October 19, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 19.10.2024, 20:00
DRONES – Romania’s radar surveillance system on Friday night picked up a small-sized aircraft overflying the Black Sea some 45 km east of Sfântu Gheorghe in the Danube Delta. As the target was headed for the Romanian border, authorities activated structures with the extended air policing service under NATO command as well as local response units. According to the Defense Ministry, it appears no area on Romania’s territory has been hit, although searches continue in a wider perimeter. A member of the EU and NATO, Romania shares a 650-km long border with Ukraine. In the last year, drone debris has crashed on its territory, amidst increasing Russian attacks on Ukraine’s port infrastructure. While most drone fragments landed in Romania after being destroyed by Ukraine’s air defense systems, the situation might swiftly deteriorate as a number of drones were detected as they entered the national airspace of Romania as well as Latvia.
UKRAINE – Romania’s Defense Minister, Angel Tîlvăr, attended the two-day NATO Defense Ministers meeting hosted by Brussels this week. According to a press release, the Romanian official highlighted Romania’s commitment to support Ukraine, both by bilateral initiatives, as well as through an effective NATO-EU coordination. In other news, Romania’s Interior Minister, Cătălin Predoiu, met his Ukrainian counterpart Ihor Klymenko in Bucharest. On this occasion, Minister Predoiu said Romania must play a key role in the process of reconstruction of Ukraine when the war is over. In turn, Minister Klymenko thanked Romania for the substantial support it has provided ever since the start of the conflict. Some 10 million Ukrainian citizens safely transited Romania during this period, of whom over 82 thousand have chosen to stay. 146 filed for asylum and 100 thousand applied for various forms of international protection.
ELECTION – Moldovans on Sunday are electing their future president and deciding on their country’s EU accession. The incumbent president, Maia Sandu, is favorite to win, while over half of Moldovans seem to favor EU integration, polls say. To prevent Moscow from interfering with the election process, Chișinău has taken a number of measures to prevent internal and external disruptions and possible hostile actions, including in the breakaway region of Transnistria. Some 2,200 stations have been set up at home, while Moldovans can also vote in one of the over 230 stations open in 37 countries, of which 16 in Romania.
FESTIVAL – The 34th edition of the National Theatre Festival is devoted to dialogue between generations, the Romanian Theatre Union president, Dragoș Buhagiar, said in Friday’s opening event. 31 performances from across the country will be staged in the capital-city, in addition to related events, such as visual installations, contemporary and independent theatre shows, educational performances, conferences and debates, workshops, sessions devoted to well-established artists, book launches, radio drama performances as well as the Stage Directing Biennial. Guests will also be able to see 5 productions of major theatre companies in Europe.
QUAKE – A 3.3 Richter-scale earthquake occurred on Saturday in Vrancea seismic zone in the southeast, the National Earth Physics Institute (INCDFP) reports, bringing the total number of quakes to 18 this month. The most significant of them occurred on October 4, with a magnitude of 4.2, while the largest quake this year had a magnitude of 5.7 degrees. We recall the biggest quake ever to hit Romania was in 1977, when 1,57- people were killed, mostly in Bucharest. Some 230,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The earthquake was followed by a severe economic and social crisis which many experts say contributed to the collapse of the communist regime. (VP)
