March 5, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 05.03.2023, 18:42

Visit. Romanian president Klaus
Iohannis travels to Japan on Monday for a three-day official visit during which
he will meet emperor Naruhito and prime minister Fumio Kishida. The main
purpose of the visit is to elevate the bilateral relationship to the level of
strategic partnership, with a joint declaration to be signed to this effect.
After Japan, president Iohannis will go on a state visit to Singapore, the
first at this level in the last 20 years. The trip is aimed at initiating
bilateral investment projects, with Romania currently the European Union’s
third biggest provider of IT services to Singapore.

Bystroye. Romanian and Ukrainian
experts will meet on Monday to work on the details of a plan to carry out
measurements on the Chilia branch and Bystroye canal on the Danube. This is the
second technical discussion between the two sides after that on Friday, when
the transport ministry in Bucharest said Ukraine would allow Romania to begin
measurements on 15th March. The activity is expected to take 10 days
and clarify whether Ukraine has conducted works to deepen Bystroye canal.
Ukraine said it merely carried out legal, maintenance works, but Romania claims
the Ukrainians dredged more than the allowed depth of 3.5 metres, which would
have a major impact on the ecosystem of the Danube Delta, which is a UNESCO
world heritage site.

Accident. Thousands of people demonstrated on Sunday outside the
Parliament headquarters in Athens in the wake of a rail disaster that killed 57
people. Violent clashes were reported between the demonstrators and the police,
with France Presse noting that the demonstrators set thrash cans on fire and
threw Molotov cocktails, while the police responded with tear gas and stun
grenades. A number of protests have been held in recent days in Greece, where
public discontent is growing with the government’s negligence, which is seen as
being at the root of the disaster. Earlier, Greece’s
prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis asked for forgiveness from the families of
the victims. In
the meantime, the authorities continue investigations into the cause of the
tragedy. On Saturday, Romania’s foreign ministry said one Romanian national was
identified among the victims of the crash.

Food. Romania’s Dobrogean pie has
been included in the register of products benefitting from the Protection
Geographical Indication. The announcement was made by an agriculture ministry
official, who said this decision came after almost two years of determined and
active opposition from Romania’s southern neighbour, Bulgaria. The Dobrogean
pie is made out of pastry sheets filled with a type of salted cheese
called telemea and mixed with curd
and eggs. The sheets are obtained by stretching and pulling the dough. The
filled sheets are rolled, creased and arranged into a spiral in round trays. The
pie’s soft and tender consistency is due to the yoghurt and egg mixture poured
onto it. Out of the 1,760 food products registered in the EU quality schemes,
only ten are Romanian, but seven others are in the process of being registered.

Rugby. Romania lost to Georgia 31-7
on Sunday in Tbilisi in the semifinals of the 2023 Rugby Europe Championship.
Romania were dominated by the strong Georgian side, who deserved their win,
having also scored four tries. In Sunday’s second semifinal, Portugal defeated
Spain 27-10. Georgia will next face Portugal in the final, while Romania will
play Spain in the third place match. Both the final and the third place match
will take place on 19th March in Spain. (CM)