February 23, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 23.02.2014, 13:03
The situation in the ruling Social Liberal Union in Romania could be clarified on Monday when talks on a government reshuffle will resume. The Liberal co-president of the Union, Crin Antonescu, said Sunday to a private TV station that, if early next week the proposals of the Liberals were not approved, the Liberal Party would withdraw its ministers from the government. He added that the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party are now divided by differing opinions on the independence of the judiciary and the implementation of rightist economic measures meant to boost the private environment. Previously, the president of the Social Democratic Party, PM Victor Ponta, had launched an appeal to moderation and dialogue for saving the Social Liberal Union and expressed hope that in the coming days they would be able to work out solutions for continuing the current government formula.
The president of the Ukrainian Parliament Olexandr Turcinov will be the interim president of Ukraine, replacing Viktori Ianukovych who was removed from office on Saturday, shows a resolution voted on Sunday by the Ukrainian MPs. Early presidential elections were scheduled for May 25th. Olexandr Turcinov called on the Ukrainian MPs to form a new parliamentary majority by Tuesday and a national union government. On Saturday MPs voted for the re-enforcement of the 2004 Constitution and for the release from prison of the former PM Iulia Timoshenko, a fierce opponent of Ianukovych. The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, urged the Ukrainian political leaders to act responsibly in order to keep the country’s territorial integrity and unity. The US also called on the two sides involved in the Ukrainian conflict to put an end to violence and focus on peaceful and democratic dialogue. Protests in Ukraine started in early November 2013 after the Ianukovych regime refused to sign the country’s association agreement with the EU. The protests turned into street clashes that resulted in scores of dead and hundreds of wounded.
The UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling on Syria to allow immediate access to humanitarian aid convoys. The resolution was also voted by Russia and China, countries that have prevented the passing of 3 resolutions by the UN Security Council regarding the situation in Syria, a country that has seen uprisings violently repressed and clashes between insurgent groups affiliated with the opposition and the security services subordinated to Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The civil war that has torn the country for almost 3 years has generated a severe humanitarian crisis. Hundred of thousands of Syrian civilians are under siege, more than 2 million were forced to flee the country and another several millions are internally displaced refugees.
In Afghanistan the Taliban militants killed, Sunday, around 20 soldiers of the Afghan national army in one of the bloodiest attacks perpetrated against the security forces over the past year. President Hamid Karzai has postponed the visit to Sri Lanka due to this attack, which took place at a checkpoint in the eastern province of Kunar, near the border with Pakistan. The attack occurs ahead of the presidential election scheduled for next month.
