Radio România Internațional

Tag: Zaporizhzhya

  • October 5, 2022

    October 5, 2022

    FIREWOOD The prices of firewood and
    wood derivatives used for heating will be capped in Romania until the end of
    March 2023. A draft emergency order in this respect is being discussed by the
    Cabinet today. Beneficiaries will include individuals, public and private
    education institutions, social service providers, local authorities and places
    of worship. The measure is intended to help Romanians cope this winter with the
    skyrocketing fuel, energy and natural gas prices. Also today the government is
    scheduled to endorse the 2030 National Forest Strategy.


    ENERGY A Pact for Clean Energy
    Resilience was launched in Romania on Tuesday. The initiative came from Smart
    Energy Association and is an invitation to the authorities and private sector
    to implement programmes and awareness raising campaigns regarding the need to
    cut energy consumption and to use clean energy sources. The president of the
    Association, Dumitru Chisăliţă, says cutting consumption should be achieved not
    through restrictive measures, but rather by improving efficiency. The
    Association also released a guideline for authorities, comprising energy saving
    solutions.


    SCHENGEN The European Parliament discusses in Strasbourg today
    Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Schengen accession. MEPs are expected to call for
    the Schengen passport-free travel area to be completed swiftly by extending it
    to all EU member states who wish to participate, with a resolution in this
    respect to be voted on in the next plenary session. Another topic on the
    European Parliament’s agenda concerns the mobilisation of Russian reserve
    troops, the illegal referendums in Ukrainian occupied regions and the nuclear
    threats voiced by the president of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. MEPs
    will request firm responses from member states to Russia’s preparations to
    annex Ukrainian territories and to step up military actions.


    CEREMONY The Royal House of Romania last night hosted a ceremony
    devoted to the Romanian-British partnership and the rule of Charles III. In her
    address, the Custodian of the Crown of Romania, Margareta, sent a message of
    hope and confidence to Britain’s new sovereign, King Charles III. In turn, the
    British Ambassador to Bucharest, Andrew Noble, pointed out that the British
    nationals who live in and love Romania are blessed to have a monarch who knows
    Romania so well.


    UKRAINE The president of Ukraine
    Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced fast and powerful progress for his army in the
    south of the country, where scores of localities have been reclaimed this week
    from the Russian troops. According to AFP, in his daily address
    posted on social networks, Zelenskyy promised that the Ukrainian troops would
    not stop and that it was only a matter of time until the Russians would be
    driven out of the entire Ukrainian territory. On the other hand, the Ukrainian
    president welcomed India’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity
    of Ukraine, voiced during a telephone call with PM Narendra Modi. Previously, Kyiv
    had criticised New Delhi over its neutrality. Meanwhile, in Brussels, EU
    countries Wednesday reached a political agreement on the implementation of an
    8th package of sanctions against Russia, this one in response to the illegal
    annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions.


    IAEA The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
    Rafael Grossi, will travel to Kyiv and then to Moscow this week to discuss a
    protection zone around the Ukrainian nuclear plant at Zaporizhzhya. Rafael
    Grossi will carry on consultations to have the mechanism in place as soon as
    possible, the Agency said in a news release. The nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya,
    the largest in Europe, is occupied by Russian forces, but is still operated by
    Ukrainian personnel. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling the
    plant area. (AMP)

  • August 11, 2022

    August 11, 2022

    Drought. In Romania,
    wheat crops are affected by drought on an area of ​​over 180,000 hectares,
    while the total affected agricultural area has extended to almost 330,000
    hectares in two thirds of Romania’s counties, according to the data provided by
    the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The relevant minister, Petre
    Daea, has announced that this year’s wheat production is 15% – 18% lower than
    that recorded in 2021. According to the minister, however, there is enough
    wheat to cover Romania’s internal needs, meaning 2.5 – 3 million tons, and to
    even ensure a surplus for export.







    Inflation. The annual inflation rate in Romania dropped to 14.96% in July this year, from 15.1% in June, the National Institute of Statistics has announced. Natural gas, oil, potatoes and fuel are at the top of the price hikes in July, followed by energy, plane tickets, flour and sorghum. Telephone services are the only ones that got slightly cheaper. According to the data presented on Tuesday by the governor of the Central Bank, Mugur Isărescu, the National Bank of Romania revised the inflation forecast for the end of this year to 13.9% and estimates an inflation of 7.5% for the end of next year.






    Ukraine. Prime Minister
    Nicolae Ciucă has stated that the Government of Romania has no data to justify
    the concern regarding the situation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in
    neighboring Ukraine. He says that the authorities in Bucharest constantly
    monitor data related to the environment, and the state institutions have taken
    all measures to inform and protect the population in good time. The UN Security
    Council is convening urgently today to discuss the situation of the plant in
    Zaporizhzhya, which Kiev and Moscow accuse each other of having bombed. At
    least 14 people died from the bombings on Tuesday night in the area around the
    nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe. The G7 group of the
    most industrialized countries accused Moscow of endangering the Ukrainian
    region around the plant, occupied by Russian troops.

    Embargo. The European embargo on Russian coal has come into force, four months after it was adopted as part of the fifth package of sanctions against Moscow, at a time when the EU is facing strong tensions over its energy supply, France Presse reports. It is the first EU sanction to hit the Russian energy sector. Until last year, the EU would import 45% of its coal from Russia for 4 billion euros a year, and countries such as Germany and Poland, which used it for electricity production, were particularly dependent on it. In the context in which the annual European consumption of coal, a polluting fossil fuel, fell from 1,200 to 427 million tons between 1990 and 2020, the closure of numerous mines on the continent contributed to the increase of Europeans’ dependence on imports.






    Refugees. The number of
    Ukrainian citizens with employment contracts in Romania has reached almost
    6,500, according to the Minister of Labor, Marius Budai. More than 4,000
    contracts were registered after the start of the war. Most are in the
    manufacturing industry, followed by construction, hotels, restaurants and
    commerce. More than a quarter of Ukrainians, over 1,200, opted for jobs in
    Bucharest. On the other hand, the Border Police announced that, on Wednesday,
    about 13,500 Ukrainian citizens crossed the border into Romania. Since February
    10, before the conflict, until August 9, almost 1.9 million refugees entered
    the country, but most of them only transited Romania to other European
    countries.






    Motorway. Works are
    starting for the construction of the A7 Motorway, which will connect the cities
    of Ploieşti, in the south of Romania, and Paşcani, in the east. It is the
    largest investment of this kind financed by the NRRP in the European Union. A
    Romaian – Bulgarian joint venture is starting today the organization of the
    construction site on lot 2 of the 28 km- long Ploiesti-Buzau section, which
    should be ready in 20 months. Starting August 22, an Italian builder will be
    working on the first lot, out of a total of 13. Dubbed the Moldavian Motorway, A7
    will measure almost 440 kilometers.






    Rowing. Romania participates
    with 11 crews and 39 athletes in the European Rowing Championships in Munich.
    Among the tricolor athletes present at the competition in Germany are the
    Olympic champions Ancuța Bodnar and Simona Radiș, who will compete in the
    double sculls event. At the previous edition of the European Rowing
    Championships, Romania won six medals, two gold and four silver. Recently, at
    the Canoe Sprint World Championships in
    Halifax (Canada), Romanian Cătălin Chirilă became world champion in the canoe
    single 1,000-meter event and world vice-champion in the 500-meter race. In
    another development, the European Swimming Championships start today in Rome. 11 Romanian athletes will participate in
    swimming, diving and high diving events. In swimming, David Popovici, double
    world champion, is announced as the big favorite in the 100 m and 200 m
    freestyle races. (MI)