Category Archives: Romania

Central Europe braces for further flooding as swollen rivers continue to rise

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Deadly Storm Boris has dumped up to five times average September rainfall in four days

As swollen rivers continued to rise, volunteers and emergency workers in towns and cities across a swathe of central Europe were reinforcing defences against floods that have killed at least 21 people in four countries.

Storm Boris has dumped up to five times the average September rainfall on parts of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia in four days, submerging entire neighbourhoods and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate.

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Death toll reaches 16 as ‘dramatic’ flooding in central Europe continues

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Czech Republic, Poland and Austria fear worst may yet be to come as thousands are evacuated to higher ground

The death toll from torrential rain and flooding in central and eastern Europe has risen to at least 16, with several more people missing, as authorities reported deaths in the Czech Republic, Poland and Austria and warned the worst may be to come.

The number of victims in Poland rose to five after a surgeon returning from work drowned in the south-western town of Nysa, where the hospital was evacuated and patients rescued by raft. Four more people had died in the southern towns of Bielsko-Biała and Lądek-Zdrój, firefighters said.

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Climate scientists troubled by damage from floods ravaging central Europe

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Experts unsurprised at intensity of extreme weather but say damage wreaked shows how unprepared world is

Picturesque towns across central Europe are inundated by dirty flood water after heavy weekend rains turned tranquil streams into raging rivers that wreaked havoc on infrastructure.

The floods have killed at least 15 people and destroyed buildings from Austria to Romania. The destruction comes after devastating floods around the world last week when entire villages were submerged in Myanmar and nearly 300 prisoners escape a collapsed jail in Nigeria, where floods have affected more than 1 million people.

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‘Catastrophe of epic proportions’: seven drown in Europe amid heavy floods

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Storm Boris has caused rivers to burst banks and trapped people in their homes across Austria, Poland and Slovakia

Seven people have drowned in Austria, Poland and Romania and four others are missing in the Czech Republic as Storm Boris continues to lash central and eastern Europe, bringing torrential rain and floods that have forced the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes.

Swathes of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have been battered by high winds and unusually fierce rains since Thursday.

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Romanian court places Andrew Tate under house arrest for 30 days

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Social media influencer and brother among six detained for crimes including trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors

A Romanian court has ordered Andrew Tate to be placed under house arrest, his representative said, after he was among six people taken into custody in an investigation into human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The former professional kickboxer and his brother Tristan were among six people detained on Wednesday for an initial 24 hours after Romania’s anti-organised crime prosecuting unit, Diicot, conducted four house searches in Ilfov county and the Bucharest municipality.

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Romanian PM to boycott Olympic closing ceremony in gymnastics protest

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  • Ana Barbosu demoted from bronze while celebrating
  • Romanian great Nadia Comaneci also criticises decision

Romania’s prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu, said he will boycott the Olympic closing ceremony after his country were denied a medal in the women’s gymnastics.

Ana Barbosu had already begun celebrating her bronze for the floor event on Monday when coaches for Jordan Chiles, of the United States, entered an appeal to judges over Chiles’s score. The inquiry resulted in a 0.1 boost for Chiles, enough to overtake Barbosu for the last spot on the podium.

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Ancient Roman Appian Way becomes Italy’s 60th Unesco world heritage site

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Highway that consolidated Roman empire joins modernist Romanian sculptures as latest sites added to list

Italy’s Via Appia Antica, or Appian Way, the earliest and most important road built by the ancient Romans, has been named a Unesco world heritage site, making Italy the country with the world’s highest number of locations on the coveted list.

Known as the Regina Viarum, or Queen of Roads, it connected Rome with the port of Brindisi in the south and marked a revolution in the construction of roads.

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Romania to step up cull of brown bears after hiker killed

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MPs approve cull of 481 bears this year, up from 220 last year, to control ‘overpopulation’ of protected species

Romania’s parliament has approved the culling of almost 500 bears this year in an effort to control the “overpopulation” of the protected species after a deadly attack on a hiker sparked nationwide outcry.

The country is home to 8,000 brown bears, according to the environment ministry, Europe’s largest brown bear population outside Russia.

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Andrew Tate’s human trafficking trial can proceed, Romanian court rules

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‘Misogynist influencer’ was indicted in June along with his brother and two Romanian female suspects

Andrew Tate’s trial on human trafficking charges can proceed, a Romanian court has ruled, 10 months after he was first indicted.

The self-professed “misogynist influencer” was indicted in June along with his brother, Tristan, and two Romanian female suspects for human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, allegations they have all denied.

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Andrew Tate loses appeal against ruling that stops him leaving Romania

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Bucharest court upholds restriction on online influencer, who is charged with human trafficking and rape

A Romanian court has rejected an appeal by the online influencer Andrew Tate to ease judicial control measures imposed while the legal case continues in which he is charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The Bucharest court of appeal’s decision on Tuesday upheld a ruling by another court on 18 January that extended by 60 days the geographical restrictions against Tate, 37, stipulating that he cannot leave the country.

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‘The war had come to us too’: how Ukraine’s Danube ports became vital hubs – and targets

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With Odesa out of action, Izmail and Reni are now the only places grain can reliably be exported

It had been hundreds of years since the world paid much attention to the Danube river port of Izmail at the edge of the estuary that now separates Romania and Ukraine.

The Russian and Ottoman empires traded blows here in the 18th century, and one epic battle in 1790 – followed by a bloody massacre of civilians – was so central to Moscow’s concept of its military power that it was glorified in the country’s first unofficial national anthem.

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Nato pledges ‘strong solidarity’ with Romania over likely Russian drone debris

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Romanian president deplores potential ‘serious violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania, a Nato ally’

Nato has said it stands in “strong solidarity” with Romania, which has reported that parts of a probable Russian drone fell on its territory during a Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely, and we remain in close contact with our ally Romania,” Nato said in a statement on Wednesday night.

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Romania recalls ambassador who allegedly compared monkey to African diplomats

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UN’s Africa group ‘not prepared to participate’ with Dragos Viorel Tigau after alleged comment in Kenya

The Africa group within the United Nations said it would never work again with the Romanian ambassador to Kenya in certain forums after he allegedly compared them to a monkey while attending a meeting in Nairobi.

The group also demanded an unconditional and public apology to the people of Africa.

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Don’t talk to pupils about misogynist Andrew Tate, government urges teachers in England

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Advice comes despite charity’s warning that social media figure is fuelling shocking growth of misogyny in schools

Teachers are being advised by the government not to discuss social media influencer Andrew Tate, the “king of toxic masculinity”, with pupils – despite schools reporting a rising tide of misogyny and sexual harassment from boys as young as nine.

One small charity, Diversify, based in Rotherham, which runs school workshops about inclusion, receives about 25 calls a week from primary and secondary schools across England who want help dealing with sexual harassment and “shocking misogynistic incidents”. Many cite the influence of Tate, who is under house arrest in Romania for suspected human trafficking and organised crime. Tate’s TikTok videos tell boys that a woman belongs to her boyfriend; girls who don’t stay at home are “hoes”; and rape victims must “bear responsibility” for their attacks.

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Andrew Tate speaks of ‘absolute clarity of thought’ after move to house arrest

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Social media influencer posts video about release from police custody in Romania after court ruling

Andrew Tate has posted a video saying he has “absolute clarity of thought” after he was moved from police custody to house arrest.

The social media influencer was released into house arrest on Friday after a Romanian court overturned a request by prosecutors for him to be detained until late April.

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Andrew Tate released from detention and moved to house arrest in Romania

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Bucharest Court of Appeal rules in favour of divisive social media influencer who has spent months in a Romanian jail

Andrew Tate, the divisive social media influencer who has spent months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organised crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest.

The Bucharest court of appeal ruled in favour of Tate’s appeal, which challenged a judge’s decision last week to extend his arrest a fourth time for 30 days, Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romania’s anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, said on Friday.

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Romania PM unveils AI ‘adviser’ to tell him what people think in real time

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Nicolae Ciuca says bot named Ion is a world first and that using artificial intelligence is ‘an obligation’ to make better decisions

Romania’s prime minister has presented his “new honorary adviser” – an artificial intelligence assistant named “Ion” that Nicolae Ciuca hailed as the first of its type.

Developed by Romanian researchers, Ion’s main task will be to scan social networks to inform the government “in real time of Romanians’ proposals and wishes”, Ciuca said on Wednesday.

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Russian cruise missiles crossed into Moldova and Romania, says Ukraine

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Apparent violation of countries’ airspace comes as Kremlin launches major missile and drone attack

Two Russian cruise missiles have entered the airspace of Moldova and Romania, Ukraine has said, in the latest attack by Moscow on targets across the country.

Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said the Kalibr rockets crossed into Moldova at 10.18am local time on Friday. They then flew into Romania at 10.33am at the intersection of the state border, before recrossing into western Ukraine, he said.

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Andrew Tate’s detention extended by Romanian court until 27 February

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Influencer and self-professed misogynist in custody after arrest on suspicion of human trafficking and rape

A court in Bucharest has ruled that Andrew Tate must remain in preventive custody until at least 27 February while an organised crime investigation continues into the former kickboxer, influencer and professed misogynist.

The court on Friday agreed to a request by the country’s organised crime agency, Diicot, to extend Tate’s detention, along with that of his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects, one a former police officer.

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Andrew Tate loses legal appeal to end detention in Romania

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Romanian court denies challenge and rules he must serve full 30 days along with brother and two female suspects

A Romanian court has rejected Andrew Tate’s appeal against his detention, ruling that the former kickboxer, influencer and professed misogynist must remain in custody while an organised crime investigation continues.

Tate, 36, his brother Tristan, 34, and two Romanian female suspects were arrested by prosecutors on 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to exploit women. Both men have denied wrongdoing.

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