May 2, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 02.05.2025, 20:00
ELECTIONS – The first round of the presidential elections is held in Romania on Sunday, May 4th. Eleven candidates are in the race, including four independents and seven representing political parties and alliances. Around 18 million voters are expected at the polls, with almost 19,000 polling stations set up around the country. Abroad, voting takes place over the weekend, from Friday May 2nd to Sunday May 4th. Romanian citizens who find themselves abroad, whether they reside there or not, can cast their ballots at any of the 965 polling stations set up abroad. Most of these are in Italy and Malta, namely 161, followed by Spain, with 147, the UK, with 108, France and Monaco with 69, the Republic of Moldova with 64, the US with 50, Belgium with 29 and The Netherlands with 23. On Sunday most polling stations abroad are open between 7 am and 9 pm local time, with the exception of some states in Europe, Africa, South America, the US and Canada, where they will close at 9 pm Romania time.
JOURNALIST – Irish journalist and Russia Today correspondent Chay Bowes was detained when entering Romania and deported, the TV station’s editor in chief Margarita Simonian said on social media. The General Inspectorate of the Romanian Border Police issued a statement saying an Irish citizen was identified on Thursday night travelling from Dublin and who was banned from entering Romania. He was informed of the situation, being handed a document detailing the measure taken, its reason and how he can challenge it in law. Later, the journalist purchased a ticket for Istanbul and left for that destination, the statement also says. Russia Today is a propaganda station for the Kremlin that is banned in the European Union. Chay Bowes is known for promoting false narratives supported by Russian propaganda, especially about the war in Ukraine and about the European Union.
HOLIDAY – The Labour Day holiday continues in Romania. The Black Sea coast is the top destination for tourists these days, although mountain resorts are also full. In Poiana Braşov, a popular resort in the Southern Carpathians, hotels are offering guests cooking demonstrations and other forms of entertainment. Many people who didn’t travel for this holiday are going out for a picnic and many special events are held in cities around the country.
RESERVES – The foreign exchange reserves of the National Bank of Romania increased by 0.67% in April compared to March and exceeded 62.4 billion euros. The Central Bank said that the level of the gold reserves remained at 103.6 tons. Given the evolution of international prices, its value stood at approximately 9.6 billion euros. Romania’s international reserves, as of April 30, 2025, were approximately 72 billion euros.
BOMBING – The Syrian presidency said in a statement on Friday that Israel’s airstrike near the presidential palace in Damascus constituted a “dangerous escalation,” Reuters reports. The Israeli military bombed the area of the presidential palace in Damascus on Friday, after threatening the Syrian government with retaliation if it did not protect the country’s large Druze minority, hundreds of thousands of whom have relatives in Israel. Defense Minister Israel Katz had previously warned that Israel would respond if the Syrian government failed to protect the minority, after two days of deadly sectarian clashes near Damascus. At least 100 people were killed in the two days, most of them Druze, according to a conflict monitoring group.
UKRAINE – Ukraine and Russia are still a long way from reaching a peace accord, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, warning that if no progress is made in due course, president Donald Trump may reconsider the US’s role in the mediation process, the dpa news agency reports. Rubio also said there is no military solution to the war in Ukraine, as Russian president Vladimir Putin cannot conquer the entire country, nor can Ukraine push the Russian forces back to their 2014 positions. Earlier, in an interview to an American TV station, US vice-president JD Vance said the US would work hard over the next 100 days to bring Ukraine’s and Russia’s negotiation positions closer. (EE)
