EU executive Ursula von der Leyen in Bucharest
Ursula von der Leyen, the presiident of the European Commission, is in Bucharest for talks with Romanian officials. Mrs von der Leyen was expected to meet Romanian Preesident Klaus Iohannis at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in the capital on Thursday after previous talks with Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă at the government headquarters at Victoria Palace. „Dear Klaus Iohannis, Romania’s solidarity with Ukraine and victims of the war offer some light in this dark hour. By warmly welcoming refugees and providing them with shelter, you are showing a moving example to the world”, Mrs von der Leyen tweeted earlier on Thursday. At a joint press conference with the EC official, President Klaus Iohannis told reporters that EC was working to increase energy security of the EU. „EU’s dependence on Russian gas must end’, Mr. Iohannis pointed out.
Eight Romanians die in plane, helicopter crushes
A IAR 330-Puma helicopter crushed in south-eastern Romania. The helicopter was engaged in a search operation after the pilot of a Romanian MiG 21 plane was reported missing shortly after it dropped off the radar earlier on Wednesday in an eastern Romanian region between the villages of Cogealac and Gura Dobrogei. The MiG Pilot and seven soldiers sent to find him all died in separate crashes. Crashes of MiG 21 LanceR occur occasionaly, and Romania plans to phase out such planes. Hours after the incident, the MiG 21 pilot Cpt. Costinel Iosif Niță, 31, was found dead. A pilot since 2014, Niță was on mission in 861 Squadron at 86 Air Base in Borcea.
Romaniaa coronavirus updates
Romania reported 5,953 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, which is 879 cases less than previous day, with 114 deaths (68 men, 46 women), and only 6 people under intensive care (a figure similar to cases recorded a day before). In the capital Bucharest, the number of cases hit 973, according to data issued by the country’s Strategic Communication Group (GSC). With its 973 cases reported, Bucharest still leads amomg other regions in the country, followed by north-western county of Cluj (677 cases), western county of Timiș (321 cases), and south-eastern county of Constantza (249 cases).
Alexandru Danga
