October 5, 2024
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 05.10.2024, 14:00
FRANCOPHONIE – The Romanian President, Klaus Iohannis, continues today his visit to France, where he takes part in the Francophonie Summit. The 19th High Level Conference of the Heads of State or Government of the 88 Full Member States, Associate Members and Observers of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) is held under the motto “Create, innovate and do business in French” (‘Creer, innover, entreprendre en francais’). The participation of the Romanian president in the Francophonie Summit is an opportunity to highlight Romania’s contribution to the global effort to transform and adapt multilateralism, and the role of the OIF, in a context marked by major challenges to the rule-based international order, the Presidential Administration said.
CHISINAU – Just a few weeks before the presidential elections and the referendum on the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the EU, the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu promised, on Friday, in Chisinau, the continuation of his country’s support for Moldova. After being received by President Maia Sandu, who, according to opinion polls, has the first chance to win another mandate as head of state, Ciolacu said that in order to maintain the Republic of Moldova on the European path, it is important that Maia Sandu is reelected and that the referendum on the EU is successful. The Romanian Prime Minister also said that joint projects and investments will continue in the upcoming period.
CONFLICT – Hezbollah armed group said Saturday its fighters were confronting Israeli troops in Lebanon’s southern border region, France Presse reports. At the same time, a series of explosions were heard in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Israeli military previously issued evacuation orders for certain areas. There have been a series of recent strikes on senior figures within the Islamist group, and Israel is considering how to respond to Tuesday’s ballistic missile attack, which Iran carried out in response to Israeli military action in Lebanon. The price of oil went up given the possibility of an attack on Iranian oil facilities. The escalation in Lebanon comes nearly a year after Hezbollah opened a front against Israel at the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, followed by months of fighting that displaced tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned that his allies, mainly Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas, will continue the fight against Israel.
COMISSION – The European Commission has decided to overtax Chinese electric cars by up to 35% starting next month. 10 member states voted in favor and five against. Romania is among the 12 states that abstained. France and Italy voted for this measure, and Germany, the main European car manufacturer, was the strongest opponent. The Commission’s decision is based on the conclusions of an investigation launched a year ago. Beijing supports its own industry in such a way that the price of Chinese electric cars is much lower than the European ones, and thus the competition is partly eliminated. Beijing reacted immediately, and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in the EU urges the bloc to act cautiously and postpone the application of tariffs. China sees the introduction of this the tariff as protectionist measure and warns that this attitude could lead to the degradation of trade relations between the two partied. Official estimates are that Chinese cars could reach a 15% share of the EU’s new electric car market by 2025, their prices being 20% smaller, on average, than the Europe-made models.
REPATRIATION – 74 people in vulnerable situation, Romanian citizens and first degree family members, mostly women, children and medical cases were repatriated, Friday evening, from Lebanon, being transported to Romania on board an aircraft of the Romanian Air Force. Previously, the aircraft took off for Beirut with approximately 10 tons of food products from the state reserves on board. The mission was carried out at the request of the Department for Emergency Situations, and the aid was sent by Romania free of charge, in the context of the sharp deterioration of the security situation in the Middle East. On Thursday, another 69 Romanian citizens and first degree family members, mostly women, children and medical cases, were repatriated from Lebanon.
TENNIS – The Romanian pair Monica Niculescu/Gabriela Ruse has today qualified for the doubles final of the WTA tennis tournament in Hong Kong, after winning 6-2, 6-7, 10-4 against the pair Ulrikke Eikeri (Norway )/Fang-Hsien Wu (Taiwan). After this success, Niculescu and Ruse could play in the same formula for Romania at the final tournament of the Billie Jean King Cup. In the final of the Hong Kong tournament, the two Romanians will be up against Nao Hibino and Makoto Ninomiya of Japan.
