October 14, 2023
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 14.10.2023, 13:55
Conversation — Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, had a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, on Friday. According to the Presidential Administration, Klaus Iohannis condemned, once again, the unacceptable terrorist attacks against Israel and expressed regret that these violent acts resulted in numerous victims among innocent civilians. During the conversation, the two heads of state expressed their deep regret for the fact that two Romanian citizens are among the victims. Klaus Iohannis has given assurances to his Israeli counterpart that Bucharest is ready to provide emergency assistance at any time, if necessary, and thanked President Isaac Herzog for the support provided by the Israeli authorities to Romanian citizens, especially in terms of the repatriation, until present, of over 2,160 Romanian citizens in safe conditions. The Romanian Foreign Ministry states that the mobile consular team from the Romanian Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Romanian Representative Office in Ramallah and the team of the rapid reaction unit of the Foreign Ministry crisis cell will continue to remain at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, to provide consular assistance to Romanian citizens at the airport.
Israel — The Israeli Defense Forces announced today a new six-hour window, between 10:00 hours (07:00 GMT) and 16:00 hours (13:00 GMT) local time, during which Palestinians can safely leave the northern part of Gaza Strip. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields. Israels order for residents to evacuate Gaza has been met with widespread criticism, and the UN has called for its cancellation, stressing that a “catastrophic situation” might occur. The Israeli militarys order for more than a million Palestinians to leave the northern enclave is seen as a sign that it is planning an imminent ground offensive.
Kosovo — The Romanian mission in Kosovo has been supplemented with 130 soldiers, the National Defense Ministry announced. At this moment, approximately 210 Romanian soldiers are performing missions within the NATO KFOR operation. The decision to boost the Romanian forces was made following the authorization by the North-Atlantic Council to supplement the forces to manage the current situation in the Western Balkans. On the ground, in northern Kosovo, where tensions have been increasing for several months, the main Serbian party wants to organize elections as soon as possible. For almost a year, no Serb has worked in institutions such as the police or justice. All the Serbs resigned last November when the Pristina government announced it was banning the use of Serbian license plates. When the new Albanian mayors, elected with a turnout of less than 4%, went to their office, the demonstrations quickly degenerated into riots. Around 30 KFOR soldiers were injured in these clashes.
Tourism — Romania will be promoted as a tourist destination for one month, between October 15 and November 15, on the British BBC television station. TV producer Charlie Ottley, known for his documentaries about Romania, such as “Wild Carpathia” and “Flavors of Romania” also collaborated in designing the campaign. The Ministry of Economy and Tourism points out that the purpose of the action is to increase the visibility of Romania as a tourist destination in Europe, with special focus on Great Britain. The ministry also mentions that the BBC is available in almost all countries of the world, the content being accessible in millions of hotel rooms, on planes, cruise ships and mobile devices.
Tennis – The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea (world number 26) will be the main favorite of the Transylvania Open (WTA 250) tournament, which starts on Monday, in Cluj-Napoca (north-west), after Caroline Garcia and Donna Vekic announced they were no longer participating in the competition, the organizers announced. The French player Garcia (10 WTA) and the Croatian Vekic (21 WTA) announced that they are withdrawing for medical reasons. There are five players from Romania in the main singles draw: Sorana Cîrstea, Patricia Ţig, Ana Bogdan, Jaqueline Cristian and two players who received wild cards: Gabriela Ruse and Miriam Bulgaru. The Transylvania Open, with total prize money worth nearly 260,000 dollars this year, has been designated the best tournament in the world in 2022 in the WTA 250 category.
Pilgrimage – More than 200,000 people have so far passed before the relics of Saint Parascheva and Saint Hierarch Andrew of Crete, placed in a special canopy in the courtyard of the Metropolitan Cathedral in Iasi (northeast). The largest number of pilgrims is expected, however, today, when the Holy Liturgy also takes place. Considered the protector of the suffering people, and also of the eastern region of the country, Saint Parascheva is celebrated, on October 14, throughout the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate. (LS)
