Romania

Heavy rains in Central Europe cause flooding, leaving 16 dead in region

Exceptionally heavy rainfall pounding Central Europe has prompted deadly flooding in the region, with four new deaths reported Monday in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Romania. The flooding has swamped parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a low-pressure system crossing the region has unleashed record-high rains for days, and it was expected to affect Slovakia and Hungary later in the week. So far 16 people have been reported killed seven people in Romania, five in Poland, three in the Czech Republic and one in Austria. In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk held an emergency meeting and later declared a disaster in flooded areas, a government measure to facilitate evacuation and rescues. He also said the government would provide 1 billion zlotys (USD 258,000) in immediate payouts to victims. The flooding in Poland has burst dams and embankments while receding waters left streets covered in piles of debris and mud. It prompted a hospital in the

Hunter Biden hired by Romanian to 'influence' US agencies: Prosecutors

Hunter Biden was hired by a Romanian businessman accused of corruption who was trying to influence U.S. government policy during Joe Biden's term as vice president, prosecutors said in court papers Wednesday. Special counsel David Weiss said Hunter Biden's business associate will testify at the upcoming federal tax trial of the president's son about the arrangement with the executive, Gabriel Popoviciu, who was facing criminal investigation at the time in Romania. The allegations are likely to bring a fresh wave of criticism of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings, which have been the center of Republicans' investigations into the president's family. Hunter Biden has blasted Republican inquiries into his family's business affairs as politically motivated, and has insisted he never involved his father in his business. An attorney for Hunter Biden didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Prosecutors plan to introduce evidence that Hunter Biden and his busine

Romanian PM to boycott Paris Olympics closing ceremony. Here's why

'To withdraw a medal earned through honest effort on the basis of an appeal is totally unacceptable,' said Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu

Euro Cup 2024 tonight game: UKR vs BEL live match time SLO vs ROU streaming

The Ukraine vs Belgium football match as well as the Slovakia vs Romania football match will begin at 9:30 PM IST on June 26

Euro Cup 2024: Belgium vs Slovakia live match to begin at 9:30 PM IST today

On Monday, June 17, three matches will take place in the Uefa Euro 2024 being played in Germany. Teams such as Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Belgium, Austria and France will be involved

Open to discussing sending Patriot system to Ukraine: Romanian president

Although Romania only has one battery in operation, Prez Iohannis said the discussions concerned another battery that is nearly operational

Biden hosts Prez of Romania at White House to celebrate Nato partnership

President Joe Biden hosted Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, on Tuesday at the White House, with the two leaders celebrating their joint cooperation on issues including international security, the economy and continued support for Ukraine. The meeting in the Oval Office was meant to mark Romania's two decades as a NATO member, according to the White House. At the start of the meeting, Biden joked he advocated for NATO accession for Romania when he was a senator 180 years ago and said the alliance was stronger for the country's inclusion. Biden noted that Romanian and American troops have fought and trained alongside one another and praised Romania for having stepped up to assist Ukraine in fending Russia's invasion. The United States is committed to standing with you, Biden told Iohannis. In turn, Iohannis thanked Biden for hosting him and called the transatlantic alliance a cornerstone of our democratic way of life. He said he intended to make progress toward a visa waiver

Grounded plane with Indian passengers finally takes off from France

The departure of a Romanian aircraft carrying nearly 300 passengers, mostly Indians, to Mumbai was delayed on Monday as some of them did not want to return to their country of origin, media reports said on Monday, three days after being grounded by the French authorities at an airport near Paris over suspected "human trafficking." The situation was, for a time, confusing, according to Me Liliana Bakayoko, lawyer for the Romanian airline Legend Airlines. Speaking to BFMTV, she said that some passengers did not want to return to their country of origin and that they had refused to board the plane initially this Monday morning. "Some of the passengers would be unhappy with this return because they wanted to continue their journey to Nicaragua as planned, the French news broadcast television and radio network reported. According to the Le Monde' newspaper, the local prefecture, or official in charge, confirmed that the plane would indeed take off "but not before noon local time. Two .

Proximity of Russia aattacks on Ukraine's Danube stirs fear in Romania

The discovery of drone debris on Romanian territory this week has left some local residents fearing that the war in neighbouring Ukraine could spread into their country, as Russian forces bombard Ukrainian ports just across the Danube River from NATO-member Romania. Moscow aims to disrupt Ukraine's ability to export grain to world markets with a sustained campaign of attacks targeting Ukrainian Danube ports, and has attacked the port of Izmail four times this week, Ukrainian officials say. Across from Izmail, pieces apparently from a drone were found near the Romanian village of Plauru, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar said Wednesday. It was unclear if Romanian authorities had determined when or from where the drone was launched, and Tilvar said the debris didn't pose a threat, but the development has left citizens in the European Union nation feeling uneasy. Daniela Tanase, 46, who lives in Plauru with her husband and son, told The Associated Press that the drone strikes on .

Fire at fuel station in Romania causes 2 explosions, 1 dead, dozens injured

A fire at a fuelling station in Romania caused an explosion that killed at least one person and injured at least eight others Saturday, prompting an evacuation of the immediate area, authorities said. A second explosion at the station injured at least 26 firefighters, emergency officials said. The explosions happened at a fuelling station that provides liquefied petroleum gas, a fuel used in household appliances and as a gasoline and diesel alternative in some vehicles. They took place in the town of Crevedia, around 30 kilometers northwest of Romania's capital, Bucharest. Romania's health minister, Alexandru Rafila, confirmed to local media that one person had died. Several burn victims had been transported to hospitals in Bucharest for treatment, at least one of whom suffered extensive injuries, he said. Romanian emergency rescue service SMURD said in a press release that a second explosion took place shortly after the first one. The head of the Romanian directorate for emergency

Body found in river linked to Indian, Romanian migrants' death: Canada

Canadian authorities on Friday said they found a body this month in the St Lawrence River which belonged to a man connected to an investigation into the drowning of eight migrants, including members of an Indian family, in March when they were trying to enter the US from Canada illegally. The body has been identified as Casey Oakes, who disappeared in March after he was last seen operating a boat later found near the bodies of two migrant families. One of the families was from Romania and the other was from India. The Indian victims have been identified by their kin in India as Pravin Chaudhary (50), Dakshaben Chaudhary (45), their daughter Vidhi (23), and son Met (20). Oakes was 30 when he disappeared on March 29. His body was found in the river on July 3 near Ross Island, but it took some time for the identity to be confirmed. He had last been seen at night, launching into St Lawrence from the eastern part of Cornwall Island near the Ontario-Quebec border in a light blue boat.

Romania aims to open F-16 pilot training facility for allies, Ukraine

Romania's top defence body has said in a meeting that the country aims to open a regional training hub for F-16 fighter jet pilots from fellow NATO countries and other partners, including Ukraine. The office of President Klaus Iohannis, who chaired the Supreme Council of National Defense meeting in Bucharest on Thursday, said in a statement, "Together with other allies and the company that designs this fighter plane, a regional hub will be created in Romania for the training of pilots." "Romanian pilots who operate F-16 aircraft will be trained here, and the facility will later be opened to the participation of pilots from allied and NATO partner states, including Ukraine," the statement read. Romania, which shares a long border with Ukraine and has been a NATO member since 2004 and a European Union member since 2007, bolstered defence spending in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The training facility will aim to position Romania as "a regional leader in the field of F-16

Influencer indicted on human trafficking, rape charges in Romania

Controversial online influencer Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian citizens have been indicted in Romania on charges of rape, human trafficking

NATO, US forces join Romania-led Black Sea multinational military drills

Romania's navy led multinational military drills in the Black Sea region Thursday that brought together U.S. and NATO troops as the 30-nation alliance looks to boost security on its southeastern flank amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. The sea and air exercises are part of a series of drills known as Sea Shield 2023 that involve some 3,400 military personnel from 12 NATO member countries and some partner nations. Romania's navy said Thursday's drills in the Mahmudia region of the Danube Delta, which flows into the Black Sea, would demonstrate how the combined forces would neutralise an enemy air landing in an area adjacent to such a waterway. More than 30 naval ships, 14 aircraft and 15 fast intervention boats and other patrol vessels are taking part in Sea Shield 2023, which started March 20 and runs until April 2. Anti-explosive divers have participated in drills, as have chemical, biological, and nuclear defence specialists. In response to Russia's February 2022 invasion of

Romania, Moldova both report mysterious balloon-like objects in their skies

Romania briefly scrambled military jets and neighbouring Moldova temporarily closed its air space Tuesday after authorities in both countries reported mysterious weather balloon-like objects traversing their skies. The incidents occurred at around midday local time and briefly raised concerns in the two Eastern European countries, both which border Ukraine and have been affected by Russia's war. Romania's defence ministry said it deployed two jets that are under NATO command to its southeastern skies to seek an aerial object it described as being small with "characteristics similar to a weather balloon." It had been detected initially by radar systems in Romanian airspace at an altitude of about 11,000 metres (36,000 feet). "The crews of the two aircraft did not confirm the presence of the aerial target, neither visually nor on the onboard radars," a ministry statement said, adding that the two MiG-21 LanceR aircraft stayed in the vicinity for about 30 minutes before returning to ..

NATO plans to deploy surveillance planes to Romania to eye Russian activity

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, NATO has bolstered its presence on Europe's eastern flank, including by sending additional battlegroups to Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia

Quadrilateral agreement inked on Black Sea submarine electric cable

Romania, Hungary, Azerbaijan and Georgia signed on Saturday an agreement on the Black Sea submarine cable for the transport of electricity from the Caspian area to Romania

Schengen area welcomes Croatia, but leaves Bulgaria and Romania out

Croatia will become the 27th member state in the visa-free Schengen area from January 1, 2023, EU officials announced

Want to go after Russian sanctions' evaders: EU chief prosecutor Kovesi

The bloc has so far frozen about €18.9 billion of assets belonging to sanctioned Russian individuals and entities since Vladimir Putin's February invasion of Ukraine

France to boost military presence, deploy additional tanks in Romania

France will deploy armoured personnel carriers, tanks in central Romania by end of October to strengthen the NATO battle group stationed there, the Defence Ministry in Bucharest said in a statement