February 28, 2024

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 28.02.2024, 13:55

TRIBUTE – The European Parliament is today paying tribute to Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in prison recently. His widow will be present at the ceremony. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Strasbourg, Yulia Navalnaya has been invited to address the European Parliament, her speech being followed by those of representatives of political groups. The MEPs will condemn the Russian regime and signal the dangerous situation in which the opponents of Vladimir Putin and the defenders of human rights in Russia find themselves.

UKRAINE – French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday, at the Paris meeting on Ukraine, that sending Western troops to that country should not be ruled out in the future, although, at this stage, there is no consensus on such a hypothesis, France Presse reports. “We will do everything needed so Russia cannot win the war,” the French President emphasized. NATO and the European Union have denied any intention to send troops to Ukraine.

ENVIRONMENT – Romania needs a national pact based on which environmental protection should become a priority, Romanian president, Klaus Iohannis said at a meeting with NGOs in the field. He said that environment protection should not be neglected and emphasized that citizens’ life quality, health and safety depended on that. Iohannis said that measures in the field of energy access must support the most vulnerable consumers through investment that reduces both bills and pollution and that at least part of the green technology used in the new investment must be manufactured in Romania, in order to generate new jobs and added value in the national economy.

VICTIMS – Two Romanian citizens died in last week’s fire in the Spanish city of Valencia, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday evening. The two people had initially been declared missing. The Romanian authorities are still in contact with the Spanish authorities and with the Romanian citizens affected by the fire, and who requested consular assistance. The devastating fire destroyed a 14-storey block of flats, killing around 10 people.

ELECTION – The first round of the presidential elections in Romania will be held on September 15, and the second, if needed, on September 29. The decision was taken on Tuesday by the ruling PSD-PNL coalition. Also on Tuesday the coalition decided to give up the idea of holding the election for the European Parliament on two consecutive days, for Romanians outside the country, as it would have violated the constitutional right of Romanians at home, who only have one day to vote. We remind you that the European Parliament elections will take place on June 9, at the same time with the local ones. Also this year, Romania will hold elections for the national Parliament, scheduled for December.

CONCERT – The Children’s Choirs of Radio Romania and Radio Bulgaria will give a joint concert at the Radio Hall in Bucharest, on Thursday. It will be the first time when these choirs perform together, and the concert program is spectacular, as both choirs can easily interpret difficult works, adding set design elements that will impress the audience. The event is part of an international cooperation program between the two public radios. On the same day, the Bulgarian Children’s Choir will open a reception hosted by the Bulgarian Embassy in Bucharest, on the occasion of Bulgaria’s National Day, celebrated on March 3rd.

HANDBALL – Romania is up against Croatia, today, on home turf, in the first group of the European Women’s Handball Championship preliminaries. The away leg will be held on Sunday, in Koprivnica. The two teams are competing for the top spot in the group, currently having the same number of points, 4, but being separated by goal difference (43, respectively 24). They are followed by Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina, without any points. (EE)