September 29, 2022
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 29.09.2022, 14:29
ENERGY — The Bucharest Government is today discussing the emergency order that will extend, from October 1st to December 31st the decrease by 50 bani (the equivalent of 10 eurocents) of the fuel price. The subsidy applied to Diesel and gasoline has been in place for three months and will expire on Friday. Also today the Government is discussing an emergency order on capping the firewood price. According to Environment Minister Tanczos Barna, the free market may bring the price of wood to around 160 euros per cubic metre, for which reason the Government needs to step in. The document will set a balanced 6-month cap on the price of wood for public institutions, nurseries, schools and household consumers and will temporarily limit exports of firewood and derivate products used for heating, the minister explained. In Romania, over 3 million households use wood for heating.
APPOINTMENT — The American Doreen Bogdan-Martin is the new Secretary-General of the United International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a body of the United Nations that sets standards for new technologies. In a vote held at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest, she won 139 ballots out of 172, defeating Russias Rashid Ismailov. Doreen Bogdan-Martin thus became the first woman in charge of the Geneva-based organization. The most ambitious objective of the ITU, announced after the vote, is, according to the new Secretary-General, connecting to the internet the world’s entire population.
STUDY — NATO’s importance in countries’ national security has greatly increased in the eyes of the public from 14 European and North-American countries, according to a study conducted by the German Marshall Fund made public on Thursday. The EU is also regarded as very important for the national security of countries in Europe. 78% of respondents said NATO is very important for their country’s security, as compared with only 67% last year. Respondents in countries near Russia and Ukraine place a particularly high value on NATO: 91% of Poles, 88% of Romanians and 87% of Lithuanians, the report says. Also, 81% of the European respondents said the EU is important for national security.
UKRAINE — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday will sign the treaties regarding the annexation to Russia of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, the Kremlin announced on Thursday, according to international news agencies. The leaders of the four separatist regions controlled by Russia in Ukraine travelled to Moscow on Wednesday evening for the ceremony, after the illegal referendums staged by Russia in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
STRIKE — Street protests and an all-out strike staged by two large trade unions are taking place in France today. Protesters want bigger salaries adjusted to the high inflation rates. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, rail traffic will be disturbed on most routes on the entire French territory. The education sector will also be affected, with only 25% of the activity being held, in keeping with the law.
TENNIS – Romanians Irina Begu and Ana Bogdan are today up against each other in the quarterfinals of the Parma tennis tournament, in Italy. Begu defeated Italian Matilde Paoletti while Bogdan beat Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. This is the first match between the two Romanian players in professional tournament.
MAE – In the context of the latest developments in Russia, including the announcement on partial mobilization, the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest reminds and constantly reiterates its recommendations to Romanians – to avoid unnecessary trips to the Russian territory at the same time advising those who are there to consider leaving as soon as possible. At the same time, the Ministry recommends the Romanian citizens present in Russia to be very careful and avoid crowded places and other events, which could result in street violence. (EE)
