July 25, 2016 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 25.07.2016, 12:15
MEETING — Romania’s Supreme Defence Council meet 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 concerns 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.
ATTACKS — 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.
MISSION — 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.
ELECTIONS — The National Liberal Party in Romania has called on the Government to pass an emergency ordinance providing for the setup of a number of polling stations equal to that used in the second round of the 2014 presidential elections, apart from polling stations in embassies and consular offices at the upcoming parliamentary elections in autumn. The Liberals also want for citizens to be able to register by e-mail for the vote. The interest of Romanians in the Diaspora in the legislative elections remains low. Less than three thousand Romanian citizens living abroad have signed up with the Election Registry. 2,000 applications have been sent from Spain and Italy, home to large numbers of Romanians.
TURKEY – 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 on Monday played host to an informal meeting of ministers and secretaries of state responsible for European affairs to discuss the situation in Turkey. Romanian State Secretary for European Affairs Cristian Badescu expressed Bucharest’s support for a concerted and effective European response to the challenges of migration, based on a thorough approach, focusing on the enactments of commitments, cooperation with third countries and consolidating the EU’s external borders.
GERMANY — 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.
TENNIS – 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, reliquinshing the title to the Swiss player Belinda Bencic.
FOOTBALL — 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 V. Palcu and C. Mateescu)
