November 15, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 15.11.2023, 13:55

Repatriation.
The foreign ministry in Bucharest said another 17 Romanian nationals and family
members left the Gaza Strip and are on Egyptian territory, waiting to be
repatriated. The foreign ministry noted the evacuation was achieved following
complex efforts from an inter-institutional crisis cell, the Romanian embassy
in Cairo and Romania’s Representation in Ramallah. 220 Romanian citizens and
family members who have been evacuated from Gaza have arrived in Romania.

Pensions. Pensions. The new pensions law drafted by the government will
next Monday be debated by the Chamber of Deputies, which is the decision-making
body for this piece of legislation, having already been passed by the Senate on
Tuesday. The parliamentary majority formed by the Social Democrats and the
Liberals says the law eliminates the inequalities in the system, while the
opposition condemns the lack of funding sources to sustain the considerable
pensions increases planned for next year.

Tour.
President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday began in Kenya a tour of four African
countries that is also taking him to Tanzania, Cape Verde and Senegal.
According to a statement from the president’s office, the tour is the first
political and diplomatic endeavour at this level in the last 30 years and aims
to relaunch Romania’s relations with the countries on the African continent. At
a joint press briefing yesterday, president Iohannis emphasised the need for
Romania to have its own medium and long term strategy for Africa based on
concrete collaboration at government level, while Kenya’s president William
Ruto spoke about the effects of the war in Ukraine for the African continent. Four
agreements were signed in the fields of environmental protection and climate
change, scientific cooperation, food safety and diplomatic training.

Energy. The Romanian authorities said energy
stocks for winter are sufficient and that Romania will not need further imports
under normal weather conditions. However, in the event of special requests from
the neighbouring Republic of Moldova or other states in the region, Bucharest
may resort to external resources of natural gas.

Gaza. The Israeli army said its forces are
conducting a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in Gaza’s biggest
hospital, Al-Shifa, Reuters reports. Israel said its forces include medical
teams and Arabic speakers who have undergone specific training for this complex
and sensitive environment, with the aim not to harm civilians. Israel accuses
Hamas of using the hospital to conceal a command centre for launching attacks,
BBC notes. In Washington, a spokesperson for the UN National Security Council
said hospitals and patients must be protected. The US accused Hamas and the
Islamic Jihad of using Al-Shifa hospital for a control and command node. Hamas
rejected the accusations, saying they give Israel green light to commit more
massacres. (CM)