December 1, 2023

A roundup of national and international news

Newsroom, 01.12.2023, 13:42

NATIONAL
DAY – December 1 marks the National Day of Romania, celebrating 105
years since the unification of Romanian principalities into a single state. On
December 1, at the end of the Great War, representatives of Romanians from
Transylvania (center), Banat, Maramureș and
Crișana (west), voted in favor of the unification with the Kingdom of
Romania, thus breaking with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Previously, on
November 28, a similar decision was taken by the General Congress of Bukovina,
another province that was previously ruled by the Habsburgs. On March 27, 1918,
after the collapse of the Russian Empire, the People’s Gathering of Bessarabia
also voted the unification with Romania. In the summer of 1940, following an
ultimatum, the USSR annexed both Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, today parts
of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, respectively.

PARADE – Over
2,400 military and specialists with the Defense Ministry, the Interior
Ministry, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunications
Service and the Penitentiary Administration took part on Friday in a special
military parade marking the National Day of Romania. 250 foreign military from
Belgium, France, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova, Luxembourg, Poland,
Portugal, Spain, the USA and the Netherlands also took part. 130 vehicles and 40 aircraft, in addition to
23 types of military and air equipment used by allied participants were
displayed in Bucharest.

CONFERENCE – The UN Climate
Change Conference hosted by Dubai in the UAE has launched with the historic
decision to compensate poor countries most vulnerable to global warming.
Attending the Conference are 140 heads of state and government, including
president Klaus Iohannis.

WAR IN
GAZA – The ceasefire in Gaza expired on Friday morning, and the
Israeli army has resumed its air raids and shelling targeting the positions of
the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas. According to the so-called Hamas
government, an air raid has killed six people in Rafah, while the Health
Ministry has counted 32 people killed by Israeli bombing, including children.
Negotiations had continued over the previous night for a new extension of the
ceasefire, in place since November 24, yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
accused Hamas of violating the agreement and firing missiles on Israel. Eight
Israeli hostages were released on Friday in exchange for 30 Palestinians
detained by Israel.

WAR IN UKRAINE – Kyiv announced
Russian invasion forces bombed targets across the country on Thursday night,
using kh-59 missiles and 25 Shahed 136/131 attack drones in the south.
Ukrainian armed forces claimed to have shot down 18 drones and a missile. Kyiv
has accused Moscow of planning a campaign of tactical air strikes targeting the
energy infrastructure in the middle of winter. A similar operation last year
left millions of Ukrainians without power and heat over long periods of time.
Ukraine has since shored up its anti-air defenses with Western weapons,
although authorities say it will take a while before being able to protect its
most vulnerable regions.

365 DAYS OF ROMANIA – Eight Romanian
brands will live the American Dream in the iconic Times Square in New York
starting December 1 and running through 2024 as part of the project titled 365
Days of Romania in Times Square. The project enables Romanian brands to take
part and share strong messages on the most iconic billboard in the world -
Nasdaq, organizers say. The first brand to be presented in Times Square on
December 1 is Arctic, the most powerful Romanian brand according to a survey conducted
this year by Unlock Market Research & Biz. Other brands such as Romstal,
Vola.ro, Aqua Carpatica, Bittnet Group, Eazy Insure, Metaminds, 5toGo will all
start their advertising campaigns in 2024.

HANDBALL -
Romania is playing its first match at the World Handball Championships against
Chile. In the following Group E fixtures, the Romanian women’s team will play
Serbia on December 3 and Denmark on December 5. The top three teams in each
group will advance to the so-called main group stage. The best-performing
player on the Romanian team, Cristina Neagu, four-time best handballer of the
year, is currently injured and will remain benched for the first games. Romania
is the only team that has taken part in all 26 editions of the World Handball
Championship, a competition it won once in 1962. Romania played another two
finals in 1973 and 2005, and came in third in 2015. Romania was ranked 13th
at the previous edition. (VP)