January 3, 2024

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 03.01.2024, 13:55

Drones.
The Romanian authorities have taken measures to prevent incidents such as those
recorded last year, when drones used in the war in Ukraine fell on Romanian
territory or entered Romanian air space, defence minister Angel Tîlvăr told a
TV interview. He spoke about organising shelters, issuing alerts and training
representatives of the local authorities. He added that although Romania owns
high-performing equipment to detect such flight devices, there are limitations
having to do with objective factors, such as the relatively short distance
between the Romanian localities where these incidents were reported and the
nearest Ukrainian port.

Ukraine.
In a telephone conversation on Tuesday, British prime minister Rishi Sunak
assured Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky that the United Kingdom would
continue to firmly support Ukraine in its fight against aggression and
occupation throughout 2024 and beyond, France Presse notes. Rishi Sunak
emphasised the efforts made by the UK to provide military and diplomatic
support for Ukraine, especially through new arms deliveries, said Downing
Street in a statement. The British prime minister also deplored the lives lost
during Russia’s air strikes over Christmas. On Tuesday morning, Russia again
carried out massive air strikes against Ukraine, killing at least five
civilians and injuring over 100 persons, especially in Kyiv and Kharkov,
according to the Ukrainian authorities.

Middle
East. Israel raised the security alert to the highest level in the north of the
country, and the army said it was ready for any scenario, one day after the
Hamas deputy leader was killed in Lebanon’s capital Beirut. Saleh al-Arouri,
aged 57, is the most senior Hamas leader killed by Israel since it began waging
war against that terrorist organisation, following its attack on Israel on 7th
October. After al-Arouri’s death, Hamas told every country involved in mediating
the release of the Israeli hostages that it is pulling out of the talks. US secretary
of state Antony Blinken, who was due to arrive in Israel on Thursday, has
cancelled his visit, which will most likely be rescheduled for next week, Radio
Romania’s correspondent reports. Israel has taken maximum security measures in
the north of the country bracing for a virulent reaction from Hezbollah. French
president Emmanuel Macron urged Israel to avoid escalation,
especially in Lebanon, while, according to the BBC, the Lebanese government
accused Israel of seeking to start a regional war.

Quake.
The Japanese government intensified its emergency response in the wake of
Monday’s earthquake, in which more than 60 people died, the BBC reports. Prime
minister Fumio Kishida said the number of military staff involved in intervention
efforts would be doubled to 2,000. The earthquake that took place on the first
day of the new year, the strongest in the last 12 years, destroyed roads,
disconnecting towns and cities where there are still people trapped under the
rubble. Thousands of people are without water and electricity. Following
torrential rain in the last day, the authorities have warned of possible
landslides, apart from aftershocks.

Tennis.
The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea lost to Linda Noskova of the Czech
Republic in three sets on Wednesday, in the second round of the WTA 500
tournament in Brisbane, Australia, worth over 1.7 million dollars in prize
money. Cîrstea, who is no. 26 in the world, was seeded tenth at this
tournament. Another Romanian player, Ana Bogdan lost on Sunday in the opening
round to Ukraine’s Marta Kostiuk, also in three sets. (CM)