March 14, 2016
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România Internațional, 14.03.2016, 12:00
ATTACKS — Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has conveyed his condolences to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemning Sunday’s terrorist attack in Ankara and expressing Romania’s firm commitment to combating terrorism. The Romanian Foreign Ministry says such actions have no justification. 37 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack, the second this month, in the capital city Ankara. While still unclaimed, according to some Turkish officials, the attack looks to be the work of the PKK separatist party in Kurdistan, which Turkey regards as a terrorist organization.
FOREIGN POLICY — Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu is today attending a meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels. Talks will focus on EU-Russia relations and progress in the peacemaking process in the Middle East. EU Foreign Ministers will also exchange views regarding the recent developments in Libya with Martin Kobler, the UN Secretary General Special Envoy for Libya. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini will discuss the EU’s role in the International Support Group for Syria.
SYRIA — UN-led peace negotiations will resume today in Geneva with a view to finding a political solution to the Syrian conflict. Meanwhile the rebels insist that president Bashar al-Assad renounce power, a scenario dismissed by the power in Damascus. 5 years have passed since the outbreak of anti-government violence in Syria, which has so far killed 250,000 people. The war also resulted in one of the worst humanitarian crises after the Second World War. Half of Syria’s population has fled the country. We recall that a ceasefire between Government forces and rebel militias came into force on February 27.
FARMING — Agriculture Ministers of EU Member States are today meeting in Brussels to address the difficulties facing several sectors of the agriculture, including pork and dairy products, vegetable and fruit. EU farmers are affected by the sharp drop in prices for milk and pork products, against the backdrop of a waning demand and the embargo imposed by Russia. During the meeting several farmers’ associations from across Europe are staging a protest, calling for decent wages and a consistent agricultural policy.
ELECTION — The Christian-Democratic Party in Germany has lost the regional elections in two of the three lands on Sunday’s ballot. Partial results point a progress of anti-immigration parties, due to the growing disgruntlement towards Merkel’s refugee policy. In Saxony, the Alternative for Germany Party (AfD), the populist right, came in second, and in Baden-Württemberg and in Rhineland the party grabbed a third of the vote. CDU came in first in Saxony, while in Baden-Württemberg the green party grabbed most of the votes. The Social-Democrats grabbed the most votes in Rhineland. Pundits believe the vote might mean the end for the current ruling power in Germany, made up of Merke’s CDU and the Social Democrats.
TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, WTA 5th ranked, qualified to the round of 16 of the Indian Wells tournament in the US, totalling over 6 million dollars in prize money. In the round of 32 she defeated Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, 6-2, 6-4. In the round of 16 Halep will play Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic. On Sunday, another Romanian player, Monica Niculescu, failed to qualify to the round of 16, after losing 6-2, 6-1 to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, ranked 3rd in WTA standings.
SPORTS— Romania’s national handball team on Sunday lost to Norway 27-17 away from home in a match counting towards preliminary Group 1 of the European Championship. The defending European, world and Olympic champions Norway previously lost in the first leg on Wednesday 20 to 25 in Romania. Norway and Romania lead the tables with 6 points each, followed by Belarus with 4 points and Lithuania with zero points. The first two teams will qualify to the European Championship. Also on Sunday, the Romanian women’s volley team CSM Bucharest qualified to the Challenge Cup final after defeating 3-nil Bursa BBSK, the defending champions. In the first leg CSM had won 3-1. In the final the team from Bucharest will take on another Turkish club, Trabzon Idman Ocagi. The first leg will be played in Bucharest, on March 30, while the return leg is scheduled for April 3.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
