August 25, 2016
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 25.08.2016, 12:05
EARTHQUAKE In Italy, thousands of rescuers are trying to find among the debris survivors of the earthquake that hit a mountain area in the center of the country on Tuesday night. According to the latest toll, some 250 people have died and hundreds are wounded. Five Romanian citizens are among the dead, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has announced. Another 11 are missing. Two mobile consular teams are providing ground assistance to the Romanians in the areas affected by the quake. More on this after the news.
MOLDOVA On his first formal visit to the Republic of Moldova, the former soviet country with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population, Romania’s Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has met with his counterpart Pavel Filip. Ciolos has stated that the Romanian Government’s goal is to improve the Moldovan citizen’s situation and it fully supports the reforms that the Moldovan authorities have decided to implement. Dacian Ciolos has announced that on Wednesday Romania disbursed the first installment of the 60 million Euro reimbursable loan to the Republic of Moldova. In turn, Pavel Filip has stressed that Romania is a close and dedicated friend to the Republic of Moldova, proof of that standing the bilateral strategic partnership for European integration. The Moldovan Prime Minister has stated that the main priority with regard to bilateral relations is energy cooperation, especially on extending the Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipe-line.
VISIT European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Gunther Oettinger is on a two-day formal visit to Bucharest. He will meet with the Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, Communication and Information Society Minister Delia Popescu and Culture Minister Corina Sutenu. Commissioner Oettinger will give a speech in the opening of the conference titled Digitalisation – the Future of Europe and will also take part in the round table: Economy, Currency and Digital Revolution: Challenges for Europe, organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. On the last day of the visit he will hold talks with representatives of the creative industry and will meet with Romanian film makers at the Bucharest Cinema Studio.
SECURITY The security situation in the east and south of NATO is the main topic of discussion in Ankara today, between Turkey, Romania and Poland. The Romanian Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu, who is attending the three-party meeting, will reiterate Romania’s support for the Ankara authorities and will stress Turkey’s importance at regional level as NATO ally and a key partner to the EU. According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the agenda of talks also includes the measures that need to be taken to implement the decisions made at the NATO summit in Warsaw. We recall that, among other things, a decision was made in Warsaw to set up a multi-national brigade in Romania and to deploy four battalions in Poland and in the three Baltic countries.
BOOK FAIR Romania, who is a guest of honour at the 2016 International Book Fair in Beijing, has prepared many cultural events, book launches, exhibitions, music recitals and theatre performances. An album and a film devoted to composer George Enescu will be launched today, followed by a recital by the Romanian violinist Andrei Mihail. On Wednesday, the Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Beijing, Constantin Lupeanu, dubbed the greatest sinologist in the world, got the Special Book Award, China’s most prestigious distinctions in the field, for translating and publishing more than 30 Chinese books. The Romanian stand has on display more than 1200 albums and books, published by 20 publishing houses, as well as translations from Romanian authors, published with the support of the National Book Centre. At this edition of the fair, there are another 15 guests of honour from central and eastern Europe, besides Romania.
SYRIA Syrian rebels supported by the Turkish army have taken control over the town of Jarabulus, in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey, from Islamic State jihadists. Turkish tanks have today crossed the Syrian border as part of the offensive launched by Ankara to oust the jihadists from this Syrian town. Turkey is thus trying to prevent the Kurdish militias from getting control over the town and to open a corridor for the Syrian anti-government rebels, a Turkish official has stated. The same official has mentioned that Ankara will carry on operations in northern Syria until it makes sure the imminent threats against its national security have been neutralized.
FOOTBALL Romania’s football vice-champion Steaua Bucharest failed to qualify for the Champions League’ groups, after losing the play-off tiebreak, away from home, 0-1, to the powerful English squad Manchester City. In Bucharest, Steaua was defeated 0-5. However, the vice-champion will play in the Europa League groups, to which champion Astra Giurgiu is trying to qualify today. The holder of the title will play the return match in England, against West Ham United, after a 1-1 match on home turf.
