May 25, 2014 UPDATE 2
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Corina Cristea, 25.05.2014, 23:33
The leftist alliance made up of the Social-Democratic Party, the National Union for the Progress of Romania and the Conservatives, which also has the government majority in Bucharest has got the largest number of votes in the EU Parliamentary election held in Romania on Sunday, between 41 and 43% of the votes, according to the exit polls made public upon the closing of the polling stations. Next came the center-to-right parties, the National Liberals, who got between 13 and 15% of the votes, the Democrat Liberals between 11 and 12% of the votes and the pro-presidential People Movement’s Party between 6 and 7% of the votes. The Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, part of the ruling coalition has mustered between 6 and 7% of the votes, while independent candidate Mircea Diaconu obtained between 4 and 5%. Social-Democrat leader Victor Ponta said the result obtained was a special one adding that he would propose the National Liberals to rebuild the Social-Liberal Union, the alliance, which won the Parliamentary election of 2012, but later fell apart due to intestine fights. Liberal leader Crin Antonescu has thanked all those who went to the polls adding that irrespective of the final results, the National Liberal Party will abide by its principles and “won’t accept bribe”. Democrat-Liberal president Vasile Blaga wanted to extend thanks mainly to campaigners who staunchly supported the Democrat-Liberal Party, which had to face intestine fights as well as blows from the outside, leading the battle on several fronts. According to official data, 32.16 % of a total 18 million eligible Romanians have cast a ballot for their 32 MEPs. The EU Parliamentary election ended on Sunday night in all the 28 EU countries. According to EU Parliament estimates voter turnout across the EU stood at 43.11%.
On Sunday in Bethlehem Pope Francis called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to step up efforts and create the prerequisites for the conclusion of a peace accord. Bethlehem, which according to Christian tradition is the place where Jesus Christ was born, was the first leg of the Pope’s tour of the Palestinian territories and Israel. After holding an open-air mass, in front of the Church of the Nativity, the Pontiff was flown to Tel Aviv. On Saturday the Pope had visited Amman in Jordan, where he called for more respect for religious freedom.
According to the latest exit polls, pro-Western candy tycoon Petro Poroshenko has reaped most of the votes in the snap presidential election in Ukraine, between 55.9 and 57.8% of the total number. Second came former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko with 13% of the votes. Tymoshenko has admitted defeat but insisted on her plans to stage a referendum on the country’s NATO accession. 60% of the eligible Ukrainians took to the polls all over the country on Sunday but turnout was visibly higher in the country’s western regions. In the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk only 34 polling stations were operational, while no station was available in Slavyanks and in other towns and villages controlled by pro-Russian separatists. The snap election in Ukraine, which is considered crucial for settling the crisis currently facing the country, was scheduled after pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich had fled Kiev, Russian troops had seized the Crimean peninsula and a pro-Russian insurgency had broken out in eastern Ukraine. Russian president Vladimir Putin said Moscow would respect the choice of the Ukrainian people and was ready to cooperate with the new government in Kiev. Tens of thousands police and army troops had been deployed to ensure the protection of the voters during the election in Ukraine, whose unfolding was monitored by more than 3,000 international observers.
US president Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday for a surprise visit to the US troops stationed in that country, France Press reports. This Monday the USA celebrates Memorial Day, commemorating the men and women who died in the line of duty in the US Armed Forces. Romania has 950 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, most of whom are serving in the south of the country which is considered a Taliban fiefdom. 26 Romanian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in the past decade.
Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean has vehemently condemned the bloody gun attack at the Jewish Museum in Brussels on Saturday. The head of the Romanian diplomacy has said he firmly and unequivocally rejects any form of anti-Semitism, which can lead to this kind of criminal acts. The Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania has voiced consternation over the Brussels attack, which it qualified as a new manifestation of violent anti-Semitism. We recall that three people were killed and one seriously wounded by a gunman who opened fire in the Jewish Museum.
