir Starmer, who travels to the White House for similar talks with the US president, the same president who recently accused the two European leaders of having done nothing to end the war in Ukraine.

     

    Attending one of the meetings in Paris last week, the interim president of Romania, Ilie Bolojan, pleaded for cooperation between EU countries and the United States in resolving the crisis in Ukraine.

     

    “A just and lasting peace in Ukraine can only be achieved with the help of the United States, Romania’s strategic partner,” PM Marcel Ciolacu said in turn in Bucharest, in a first official reaction to the most important topic on the agenda of world leaders. The Romanian official voiced confidence that, despite the harsh political rhetoric of recent days, the steps to end the war will be successful. At the same time, Marcel Ciolacu emphasised that “Romanians have paid dearly, in economic terms, for the effects of this conflict,” and that Romanian companies should play an important role in the reconstruction of Ukraine. (AMP)

  • February 23, 2025 UPDATE

    February 23, 2025 UPDATE

    UKRAINE The interim president of Romania Ilie Bolojan takes part on Monday in an online summit on ‘Defence and Security Strategy of Unity. Action Plan’, organised in the neighbouring Russia-invaded Ukraine, the Romanian presidency announced. On Wednesday, Bolojan took part in a meeting on Ukraine and the security challenges in Europe in Paris. The interim president stated that participants in the meeting in Paris concluded that the best way to solve the crisis is collaboration between European countries and the United States of America, so that there is a ceasefire and a just peace, which cannot be achieved without the participation of Ukraine and the European Union in the negotiations.

     

    COMMEMORATION Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that any responsible person wants a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and expressed hope that, despite the harsh political rhetoric of recent days, the efforts to end the war in Romania’s neighbouring country will be successful. The Romanian PM said in a Facebook post that Romanian companies should play an important role in the reconstruction of Ukraine. It is a project worth over EUR 500 billion, from which Romanian companies should gain as much as possible, Mr. Ciolacu added. On Sunday, around 150 people, mostly Ukrainian refugees, gathered in front of the Ukrainian embassy in Bucharest to mark 11 years of Russian aggression and 3 years since the start of the full-scale invasion. The participants carried Ukrainian and Romanian flags, as well as banners with messages against the war started by Russia and against the Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian ambassador to Bucharest also attended the protest.

     

    POPE FRANCIS Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church wished Pope Francis a speedy recovery, in a message sent on Sunday on behalf of himself, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the clergy and all Romanian Orthodox believers. The Patriarch says he prays for Pope Francis to recover and resume his pastoral and missionary work as soon as possible. Aged 88, Pope Francis has been hospitalised in Rome for almost 10 days with bilateral pneumonia, and his health has worsened. Pope Francis was elected head of the Catholic Church in 2013.

     

    FILM The Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude was awarded the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. The distinction was awarded for his latest film, “Kontinental ’25”, the story of a female bailiff in the grips of a moral crisis, filmed with a phone in just 10 days. In his acceptance speech, Radu Jude thanked his team and said that the award proves that there is a lot of talent in Romania. The Golden Bear for best film went to ‘Dreams (Sex Love)’/'(Drommer’), directed by the Norwegian Dag Johan Haugerud. The second most important trophy of the Berlinale, the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, was awarded to the Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro for the production ‘The Blue Trail’ (‘O último azul’), and the Silver Bear for best director went to the Chinese filmmaker Huo Meng for ‘Living The Land’ (‘Sheng xi zhi di’).

     

    ARREST Ten individuals close to a French drug trafficker arrested on Saturday in Romania, have been detained over suspicions of having participated in the escape and flight of the repeat offender, the Paris prosecutor announced on Sunday. The known leader of a drug trafficking group, the man had been wanted since his escape in France in May 2024, during which two police officers were killed. On Saturday, Romanian police identified and detained him near a shopping center in Bucharest, and handed him over to the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime.

     

    TENNIS The Romanian player Elizabeta Samara won the silver at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup, which brought together Europe’s best table tennis players in Montreux (Switzerland). On Sunday, the Romanian lost the final to Ying Han (Germany), 2-3. Another Romanian, Bernadette Szocs, lost the quarter-finals on Saturday. Szocs won the competition in 2018, in 2019 she lost the final, and in 2021, 2022 and 2024 she came out third. Elizabeta Samara also won a third place in 2018.

     

    HANDBALL  The Romanian women’s handball team HC Dunărea Brăila have qualified for the quarter-finals of the EHF European League, after a 33-33 draw against the Norwegian side Larvik on Sunday in their last match in Group A. The result won Dunărea Brăila the group stage. In the quarter-finals, they will face the second-placed team in Group B, Ikast Handbold (Denmark). In turn, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, the winners of Group B, will face Thueringer HC (Germany). The first leg games take place on March 22-23, and the return matches on March 29-30. Meanwhile on Sunday, CS Rapid Bucharest managed to qualify for the play-offs of the Women’s Handball Champions League, after drawing away from home against the Montenegrin team Buducnost Podgorica, 21-21, in the last round of Group B. (AMP)

  • February 23, 2025 UPDATE

    February 23, 2025 UPDATE

    UKRAINE Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that any responsible person wants a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and expressed hope that, despite the harsh political rhetoric of recent days, the efforts to end the war in Romania’s neighbouring country will be successful.

     

    The Romanian PM said in a Facebook post that Romanian companies should play an important role in the reconstruction of Ukraine. It is a project worth over EUR 500 billion, from which Romanian companies should gain as much as possible, Mr. Ciolacu added.

     

    On Sunday, around 150 people, mostly Ukrainian refugees, gathered in front of the Ukrainian embassy in Bucharest to mark 11 years of Russian aggression and 3 years since the start of the full-scale invasion. The participants carried Ukrainian and Romanian flags, as well as banners with messages against the war started by Russia and against the Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian ambassador to Bucharest also attended the protest. (AMP)

  • MApN dismantles Russia’s misinformation campaign

    MApN dismantles Russia’s misinformation campaign

    Romania’s Ministry of National Defence has denounced a new misinformation campaign concerning Romania. Russian journalists have this time tackled the drone attack on the night between January 16th and 17th the Russian forces launched against the civil infrastructure of Ukraine’s ports, close to its border with Romania.

    According to them, the attack was launched a day later, in the night between January 17th and 18th, allegedly against a convoy of Romanian troops or mercenaries trying to cross the Danube from Romania to Ukraine in their dinghies.

    According to the aforementioned Russian sources, ground military installations belonging to Romania’s armed forces would have opened fire against the flying drones. The same propaganda material says that the drone attack, which has been ordered by high-ranking Russian army officers, would have caused significant casualties among the Romanian troops.

    The Kremlin scenario also includes helicopter gunships belonging to the Romanian Air Force, involved in medevac operations and also supporting with fire the operation of the Ukrainian forces on the other bank of the river.

    The aforementioned propaganda material has triggered a prompt response from Bucharest.

    The Defence Ministry in Bucharest, also known as MApN, has described those presented by the Russian press as ‘absurdities without any real support’. The Ministry says that in the night between January 16th and 17th, the Romanian army’s monitoring and surveillance installations signaled a series of violations of Romania’s airspace, which imposed alerts issued for the residents of the Tulcea county and the activation of two F-16 jet fighters of the country’s air force.

    Later, experts with the MApN, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Interior Ministry, have identified two areas in which parts of the Russian drones fell to the ground.

    The Romanian Defence Ministry says that although absurd and false, the information invented by Kremlin’s propaganda laboratories is in line with the pattern of the Russian operations aimed at influencing and manipulating the Romanian and allied public space.

    According to MApN, their objective is to create a false perception that NATO would try to join the war against Russia and that Romania is being pushed into this conflict.  The Romanian side says that this propaganda narrative is also targeting the Russians who are being manipulated into believing the myth of the besieged city, that Russia is in danger of being attacked by NATO, and that in Ukraine, the Russian invading troops are actually fighting NATO in the so-called ‘special military operation’

    According to Bucharest, the reality, which the Kremlin propaganda is trying to cover up, is that Russia, which completely disdains international norms, has militarized the Black Sea, invaded Ukraine and illegally annexed Crimea in 2024, and since 2022 has been engaged in an illegal aggression war against a neighbouring sovereign country. Last, but not least, the Ministry says that it expects the false information presented in the aforementioned material to be taken over by the vectors of the Russian propaganda operating inside the Romanian public space and get hyped up mainly on digital platforms.

    (bill)

     

  • January 9, 2025 UPDATE

    January 9, 2025 UPDATE

    AID During the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, also known as the Ramstein Group, the US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, on Thursday announced an additional $ 500 million military aid package for Ukraine, which is probably the last offered by the Biden administration before the country’s new president, the Republican Donald Trump takes over on January 20. A fresh military aid for Ukraine has been announced by Germany’s Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, who has also suggested a possible re-thinking of the Ramstein format in case Trump wants to reduce the US involvement. This has been the 25th meeting of the aforementioned group set up to coordinate the arms supplies to Ukraine, a meeting also attended by NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, who has criticized Russia for carrying on attacks against innocent civilians in Ukraine. The meeting was also attended by the head of the European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, who said the EU was ready to take the lead on supporting Ukraine if the United States was no longer willing. President Trump has pledged talks with both the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, but hasn’t provided solutions for the war in Ukraine yet.

     

    WEATHER Temperatures will significantly drop in the regions surrounded by the Carpathians, whereas in the rest of the Romanian territory they will slightly go down as compared to the previous period. The sky will be overcast in the country’s west, center and north. The western regions are bracing up for more showers, whereas gale force winds and snow storms are expected in the mountains. The highs of the day will be between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius.

     

    ELECTION The parties in the ruling coalition in Romania, namely the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, as well as the representatives of national minorities, have agreed that the first round of the presidential elections will take place on May 4, and the second round on May 18. The coalition also confirmed their nomination of the former Liberal leader Crin Antonescu as their joint candidate for president. In the meantime, the Bucharest Court of Appeal has published its justification for its rejection, on December 31, of a legal action against the Central Electoral Bureau in connection with the annulment, last year, by the Constitutional Court, of the electoral process for the election of president.

     

    VISIT During his trip to Romania, Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice-president of the European Commission, responsible for prosperity and industrial strategy, on Thursday visited a Romanian factory producing last-generation lithium-ion batteries and customised energy storage systems for sectors and businesses from all over Europe. The visit was an opportunity to present the indispensable role played by batteries in the decarbonisation of supply chains in Europe. Séjourné also discussed the challenges facing the batteries sector, as well as Europe’s response in this regard. The EU official also visited the National Aerospace Research and Development Institute, the main research centre in the field of aerospace science in Romania. That was an opportunity to discuss China’s unfair competition in the drone market and the increasingly relevant use of drone technologies in both civilian and military applications. On Wednesday, the European official met the minister for economy, digitalization, entrepreneurship and tourism Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, as well as Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and senate speaker Ilie Bolojan.

     

    TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea will be facing Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the first round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, which will get under way on Monday, in Melbourne. Irina Begu will be playing qualifier Gabriela Ruse in the first round. Jaqueline Cristian, who went straight into the main draw, will face Croatia’s Petra Martic in the first round. Qualifier Anca Todoni will play world number five and last year’s Melbourne finalist Qinwen Zheng, of China, in the opening round.

    (bill)

  • December 30, 2024

    December 30, 2024

    GOVERNMENT In their last session this year, the government in Bucharest is working on an emergency ordinance aimed at curbing public expenses in 2025. The project, agreed upon by the leaders of the ruling PSD-PNL-UDMR coalition contains measures such as ceasing employment in state-owned institutions, freezing pensions and salaries of state-employees as well as the cancellation of bonuses and other rewards. According to the ruling coalition, these measures are aimed at cutting budget expenses by 19 billion lei, the equivalent of 4 billion Euros, which accounts for one percent of the GDP. Trade unions, however, have lashed out at the new austerity measures, and threatened with protests. A law on the state budget for the next year is to be adopted by the government in January and sent for Parliament approval in a special sitting.

     

    PRICE HIKES The Romanians will be paying more for petrol and diesel as of January 1, due to the 6% rise in the fuel excises, says a document recently released by the Finance Ministry. A liter of petrol will be 3 eurocents higher and diesel will have almost the same price. Excises for alcohol beverages will also grow by 4.4% as of January 1. Local taxes and duties will also be adjusted to the inflation rate, but the decision in this respect is going to be made by city halls. The General Council in Bucharest has decided to raise these taxes by 10.4%.

     

    ATLAS Romania’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday night said that on December 18, by means of the Romanian ambassador to NATO, it had conveyed its disapproval over the distribution of a geographic atlas comprising maps from the time of the so-called, ‘greater Hungary’. “The atlas has a provoking nature in the context of the strategic partnership between Romania and Hungary and their NATO allies. The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has thus reiterated the position it has consistently conveyed to the Hungarian authorities, that any declaration and provoking gesture is not going to contribute to the consolidation of the partnership relations between Romania and Hungary. The common history has to remain an object of study for historians” – the diplomacy in Bucharest says. Dismantled at the end of the First World War, the so-called ‘greater Hungary’ included territories occupied by Budapest, which today belong to Romania, Slovakia, Croatia and Slovenia.

     

    SURVEY The war in Ukraine, the political crisis and the latest price hikes have been the main concerns of the Romanians in 2024, says an IRES survey. According to data released, one out of four Romanians is dissatisfied with the way they are living at present and a similar percentage was unable to mention a single reason for being happy in 2024. According to the same sources, politicians remain on the last position in a ranking of the most trusted professional categories. Furthermore, more than half of the Romanians believe that the year 2024 was worse than 2023 in terms of politics, the way the country was ruled and also from the economic point of view. More than four out of 10 interviewees believe the event that most negatively impacted Romania in 2024 was the cancellation of the first round of the presidential election under a Constitutional Court ruling. Over 60% believe the move was a bad decision. The survey was conducted by phone over December 17 and 20 on 964 respondents with an error margin of +/- 3.3%.

    (bill)

  • November 26, 2024 UPDATE

    November 26, 2024 UPDATE

    ELECTIONS – The Central Election Bureau presented the final results of the first round of the presidential elections in Romania on Tuesday. According to the data, independent candidate Călin Georgescu ranks first in the voters’ preferences with 22.94% of the votes. In second place is the leader of the Save Romania Union (USR), Elena Lasconi, with 19.18%, and in third place, the president of the Social Democratic Party, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, with 19.15 percent. Next is the president of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, George Simion, with 13.86% of the votes, that of the National Liberal Party, Nicolae Ciuca – 8.79% and the former deputy secretary general of NATO, Mircea Geoană, who ran independently and was preferred by 6.32% of the voters. All other candidates got under 5% each. After the results of Sunday’s election, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu resigned from his position as president of the Social Democrats. The PNL leadership also resigned.

     

    DIPLOMACY – Romania is ‘firmly’ committed to supporting democratic values ​​of human rights, including gender equality, combating anti-Semitism, xenophobia and any form of discrimination, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday. “Romania’s foreign policy initiatives are inseparable from the country’s membership in the area of ​​freedoms and rights guaranteed by its status as a member state of the European Union and a NATO ally’, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release regarding the ‘external concerns’ that emerged after the first round of the presidential elections. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the fact that, “35 years since Romania returned to the family of Western democracies, through the courage of those who died in the Romanian Revolution, these values ​​are the ones that guarantee peace, security and prosperity for all Romanian citizens, wherever they may be”. In this context, the National Audiovisual Council asked the European Commission to open an official investigation into the TikTok platform. The CNA took as a benchmark the report made by Expert Forum, which established that the electoral preferences for the candidate Călin Georgescu increased from 2 to 22% based on a campaign conducted on the Chinese network. The RENEW group in the European Parliament also asked the social network to provide explanations regarding compliance with the legislation on digital services. We recall that, a year ago, the European Commission asked staff to remove TikTok from their work devices.

     

    EUROPEAN UNION – MEPs reaffirmed their strong support for Ukraine in Strasbourg on Tuesday, condemning cooperation between Russia and North Korea and calling on the European Union to step up its support for Kyiv’s forces. A recent statement by the leaders of the European Parliament calls on the bloc to “step up support for Ukraine in all ways, including politically, financially, militarily and through humanitarian aid”. It also reiterated that the EP “stands by and supports Ukraine in every way possible until its victory”. Also on Tuesday, the European Union’s budget for next year was increased to almost 200 billion euros following negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council. The budget proposal was debated in the European Parliament and will be voted on Wednesday, when the final vote on the new European Commission is also scheduled.

     

    G7 – The Foreign Ministers of the G7 states on Tuesday voiced their support for ‘an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah’, saying that ‘it is time to reach a diplomatic solution in Lebanon’, France Presse reports. On the other hand, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that Israel ‘has no excuse’ for refusing the ceasefire in Lebanon, negotiated by the US and France. At a time when diplomatic efforts are intensifying, Israel has increased its bombing of Hezbollah strongholds, especially on the southern outskirts of Beirut. In this context, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, expressed concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where according to his office almost 100 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and doctors. We recall that on October 8, 2023, the Lebanese group Hezbollah opened a front against Israel in support of Hamas, its Palestinian ally.

     

    MOLDOVA – Justice, economy and security are the main priorities for the Republic of Moldova in the coming years, President Maia Sandu said on Tuesday, at the European Integration Forum in Chisinau. She emphasized that accession to the EU is the only chance to save democracy, to develop in peace and stability. Despite the anti-EU propaganda and the Kremlin’s attempts to turn us away, Moldovan citizens have shown that European values ​​are also their values, said Maia Sandu, recalling the constitutional referendum following which the Constitution was amended and the European path was included as a strategic objective. We recall that the neighboring state officially submitted its application for EU accession in March 2022, just a few days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In June the same year, the European Council granted Moldova the candidate country status.

  • Soviet prisoners in Romania

    Soviet prisoners in Romania

    Romania took sides with Germany in World War Two. On June 22nd, 1941, jointly with Germany, Romania began military operations against the Soviet Union. However, we need to say the Soviet Union had been the aggressor state, the year before. In June 1940, in the aftermath of two cession ultimatums the Soviets issued to the Romanian government, the Soviet Union occupied Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, Romanian territories of the east and the north. Among other things, just as it would happen in any military operation, there also were prisoners.

    Over June 22nd, 1941 and August 23rd, 1944, the Romanian Army captured 91,060 Soviet soldiers. Of them, 90%, that is 82, 057 military, were sent to Romania, in 12 concentration camps. According to the dictionary compiled by historians Alesandru Duțu, Florica Dobre and Leonida Loghin “The Romanian Army in World War Two”, of those who were detained in concentration camps,13,682 who were of Romanian origin from Bessarabia and Bukovina were released. Other 5,223 died, while 3,331 escaped.

    On August 23rd, 1944, Romania pulled out of the alliance with Germany and on Romanian territory there were 59, 856 Soviet prisoners, of whom 2, 794 were officers, while 57, 062 were NCOs and soldiers. Considering the prisoners’ ethnic origin, 25, 533 were Ukrainians, 17,833 Russians, 2,497 Kalmuks, 2,039 Uzbeks, 1,917 Turks, 1,588 Cossacks, 1,501 Armenians, 1,600 Georgians, 601 Tartars, 293 Jews, 252 Polish, 186 Bulgarians, 150 Ossetins, 117 Azeri, as well as other several dozens of ethnic groups, in smaller numbers.

    Documents reveal the Soviet prisoners in Romania were treated in accordance with the existing international legislation. Early into the war the living conditions were dire, and it was because of such conditions that most of the deaths were reported. Yet they improved rapidly, the reports compiled by the Romanian Army’s control commission mentioning the progress.

    The Soviet prisoners were confined in concentration camps, accommodation, food, hygiene and medical assistance conditions were provided for them, they were interrogated and were given the chance to work.

    Colonel Anton Dumitrescu took part in the act of August 23rd, 1944, himself and four NCOs being the ones who arrested Marshall Ion Antonescu and vice-Prime Minister Mihai Antonescu.

    In a 1974 interview stored in Radio Romania’s Oral History Center, he recalled how, prior to his arresting Antonescu, he was sent to gather intel on the center of Soviet prisoners in Slobozia. The Romanian intelligence service had found out the Germans prepared that center as a launching site of the operations against the Romanian army, should the latter defect.

    ”In Slobozia there was a big centre with Russian prisoners. The Germans had garnished the entire camp with Vlasov troops. The Vlasov troops were the Russians who, led by general Vlasov, had taken sides with the Germans. And, in German uniforms, fought against the Russians. However, from the intelligence I had, the Germans wanted to be sure about that center should something happen with us, with the Vlasovs taking sides with the Russians and fighting against us.

    I had been in contact with the Vlasovs in the Caucasus when, indeed, those people in no way wanted to surrender because the Soviets would have killed them. They were dead set on fighting. The entire region there was teeming with refugees from Moldavia and from Bessarabia and I did not see any Vlasov whatsoever.”

    Engineer Miron Tașcă used to work in Braila, at the French-Romanian plant, with a mixed, civilian and military production. In 1995, he reminisced the Soviet prisoners who worked at the Braila-based plant and what happened with them, after the Soviets reached Romanian territory.

    ”We, during the war, at the factory in Braila, also worked with a series of prisoners. They were treated very well, they did not work on the machines, they did manual jobs, downloading and uploading stuff, and cleaning. Those prisoners, the Soviets set them free, took them and brought them back to Russia. The moment they were taken, they also knew they had to leave.

    One of them, who told me he was an Uzbek, said he no longer wanted to return to the USSR. He asked me to go at all lengths to keep him there, he was a hard-working, silent and quiet boy. Of course, something like that was not possible. Prisoners were investigated, numbered, completely taken over, and that’s when he also left, the poor thing. But he was the one who under no circumstances wanted to return. Others did not want to return either, likeminded people, that is. Perhaps they did not know what was in store for them, but he, from the very beginning said he did not want to return. “

    A student of the military school during the war, Catrinel Dumitrescu, in 1998 said that, prior to seeing Soviet military after 1944, he had also seen them as prisoners:

    ”I had seen Russians before, they were prisoners. There were, in our country, about 10-20 Russian prisoners who were free to work. They were accommodated with the gendarmes post and worked in the cleaning of roads, of roadside ditches, they called in at private residences and did menial jobs there, they received food and suchlike. After August 23rd, 1944, the first ones to flee, not to the East but to the West, were those Russians! ‘Cause they knew what was going to come. “

    Soviet war prisoners in Romania are a less well-known chapter in Romanian modern history. It is that kind of chapter that still takes its time to reach public consciousness.

  • November 19, 2024 UPDATE

    November 19, 2024 UPDATE

     

    PARLIAMENT The parliament of Romania convenes on Wednesday to approve 2 inquiry committees and their membership. The joint standing bureaus approved a draft resolution on setting up a joint parliamentary inquiry committee to check the spending by and on behalf of the Presidency in 2014 – 2024, initiated by the Social Democratic Party. Another joint inquiry committee will look into real estate mafia, beginning with the Nordis affair, initiated by the National Liberal Party. The Liberal Party president Nicolae Ciucă said the number of victims identified in this case is over 400. Many Romanians in the country and abroad were persuaded to purchase apartments in residential compounds and hotels built by Nordis, but the developers have sold the same apartments several times over to different buyers.

     

    ELECTIONS Romania sees the last days of the campaign for the first round of the presidential elections, scheduled for Sunday, November 24. There are 13 candidates for the president post, 9 of them backed by political parties and 4 running independently. The head of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says the official results of the election may be announced by late Monday, November 25. The second round of the presidential elections is due on December 8.

     

    ISRAEL The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu Tuesday discussed over the telephone with Israel’s new diplomacy chief, Gideon Saar. According to the Romanian foreign ministry, Luminiţa Odobescu praised the dynamics of bilateral dialogue and cooperation, and its potential for development in key sectors. The 2 officials also exchanged opinions regarding the security situation in the Middle East. Odobescu voiced support for the international community’s efforts towards de-escalation, a ceasefire, the freeing of all hostages and the improvement of the humanitarian situation in the region. The Romanian minister also reiterated Bucharest’s firm commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, a topic constantly on the agenda of the Romanian government and supported by concrete measures. Gideon Saar praised the special relations between the 2 countries and thanked for Romania’s steady support.

     

    UKRAINE Despite 1,000 days of terrible warfare, Ukraine stands unbowed, the US Ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec said in a statement on Tuesday, marking 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She also said that, according to the UN, Russian forces have killed more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 600 children, and continue to engage in shocking war crimes, including torture of civilians and prisoners of war. Russian bombs have obliterated schools, hospitals, and treasured sites of Ukrainian history, culture, and memory. According to the American diplomat, Ukraine has shown remarkable courage and resolve in defence of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, helped by the enduring support of its friends and allies around the world. Romania has shown true leadership in support of Ukraine and its citizens and, as strategic partners and NATO allies, the United States and Romania stand together to counter the threats posed by Russia in Ukraine and in Europe, Kathleen Kavalec also said.

     

    FOOTBALL The Romanian national football team defeated Cyprus 4-1 on Monday night at home, in their last match in Group C2 of the Nations League. The Romanians thus won their fifth victory in the group and moved into the competition’s League B. Romania is still waiting for UEFA’s decision regarding the match against Kosovo in Bucharest on Friday, when the guests left the pitch little before the end, at a goalless score, when they heard pro-Serbian chants from the host fans. The Kosovo Football Federation denounced what it saw as an “unacceptable and unsafe atmosphere”. The Romanian Football Federation dismissed the accusations as unfounded.

     

  • November 19, 2024

    November 19, 2024

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    MESSAGE – Despite 1,000 days of terrible warfare, Ukraine stands unbowed, the US Ambassador in Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec has said today in a statement, marking 1000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She also said that, according to the UN, Russian forces have killed more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 600 children, and continue to engage in shocking war crimes, including torture of civilians and prisoners of war. At the same time, Russian bombs have obliterated schools, hospitals, and treasured sites of Ukrainian history, culture, and memory. According to the American diplomat, Ukraine has shown remarkable courage and resolve in defense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, helped by the enduring support of its friends and allies around the world. Romania has shown true leadership in support of Ukraine and its citizens and, as strategic partners and NATO allies, the United States and Romania stand together to counter the threats posed by Russia in Ukraine and in Europe, Kathleen Kavalec also said.

     

    RUSSIA – Moscow continued to criticize Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use American long-range missiles to attack Russia. Deputy National Security Adviser for the Biden Administration, John Final, emphasized the fact that Russia is waging a war of aggression. However, Joe Biden’s decision was criticized by President-elect Donald Trump’s team members. They accuse Biden of escalating the conflict two months before leaving office. On the other hand, on Monday, Ukraine marked 1,000 days since Russia’s large scale invasion of its territory. The invasion led to the destruction of numerous Ukrainian towns and cities, and 6 million people were forced to flee the country. Thousands of civilians were killed during the bombings. On the battlefield, losses are described by Reuters as catastrophic and estimated at hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded on both sides.

     

    ELECTIONS – These are the last days of the election campaign for the first round of the presidential elections in Romania, scheduled for Sunday, November 24. There are 13 candidates for the position of head of state, nine proposed by political parties and four independents. The head of the Permanent Election Authority, Toni Greblă, says that it is possible that, by late Monday, November 25, the official results of the election be announced. The second round of the presidential elections is scheduled for December 8.

     

    INFLATION – The annual inflation rate in the European Union rose to 2.3% in October, from 2.1% in September, and Romania is, for the eighth month in a row, the country with the highest inflation rate in the community bloc, with an annual price increase of 5%, according to data published on Tuesday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). Last month, the lowest annual inflation rates in the EU were recorded in Slovenia (0.0%), Lithuania and Ireland (each 0.1%), while the highest were in Romania (5%), Belgium and Estonia (each 4.5%). The National Bank of Romania has revised upwards, to 4.9%, from 4% previously, the inflation forecast for the end of 2024 and estimates that it will reach 3.5% at the end of 2025, according to data presented on Monday by the Governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu.

     

    FOOTBALL – The Romanian national football team defeated Cyprus 4-1 on Monday night at home in its last match in Group C2 of the Nations League. The Romanians thus won their fifth victory in the group and advanced to the competition’s League B. Romania still has to wait for UEFA’s decision for the match against Kosovo on Friday in Bucharest, abandoned by the guests with only a few tens of seconds before the end, at a goalless score, when they heard pro-Serbian chants from the host fans. The Kosovo Football Federation denounced what it saw as an “unacceptable and unsafe atmosphere”. The Romanian Football Federation rejected the accusations as unfounded.

  • October 5, 2024

    October 5, 2024

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    FRANCOPHONIE – The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, continues today his visit to France, where he takes part in the Francophonie Summit. The 19th High Level Conference of the Heads of State or Government of the 88 Full Member States, Associate Members and Observers of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) is held under the motto “Create, innovate and do business in French”  (‘Creer, innover, entreprendre en francais’). The participation of the Romanian president in the Francophonie Summit is an opportunity to highlight Romania’s contribution to the global effort to transform and adapt multilateralism, and the role of the OIF, in a context marked by major challenges to the rule-based international order, the Presidential Administration said.

     

    CHISINAU – Just a few weeks before the presidential elections and the referendum on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU, the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu promised, on Friday, in Chisinau, the continuation of his country’s support for Moldova. After being received by President Maia Sandu, who, according to opinion polls, has the first chance to win another mandate as head of state, Ciolacu said that in order to maintain the Republic of Moldova on the European path, it is important that Maia Sandu is reelected and that the referendum on the EU is successful. The Romanian Prime Minister also said that joint projects and investments will continue in the upcoming period.

     

    CONFLICT – Hezbollah armed group said Saturday its fighters were confronting Israeli troops in Lebanon’s southern border region, France Presse reports. At the same time, a series of explosions were heard in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Israeli military previously issued evacuation orders for certain areas. There have been a series of recent strikes on senior figures within the Islamist group, and Israel is considering how to respond to Tuesday’s ballistic missile attack, which Iran carried out in response to Israeli military action in Lebanon. The price of oil went up given the possibility of an attack on Iranian oil facilities. The escalation in Lebanon comes nearly a year after Hezbollah opened a front against Israel at the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, followed by months of fighting that displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned that his allies, mainly Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas, will continue the fight against Israel.

     

    COMISSION – The European Commission has decided to overtax Chinese electric cars by up to 35% starting next month. 10 member states voted in favor and five against. Romania is among the 12 states that abstained. France and Italy voted for this measure, and Germany, the main European car manufacturer, was the strongest opponent. The Commission’s decision is based on the conclusions of an investigation launched a year ago. Beijing supports its own industry in such a way that the price of Chinese electric cars is much lower than the European ones, and thus the competition is partly eliminated. Beijing reacted immediately, and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the EU urges the bloc to act cautiously and postpone the application of tariffs. China sees the introduction of this the tariff as protectionist measure and warns that this attitude could lead to the degradation of trade relations between the two partied. Official estimates are that Chinese cars could reach a 15% share of the EU’s new electric car market by 2025, their prices being 20% smaller, on average, than the Europe-made models.

     

    REPATRIATION – 74 people in vulnerable situation, Romanian citizens and first degree family members, mostly women, children and medical cases were repatriated, Friday evening, from Lebanon, being transported to Romania on board an aircraft of the Romanian Air Force. Previously, the aircraft took off for Beirut with approximately 10 tons of food products from the state reserves on board. The mission was carried out at the request of the Department for Emergency Situations, and the aid was sent by Romania free of charge, in the context of the sharp deterioration of the security situation in the Middle East. On Thursday, another 69 Romanian citizens and first degree family members, mostly women, children and medical cases, were repatriated from Lebanon.

     

    TENNIS – The Romanian pair Monica Niculescu/Gabriela Ruse has today qualified for the doubles final of the WTA tennis tournament in Hong Kong, after winning 6-2, 6-7, 10-4 against the pair Ulrikke Eikeri (Norway )/Fang-Hsien Wu (Taiwan). After this success, Niculescu and Ruse could play in the same formula for Romania at the final tournament of the Billie Jean King Cup. In the final of the Hong Kong tournament, the two Romanians will be up against Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya of Japan.

     

  • The early days of BBC’s Romanian-language broadcasting

    The early days of BBC’s Romanian-language broadcasting

    In the world of radio broadcasting, the BBC needs no introduction. The BBC is one of the landmarks without which the history of radio broadcasting cannot be written. In its centenary existence, holding a special place is the BBC’s Romanian-language service.

    The early days of the BBC’s Romanian-language broadcasting are linked to the outbreak of World War Two in September 1939, so in September 2024 we celebrate the service’s 85 years of broadcasting. We should emphasize, at this point, Great Britain’s extremely important influence which justified the very existence of the BBC, given that after 1945, at the end of the war, the world’s geopolitical stage became even more complicated that it had been before.

    In 1997, Radio Romania’s Oral History Canter interviewed one of the first journalists who used to work for the BBC’s Romanian-language Service, Liviu Cristea. He was a BBC anchorman from 1939 to 1971.

    Liviu Cristea reminisced the beginnings of the service and the tests that were made to that effect

    ”At this radio station trials were made like some sort of test time, carried by people who had been recommended by the Romanian Legation. Some of the Brits’ radio stations where thereby checking if the broadcast was audible in Romania, at once checking whether the voices behind the mic were suitable or not. However, the first team that took over the editing work was made of four people: a Finance Ministry official, Niculae Gheorghiu, who was in London on a training stage, a history professor, Ion Podrea, who was sent by the Iorga Institute to do his research, a legal expert furthering his comparative law studies, that was me, and a young student of the London Polytechnic, Jose Campus.”

    In the beginning, the Romanian-language broadcast was a 15-minute news bulletin. It kept Romanian listeners informed with news from the international and British press. The war had broken out and the Poles, officials or ordinary people, were withdrawing to Romania, in a bid to reach the West. The slot was broadcast from the Broadcasting House in Portland Place lying in central London, it was from there that, for the first time ever in Romanian, the announcement was heard: “This is Radio London.”

    When the German bombs damaged the building, the service was relocated to a hotel and from there to a skating rink. Liviu Cristea also said that fairly rapidly he and his colleagues adapted to the demands of the job. Here he is once again, giving us details on how the editorial work was organized.

    ”Shortly afterwards, the anchormen’s voices had become a reliable and identifiable source of information that also provided a gleam of hope in the grim days. At the same microphone science specialists offered their opinions, but also columnists, professors, trade union members, writers, army people, underground frontline fighters, refugees and prisoners who had escaped from the labour camps, or prisoners of war. The materials received by the editors of the Romanian section had already been processed in a central editorial office. The stuff had to be translated and commented upon by the Romanian editors so that it could become as accessible as possible to the average listener. The pieces of news after the outbreak of the war were checked but not censored by diplomatic and military bodies. The press commentaries were selected for each zone the broadcasts targeted, the talks given by prominent journalists sought to place the event or the news of the day against the backdrop that appeared at that particular moment. “

    The state of war demanded that the BBC broadcasts in Romanian, just like in the other foreign languages, be closely monitored. Liviu Cristea:

    ”Available for us from the very beginning was a so-called monitoring service, that is a service listening to the broadcasts from the country and from other parts. Those who closely monitored the broadcasts proper in front of the mic were supposed to monitor closely that, behind the mic, we should not read something different than what was written in the news bulletins, we should not improvise anything even with one single word, we should not stray away from the text that had been approved of by the section head prior to going to the mic. And those gentlemen who kept an eye on us were George Campbell, doctor Morrison and a gentleman who back in the day used to be a high-ranking employee of an oil company in Romania and whose command of Romanian was excellent. “

    In the building of the BBC, Liviu Cristea also recalled his seminal encounter with a character that would make history in the troubled 20th century.

    “ As I was passing by the janitor’s desk, there was a French officer there who was somehow embarrassed because he and the janitor could not understand each other. The man was a French army officer, wearing a French uniform so offered him my help right away and I asked him to tell me what it was all about. He was extremely blunt and kind of vexed as he answered me: ‘ I am colonel de Gaulle, I come from the front line and I have a meeting. I am already 5 minutes late and I don’t understand why I am being kept here and why nobody welcomed me at the reception’. I was deeply touched when later on I discovered that the one-star colonel was general de Gaulle who, as we know, led the French resistance and then he was the one who created the first post-war political structure in France.”

    The BBC’s Romanian-language service is now 85 years old. All along, the BBC was one of the citadels defending human rights, until 1989. It still is, to this day.

  • The Week in Review 9-15.09.2024

    The Week in Review 9-15.09.2024

    A new school year in Romania

    Schools must be absolutely safe for the students, the teaching staff and the rest of the educational staff, said, on Monday, President Klaus Iohannis, who participated in the opening ceremony of the new school year at a college in Bucharest. Attending the event alongside the Education Minister, Ligia Deca, the head of state emphasized that one of the top priorities of the “Educated Romania” project, transposed into the education laws of 2023, was the creation of a school and university environment that is not only conducive to educational development, but is also a space where all those involved feel protected and respected. Approximately three million Romanian preschoolers and pupils started a new school year on Monday. The government promises that the 2024-2025 school year will be the last one in which pupils go to school in three shifts. At present, there are only 19 such units in Bucharest and in Ilfov county (near Bucharest). According to the Education Ministry, at the beginning of the school year, 800 schools out of the total of over 6,000 school units in Romania are relocated for reasons of rehabilitation, modernization or construction.

     

    Romanian and the war in Ukraine

    Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis, has convened the meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) for September 19, in Bucharest, the Presidential Administration announced on Thursday. The agenda of the meeting includes topics related to the stage and prospects of the conflict in Ukraine following the illegal and unjustified aggression of Russia and the consequences for Romania, as well as the opportunities provided by the new geopolitical context for the consolidation of the Strategic Partnership with the Republic of Moldova (an ex-Soviet with a majority Romanian-speaking population). In this sense, he mentions ‘ensuring the irreversibility of the European roadmap’ of the neighboring state. The CSAT members will also discuss the National Plan for the Implementation of the Civil Pact in the field of Common Security and Defense Policy, as well as the Endowment Plan of the Romanian Army for the period 2025 – 2034. Also on Thursday, the Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, stated, in a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, that the Black Sea was no longer an area of ​​cooperation, but a theater of war, as a result of the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation. According to the Defense Ministry, the Romanian minister reiterated the firm message of condemnation of the unjustified attacks and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law carried out by the Russian Federation against the civil port infrastructure of Ukraine on the Danube, in the proximity of the border with Romania. Rustem Umerov sent a message of gratitude regarding Romania’s decision to donate a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine. He also thanked for the support given to Ukraine since the first day of the war of aggression started by Russia, in terms of humanitarian, diplomatic, grain export support, as well as in relation to other important areas.

     

    Electoral period in Romania

    The electoral period for the presidential election in Romania began on Thursday, with the setting up of the Central Electoral Bureau (BEC), according to the timetable approved by the Romanian Government. The BEC members were appointed by drawing of lots. Candidacies can be submitted until October 5 at the latest, and the election campaign will begin on October 25. The Romanian citizens with their domicile or residence abroad can vote by mail, and the deadline for submitting requests in this regard is September 24. The first round of the presidential election will take place on November 24, and the second on December 8. Also, Romanians will be called to the polls on December 1, on the National Day, when the parliamentary elections are scheduled.

     

    National Theatre Troupes are meeting in Chișinău

    16 national theatre troupes from Romania and the Republic of Moldova convened on Tuesday and will be together until September 22 in Chisinau for the 9th edition of the ‘Romanian National Theatres Convention’. In this period of time, theatre lovers in the capital of the Republic of Moldova will enjoy 46 cultural events such as outdoor and indoor performances, radio drama shows and premieres. The event will also include book launches and meetings with leading figures from the world of culture and theatre. The event in Chisinau is unfolding under the title “European Connections” and the patronage of the presidents of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, Klaus Iohannis and Maia Sandu, respectively. The event’s honorary guest is the “Ivan Franko Theatre” from Kyiv.

     

    Romania’s Olympic and Paralympic Athletes awarded by president Klaus Iohannis

    During a ceremony on Wednesday, the Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, gave awards to the athletes who represented Romania at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. Taking the floor during the event Iohannis said quote, “it is essential that sport find its well-deserved place among the national priorities.” According to the president, the medals obtained by our athletes in Paris are “a symbol of the rejuvenation of the Romanian sports”.

    We recall that at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, athletes from Romania obtained four gold, four silver and three bronze medals. A judoka from Romania obtained gold and a table tennis player, silver in the Paralympic Games.

    In the Olympics, Romanian swimmer David Popovici won gold in the 200 meter freestyle race, and so did our double scull and eight crews. Silver came from the weight-lifting competition, the double scull and the pair races. Bronze medals were also claimed by swimmers and gymnasts from Romania.

    (LS&bill)

  • Consequences of the War in Ukraine

    Consequences of the War in Ukraine

    The head of the Romanian state, Klaus Iohannis, has summoned the country’s Higher Defence Council, a.k.a CSAT, for next week, on September 19 to be precise. High on the agenda are issues related to the stage and the prospects of the conflict in Ukraine following the illegal and unjustified aggression of the Russian Federation but also related to the opportunities offered by the new geo-political context for strengthening the Strategic Partnership with the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet, Romanian-speaking country.

    In this sense, “the irreversibility of Moldova’s European progress is assured”. The CSAT’s meeting comes after on Saturday night several Russian attack drones violated Romania’s airspace on their way to various targets in Ukraine.

    Two F-16 fighters immediately took off to monitor the drones. According to Romanian defence officials, the drones were not shot down because they were not hostile.  Defence Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, told Radio Romania that if the Romanian territory had been attacked, the threat would have been eliminated right away.

    Angel Tilvar: “I can say – and don’t believe I’m telling you something of a high level of confidentiality – we and our allies are seeing in real time what is happening on the national territory. We were actually monitoring the drone since its very entrance into the Romanian airspace, we dispatched two F-16s which followed it. And if the conclusion had been the drone’s intention was to strike we would have taken the measures required in these situations. So, there was no element of a threat that we couldn’t handle. And I am sending this clear message to eliminate all speculations that we weren’t ready for a response.”  

    On Thursday Defence Minister Tîlvăr talked on the phone with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, and again lashed out at the Russian attacks against Ukraine’s civil port infrastructure on the Danube, close to Romania’s border, and against the civilians in that country. The two also talked about Romania’s efforts to support Ukraine’s armed forces and the effective coordination of the multinational assistance projects Romania is part of, such as the European Training Center for F-16 personnel in Fetesti, south-eastern Romania, where the Ukrainian pilots will be  training to use this type of jet fighter. In turn, Minister Umerov thanked Romania for the support it had given to his country since the first day of the conflict, support consisting of humanitarian and diplomatic actions, in supporting its grain exports and other major fields. He also conveyed a message of gratitude regarding Romania’s decision to donate a Patriot missile system to Ukraine.

    (bill)

     

  • August 30, 2024

    August 30, 2024

    SANCTIONS Romania supports the adoption of new sanctions against Russia. At the informal meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers with their Ukrainian counterpart Dmitro Kuleba, on Thursday, the Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminita Odobescu, said that pressure has to be kept on Moscow and so has military and energy support for Ukraine. The issue of the military support for Ukraine is presently being talked upon by Defence Ministries of the EU countries. Talks are focusing on the EU operation, already underway, to train the Ukrainian soldiers to defend their country against the Russian invasion, DPA reports. A new plan of relocating some of these training operations to Ukraine will be discussed. Some of these training sessions are presently being held in Germany and Poland and the mission kicked off in November 2022. According to data released in May, 52 thousand Ukrainian troops had benefitted from this training.

     

    VISIT Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will be paying a formal visit to Chisinau at the invitation of his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu. The visit comes against the background of the two countries’ celebrating the Day of the Romanian language on August 31st. Iohannis is expected to deliver a firm message of support and encouragement for the authorities and citizens of the Republic of Moldova in their efforts to modernize and democratize the country and for the irreversible implementation of the rule of law and the European roadmap – the presidential administration has announced. The president will also be making an appeal to international partners to carry on their multidimensional assistance to the Republic of Moldova mainly in the context of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine and all the risks entailed by this situation.

     

    VISIT Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will be paying a formal visit to Chisinau at the invitation of his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu. The visit comes against the background of the two countries’ celebrating the Day of the Romanian language on August 31st. Iohannis is expected to deliver a firm message of support and encouragement for the authorities and citizens of the Republic of Moldova in their efforts to modernize and democratize the country and for the irreversible implementation of the rule of law and the European roadmap – the presidential administration has announced. The president will also be making an appeal to international partners to carry on their multidimensional assistance to the Republic of Moldova mainly in the context of the aggression war Russia is presently waging on Ukraine and all the risks entailed by this situation.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions FCSB have qualified for the Europa League’s groups after the one-nil victory in Bucharest on Thursday against Austrian side LASK Linz. The first game ended in a draw, one-all. Unfortunately Romania’s vice-champions CFR Cluj failed to qualify for the Conference League. The Romanians were knocked out by the Cypriotes of FC Pafos, who won the decisive play-offs game 3-0. The first game went to CFR, 1-0. FCSB will today be learning their opponents in their group.

     

    TENNIS Romanian tennis player, Gabriela Ruse, is today playing Spanish Paula Badosa in the third round of the US Open, the year’s last Grand Slam tournament. Coming straight form the qualifiers, the Romanian caused a big surprise in the competition’s second round after securing a win against Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia, winner of this year’s edition of Wimbledon. This has been Gabriela’s first qualification for the third round of a Grand Slam tournament.

     

    WEATHER And now a couple of things about the weather, which is unstable with showers and thunderstorms reported in almost the entire Romanian territory and on isolated areas on the Black Sea coast. However, the weather remains warm in the country’s western regions. The highs of the ray are ranging from 24 to 34 degrees Celsius.

    (bill)