April 30, 2014 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Valentin Țigău, 30.04.2014, 20:27
The IMF has significantly lowered its economic forecasts for Russia this year. According to the BBC an IMF official in Moscow said that Russian economy is practically in recession. Even before the crisis in Ukraine, the IMF had forecast a slump of the Russian economy and the new prospects do not provide for a growth this year. The country is presently in recession, following a period of three consecutive months of low economic activity.
Ukraine’s interim president Oleksandr Turchynov said the country’s army was placed in a state of full combat alert against a possible military action from Russia. During a meeting with heads of regional administration, Turchynov admitted that Ukrainian forces weren’t capable of taking control of the situation in the east of the country. Since March, the big cities in south-eastern Ukraine, including Donetsk, Harkov and Lugansk have been facing unprecedented actions from federalisation supporters who are contesting the new pro-European authorities in Kiev and are calling for referendums over the future political status of these regions.
The Iraqis have defied the danger posed by suicide bombers and have gone to the polls in order to vote for their candidates in the first Parliamentary election since the pullout of the US troops from Iraq in 2011. According to the BBC, hundreds of army and police troops have been deployed to ensure the protection of the polling stations. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged the electorate to come in large numbers to the polls to prove their courage against the terrorist threats.
Romania unhesitatingly backs the Western countries’ sanctions on Russia against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis. Romanian Foreign Minister, Titus Corlatean made the statement at the meeting he had with US Secretary of State, John Kerry in Washington. On that occasion, Corlatean reiterated Romania’s wish for NATO to have a substantial military built-up in Eastern Europe, in countries like Romania and Poland. His talk with the US high official took place on the sidelines of an Atlantic Council conference on Europe.
Canada has sent six CF-18 fighter jets to Romania, as part of its contribution to NATO’s efforts to reassure its allies in central and Eastern Europe, the North-Atlantic Alliance has announced on its website. The six jets will join the US and Romanian air forces to participate in joint training missions. Moreover, on May Day fighter jets from Poland, Great Britain and Denmark will officially take over NATO’s air policing duties over the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. On Monday, four French Rafale fighters were deployed to Poland to take part in air policing missions and training flights, NATO reports. Recently, the Alliance has announced that it will have more aircraft, more ships and will strengthen the training of its land forces.
The Romanian men’s table tennis team on Wednesday defeated the Hungarian team 3-1 in a match in Group C of the World Championships in Tokyo. In the first two matches, Romania was defeated by France and Japan. The Romanian women’s table tennis team are up against the Austrian team and then against the Polish team; on Tuesday, Romania was defeated by China, currently world champion in the third match in Group A of the Championships. In the previous matches, Romania defeated Slovakia and lost to North Korea. At the previous World Championships in 2012, Romania ranked 8th.
