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Speaking at a lunch with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Lula said a group of neutral nations must come together to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine. A White House spokesman accused Lula of "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without looking at the facts." Lula has pitched himself as a peace broker to end the war, which began when Russia invaded the neighboring country in February 2022. The European Union has also rejected Lula's suggestion that both Ukraine and Russia are to blame for the war. Among Western nations so far, only French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed Lula's peace initiative.

☆ Slovenia stage comeback to beat Romania in delayed BJK Cup qualifier
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Tennis - Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers - Slovenia v Romania - Sport Park Bonifika, Koper, Slovenia - April 14, 2023 Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek reacts during her singles match against Romania's Jaqueline Cristian REUTERS/Borut ZivulovicApril 16 (Reuters) - Slovenia pulled off a remarkable comeback to beat Romania and reach the Billie Jean King Cup finals in a qualifying tie that was held over to Sunday because of rain. The deciding doubles rubber in Koper saw home pair Kaja Juvan and Tamara Zidansek come from a set down to beat Romanian duo Irina Maria Bara and Monica Niculescu 4-6 6-2 6-4. Slovenia joined eight other nations who qualified for the 12-nation final that will be contested in November. Romania looked in complete control after winning both of Friday's singles rubbers, but Slovenia hit back on Saturday. Zidansek beat Ana Bogdan 3-6 7-6(4) 7-5 and Juvan overcame Jaqueline Cristian in straight sets to take it to a decider.

Under the pact to create a safe shipping channel, Ukraine has been able to export some 27.7 million tonnes of agricultural products, including 13.9 million tonnes of corn and 7.5 million tonnes of wheat. The leading destinations have been China (6.3 million tonnes), Spain (4.8 million) and Turkey (3 million). Ukraine's grain exports are forecast to fall in the 2023/24 season after the war has meant farmers planted less corn and wheat. The International Grains Council has forecast that Ukraine's corn crop will fall to 21 million tonnes, down from the prior season's 27 million, with exports expected to drop to 15 million tonnes from 20.5 million. CAN UKRAINE EXPORT MORE GRAIN THROUGH LAND ROUTES?

The Black Sea and its Ukrainian coast have been crucial theatres of war since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. "The Black Sea is instrumental for making the whole of Europe peaceful and future-oriented," Kuleba, speaking via video link, told a Black Sea security conference in the Romanian capital Bucharest. It's time to turn the Black Sea into what the Baltic Sea has become, a sea of NATO." The remarks were brushed aside in Moscow, where Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing: "The Black Sea can never be a NATO sea." Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said a strong NATO foothold in the Black Sea going forward was a "must."

☆ Ukraine farmers say protests in EU over Ukrainian grain are political
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Inquam Photos/George Calin via REUTERSKYIV, April 12 (Reuters) - Protests by European farmers are political and shipments of Ukrainian grain are not reducing the profitability of their business, Ukrainian food producers' union UAC said on Wednesday. Poland last week said it would temporarily halt Ukrainian grain imports after farmers' protests led Poland's agriculture minister to resign, but transit would still be allowed. "The political nature of the European farmers' strikes is obvious. "However, certain forces need to demonstrate that this is due to an oversupply of Ukrainian grain," he said, noting that the country faced elections later this year. Ukrainian officials this month said, however, the country may export a further 15.6 million tonnes of grain in the April-to-June quarter, which would lift this season's exports to nearly 53 million tonnes.

☆ Moldova outdoor assembly to confirm pro-European orientation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries wedged between Ukraine and Romania, has been buffeted by Russia's war in Ukraine which President Maia Sandu has repeatedly denounced. Moldova and its population of 2.5 million, Sandu said, stood at a crossroads, with collective action needed for its future. Big decisions are taken by people during Great National Assemblies," she said. ... We are Europeans and at the Great National Assembly on 21st May, we will show that this is the path we have chosen." Moldova, like Ukraine, has formally sought to become a member of the European Union, a process which normally takes several years.

☆ Romanian farmers block borders in protest over Ukrainian grain imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUCHAREST, April 7 (Reuters) - Thousands of farmers protested across Romania on Friday over the impact of Ukrainian grain imports on prices, blocking traffic and border checkpoints with tractors and trucks and urging the European Commission to intervene. Anger is rising among farmers in Central and Eastern Europe over a flood of cheap Ukrainian grain imports, exempt from customs fees until June 2024, which have hurt prices and sales of local producers. Across the country, thousands of farmers used tractors, trucks and other machinery to block roads and borders. It decided to hand out compensation worth 56.3 million euros to Polish, Bulgarian and Romanian farmers, with more to come. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he expected decisions to be announced in coming days and weeks to alleviate anger among Polish farmers.

☆ Ukrainian dolphin refugees delight Romanian kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Olimpiu GheorghiuBUCHAREST, April 6 (Reuters) - At the dolphinarium in the Black Sea port city of Constanta, Romanian and Ukrainian trainers are letting dolphins guide them despite language barriers. Last year, the dolphinarium took in four dolphins and three sea lions alongside their trainers and doctors fleeing the shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. "Now we have more colleagues ... Ukrainian colleagues and Ukrainian dolphin colleagues," Romanian trainer Mona Mandrescu said at the edge of the pool after a mid-morning performance for hundreds of delighted school children. Romania is one out of some fourteen European Union states that have dolphinariums and captive sea animals. In Kharkiv, the local dolphinarium sought to move their dolphins and sea lions as soon as the shelling started last February.

☆ Ukrainian dolphins find new home in Romanian aquarium
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUCHAREST, April 6 (Reuters) - At the dolphinarium in the Black Sea port city of Constanta, Romanian and Ukrainian trainers are letting dolphins guide them despite language barriers. Last year, the dolphinarium took in four dolphins and three sea lions alongside their trainers and doctors fleeing the shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. "Now we have more colleagues ... Ukrainian colleagues and Ukrainian dolphin colleagues," Romanian trainer Mona Mandrescu said at the edge of the pool after a mid-morning performance for hundreds of delighted school children. Romania is one out of some fourteen European Union states that have dolphinariums and captive sea animals. [1/4] Ukrainian dolphin trainer Sonia Chezghanova interacts with two dolphins at the Constanta Dolphinarium, where four dolphins and three sea lions from a destroyed aquarium in Ukraine found refuge, in Constanta, Romania, April 4, 2023.

☆ I swapped performing in a circus for an office job. I've now got more stability and money — but I can't do a handstand when I'm stressed out
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I joined a circus school in France in 2015 and worked as a circus performer for a year. After failing to become an Olympic gymnast, I enrolled in L'École du Cirque Jules Verne, a circus school in Amiens in northern France. I trained there for a year while performing on the street and in venues including a castle and a traditional circus tent. A desk job gave my working days more structureCirque Jules Verne in Amiens, France. Wikimedia CommonsThe circus school director, Nordine Allal, was quite the character — always loud and busy.

☆ Police identify two among eight dead trying to enter U.S. from Canada
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 1 (Reuters) - Police in Canada on Saturday identified two victims among eight bodies recovered from two families who died this week trying to enter the United States from Canada by boat across the St. Lawrence River. Deputy Chief Lee-Ann O'Brien said Friday the victims appeared to be from two families, one Indian and one Romanian, who were trying to the reach the United States illegally. Akwesasne police said the agreement closing all unofficial border entries, including Roxham Road in Quebec, should not have factored here because the families were seeking to go to the United States, not Canada. Last year an Indian family of four froze to death in Canada's province of Manitoba as they were trying to cross into the United States. More people have been using Akwesasne territory to furtively try to enter the United States, with 80 interceptions recorded this year, and the majority have been Indians or Romanians, said Dulude.

[1/2] Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are escorted by police officers outside the headquarters of the Bucharest Court of Appeal, in Bucharest, Romania, February 1, 2023. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERSBUCHAREST, March 31 (Reuters) - Social media personality Andrew Tate will be moved to house arrest on Friday evening after a Romanian court overturned prosecutors' request to keep him in police custody until late April, his lawyer said on Friday. Earlier this week, the same Bucharest court of appeals denied the Tate brothers' request to be released on bail. In previous rulings that extended their stay in police custody, judges have said the Tate brothers posed a flight risk and that their release could jeopardise the investigation. Prosecutors have said the Tate brothers recruited their alleged victims by seducing them and falsely claiming to want a relationship or marriage.

"Police believe one infant from the Romanian family has not been located and we'll continue searching. All are believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the U.S. from Canada," O'Brien added. Both the deceased and the missing children "were associated with the Romanian family" and had Canadian passports, which were found, O'Brien said. On Wednesday night, when the families likely sought to cross the river, the weather was poor. Reporting by Christinne Muschi in Akwesasne and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Police recovered six bodies on Thursday and believe the tragedy may have occurred on Wednesday night. The Akwesasne reserve straddles both sides of the St. Lawrence River, with land in Ontario and Quebec on the Canadian side, and New York. To fight smuggling of people and goods, local police monitor the river full-time with funds from Quebec. On Wednesday night, when the families likely sought to cross the river, the weather was poor. Reporting by Christinne Muschi in Akwesasne and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alcaraz dumps Fritz to reach Miami semis, Medvedev advances
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Mar 30, 2023; Miami, Florida, US; Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) reacts after winning the first set against Taylor Fritz (USA) (not pictured) in a men's singles quarterfinal on day eleven of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. It was a key for me to break the serve at the beginning." "It helped me and I only played better and better, apart from one bad game on my serve, but it happens." Medvedev will next face fellow Russian Karen Khachanov, who advanced with a 6-3 6-2 win over Argentine Francisco Cerundolo. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ed Osmond and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Europe’s Big Polluters Win Carbon-Credit Windfall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Shane Shifflett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Some of Europe’s largest polluters are earning windfalls from the sale of carbon credits. Their profits are an unintended consequence of generous subsidies that make up a crucial element of the region’s carbon market. A Spanish oil and gas company, a Romanian aluminum producer and two Finnish industrial businesses together sold nearly €120 million—equivalent to more than $129 million—of credits last year, according to an analysis of company disclosures. A wave of additional sales potentially worth tens of millions of euros are expected to be disclosed in the coming months.

☆ They wined, dined and fled - but law finally catches up with Spain wine thieves
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, March 6 (Reuters) - A former Mexican beauty queen and her partner enjoyed a 14-course dinner at Atrio's Michelin-starred restaurant and hotel in western Spain followed by a guided tour of its wine cellar. They were also ordered to pay damages to insurers worth over 750,000 euros ($799,000), the court said in a statement. They had a 14-course dinner at the hotel's restaurant and were then taken on tour of the wine cellar. The couple left the hotel before dawn and quickly fled Spain, but after a nine-month hunt across Europe, they were detained by border guards while crossing from Montenegro into Croatia. ($1 = 0.9386 euros)Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fact Check-Video does not show Romanian army entering Moldova
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A video of Romanian tanks rolling along a street has been shared online accompanied by a false claim that it shows Romania’s army entering Moldova. “New footage of Romanian army entering Moldova,” said one Twitter user sharing the footage on Feb. 25 (here ). Gen. Constantin Spinu, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MoND) spokesperson, said that claims of Romania moving military equipment to the Moldovan border were false. Other videos posted on social media that show the rehearsals in Alba Iulia also show a procession of five tanks, as seen in the shorter clip (here ) (here ). The video was filmed in Alba Iulia, hundreds of kilometres away from Moldova, and the defence ministry says it was likely taken during rehearsals for Romania’s National Day.

☆ Romanian politician invites an AI bot to advise the government and help capture 'the opinions and desires' of citizens, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Romania's prime minister has invited an AI bot to assist the government as an "honorary advisor." The bot described itself as a "mirror" for the Romanian people in a demonstration, per The Guardian. Ciucă introduced the bot on Wednesday, hailing it as a world first, according to a video shared by local media. Developed by local researchers, the technology uses artificial intelligence to "quickly and automatically capture the opinions and desires" of Romanian citizens, Ciucă said, per Politico. The website for Ion crashed shortly after the launch but has since been restored, local outlet Romanian Insider reported.

☆ Moldova and Romania vow to boost ties amid war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea via REUTERSBUCHAREST, March 1 (Reuters) - Moldova and Romania pledged on Wednesday to boost economic ties following Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, and Bucharest reiterated support for Chisinau's bid to join the European Union. Moldova has been hit hard by the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine, which borders both Moldova and Romania, and tensions with Russia have risen over the war in Ukraine and the tiny former Soviet republic's EU accession bid. Recean said talks also covered regional security and that Moldova, which is highly dependent on Russian gas, was considering signing long-term contracts on gas and electricity supplies from Romania. "Romania will firmly support Moldova's European agenda, economic recovery and strengthening its security," said Iohannis, whose country joined the EU in 2007. Recean said Moldova and Romania enjoyed a "special relationship" and that Romania's experience in joining the EU was helpful for Chisinau.

[1/3] Andrew Tate talks to media representatives while being loaded inside a van outside the headquarters of the Bucharest Court of Appel, in Bucharest, Romania, February 1, 2023. Transcriptions of the wiretapped calls are included in a previously unpublished court document, dated Feb. 21, compiled by Bucharest court officials and reviewed by Reuters. Asked if he thought Tate had been framed, he replied: "The justice system will decide, not politicians." Reuters couldn't independently verify the identity of the people in the wiretapped calls, or determine if any lobbying of politicians took place. The wiretapped calls offer a window into his multi-pronged attempts to defend himself while in detention, efforts that stretch beyond the courtroom into the realms of politics and social media.

☆ Russia's struggles in Ukraine are showing US special operators that they'll need to fight without their 'tethers' to win future wars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For US special operators, the war is a reminder that such a network won't always be available. Ukraine thwarted Russia's initial attack and, with extensive Western support, has driven Russia's forces back. Logistics and special operatorsRomanian, Ukrainian, and US Army Green Berets conduct close quarters battle training in Romania in May 2021. We are trained and mentally prepared to fight without much logistical support," said the Green Beret, who was granted anonymity to discuss potential future operations. "Again, depending on the unit and the mission, we will require some sort of logistical support eventually.

☆ Wizz Air to suspend Moldova flights, citing security
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Wizz Air said in a statement it would lay on extra flights from the Romanian city of Iasi as replacements, including a new service to Berlin, and more flights to Barcelona, Milan Bergamo, Bologna, Rome Ciampino, Rome Fuimicino, Dortumand, Larnaca, London Luton and Treviso. Flights to Budapest and Prague will not be replaced and those inbound to Chisinau will be reallocated to other destinations in the Wizz Air network, it said. Tensions between Russia and Moldova have grown in recent months as Russian missiles aimed at Ukraine have entered Moldovan airspace and authorities have blamed the Kremlin for fuelling anti-government protests, something it denies. It said the civil aviation authority and the ministry of infrastructure and regional development had been in "constant cooperation" with Wizz Air representatives and informed them of the procedures in place to ensure aviation security. The aviation authority would take "all necessary actions" to return Wizz Air to Chisinau airport as soon as possible, and to attract other low-cost airlines.

☆ Exclusive: Ukraine deepens Bystre Canal on Danube, aims to boost exports - deputy minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia a year ago, said last week the draught of ships passing through the Bystre Canal had deepened to 6.5 metres from 3.9 metres. sediment clearance, and received no comments," Yuriy Vaskov, Ukraine's deputy minister for restoration, told Reuters in an interview. Ukraine had previously developed a plan to deepen the canal to 8.2-8.3 metres, which it says could be implemented in the future. Romania is an important economic partner for Ukraine, and exporters shipped 8.6 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain through Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta last year. Despite a decrease in the 2022 grain harvest to about 54 million tonnes from a record 86 million in 2021, at least 30 million tonnes of grain are still in silos and could be exported, according to the agriculture ministry.

[1/5] Former tennis player Boris Becker attends a news conference to promote documentary 'Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker' at the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 19, 2023. "You have to be a bit crazy to cross the line and do things nobody else has ever achieved before." "You expect world champions in a sport to be like everyone else but we aren't," he told a news conference. "What I liked about Boris is that unlike many athletes he is a great storyteller," Gibney said.

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