WAR IN UKRAINE – In the absence of any
\nsign the Russian forces are willing to break the siege on Mariupol, a city on
\nthe Azov Sea, efforts continue to evacuate the civilian population via
\nhumanitarian corridors. 30,000 inhabitants have so far left the city, including
\n300 people Moscow claims to have crossed into Russia by bus. On Wednesday, a
\ntheatre in Mariupol sheltering hundreds of civilians was hit by shelling.
\nAccording to Human Rights Watch, at least five hundred civilians had taken
\nrefuge within the theatre walls. Satellite footage shows the word children
\nwritten in Russian on the walls of the theatre. The number of victims left in
\nthe wake of the attack is unknown, considering that rescue teams have so far
\nbeen unable to intervene due to uninterrupted bombing. The United Kingdom, the
\nUnited States of America, Albania, France, Norway and Ireland have called an
\nemergency meeting of the UN Security Council as the humanitarian situation in
\nthis country continues to deteriorate, AFP reports. In turn, Russia has called
\nfor a one-day postponement of the vote on its humanitarian resolution
\nregarding Ukraine. The request comes as Russia’s proposition failed to rally
\nsupport from China and India, Moscow’s traditional allies in the Security
\nCouncil. The Kremlin today rejected the ruling of the International Court of
\nJustice, the highest judicial body of the UN, ordering Russia to immediately
\nstop all military operations in Ukraine. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov,
\nsaid consent must be obtained from both sides for the ruling to be valid. <\/p>\n
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\n
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NATO – In Brussels, NATO
\nDefense Ministers decided to extend the term of the Alliance’s consolidated
\nposture, particularly on the eastern flank, due to the war in Ukraine. NATO
\nSecretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Russia’s readiness to use force
\nmust not be underestimated, nor should the fact that Russia is a nuclear power.
\nThe NATO official said there is unanimity in the Alliance’s decision not to
\nsend forces on the ground or to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Soltenberg
\nexplained that NATO wants to prevent the war in Ukraine from spreading to the
\nregion. In turn, NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoan\u0103, said
\nthe Alliance’s new posture does not mean the Alliance believes Russia will
\nattack NATO, but is simply a form of deterrence. Mircea Geoan\u0103 explained that the battlegroup created in Romania will soon be fully
\noperational. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\n
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REFUGEES – The UN High
\nCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that over 3 million people have
\nleft Ukraine since the start of the war, of whom 450 thousand have reached
\nRomania. This is the biggest war-caused migration in Europe since WWII. Adding
\nto the number of refugees who left Ukraine are people who are displaced within
\nthe country’s borders. The humanitarian crisis has been worsened by continuous
\nbombing targeting civilian objectives. According to the Romanian Border Police,
\nover 15,200 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania within the space of 24 hours, up
\nby 0.4% compared to yesterday. Right now, the border checkpoints are working at
\nfull capacity, with the observance of national and community regulations. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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TALKS – Romania’s president,
\nKlaus Iohannis, is today receiving his Estonian counterpart, Alar Kari in
\nBucharest. Also today, Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, will also hold
\ntalks with the Romanian president and with his Romanian counterpart, Nicolae
\nCiuc\u0103. The agenda for talks includes the energy reform of the
\nEU, in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Pedro S\u00e1nchez will call on Romania
\nto support Spain’s energy reform of the European Union. One proposition is to
\neliminate natural gas from the method of calculating the price for electricity.
\nThe second point in Spain’s proposal is to give every state the possibility of
\nintroducing a cap on electricity prices for end users over a definite period of
\ntime and based on sound arguments. This week, Spain’s Prime Minister is touring
\nEurope, meeting with 8 counterparts from member states, to discuss energy
\nprices. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
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COVID – The World Health
\nOrganization (WHO) has expressed concern over the resurge in the number of
\ncoronavirus cases across the world, against the backdrop of the relaxation of
\nrestrictions and the promotion of the false idea that the Omicron strain is
\nharmless. WHO director, Tedros Ghebreyesus says last week the number of
\ninfections went up 8% globally compared to the previous week. China is facing a
\nlarge number of infections, after two years when incidence rates were kept at a
\nminimum. Israel has announced two new cases of infection with an unknown
\nvariant, whereas France, the Netherlands and Denmark reported a type of
\ninfection that combines the Delta and Omicron strains. According to the latest
\nreport of the Group for Strategic Communication, Romania reported a little over
\n4,000 new cases and 63 related fatalities within the space of 24 hours, of
\nwhich 27 were prior to the reference period. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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TENNIS – Romanian tennis player
\nSimona Halep, world no. 24, has advanced to the semi-finals of the WTA 1000
\ntournament in Indian Wells, totalling some 8.5 million USD in prize money. In
\nthe quarterfinals, Halep ousted Petra Martic of Croatia. In the semi-finals,
\nHalep will take on Iga \u015awi\u0105tekof Poland, the competition’s third seed. The Polish player ousted Madison Keys
\nof the United States in the previous round. Halep leads 2-1 head-to-head. (VP)<\/p>\n
\n
\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":[36621,36622,31701,28945,29914,33607,36611,36572,35334],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-bombing-in-mariupol","tag-covid-resurge","tag-indian-wells","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-nato-defense-ministers","tag-pedro-sanchez","tag-unhcr","tag-war-in-ukraine","tag-who"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n