WAR IN
\nUKRAINE – Russia has expanded its attacks westwards, to the Polish
\nborder, as well as to the south of Urkaine. According to British intelligence,
\nRussia has now imposed a blockade of the entire Ukrainian Black Seacoast, with
\na view to mounting an attack on Odessa. Russian forces destroyed a military
\nbase a few kilometers from the Polish border, killing 35 people and wounding
\nanother 130, local authorities say. The base was used prior to the war by NATO
\nstaff to train Ukrainian security forces, although the Alliance claims no staff
\nwas on the ground at the time of the attack. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr
\nZelensky, has condemned Russia’s unjustified attack, again calling on Western
\ncountries to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. NATO and the United States have
\nso far ruled out this possibility, US president Joe Biden arguing this might
\nlead to the outbreak of WWIII. According to American officials, Russia has
\ncalled on China to deliver military equipment and support for the war in
\nUkraine, as well as additional financial support to counter the negative
\neffects of international sanctions. US officials have so far refused to discuss
\nMoscow’s specific requests or China’s response. On the other hand,
\nRussian-Ukrainian negotiations will resume today in videoconference format.
\nAccording to Radio Romania’s correspondent, Moscow sources say a number of
\ndocuments could be signed over the coming days. On Sunday, the first foreign
\njournalist was killed north of Kyiv. <\/p>\n
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REFUGEES – Romanian authorities have
\nlaunched an interactive map for refugees, mapping out transit corridors to
\nborder checkpoints. The application can be accessed on the website of the
\nMinistry of Transport, and is available in Romanian, English and Ukrainian.
\nRefugees who need to reach other countries can find information about road and
\nrail connections. The application also provides information about border
\ncheckpoints, international airports and connections to the nearby airports and
\nborder crossing points. Since the start of the Russian invasion in neighboring
\nUkraine, hundreds of thousands of people have crossed into Romania, most of
\nthem in route to other countries. Yesterday, president Klaus Iohannis assured
\nhis Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, that Romania will take great
\ncare of all Ukrainian citizens crossing into Romania. <\/p>\n
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TALKS – Romania’s Foreign Minister,
\nBogdan Aurescu, is today having a new round of talks with his Italian
\ncounterpart, Luigi Di Maio. Talks will focus on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
\nand on Italy’s interest to support the refugee relief effort. High on the
\nagenda will also be efforts to put an end to the conflict, sanctions against
\nthe Russian Federation and measures to consolidate NATO’s eastern flank. The
\ntwo officials will also discuss ways to boost the Consolidated Strategic
\nPartnership between the two countries. The Italian official will also meet with
\npresident Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Nicolae
\nCiuc\u0103. <\/p>\n
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\n
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DEFICIT – Romania’s
\ntrade deficit was by 945 million Euro higher in January compared to the same
\nperiod last year, and now stands at 2.126 billion Euro, the National Statistics
\nInstitute reports. In January, exports stood at 6.76 billion Euro, while the
\ntotal value of imports was 8.88 billion Euro. Vehicles, transport equipment and
\nother manufactured goods account for the largest share of trade. <\/p>\n
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CENSUS – Delayed by a year due to the
\nCOVID-19 pandemic, the census of population and households has started in
\nRomania. For the first time, citizens will be able to use an online application
\nfor self-enumeration. People with limited digital skills can get guidance in
\nspecial centers, where trained staff will guide them every step of the way. The
\nform stipulates four categories of information: data about the household and
\nhome ownership, the official place of residence, members of the household and
\nsecondary place of residence. Citizens who complete the self-enumeration form
\nonline will be awarded a day off, whether they work in the public or private
\nsystem. An enumerator will be visiting homes that were not enumerated online.
\nThe whole process is digitized. The previous census dates back to 2011, when Romania
\nhad a population of over 20 million. <\/p>\n
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\n
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TOURISM -
\nTourism was one of the sectors that started to recover after the Covid pandemic
\nlast year, the latest Eurostat reports reads. In 2021, accommodations in
\ntourist units totaled 1.8 billion, up by 27% compared to 2020. The biggest
\nincrease was reported in Greece, Spain and Croatia (70%), compared to Romania
\n(43%). <\/p>\n
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\n
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TENNIS -
\nThe best-ranked Romanian tennis players, Simona Halep (WTA 26) and Sorana C\u00eerstea (WTA 27) will play each other in the Indian Wells
\nround of 16. The WTA 1000 tournament in the United States this year totals some
\n8.6 million USD in prizes. Halep, who won the trophy in 2015, yesterday
\ndefeated Cori Gauff of the United States in straight sets, whereas C\u00eerstea ousted Anna Kalinskaya of Russia in three sets.
\nSimona Halep and Sorana C\u00eerstea last played each other 12 years ago, in the
\nCincinnati preliminaries. C\u00eerstea leads
\n2-1 head to head. (VP)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[36612,28963,36126,29594,31701,29622,36572],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-application-for-refugees","tag-bogdan-aurescu","tag-census","tag-eurostat","tag-indian-wells","tag-trade-deficit","tag-war-in-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n