TIMI\u015eOARA The
\ncity of Timi\u015foara in western Romania is officially, as of Friday, a European
\nCapital of Culture for a year. Over 15,000 people are expected to attend the
\nopening weekend events. On Saturday, locals and visitors were invited
\nto a digital culture festival, scientific experiments, exhibitions, dance and
\ntheatre performances, concerts, workshops and giant puppet parades around the
\ncity. On Friday, the first day of the weekend, tens of thousands of people
\nenjoyed the over 120 events prepared by the organisers as a journey into the
\ncity’s multi-cultural tradition, its open, brave and innovating spirit. Performances,
\nconcerts, exhibitions, roundtables, tourist tours were organised, as well as a
\ngala show attended by hundreds of guests, including scores of ambassadors and
\nRomanian and foreign officials. The European Commissioner Adina V\u0103lean awarded the
\nMelina Mercouri prize to the city of Timi\u015foara, for meeting the commitments in its
\ncultural programme. She also emphasised that the cities having received the
\nEuropean Capital of Culture title have seen significant long-term benefits in
\nterms of urban regeneration, of improving their public image and capitalising
\non their potential for innovation. <\/p>\n
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SECURITY The
\nRomanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu, attending the Munich Security
\nConference, highlighted the serious security threats at the Black Sea entailed
\nby Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the pressure on
\nneighbouring countries, particularly the Republic of Moldova, by various means,
\nincluding hybrid threats. Aurescu was a special guest on Friday at an event
\ndevoted to multi-dimensional security challenges at the Black Sea and on NATO’s
\neastern flank, organised on the sidelines of the conference. The Romanian
\nofficial pointed out that Russia’s war against Ukraine is a war against the
\nvalues of the democratic Western community and against the core parameters of
\nthe Euro-Atlantic security architecture, as well as an attempt at recreating
\nthe Russian sphere of influence. Efficiently deterring Russia relies on strong
\ndefence, the Romanian foreign minister also said, and added that the
\ntrans-Atlantic partnership must be consolidated and the US Strategy on security
\nat the Black Sea must be finalised. Bogdan Aurescu also emphasised the
\nimportance of carrying on support for Ukraine, and suggested stepping up
\nEuropean and NATO support for Moldova and Georgia. <\/p>\n
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VISIT The new PM of the Republic of Moldova, Dorin Recean, will be
\nin Bucharest next week, for his first visit abroad since taking over the
\noffice, Radio Chi\u015fin\u0103u announced. In an interview on Moldova’s public
\ntelevision, Dorin Recean insisted on the privileged relationship between the 2
\ncountries and emphasised that Romania helped Moldova considerably in handling
\nthe energy crisis and in its EU accession efforts. Dorin Recean’s Cabinet was
\nsworn in on Thursday, and on the same day the PM of Romania Nicolae Ciuc\u0103
\ncongratulated him and invited him to Bucharest.<\/p>\n
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MOLDOVA The
\npresident of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, had a meeting with the US
\nState Secretary Antony Blinken at the Munich Security Conference, Chi\u015fin\u0103u announced. According to Reuters, the
\nlatter said the US was deeply concerned with some of Russia’s plans to
\ndestabilise the government of Moldova. Maia
\nSandu had previously accused Russia of planning to change the legitimate power
\nin Chi\u015fin\u0103u, using men trained in Belarus, Serbia and Montenegro, who are
\napparently instructed to conduct violent actions under the guise of protests. President
\nSandu also attended a roundtable focusing on the experience of various
\ncountries and international organisations in fighting corruption, and she spoke
\nabout Moldova’s commitment to fight corruption and to punish all those who
\nembezzled public money. <\/p>\n
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TURKEY Three
\nsurvivors were found under the rubble on Saturday, 13 days after the
\ndevastating earthquake in Turkey, which killed more than 45,000 people in that
\ncountry and in Syria, France Presse reports, quoting Turkish media. One of the
\n3 people rescued in southern Turkey is a child. Nearly 264,000 flats in Turkey
\nwere destroyed and many people are still missing after the most severe disaster
\nin the country’s modern history. Romania has sent rescue teams to Turkey and
\nhumanitarian aid to Syria.<\/p>\n
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RUGBY Romania’s
\nrugby team Sunday plays against Portugal, away from home, in the last match in Group
\nB of Rugby Europe Championship 2023 (REC). Both teams have 2 wins and are
\nalready qualified into the competition’s semi-finals. Romania played in Group
\nB, alongside Portugal, Belgium and Poland, while Group A included Georgia, the
\nNetherlands, Spain and Germany. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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