April 7, 2022
A roundup of news from Romania and the world
Newsroom, 07.04.2022, 13:55
NATO – In Brussels, the foreign ministers of the NATO member countries, including the Romanian one, Bogdan Aurescu, are discussing, today, the new strategic concept that must be adapted to the current security context. Prior to the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg estimated that the war in Ukraine could take months or even years. The agenda of the meeting includes the implementation of the decisions of the Extraordinary NATO Summit of March 24, with focus on strengthening the Allied defense and deterrence posture on the Eastern Flank, following Russias aggression on Ukraine and its consequences for Euro-Atlantic security. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the NATO officials will also discuss the latest developments on the ground in Ukraine, including the crimes against the civilian population. Bogdan Aurescu will reiterate the importance of the rapid implementation of the decisions of the March NATO Summit, with an emphasis on the establishment of new NATO Combat Groups, one of which is in Romania. He reiterated that Moscow was preparing an offensive in eastern Ukraine to take control of the entire Donbas region and to build a land bridge to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
Ukraine — The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the recent sanctions imposed on Russia, but underlined that they were insufficient. He called on Western democracies to boycott Russian oil, insisting that the failure of a rapid agreement on an embargo would result in the loss of many lives among Ukrainians. The US has imposed new sanctions on two of Russias largest banks, as well as on Vladimir Putins two adult daughters, on Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, on the wife and children of the FM Sergei Lavrov, on members of the Security Council of Russia, including Dimitri Medvedev, a former president and prime minister. On the other hand, the Ukrainian police found new bodies of people shot in Hostomel, near Kyiv, a town recently liberated from the occupation of Russian troops. According to the locals, they were killed by snipers. The Ukrainian military record war crimes cases in every city or town where the Russian soldiers were present. According to the Ukrainian officials, more than 1,200 lawsuits have been opened in the Kyiv region over war crimes committed by the occupiers. The Polish President Andrzej Duda described the Russian militarys actions in Ukraine as “genocide” and called on the West to strengthen sanctions against Moscow. On the ground, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian occupiers are preparing an offensive operation in the east of the country to establish full control over the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Pentagon confirms that the Russian troops have completely withdrawn from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and Cernihiv.
UN — The UN General Assembly is today considering the suspension of Russias membership to the Human Rights Council (HRC) due to the invasion of Ukraine. The move was initiated by the United States and several other countries, including the United Kingdom. Two-thirds of the votes of the General Assembly members, representing 193 countries, are required for a favorable decision. Russias Foreign Ministry has said that Russias failure to participate in UNHRC activities would undermine the universality of that structure. Moscow has also denied allegations in connection with the massacre in Bucha, where hundreds of bodies were found after the withdrawal of Russian troops. In the history of the UN, Libya led by Moammar Gaddafi was suspended from this structure in 2011, but this time it is about a permanent member of the Security Council.
Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu (66 WTA) has qualified to the round of 16 of the WTA 500 tournament in Charleston (South Carolina, USA), with total prizes worth almost 900,000 dollars. On Wednesday, she defeated Australian Ajla Tomljanovic (39 WTA) 6-2, 6-3. In the quarter finals, Irina Begu will face the winner of the match between Ons Jabeur (Tunisia, 10 WTA), 4th seeded, and the American Emma Navarro (201 WTA), a match that was interrupted at the score of 6-3, 5-2 for the Tunisian.
TAROM — The trade unionists of the Romanian state-owned airlines TAROM are organizing a protest rally today in front of the companys headquarters. At the beginning of April, they announced, in a communiqué, that they would protest throughout the month, dissatisfied, among other things, with the lack of a payroll and the staff shortage. Trade unionists are also discontented with the fact that the budget for salary expenses has not been increased by 35%. Protests also took place on Wednesday in Romania.
COVID-19 – More than 2,300 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Romania on Wednesday, less than in the previous day. The authorities also announced 18 COVID-associated deaths. Nearly 2,300 coronavirus patients are hospitalized. 338 of them are in intensive care. On the other hand, the number of flu cases, following confirmation by specific tests, is increasing, doctors have pointed out. In some cases, patients with the flu needed hospitalization. (LS)
