March 7, 2016 UPDATE
President Iohannis on state visit to Israel; Dacia employees protest; South Korea begins military exercises
Newsroom, 07.03.2016, 12:05
The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, who is on a state visit to Israel, met on Monday in Jerusalem with his counterpart, Reuven Rivlin. Romania, the President said, pays special attention to its relations with Israel, and his visit is intended to honour the tradition of the 68 years of constant diplomatic ties and, more importantly, to pave the way for further bilateral cooperation. The President added that Romania intends to become a regional centre in fighting anti-Semitism and promoting Holocaust education. Also on Monday, Iohannis had talks with PM Benjamin Netanyahu. On Tuesday, Iohannis will have a meeting with the president of the Israeli Parliament, Yuli-Yoel Edelstein, and will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. From Jerusalem, Iohannis will travel to the Palestinian territories, for official talks with President Mahmoud Abbas.
Five thousand employees of Dacia, the largest carmaker in Romania, controlled by the French group Renault, took part in a protest on Monday in Mioveni, in the south of the country. People are primarily disgruntled with the delays in the building of the Pitesti-Sibiu motorway. This is a major route, because it reduces the way out of Romania for the vehicles intended for export. The Mioveni-based plant loses 30 euro/vehicle because of the infrastructure. The unionists also demand legislative measures to discourage the imports of second-hand cars, changes in the labour legislation and in healthcare laws.
The largest military exercises ever organized by South Korea began on Monday, against the backdrop of tensions with the communist regime in Pyongyang. Some 300,000 South-Korean troops and 15,000 American ones take part in the manoeuvres, which will end in late-April. The UN Security Council decided last week to impose new sanctions on Pyongyang, after its recent nuclear and ballistic tests. The draft resolution introduced by the USA was unanimously approved, including by North Koreas only ally, China.
