May 31, 2024 UPDATE
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 31.05.2024, 20:00
UKRAINE – The US President, Joe Biden, has given Ukraine permission to use American-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, under certain conditions, the international media cited an American official as saying. President Biden has instructed his team to make sure Ukraine was able to use US weapons for “counter-fire purposes” to “hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them”, the mentioned source, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC. The United States, however, continues to oppose Ukrainian attacks deep into Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that Ukraine using any Western weapon to strike Russian territory is “a question of time”. The statement was made in Stockholm, where the signing of the security agreements concluded by Ukraine with Sweden, Norway and Iceland took place.
MOLDOVA – Germany will donate to the Republic of Moldova a new batch of 14 Piranha armored personnel carriers, as well as anti-aircraft defense equipment, the German Minister of Defense, Boris Pistorius, announced in Chisinau. He also spoke about the support that will be given to Moldova for joining the European Union and for strengthening the defense capabilities against Russia’s destabilizing actions. The German official also talked about the complicated situation in which Moldova finds itself, as a result of Russia’s brutal war of aggression. The Moldovan Minister of Defense, Anatolie Nosatîi, emphasized that the state-of-the-art equipment received on Friday will considerably improve the ability to manage emergency medical situations and provide first aid to military personnel. He also said that the Moldovan army is now better equipped due to the support provided by Germany, which is very important in the current unstable regional security context.
NATO – Russia has intensified its hybrid actions against NATO members, the head of Romanian diplomacy, Luminiţa Odobescu, told Agerpres on Friday. Odobescu participated in the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers held in Prague. “We have seen the recent attempts to rewrite the borders, in the case of Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, we have seen the massive cyber attacks, in our case the recent espionage action”, Odobescu explained. “There is a need for more coordination regarding the reaction to these hybrid attacks, which target not only allies, but also vulnerable partners, as is the case of the Republic of Moldova”, she also said. She reiterated that for Romania, support for the Republic of Moldova at both bilateral and European level is a priority.
HIMARS – The first HIMARS anti-missile defense system maintenance center in Europe was inaugurated in Bacău, in the north-east of Romania, in the presence of the Minister of Defense Angel Tîlvăr. He has stated that, thus, Romania has a strategic advantage, by securing the maintenance of its own systems of this type in the country. In addition, the new center has an impact on the economic development of the area, the minister said. The center in Bacău is made in partnership with Lockheed Martin, the American company with which there is also collaboration for the maintenance of Black Hawk helicopters and F-16 airplanes of the Romanian Army.
RULING – Jurors in New York state court on Thursday found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star. He thus became become the first former U.S. president convicted of a crime. The verdict, which the international media calls historic and with unpredictable political consequences, will be pronounced on July 11 by judge Juan Merchan. This will not prevent the billionaire from running in the Nov. 5 presidential election, against the Democrat Joe Biden, even if he receives a prison sentence.
BOOKFAIR – The 17th edition of the Bookfest International Book Fair is taking place in Bucharest. 200 exhibitors and 150 publishing houses from Romania and the neighboring Republic of Moldova, the guest of honor this year, are taking part. At the previous international editions, the guest countries were: Spain, Hungary, France, the German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Poland, the Czech Republic, Israel, Sweden, the United States of America, Great Britain, Japan and Italy. The Bookfest Book Fair has local editions in four large Romanian cities and another international edition in Chisinau.
TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu qualified, on Thursday evening, for the third round of the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, after defeating the Czech Linda Noskova, 6-4, 6-1. Begu’s next opponent is Varvara Gracheva (France) or Bernarda Pera (USA). The Romanian Ana Bogdan prevailed in two sets against Anastasia Pavliucenkova, the 20th seed in the tournament, 6-4, 6-4. The Romanian qualified for the second time in her career to the 3rd round of the French Open. (EE)
