IRAN – Iran’s Supreme Leader,
\nAyatollah Ali Khamenei, said earlier today, in a televised speech, that the
\nover 20 missiles fired last night on US military bases in Iraq are a slap in
\nthe face to the United States. The attack was confirmed, both in Baghdad, as
\nwell as in Washington, while the official death toll and estimated damages
\nhaven’t been disclosed yet. Ayatollah Khamanei also said that the death of
\nIranian General Qassem Soleimani, killed in Baghdad on January 3 by the United
\nStates, must be avenged, saying that military actions will not suffice. The
\nEuropean Union has called for the immediate cessation of all hostilities in the Middle East between Iran and the
\nUnited States, calling on both sides to make efforts to resume dialogue. A
\ndeclaration was made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,
\nahead of her meeting in London with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. French
\nPresident Emmanuel Macron has also consulted over the phone with his Russian
\ncounterpart, Vladimir Putin, a traditional ally of Iran, with the French
\npresident advising restraint. Expected to reach Moscow at the end of the week,
\nGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel is also expected to tackle this crisis. The
\nRomanian Foreign Ministry posted on Twitter that the attack could lead to a
\nserious deterioration of the regional security context, reiterating its strong
\nappeal to ease tensions in the area. Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said the
\nRomanian military that are part of the international coalition efforts in the
\narea have not been affected by the attacks. There have been no problems
\nreported either from the community of roughly 180 Romanian citizens in Erbil,
\nIraq, also targeted by the attacks. On Tuesday, President Klaus Iohannis said he
\nis closely monitoring the developments in the Middle East, expressing
\nconfidence the only solution is diplomacy and a clam approach to the crisis.
\nThe 14 Romanian military deployed to Iraq have been temporarily relocated to
\nanother base of the international coalition.<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
CRASH – A Ukrainian airliner carrying some 170
\npassengers onboard crashed earlier today shortly after taking off from Teheran
\nAirport. The entire crew and the passengers died on impact. According to
\npreliminary reports, the passenger jet was headed to Kiev. Rescue teams
\ndispatched on the ground by Iranian authorities say they have found the black
\nbox. In Kiev, the National Security Council announced that most of the
\npassengers onboard were Iranian and Canadian, with only 11 Ukrainian citizens
\non the plane’s manifest, including 9 crew members. The cause of the tragedy is
\nyet unknown. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned against any
\nspeculation regarding the cause behind the crash.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
VISIT – Liberal Prime Minister
\nLudovic Orban today continues his visit to Brussels. High on the agenda was his
\nmeeting with European Parliament President, David Sassoli. The two officials
\ndiscussed, among other things, the implementation of the agreement on combating
\nclimate change. Romania has called on European authorities to introduce
\nprovisions that should preserve the competitiveness of European companies after
\nthe agreement takes effect, allowing each country to access the needed
\nresources in order to fulfill its set goals, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said.
\nOrban is today also expected to meet with Manfred Weber, the leader of the
\nEuropean People’s Party, of which the National Liberal Party is also a member,
\nas well as with the leaders of other parliamentary groups, including Dacian
\nCiolos, the leader of Renew Europe. Romania’s Prime Minister is due to meet
\nwith the European Commission vice-presidents as well as with the Transport
\nCommissioner, Romanian Adina Valean. His agenda also includes meetings with
\nRomanian MEPs, to be hosted by Romania’s Permanent Office at the European Union.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
AUSTRALIA – Smoke from the wildfires in Australia have drifted to
\nthe southern coast of Brazil, past Argentina and Chile, the Brazilian Institute
\nfor Space Research has announced. On Tuesday, the World Meteorological
\nOrganization warned that smoke from the bushfire raging across Australia could spread
\nto the entire world. Australian authorities have used the short window of lower
\ntemperatures to reopen roads blocked by bushfires and to transport people to
\nsafe areas, although the heavy smoke has hindered rescue operations, with
\nhundreds of people still left stranded, Reuters reports. The wildfires have
\nengulfed over 8 million of hectares in Australia, killing 25 people and
\ndestroying thousands of buildings and causing blackouts in numerous areas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
HOLOCAUST – Over 40 leaders from the entire world, including
\nPresident Klaus Iohannis, will take part in the 5th World Holocaust
\nForum, held under the headline Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting
\nAntisemitism, to be hosted at Yad Vashem in Israel, the yadvasehm.org website
\nreads. The event will the 75th anniversary of the liberation of
\nAuschwitz and the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Attending the event
\nwill be European Council President, Charles Michel, European Commission President,
\nUrsula von der Leyen and European Parliament President David Sassoli. Keynote
\naddresses will be delivered by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister
\nBenjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron, Prince Charles of the
\nUnited Kingdom, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German President
\nFrank-Walter Steinmeier.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(Translated by V. Palcu)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":75903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[29715,30168,35301,29424,35303,35302],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-104074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-iran","tag-ludovic-orban","tag-missile-attacks","tag-plane-crash","tag-wildfires-in-australia","tag-wmo"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n