February 11, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 11.02.2023, 19:22

VISIT – The Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar and the Chief of Army General Staff, Gen. Daniel Petrescu met on Saturday in Bucharest with a delegation of the US Congress headed by Mike Rogers, chairman of the Armed Services Committee. They discussed about the security situation in the Black Sea area, in the context of the war in Ukraine, bilateral relations in the field of defense and the activity of the American forces in Romania. Minister Tilvar emphasized the enduring military ties between Romania and the US in the context of the anniversary, in 2022, of 25 years of strategic partnership between Bucharest and Washington.

SOLIDARITY — Romanian artists want to show their solidarity with Ukraine and convey a message of hope through music. Thus, on February 13, when World Radio Day is celebrated, the song Heal the World, performed by numerous Romanian artists, the Radio Children’s Choir and the Radio Romania Big Band, will be broadcast on all Radio Romania channels. The song, which is a universal call to peace and love, has been rearanged by Simona Strungaru, the conductor of Radio Romania Big Band.

QUAKE — The death toll following the powerful earthquakes that affected large areas at the Turkish-Syrian border exceeded 25 thousand on Saturday. Searches for survivors continue but chances to find any are slim. More than 22 thousand people have died in Turkey and over 80 thousand have been injured. Some 5.4 million people have been left homeless following the tremors, according to estimates by the UN. Around 141 thousand Turkish and foreign rescue workers are at the site of the disaster, of whom more than 7 thousand are from 61 countries, Romania included. According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, 97 countries have sent aid to the country. On the other hand, rescue teams in Syria have harshly criticized the lack of support in certain areas affected by the quake, saying there are no tents for the homeless and no equipment to remove the rubble. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused the West of politicizing the situation in Syria and of ignoring the human aspect. According to the Syrian Government, sending humanitarian assistance to the country is prevented by the numerous international sanctions imposed on Damascus, many of them in force for more than ten years.

VISIT — US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland for a two-day visit that starts on February 20, to mark one year since Ukraine’s invasion by Russia, France Presse reports. Biden will meet with his Polish counterpart, Andrej Duda, to discuss bilateral cooperation and the collective effort to support Ukraine and the consolidation of NATO’s deterrence capacity. The American President will also meet with the Bucharest 9 group, created in 2015 by the Romanian and Polish heads of state, that also includes Bulgaria, the Baltic states, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

BRUSSELS — European leaders decided at the end of last week in Brussels, at the first European Council meeting this year, to firmly combat illegal migration by strengthening infrastructure at EU’s external borders. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, announced, on that occasion, the drawing up of pilot projects to run on European and national funds. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said migration is an issue that requires joint European response and has pointed out that, although Romania is not on any migration route, the country wants to contribute to securing the external border and combat illegal migration. In order to disseminate good practices in the field in terms of border protection and prevention of illegal migration Iohannis said Romania is willing to work jointly with the European Commission on a pilot project. The issue of migration has dominated the meeting’s agenda, alongside the war in Ukraine and economic competitiveness.

AWARDS – Radio Romanias radio drama production “The Sixties” by Ema Stere and adapted and directed by Mihnea Chelaru is one of the three to be shortlisted for the BBC Radio Drama Awards in the Best European Drama category. The winners will be announced on Sunday in London. “The Sixties” explores the drama of the first generation of young people separated from the free world at a time when the communist regime was tightening its grip on power in Romania. The other two shortlisted productions for Best European Drama are Czech Radios “Burning” by Sudabeh Mohafez and Polskie Radios “Let Me Tell You” by Marta Rebzda. (EE)