26 July, 2016
Romania's Higher Defense Council discuss NATO summit, Russia and Turkey thaw relations
Mihai Pelin, 26.07.2016, 11:59
NATO — Romanias Higher Defense Council met today in Bucharest to analyze the consequences of decisions made at the recent NATO summit in Poland in early July, as well as measures to implement the decisions, according to the presidency. President Klaus Iohannis has declared the summit in Warsaw a success, specifying that the final documents covered all issues of interest to Romania, mainly coordination in the new defense and deterrence posture on the eastern flank.
RUSSIA-TURKEY — Russia and Turkey are set to gradually resume economic and trade relations, frozen after the downing of a Russian fighter in November last year. This was the statement made by the Russian deputy prime minister to his Turkish counterpart. Officials announced that Vladimir Putin will meet Turkish head of state Tayyip Erdogan in early August. The Turkish president said that the EU has not sent any of the money it had pledged, upwards of 6 billion Euro, as part of a controversial accord aimed to stem the Middle Eastern refugee flow.
FOOTBALL — Romanian vice-champion football team Steaua Bucharest today plays an away fixture against Sparta Prague, of the Czech Republic. The game counts towards the first leg of the Champions League’s third preliminary round. Also in the first leg of the Champions League’s third preliminary round, defending champions Astra Giurgiu Wednesday on home turf take on Danish side FC Copenhagen. On Thursday in the first leg of the third preliminary round, this time in Europa League, Viitorul Constana play Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv on home turf. The third Romanian team playing in Europa League, CSMS Iasi, was knocked out of the competition’s previous round by Croatia’s Hajduk Split.
COUP — Two Turkish generals, commanding forces deployed to Afghanistan, have been detained by the authorities in Dubai, in the aftermath the failed military coup in Turkey, on July 15. The government in Ankara has suspended, detained, arrested and placed under investigation over 60,000 soldiers, police, judges, teachers, public servants and others in the wake of the failed coup.
US ELECTIONS — Philadelphia hosts the National Democratic Convention, held to nominate Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate for the office of President of the United States. The convention has been overshadowed by the publication by Wikileaks of 20,000 internal messages sent between the higher-ups in the Democratic Party, resulting in the resignation of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, party chairwoman. In spite of this, the Democrats still hope to present a united front, especially by emphasizing a contrast between their candidate and the Republican front runner, Donald Trump, who has a slight lead in the polls.
HOSTAGES — At least one person is reported dead in a hostage situation today in a church in the north west of France. Two persons armed with knives took hostages several people, and the French police now reports that the two have been neutralized. This comes at a very tense time in France, following the 14th of July Nice attack, claimed by ISIS. 84 people were killed and over 200 injured in the deadly event.
TENNIS — Two Romanian tennis players, Simona Halep and Monica Niculescu, qualified to the second round of the doubles competition in Montreal. The Romanian team roundly defeated the Canadian-Russian couple Gabriela Dabrowski and Alla Kdriavtseva. They go to play against the all Ukrainian team Katerina Bodnarenko- Olga Savchuk. In the first round of the singles side, Monica Niculescu, 61st seeded, plays against Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, 38th seeded.
