April 8, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 08.04.2014, 12:30
There has been a marked rise in the frequency of anti-Roma violence in Europe in the last few years and the EU response to this alarming phenomenon has been inadequate, Amnesty International said on International Roma Day on April 8th. Amnesty International calls on national governments and the European Union to commit, visibly and wholeheartedly, to eradicating the scourge of anti-Roma discrimination, intolerance and violence across the region. A World Bank report shows that the Rroma is Europe’s largest ethnic minority, with 6 million members living in Europe, of the total population of 10 to12 millions. Romania, which is home to about 620 million Rroma ethnics, has been unfolding Rroma integration programs, but results have not been properly measured so it’s impossible to say how efficient they are, the World Bank has said.
Russia has today called on the Ukrainian authorities to give up preparations for an intervention in the pro-Russian regions in eastern Ukraine, warning the country risks civil war, France Press reports. Tensions have escalated in eastern Ukraine as of Sunday, after pro-Russian protesters have taken control of official buildings in several cities. The European Commission has voiced its concern about the latest evolutions in Ukraine and has reiterated its support for the country’s integrity and sovereignty. In his turn, the US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that actions in eastern Ukraine do not seem as being spontaneous. Moreover, the White House warned that the US President Barack Obama is ready to impose new sanctions on Ukraine.
American and Romanian troops are conducting, between April 10 and 17, a joint military exercise over the Romanian airspace, the US Embassy in Bucharest has announced. As many as 6 F-16 fighter jets form the Aviano Air Base in Italy will take part in the exercise. The exercise has been planned before the current events in Ukraine started, the embassy announced. According to a release of the Romanian Defence Ministry, over 200 Romanian military and about 250 American soldiers will take part in his exercise, aimed at improving interoperability among NATO troops.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that Romania’s economic growth rate this year will stand at 2.2%, and at 2.5% in 2015, according to the institution’s World Economic Outlook made public today. In 2013, Romania saw one of the most important economic growth rates in Europe, of 3.5%. Emerging Europe, that Romania is part of, will see a 0.5% economic growh rate, up to 2.4% in 2014 and a 0.2% increase in 2015, to the level of 2.9%, as compared to last year’s figures. IMF has slightly revised upwards its estimations on global economy, expected to go up by 3.6% this year and by 3.9% in 2015.
Romanian Dan Petrescu has been dismissed from his position as coach of the football side Dinamo Kiev, following his team’s poor results, sources with the Russian club were quoted as saying. Dan Petrescu, aged 46, took over this position in 2012.
