October 9, 2023

Click here for a roundup of local and world news

Newsroom, 09.10.2023, 13:55

WAR Clashes were still reported on Monday between the
Israeli army and Palestinian fighters infiltrated in the south of the country
from Gaza, after Israel reportedly hit over 500 targets of Hamas and the
Islamic Jihad organisations during the night. The Israeli defence forces have
full control over the southern part of the country, attacked by the Palestinian
Hamas forces, an Israeli military spokesman said on Monday, quoted by AFP and
Reuters. This is the 3rd day of violent clashes that have so far
killed around 1,200 people, over 700 of whom Israelis and at least 493
Palestinians, EFE reported on Monday. Israel’s security cabinet declared war following the attacks of the Palestinian
organisation Hamas, allowing the government to undertake significant military
activities, the PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Sunday.

ISRAEL On Monday 96 Romanian nationals were repatriated from Israel, via
Jordan, on a Tarom flight, the foreign ministry announced. Another 245 Romanian citizens were repatriated on Sunday, including 2 pilgrim
groups. The foreign ministry reiterates its recommendation that Romanian
nationals should reschedule their planned trips to Israel and monitor the Travel
Alerts section on its home page. Meanwhile, a mobile consular team from the
Romanian embassy in Israel and from Romania’s representation office in Ramallah is at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv
to provide assistance to the Romanians there. A unit from the ministry’s emergency
response team has also been deployed to Israel, to help in the repatriation
efforts.

VISIT The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis is on a visit to Portugal,
where he is scheduled to have talks today with PM António Costa, with the president
of the Assembly of the Republic Augusto Santos Silva, and with Portuguese MPs.
On Saturday, Iohannis had a meeting with his Portuguese counterpat, Marcelo
Rebelo de Sousa, discussing the war in neighbouring Ukraine, in which context
he reiterated thanks for Portugal’s substantial contribution to the defence and
deterrence posture on NATO’s eastern flank. The presence on Portuguese troops
in Romania is a strong signal of Portugal’s solidarity and support to
strengthening Romania’s security, president Iohannis said. On the other hand,
the president of Portugal said his country was supporting Romania’s Schengen
and OECD accession.

MEETING PM Marcel Ciolacu said today in Varna, Bulgaria, that during the
Romania – Bulgaria – Greece trilateral meeting the 3 countries agreed to
implement a joint action plan aimed at significant development in trilateral
cooperation in sectors such as transports, energy, trade and security. In the
presence of EC officials, of the Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Bulgarian
PM Nikolay Denkov, we have reiterated Romania’s ambition of quickly becoming a
Schengen member state and an influential economic player in the region, Marcel
Ciolacu said. The Romanian official also added that Romania, in a partnership
with Bulgaria and Greece, may have a greater influence in the EU, promoting its
central role in the reconstruction of Ukraine and its willingness to see the
Republic of Moldova and Western Balkans countries joining the European bloc as
soon as possible.

HOLOCAUST Romania marks today the National Holocaust Remembrance Day. On
October 9, 1941, the deportation of Jews from Bessarabia and Bukovina to
Transdniester started. The Holocaust was recognised by the Romanian authorities
in 2004, based on the conclusions reached by a commission headed by Nobel prize
winner Elie Wiesel. The Jews and Roma who died during the Holocaust were
commemorated in Bucharest, while Timişoara is hosting a concert organised by
the local Jewish community.

SWIMMING The Romanian athlete David Popovici, the defending European
champion in the 100 and 200m freestyle races, won all the 4 short course competitions
in which he took part this weekend in Nyon (Switzerland). On Sunday he finished
the 100m and 50m freestyle events in the first position, with 47.22s and 21.83s
respectively, after on Saturday he had won the 400 and 200m freestyle races. The
competition in Switzerland is training opportunity ahead of the European short
course championships scheduled in December in Otopeni, near Bucharest. (AMP)