July 2, 2017 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 02.07.2017, 19:07
COUNCIL MEETING — Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has summoned the Supreme Defense Council on Tuesday. The main point on the agenda is the 2017-2026 framework for modernizing the country’s military. Talks follow after Romania this year allotted 2% of its GDP to defense spending. Also on the agenda is a review of the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service in 2016. The Council will also address Romania’s contribution to external missions and operations in 2018.
ABDUCTION — Romanian Iulian Ghergut, who was abducted in 2015 in Burkina Faso, has called on Romania’s president and the Government in Ouagadougou to negotiate his release. A task force in Bucharest is overseeing his situation and has acknowledged Ghergut’s message, the Foreign Ministry reports. According to the American centre for online monitoring of jihadist organizations, the Romanian features in a video released by the Mali branch of Al Qaeda. The video contains similar messages of another five foreign hostages, as well as that of an alleged abductor, who says that no negotiations for their release have been started so far. According to the Ministry, the video is standard MO for abductions of this kind.
ROMANIAN POLICE — Romanian police officers have started their mission on the Bulgarian Black Seacoast. For two months they will assist fellow Bulgarian law enforcers in preventing crime, carrying out public safety activities and providing counselling to Romanian tourists spending their holidays in Balchik, Albena, the Golden Sands and Nessebar. This is the eighth consecutive year the Romanian Police is conducting this mission.
MIGRANTS — Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti on Sunday called on European states to open their ports to rescue boats with a view to easing pressure on his country. Minniti made the statement ahead of his meeting with Gerard Collomb and Thomas de Maiziere, his French and German counterparts respectively. Italy accuses Europe of leaving Italy to face the migration crisis on its own and has invited its European partners to show signs of solidarity. Since the beginning of the year, Italy has had over 83,000 arrivals, up by 19% as compared to the same period of 2016.
PROTEST — Over 8,000 people staged a peaceful protest on Sunday in Hamburg, Germany, against the upcoming G20 summit. Protesters call for a change of policy in the fair sharing of wealth and the protection of the environment. Dozens of anti-G20 protests are scheduled throughout next week, accompanying the summit of the world’s most industrialized countries. Authorities fears protests might turn violent. Over 20,000 law enforcement officers will be deployed in Hamburg. Heads of state and Government will meet next week on Friday and Saturday.
TENNIS — Romanian tennis player WTA no. 2 Simona Halep on Monday is playing Marina Erakovic of New Zealand, 129 WTA, in the first round of the Wimbledon tournament. Last year Halep reached the quarterfinals, while her best performance at Wimbledon was the 2014 semi-finals. Also in the first round, Monica Niculescu, 51 WTA, will go up against Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, WTA no. 85. Sorana Cirstea, 62 WTA, will play Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, 24 WTA, while Irina Begu, 69 WTA, will take on Naomi Broady, 108 WTA. Finally, Ana Bogdan, who for the first time qualified to the main draw, will play Ying-Ying Duan of China, 64 WTA. In the men’s competition, Marius Copil, 85 ATP, will play Peter Gojowczyk of Germany, 140 ATP. (Translated by V. Palcu)
