August 10, 2015
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 10.08.2015, 12:00
Romanians abroad must benefit from fundamental rights related to the preservation of their national identity, reads a message sent by the Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu to the participants in the Summer University in Izvoru Mureşului, which began on Monday. He emphasised that the measures promoted by Romania with respect to the national minorities on its territory, designed to help protect their ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity, ought to be adopted by the countries that host Romanian communities as well. For one week, Izvoru Muresului is hosting representatives of the Romanian communities in the diaspora, MPs from Romania and the Republic of Moldova, as well as professors from the main universities in the country. The Romanian Cultural Institute, through the Directorate for Romanians Abroad, supports the participation in the event of 80 leaders of Romanian associations, notable personalities of the Romanian communities living abroad. The theme of this years edition is “Romania and the Romanians on the EU and NATO borders.
In Romania, weather experts forecast another week with extreme heat. Until Wednesday, three counties in the west of the country are under a code orange alert for extreme temperatures, which may reach as much as 38 degrees Celsius. Scarce rainfall is expected this week as well. In most of the country farming areas have been affected by the lack of precipitations, and navigation on River Danube is hindered, although not completely stuck in any of the Romanian sectors of the river.
Romanias trade balance deficit reached 3.3 billion euros in the first 6 months of the year, up 441 million since the corresponding period of 2014, according to data released on Monday by the National Statistics Institute. Between January and June this year, Romanias exports grew by 5.9% and the imports by 6.9%, compared to the same period last year. According to the National Statistics Institute, in the first six months of the year vehicles and transport equipment, as well as other manufactured goods, accounted for the largest part of both imports and exports.
The Interior Ministry in Sofia denied the allegations published by Bulgarian media on Sunday, according to which the authorities were searching two presumed terrorists, a Romanian citizen and an Iranian-born French woman, who allegedly have connections with the Islamic State group. The Bulgarian Interior Ministry states in a news release that the individuals in question are searched for forging identity documents, and not for terrorist ties. The Romanian Foreign Ministry announced in turn that the information on the two suspects was false. The Ministry says the Bulgarian authorities temporarily introduced additional security measures on all border check points, and warns the Romanian citizens transiting this country that waiting times in Bulgarian check points may be extended.
In Athens negotiations carry on between the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and IMF and the Greek authorities over a third bailout programme worth up to 86 billion euros. One of the delicate points has to do with the recapitalisation of Greek banks and the management of bad debts. Greece needs 10 billion euro to inject in its banks, another 7 billion euros to pay off a bridge loan taken out in July and more than 3 billion euros to pay off a loan from the European Central Bank on August the 20th.
Four Turkish police and a military officer were killed on Monday in 2 attacks in the south-east of the country and blamed on Kurdish rebels. They came just hours after 2 attacks perpetrated in Istanbul and targeting the US consular office and a police station, and in which 3 people were killed and several others wounded. Turkish police have arrested one of the two perpetrators of Monday mornings attack on the American consular office in Istanbul. Meanwhile, the USA deployed six F-16 fighter planes and 300 US troops to the strategic base in Incirlik, in southern Turkey, to strike Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. A NATO member, Turkey last month launched a “synchronised war on terror, which includes air strikes against the jihadists in Syria and against the Kurdish militants in northern Iraq.
