March 29, 2025 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 29.03.2025, 19:00

NATO. Romania is and will remain a strong partner in NATO, said the acting Speaker of the Senate, Mircea Abrudean, in a message conveyed on the 21st anniversary of the country’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. According to him, joining the Alliance was a decisive moment for the country’s security and stability, and this path meant modernizing the armed forces, assuming strategic responsibilities and strengthening partnerships with allies. ”In a world full of challenges, Romania remains a reliable ally, dedicated to defending democratic values and regional security”, Mircea Abrudean said.

Disease. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued new warnings regarding a confirmed outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Hungary. The authorities have warned that the traffic of trucks transporting live cattle, sheep, goats and pigs from Hungary to Romania is prohibited. It is also prohibited to transport milk as a raw material for which it cannot be proven that it comes from animals tested negative for foot-and-mouth disease in the last 24 hours. In the Czech Republic, the transport of animals or raw materials derived from them is also allowed only through certain border points, and in Slovakia additional safety measures have been taken, such as the mandatory control of all vehicles coming from Hungary, transit only through certain border points and the installation of disinfection equipment. Foot-and-mouth disease, which is extremely contagious, is one of the most serious viral diseases that can affect the livestock industry.

Electricity. On Saturday morning, the electricity produced by hydroelectric power plants covered over 30% of Romania’s total consumption needs, in the context in which heavy rains continue to fall in several areas. In second place in the top sources of energy production was the nuclear power plant of Cernavoda, with almost 22%, followed by hydrocarbon and coal-fired power plants.

Denmark. Denmark does not appreciate the tone used by US Vice President JD Vance, who criticized Denmark for neglecting Greenland, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said, quoted by AFP. “This is not how you speak to your close allies, and I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies,” he said. The reaction of the Danish foreign minister comes after US Vice President JD Vance harshly criticized Denmark’s alleged lack of investment in Greenland, which US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed that he wants to annex. Vance visited the only US military base in the autonomous Danish territory on Friday. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass. This has to change,” the US official said, addressing the Danish authorities. The Danish foreign minister recalled, however, that the US currently has a 200-strong base, while during the Cold War it had 17 military installations in Greenland and 10,000 soldiers.

Protest. On Saturday, tens of thousands of people gathered in Istanbul again to protest the jailing of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival, Reuters reports. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across the country since Imamoglu was detained last week and then jailed awaiting trial on bribery charges. According to Reuters, these are the largest demonstrations that Turkey has seen in more than a decade. The protests have been largely peaceful bu nearly 2,000 people have been detained. The main opposition Republican People’s Party, other opposition parties, human rights groups and Western powers have accused the case against Imamoglu of being a politicized effort to eliminate a potential electoral threat to Erdogan.

Earthquake. The international community is mobilizing to provide aid to Myanmar after Friday’s devastating earthquake. Disaster risk experts quoted by AFP believe that the death toll following the country’s most powerful earthquake in decades could be between 10,000 and 100,000. A toll announced Saturday by Myanmar’s ruling military junta put the death toll at more than 1,600. According to the US Geological Survey, the financial losses from the disaster could also reach tens of billions of dollars, exceeding the country’s GDP. Myanmar is regularly hit by powerful earthquakes. Friday’s earthquake measured 7.7 on the Richter scale, occurred at a depth of only 10 kilometers and was felt in Thailand, China, Vietnam and Laos.

Tennis. Romanian tennis player Jaqueline Cristian has qualified for the semifinals of the WTA 125 tournament in Puerto Vallarta (Mexico), with a total prize pool of $115,000, after defeating the German Tatjana Maria in straight sets on Friday. In the penultimate act, Cristian will face the Swiss Rebeka Masarova.