NATO – Two convoys transporting
\nmilitary equipment from France arrived in Romania on Sunday. The first convoy
\nincludes light infantry vehicles, while the second one transported heavy
\ninfantry armored vehicles, the Romanian Defense Ministry announced. The
\nequipment adds to the military technology used by the NATO battlegroup in
\nRomania led by France and located in Cincu, central Romania. The battlegroup
\nwas created in May by pooling in NATO Response Force troops already deployed to
\nRomania. On the other hand, Spain announced it would send F-18 and Eurofighter
\njets to Romania and Bulgaria, to contribute to consolidating the NATO eastern
\nflank in the context of the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
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\n
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DEFENSE
\n– The Supreme Defense Council will convene on Tuesday in Bucharest. According
\nto the Presidency, the agenda will focus on the regional security context, the
\nRussian invasion of Ukraine and consequences for Romania, as well as on improving
\nthe country’s energy resilience. Council members will also be given an update
\non measures taken to modernize the army. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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PARLIAMENT
\n– Defense Minister Vasile D\u00eencu on
\nMonday resigned, claiming it was impossible to work with president Klaus
\nIohannis. Also on Monday, Minister D\u00eencu was expected to appear before
\nthe Chamber of Deputies to explain his statements over the resolution of the
\nUkrainian conflict. In a TV show, the Defense Minister said that negotiations
\nwith Russia are the only way to ensure peace in Ukraine. President Iohannis
\nsubsequently told D\u00eencu that Ukrainians
\nare paying a blood price in this war and we must all come to terms with the
\nidea that only Ukraine can decide when, how and what it is negotiating. This is
\nour official position and the official viewpoint of the European Union, the
\npresident went on to say.<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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WAR IN
\nUKRAINE – Russia has launched missile and drone strikes on Mykolaiv, a city
\nlocated some 35 km northwest of the frontline in Kherson, currently under
\nUkrainian control, destroying an apartment building. The Kremlin previously
\nwarned of uncontrolled escalation in the Ukrainian conflict. The strike
\noccurred just as Russia had ordered 60,000 people to evacuate the area to save
\ntheir lives from the Ukrainian counteroffensive. The Russian Defense Minister,
\nSergey Shoigu, said the situation in Ukraine is rapidly deteriorating as part
\nof telephone calls he had on Sunday with counterparts from Great Britain,
\nFrance and Turkey. Minister Shoigu also spoke to the US Secretary of Defense,
\nLloyd Austin, for the second time in three days. According to the Pentagon,
\nSecretary Austin said Shoigu rejected any pretext for Russian escalation in
\nUkraine.<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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REFUGEES
\n– The Border Police Inspectorate announced some 90 thousand people entered
\nRomania on Sunday, of whom some 8,000 were Ukrainian nationals, representing a
\n16% drop compared to the previous day. Starting February 10, 2022, some 2.6
\nmillion Ukrainians have entered Romania, most of whom were en route to Western
\nEurope. According to the Interior Ministry, over 4,300 Ukrainians filed for and
\nwere granted asylum in Romania, thus benefiting from every right under Romanian
\nnow. Another 80,000 Ukrainians have obtained stay permits, which grant them
\ntemporary forms of protection.<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
UN – The
\nRomanian Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the decision of the Gabonese
\nPresidency of the UN Security Council to deny the representatives of Romania
\nand Lithuania the right to speak in Friday’s session devoted to humanitarian
\nissues in Ukraine. According to a press release issued by the Romanian MFA, the
\ndecision is all the more regrettable as Romania’s permanent mission to the UN
\nhad been previously notified it has been included on the list of speakers.
\nRomanian diplomats wanted to tell Council members about Romania’s efforts in
\nproviding assistance to some 2.6 million Ukrainian refugees that have entered
\nRomania since the start of the war and our country’s contribution to helping
\nexport grain from Ukraine in an attempt to facilitate access to food and
\noffsetting the global food crisis caused by Russia. Romania’s intervention was
\nsubsequently submitted in writing as an official document pertaining to this
\nsession. <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
UK -
\nFormer British Finance Minister, Rishi Sunak, is likely to be designated the
\nnew Prime Minister of Great Britain today. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson
\nannounced on Sunday he has withdrawn his candidacy for the leadership of the
\nConservative Party, while the other candidate, Penny Mordant, is far from
\nsecuring the necessary number of votes allowing him to stay in the race.
\nFreshly returned from a holiday, Borish Johnson explained he decided to give up
\nhis bid for Downing Street as he was unable to obtain the support of all
\nConservatives in Parliament in order to rule efficienty. Meanwhile, thousands
\nof people protested on Sunday in London, calling for the EU reaccession of the
\nUK. The current political stalemate was triggered after the Brexit referendum.
\nProtesters claim Great Britain rejoining the community bloc would also solve
\nthe current energy crisis. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
PILGRIMAGE
\n– Bucharest is hosting the traditional Christian-Orthodox pilgrimage devoted to
\nSaint Demetrius the New, patron saint of Bucharest, whose feast day is celebrated
\non October 27. Hosted by the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, the pilgrimage
\nwill end on Friday, October 28. <\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
TENNIS -
\nRomanian tennis player Simona Halep, who received a temporary suspension after
\ntesting positive at a US Open doping test, dropped one place in WTA standings
\ncompared to the previous week and is now ranked 10th. Another four
\nRomanian players are ranked in WTA Top 100 – Irina-Camelia Begu (33), Sorana
\nC\u00eerstea (38), Ana Bogdan (48) and Elena-Gabriela Ruse (96), the latter having
\nclimbed nine spots. Jaqueline Cristian dropped 61 places and is currently
\nranked 143. In the WTA doubles standings, Monica Niculescu is ranked 48, Irina
\nBara 85 and Elena-Gabriela Ruse 91. (VP)<\/p>\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":[37143,37144,37145,28900,32263,36583,36617,36572],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-nato-convoys","tag-romanian-delegation-to-the-un","tag-saint-demetrius-the-new","tag-simona-halep","tag-supreme-defense-council","tag-ukrainian-refugees","tag-vasile-dincu","tag-war-in-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n