6 April, 2015
News and current affairs from Romania
Mihai Pelin, 06.04.2015, 11:59
Romanian Defense Minister Mircea Dusa is today in Tbilisi, meeting his Georgian counterpart, Mindia Janelidze. The two discussed the security situation in the greater Black Sea region and bilateral relations between their armed forces. The Romanian official expressed his countrys willingness to widen cooperation, started in 2013, in special operations, with emphasis on joint training and exercises, with an aim to increase interoperability between Georgian and NATO forces. Dusa said that Romania is in support of enhanced Georgia-EU relations, adding that the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit in Riga in May will be a significant moment in developing those relations.
The Romanian Foreign Ministry started evacuating Romanian citizens from Yemen, the war torn country where the civil war has killed over 500 people in only the last two weeks. Late last week, 6 Romanians were evacuated, adding to the 17 evacuated in late March. The ministrys crisis team continues its efforts for assistance and consular protection for Romanians affected by the deteriorating situation in Yemen. Romanian diplomats are working with international organizations assisting the evacuation, and with states who are also evacuating their citizens. Shia Houthi fighters, who used to support ousted president Ali Abdallah Saleh and are supported by Iran have taken over most of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. They are facing the so-called ‘Popular Committee who are defending the current president, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The authorities in Bourkina Fasso announced they would expand to neighboring Mali and Niger the search for the Romanian kidnapped on Saturday in that country. He worked as a security guard for a manganese mine in northeastern Bourkina Fasso, close to Mali. The Romanian national was abducted by five armed assailants. The Foreign Ministry in Bucharest has assigned a crisis group for this situation. For the last three years, the north of Mali has been under the control of a group with Al-Qaida connections. The French military intervention two years ago did not manage to wrest the region from under their grip; the region continues to be unstable in spite of a UN peacekeeper presence. No one has yet claimed the attack in Bourkina Fasso, the first of its kind in the last 10 years.
Orthodox as well as Greek-Catholic Christians as of today begin Holy Week, also known as Passions Week. This past Sunday, Christians celebrated Palm Sunday, while Roman-Catholic and Protestant Christians celebrated Easter. Masses are being held daily from Monday to Friday, commemorating the Saviours passion and sacrifice. During the Holy Week, all Christians must forgive and come to terms with all their trespassers, as the week is a time of repentance and preparation for Christianitys most important celebration, the Easter, to be observed this coming Sunday.
Greece committed to paying its IMF debts, as announced by its head, Christine Lagarde, at the end of a meeting in Washington with the new Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, according to AFP. Varoufakis said that the Greek government plans to meet all its financial obligations and profoundly reform Greece. The Greek state has to pay almost 500 million Euro to the IMF by April 9. The countrys coffers are empty, however, as over the last three weeks the IMF and the EU have frozen all aid payments after disagreements broke out over the reform package that the Greek state was willing to commit to. At this point, Athens depends on approval from Brussels to unlock an emergency earmark worth 7.2 billion Euro. Greece has total debt of around 315 billion Euro, around 170% of the GDP.
