January 9, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Daniel Bilț, 09.01.2025, 20:16
AID During the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, also known as the Ramstein Group, the US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin, on Thursday announced an additional $ 500 million military aid package for Ukraine, which is probably the last offered by the Biden administration before the country’s new president, the Republican Donald Trump takes over on January 20. A fresh military aid for Ukraine has been announced by Germany’s Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, who has also suggested a possible re-thinking of the Ramstein format in case Trump wants to reduce the US involvement. This has been the 25th meeting of the aforementioned group set up to coordinate the arms supplies to Ukraine, a meeting also attended by NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, who has criticized Russia for carrying on attacks against innocent civilians in Ukraine. The meeting was also attended by the head of the European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, who said the EU was ready to take the lead on supporting Ukraine if the United States was no longer willing. President Trump has pledged talks with both the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, but hasn’t provided solutions for the war in Ukraine yet.
WEATHER Temperatures will significantly drop in the regions surrounded by the Carpathians, whereas in the rest of the Romanian territory they will slightly go down as compared to the previous period. The sky will be overcast in the country’s west, center and north. The western regions are bracing up for more showers, whereas gale force winds and snow storms are expected in the mountains. The highs of the day will be between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius.
ELECTION The parties in the ruling coalition in Romania, namely the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, as well as the representatives of national minorities, have agreed that the first round of the presidential elections will take place on May 4, and the second round on May 18. The coalition also confirmed their nomination of the former Liberal leader Crin Antonescu as their joint candidate for president. In the meantime, the Bucharest Court of Appeal has published its justification for its rejection, on December 31, of a legal action against the Central Electoral Bureau in connection with the annulment, last year, by the Constitutional Court, of the electoral process for the election of president.
VISIT During his trip to Romania, Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice-president of the European Commission, responsible for prosperity and industrial strategy, on Thursday visited a Romanian factory producing last-generation lithium-ion batteries and customised energy storage systems for sectors and businesses from all over Europe. The visit was an opportunity to present the indispensable role played by batteries in the decarbonisation of supply chains in Europe. Séjourné also discussed the challenges facing the batteries sector, as well as Europe’s response in this regard. The EU official also visited the National Aerospace Research and Development Institute, the main research centre in the field of aerospace science in Romania. That was an opportunity to discuss China’s unfair competition in the drone market and the increasingly relevant use of drone technologies in both civilian and military applications. On Wednesday, the European official met the minister for economy, digitalization, entrepreneurship and tourism Bogdan-Gruia Ivan, as well as Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and senate speaker Ilie Bolojan.
TENNIS The Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea will be facing Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the first round of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, which will get under way on Monday, in Melbourne. Irina Begu will be playing qualifier Gabriela Ruse in the first round. Jaqueline Cristian, who went straight into the main draw, will face Croatia’s Petra Martic in the first round. Qualifier Anca Todoni will play world number five and last year’s Melbourne finalist Qinwen Zheng, of China, in the opening round.
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