July 30, 2016 UPDATE
The 8th edition of Bucharest International Air Show was held on Saturday in Romania's capital city.
Newsroom, 30.07.2016, 18:33
AIR SHOW – The 8th edition of Bucharest International Air Show, the biggest air show in Romania was held on Saturday in the capital city. The event was a demonstration with an emphasis on military aviation and the Romanian Air Forces took part in it with all their models. The show included 100 civil and military aircraft and 250 pilots and parachutists from countries such as Romania, Spain, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, the US, Greece, Austria, Belgium and Lithuania.
CONFLICT – The Turkish military has killed 35 Kurdish militants after they attempted to storm a base in the south-eastern Hakkari province, military officials say. The overnight attack came hours after clashes in Hakkaris Cukurca district between soldiers and militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that left eight soldiers dead, the military officials said. The attack, that took place close to the border with Iraq, is one of the bloodiest ones since the attempted coup of July 15th. The battle between Kurdish fighters and the Turkish army have continued even after the coup. In fact, the number of Kurdish attacks has increased in the past year. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK — designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union — began its insurgency in 1984.
NATO – A large-scale military exercise is under way, until August 7th in Cincu, central Romania. As many as 2700 soldiers from 10 countries are taking part in it. Participating are NATO members, namely Romania, the USA, Canada, Poland and Bulgaria, joined by five members of the Partnership for Peace: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
CORRUPTION — The deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania, Bogdan Olteanu, was placed under 30-day house arrest on Friday. Olteanu had been taken into custody on Thursday night for influence peddling. According to prosecutors, between July and November 2008, while serving as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Olteanu requested and received 1 million euro and election support from a business man, in exchange for appointing someone as governor of the Danube Delta. The same source mentions that the individual in question was appointed Danube Delta governor in September 2008. Olteanu’s lawyer has announced that on Monday his client will submit his resignation from the position of deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania. A Liberal since 1991, Bogdan Olteanu has been a deputy governor of Romania’s central bank since 2009. The National Bank explained in a news release that the investigation targets Bogdan Olteanu’s activity before he was appointed deputy governor.
BREXIT – Most Scots still back remaining in the United Kingdom despite Britons voting to leave the European Union, a move that was opposed by the majority in Scotland, according to an opinion poll published on Saturday, Reuters reports. Scotlands nationalist First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the vote for Brexit had put Scottish independence back on the agenda just two years after it was rejected in a referendum. While Britons backed leaving the EU by 52percent, Scots voted by 62percent to remain in the bloc. However according to Saturdays YouGov survey, 53 percent of Scots wanted to stay part of the United Kingdom with 47 percent backing independence, Reuters reports.
TERRORISM – Two brothers suspected of involvement in terrorist activities were detained on Friday evening in Belgium. The two allegedly planned attacks on the country’s territory. In this stage of the investigation, there is no connection between suspects and the investigation into the attacks committed on March 22nd in Belgium’s capital that claimed the life of 32 people.
(Translated by Elena Enache)
