25 July, 2016

The Romanian White Sharks 341st infantry battalion are on a mission in the theatre of operations in Afghanistan.

Newsroom, 25.07.2016, 12:00

Romania’s
Supreme Defence Council meets on Tuesday in Bucharest to analyse the way in
which Romania’s concerns are reflected in the final documents of the NATO
summit of the 8th and 9th of July in Warsaw. The Council
will also establish the measures and actions that need to be taken to implement
the decisions adopted, the president’s office has said. President Klaus
Iohannis said the NATO summit in Warsaw was a success, with all of Romania’s
themes of interest being included in the final documents. These refer to a
balancing of the measures taken as part of the country’s new defence and
deterrence roles on the eastern flank, the president explained.

The Romanian White Sharks 341st infantry
battalion left on Monday for the theatre of operations in Afghanistan.
According to the defence ministry in Bucharest, the Romanian military are ready
to act as part of the NATO Resolute Support mission to ensure the protection of
the military basis in Kandahar and provide counselling to the Afghan security
forces. The 341st infantry battalion is an elite unit of the
Romanian Army and has so far carried out international missions in Kosovo, Iraq
and Afghanistan.

The death toll
following the attacks in Afghanistan has reached a record level this year,
according to a UN report. More than 1,600 civilians have been killed and 3,565
wounded in the first half of 2016, the highest number of victims since 2009.
According to the report, a third of the victims are children, most of whom were
killed in the explosion of makeshift bombs. The United Nations has described
the situation as alarming and shameful, with the anti-governmental forces
being responsible for the death of the highest number of civilians.

The association of European Magistrates for Democracy and
Liberty (MEDEL) urged the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to demand
Turkey to free the thousands of judges and prosecutors who were arrested a week
ago after the failed coup. The appeal comes as Turkish president Recep Tyyip
Erdogan reiterated his support for reintroducing the death penalty if the
Turkish people so wish. Erdogan also said he would disregard the position of
the European Union in this matter. In another move, Bratislava is playing host
to an informal meeting of ministers and secretaries of state responsible for
European affairs to discuss the situation in Turkey. The diplomats attending
the meeting wish to find out more about what happens in this country in the
aftermath of the failed coup and to analyse the impact of the new developments
on the EU agreement with Turkey meant to control the flow of immigrants trying
to reach Europe via Turkey.

12 people were
wounded on Sunday night in the German town of Ansbach in a suicide bombing.
According to the Bavarian authorities, a 27-year-old Syrian refugee exploded
the bomb in front of a building hosting a music festival. Also on Sunday, a
Syrian national killed one person and injured two in a machete attack in
Baden-Wurttemberg, in south-western Germany. The two incidents occurred
against the backdrop of a tense security climate after Friday’s attack in
Munich when an 18-year-old Iranian-German national killed 9 people and injured
35. In the fourth attack last week, several passengers were wounded on a train
by a young Afghan refugee who used a knife and a hatchet.

At least two people were killed and 16 more injured on
Monday in a shooting at a nightclub in Fort Myers, Florida. Six weeks ago, 49
people were killed at a gay nightclub, also in Florida, in the worst mass
shooting in the history of the United States.

Two Romanian
tennis players, world no. 5 Simona Halep, and world no. 61 Monica Niculescu are
competing in a tournament in Montreal worth 2.4 million dollars. In the first
round, Niculescu faces the Latvian player Jelena Ostapenko. If she
qualifies to the next round, she will meet world no. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska.
Halep, who goes straight into the second round, will face the winner between
Australia’s Daria Gavrilova and Germany’s Annika Beck. Last
year, Halep made it to the final in Montreal, from which she pulled out with an
injury, relinquishing the title to the Swiss player Belinda Bencic.

Romania’s football vice-champions Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday
take on the Czech side Sparta Prague in an away game, as part of the first leg
of the Champions League third preliminary round. As part of the same stage,
Romanian champions Astra Giurgiu face the Danish side FC Copenhagen on
Wednesday at home. On Thursday, in the first leg of the Europa League third
preliminary round, Viitorul Constanta face the Belgian side Gent away, while
Pandurii Targu Jiu play at home against the Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv. The third Romanian side
playing in the Europa League, CSMS Iasi, were eliminated in the previous round
by the Croatian side Hajduk Split. (Translated by: C. Mateescu)