July 29, 2015 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 29.07.2015, 12:05

The Romanian Defence Minister Mircea Duşa takes part on Thursday in a ceremony occasioned by the departure of the Romanian troops of the Infantry Battalion 811 “Dej on a mission to Afghanistan. According to the Defence Ministry, for six months the Romanian military will carry out primarily protection missions at the Kandahar air base in the south, will secure communication routes and advise the Afghan security forces. Between 2002 and 2005 the Dej Battalion took part in missions in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in many national and international exercises. Another 623 Romanian troops are also deployed in Afghanistan, where 23 Romanians died in international missions in the past few years.

The Romanian diplomat Traian Hristea was appointed head of the EU delegation in Kazakhstan, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday. The decision was made by the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, which on July 28th announced the new organisational chart of the European External Action Service. Traian Hristea previously held the same position in Armenia, between 2011 and 2015. He was the Ambassador of Romania to Kiev between 2005 and 2010. At present 14 Romanian officials work with the European External Action Service, eight of them in the central offices in Brussels and six in EU delegations.

In Expo Milano 2015 Wednesday was Romanias Day, celebrated concurrently with the National Anthem Day. A number of events were organised in order to spark interest in the Romanian culture and business environment. Attending the event, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Valeriu Zgonea said the presence in Italy of the largest community of Romanians living abroad, as well as the excellent bilateral economic relations, are the foundation of a consolidated strategic partnership. Italys Deputy Minister for Agricultural Policies, Andrea Olivero, said Romania and Italy are strategic partners in the EU, which explains the improved level of bilateral economic exchanges. The events devoted to Romania included a business and investment forum, attended by Romanian and Italian business people, and traditional music and dance performances.

The Turkish military aviation Wednesday carried on its raids on Kurdish sites in northern Iraq. Also on Wednesday Ankara officially authorised the USA to use the air base in Incirlik to launch air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria. The attack launched Tuesday night by the Turkish air forces against the Kurdish rebels came just hours after Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the de facto suspension of the 2013 truce with PKK, stating that it was “impossible for negotiations to go on as long as Kurdish fighters attack Turkeys security forces. Last week Ankara moved against the IS and Kurdish rebels after a suicide attack killed 32 people in Suruc, near the Syrian border on July 20th.

The Romanian athlete Georgiana Aniţei Wednesday won the gold and set a new competition record in the triple jump event of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF), held in Tbilisi. This is the second gold medal for Romania in this years festival, after the one brought by the swimmer Maria Claudia Gâdea, in the 400-m freestyle event. Sixty-six Romanian athletes take part in six of the nine sports in the competition: athletics, judo, gymnastics, swimming, handball (girls) and tennis. Taking part are over 3,800 athletes from 50 countries.