November 8, 2023

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 08.11.2023, 13:55

Trip. By far the best option is for
Romania and Bulgaria to join the Schengen area together and all negotiations
and all attempts to convince those still reluctant in this respect converge in
this direction, said Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis today. During talks
with Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo, he said talks continue in
this respect. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the relevant
institutions from Romania and Belgium and from Italy and United States on the
development of small modular lead-cooled fast reactors. During his official
visit to Belgium, Klaus Iohannis will also visit the Belgian Nuclear Research
Centre, where he will meet a team of Romanian researchers who are working
there. At the end of his trip, Iohannis will be received by King Philippe.

Middle East. Romanian prime minister
Marcel Ciolacu is today travelling to Egypt, government sources have said. The
trip comes after an announcement last night by the foreign ministry that 93
Romanian citizens and family members left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah
crossing and are on Egyptian territory. They were taken over by representatives
of the Romanian embassy in Egypt and are accompanied by a mobile team from the
ministry’s Crisis Cell Rapid Reaction Unit, before boarding special flights to
Bucharest. The Romanian foreign ministry said it is in dialogue with the
Israeli and Egyptian authorities to facilitate the evacuation of other Romanian
citizens still in Gaza. 51 more Romanian nationals and their families are expected
to cross the border with Egypt today. In the meantime, US president Joe Biden
asked Israeli prime minister to order a pause in Israeli offensive in Gaza. A
White House spokesperson said the two leaders talked about a tactical pause
for humanitarian reasons. Benjamin Netanyahu, however, last night made a
ceasefire conditional on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Aircraft. The first five F-16 aircraft supplied by The Netherlands to
the European Training
Centre in Romania landed at the airbase in Feteşti, said the Romanian defence
ministry on Tuesday. The centre will function as an international hub for the
training of F-16 pilots and to enhance interoperability between allies,
training not only Romanian pilots, but also those of allied and partner states,
including Ukraine.

Weather. October 2023 was the
warmest October on record, according to European Observatory Copernicus,
following record temperatures in summer. With a global average of 15.38 degrees
Celsius, last month’s temperature exceeded by 0.4% the previous record for
October, set in 2019. Romania even saw temperatures of 53 degrees Celsius at
the end of October, which is much above what is normally expected in the later
part of autumn. The Romanian towns of Turnu Măgurele and Bechet recorded the
highest temperatures in Europe, exceeding the average temperatures by 18
degrees. (CM)