January 2, 2024 UPDATE

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România Internațional, 02.01.2024, 19:25

QUAKE Romania stands
by Japan in these difficult moments, the country’s president, Klaus Iohannis,
said in a message which he conveyed on Tuesday along with condolences for the
victims’ families. We recall that authorities in that country are in a
battle against time in their attempt to find survivors after the 7.6 magnitude
earthquake on Monday, which was followed by many aftershocks. According to
provisional tolls, scores have been killed and hundreds of buildings destroyed.
Numerous fires caused by broken pipelines have been reported in the north of
the Noto peninsula, close to the quake’s epicenter. With sub-zero temperatures
at night, rescuers are making great efforts to find survivors.

WEATHER
According to sources with the Environment Ministry, 2023 was the hottest year
in the history of Romania’s weather forecasts. The average temperature stood at
12.5 degrees centigrade, two degrees above the average of the period between
1981 and 2010. At the same time, the 2012-2023 interval becomes the hottest
period in the country’s history of weather forecasts. Last Christmas also
proved to be the hottest since the beginning of weather monitoring in Romania
with 21 degrees centigrade at Calafat, in the south. And according to
Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2023 was also the hottest in Europe, where
experts have again been cautioning against the ongoing global warming, as the
greenhouse gas emissions are growing. According to Romania’s Environment
Minister, Mircea Fechet, this means that the extreme weather phenomena will
increase in frequency and intensity causing more damage and killing more
people.

PRICE HIKES The new year has brought a
series of fiscal amendments to Romanians, ranging from new VAT rises to other
majored excises and taxes. Fines have also been raised, and companies reporting
over 50 million euros in turnover will be paying taxes of at least one percent
of their turnover. Tobacco excises have been raised and so has the VAT, which
stands between 9 and 19 % in certain products and services. A special tax has
been introduced for expensive goods, such as houses or cars, and authorities
have also raised excises for sweet products. Fuel excises are also getting
higher while experts believe the new fiscal measures will translate into a
higher inflation rate and a local currency that depreciates against the Euro.
Romania’s budget deficit this year has been estimated at 5% of the GDP with an
economic growth of 3.4%. 7% of the country’s GDP has been earmarked for
investment.

GAZA Israel has pulled out its
tanks from some parts of the Gaza city announcing a new stage in its war
against the terrorist group Hamas. The new change in Israel’s tactics involves
the partial pull out of its troops from the Gaza Strip and an increased focus
on smaller-scale targeted operations. Israel says one of the key objectives is
the complete elimination of the Hamas threat and the release of the hostages
still kept by the famous terrorist group. According to Radio Romania
correspondent in Israel, the attempts to release the Israeli hostages, which
seemed to be compromised at a certain point, have these days been given a fresh
impetus thanks to the mediation efforts of Qatar and Egypt. The war in Gaza,
which broke out after the attack on Israel masterminded and conducted by the
terrorist group Hamas on October 7, when 12 hundred people were killed and 240
kidnapped, has so far caused the death of roughly 22 thousand Palestinians in
the Gaza Strip. At the same time, most of the region’s 2.3 million people
residents has been displaced.

(bill)