December 27, 2014
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Valentin Țigău, 27.12.2014, 12:00
On the third day of Christmas, Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers are celebrating St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Stephen was contemporary with Jesus Christ’s disciples and one of the seven deacons to serve the first Christian community in Jerusalem. He was accused of blasphemy by the Jewish clergy and stoned to death. The New Testament mentions his last words when he asks God to forgive his murderers.
The US led coalition said it had carried over 30 air strikes on Friday, against Islamic State objectives in Iraq and Syria. 13 of these were carried out in the Syrian city of Kobani, close to the border with Turkey, which has seen most of the clashes in recent months. According to the BBC, the Pentagon said it had carried out 15 strikes in Iraq as well.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on the authorities in Pakistan to stop the execution of those sentenced to death and reinstate the moratorium on the death penalty. We recall that Pakistan lifted the moratorium on executions in terror cases last week amid outrage at the massacre of students at a school in Peshawar. According to the BBC six people have already been sentenced since the introduction of the death penalty.
On January 1st, the Romanian Cultural Institute in Brussels is taking over the presidency of the EUNIC network of the European Cultural Institutes in Belgium. With over 20 members, among which Alliance Francaise, British Council, Goethe-Institut, the Cervantes Institute, the Polish Institute, EUNIC Brussels supports multilingualism, intercultural dialogue, diversity and common European values. EUNIC boasts 89 networks in 74 countries.
As a first reaction to Russia’s new military doctrine, the North-Atlantic Alliance says that ‘any steps taken by NATO to ensure the security of its members are clearly defensive in nature, proportionate and in compliance with international law.’ The statement belongs to NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu who recalls that Russia’s actions in Ukraine are breaking international law. According to its spokeswoman, NATO will continue to seek a constructive relation with Moscow, only if the latter respects the right of nations to choose their own future in a free way. The new military doctrine, adopted on Friday, is defining NATO as a fundamental threat to Russia’s security.
Bad weather has eventually made its way to Romania, where meteorologists have announced a code yellow alert for snowfalls, gale force wind, mixed precipitations and glazed frost in most of the regions. Snow will continue to fall the entire day and a snow layer of 20 centimeters is expected. Temperatures are to drop to minus three degrees centigrade, while a fresh wave of cold is expected to begin on Sunday.
