September 11, 2022

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Newsroom, 11.09.2022, 13:55

9/11 In Bucharest, PM
Nicolae Ciucă Sunday addressed a message of solidarity with the people of the
USA, 21 years since the terrorist attacks of 2001. The tragedy of the American
nation, shared by the entire planet, struck at the heart of freedom and democracy: the trust in and respect for the other. We honour the memory of
those who passed away and we stand by the survivors and rescuers in the
terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Romanian Prime Minister said. Mr. Ciucă also
mentioned Romania’s continued solidarity with the US, as reflected in the
military cooperation between the 2 countries. Our troops, in increasingly
complex missions, have proved professionalism and dedication, contributing to
the safeguarding of peace and democratic values. In the most important
missions, in Iraq and Afghanistan, Romanian troops showed solidarity with their
American partners, fighting together with the world’s democracies against terrorism
and defending fundamental rights and liberties, reads the message. Nearly 3,000 people were killed 21 years ago
by 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacking 4 aircraft.

QUEENThe state funerals for Queen Elizabeth II,
who passed away on Thursday, aged 96, will take place on the 19 September. Meanwhile,
Britons will have several days to pay their respects to their former sovereign,
first in Edinburgh and then in London, where the Queen’s coffin is scheduled to
arrive on Tuesday. On Saturday, King Charles III was proclaimed monarch, and
today he was officially proclaimed head of state of Australia and New Zealand. The
British monarch is the sovereign of 14 other countries apart from the UK, although
with a largely ceremonial role. The King is also the head of the Commonwealth, an
association of 56 countries, most of them former British colonies. For over 4
decades, King Charles has been involved in charities lobbying for environment
and heritage conservation, but as head of state he will take on exclusively
constitutional responsibilities. As a Prince of Wales, the new King visited
Romania almost every year for 2 decades, supporting a number of organisations
and projects, especially in Transylvania, where he owns several estates. The UK
Embassy in Bucharest opened an online condolence book for members of the
public, but hundreds of Romanians went to the embassy offices to bring flowers
and light candles for the Queen. The flag at the embassy office was flown at
half-mast.

FLIGHTS The national airline
TAROM continues to repatriate the Romanians stranded in international airports
after the private operator Blue Air suspended flights. Today around 200 people
will be brought from Greece’s Zakynthos and Rhodes islands, with another 200 to
be repatriated on Monday, after 350 Romanian nationals were repatriated from
Greece on Saturday. Four other special flights had previously been organised to
Israel, Greece, Cyprus
and Spain. Several thousand Romanians have been stranded in international airports
since Tuesday night, when Blue Air announced it was suspending flights. Although
the authorities have unfrozen the accounts of the airline, which had excessive
debts to the Romanian state, Blue Air said it would only resume flights on 10 October.
Blue Air’s current estimated debts amount to EUR 230 mln.

UKRAINE Since early September
the Ukrainian army has freed some 2,000 sq.km of the country’s territory,
president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced. Ukrainian forces are currently engaged
in 2 counter-offensive campaigns, one in the south, targeting Herson, and the
second one in the Kharkiv area in the north-east, where they entered the key
cities of Kupyansk and Izyum. According to international media, these are the
most important gains for Ukraine since early April, when the Russians were
pushed out of Kyiv area. Reuters quotes a former chief of pro-Russian militias
in eastern Ukraine, Igor Girkin, as talking about a major defeat for Russia.

NUCLEAR Operations
at the Zaporozhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, controlled by Russian
forces, have been fully stopped as a safety measure, Ukraine’s nuclear operator
Energoatom announced on Sunday. Another emergency shut-down had been ordered in
August. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling the nuclear plant, while
president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the region around
it to be demilitarised. (AMP)