January 8, 2015
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Mihai Pelin, 08.01.2015, 12:00
France is in mourning after yesterday’s terror attack against satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo when 12 people were killed and 11 others wounded. Police are still looking for the perpetrators. French president Francoise Hollande has termed the attack as a barbaric terrorist act while Muslim leaders in France have condemned the attack cautioning the population against extremist manipulation. Protest rallies have been staged in Paris and other French cities and journalists have described the event as ‘a black day for the freedom of the press.’ The international community has vehemently condemned the attack, which raised the level of terrorist alert in many Western countries.
Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has condemned the terror attack in Paris against satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which he described as cruel and cowardly. President Iohannis is assuring all Romania’s international partners of his full support in the fight against terror and extremism of any kind. In turn, Prime Minister Victor Ponta has underlined that Romania stands in solidarity with France and firmly condemned the attack, which is affecting fundamental liberties. Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu has voiced profound indignation towards the attack, about which he said it was unprecedented. According to the Romanian Intelligence Service, for now there are no clues hinting at future terror attacks in Romania, so there is no need to raise the alert level.
WTA third-seeded tennis player Simona Halep of Romania has today clinched a six-three, six-three win against Serbian Aleksandra Krunic in the quarterfinals of the tennis tournament in Shenzhen, China, with 500 thousand dollars in prize money. Halep, the tournament’s main favourite, will be playing Chinese Saisai Zheng, ranking 97th in the world standings.
The anti-Islamic coalition has launched 5,000 bombs against more than 3,000 ISIS targets, Pentagon sources have announced. The coalition carried out 1,675 air strikes until the end of last year, but the number of Islamic fighters killed remains unknown. According to the Pentagon, the strikes were targeting tens of bunkers, and positions occupied by the Islamists as well as nearly 1,000 various buildings. The strikes began in August in Iraq and were extended to Syria in September. The extremist group ISIS is controlling large areas in Iraq and Syria and beheaded several Western hostages in 2014.
Romanian president Klaus Iohannis has reiterated his intention to pay a first visit in his new capacity to the Republic of Moldova, an ex-soviet country with a Romanian-speaking majority. Iohannis said he wanted to underline in this way the special relation between Bucharest and Chisinau and encourage the pro-European parties to forge a new government. In November, right after being elected president, Iohannis met in Chisinau the pro-western leaders at that time in full legislative election campaign. The Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party and the Liberals have mustered 55 out of the 101 MP seats. Chisinau hopes to get EU accession candidacy in 2017 and become an EU member in 2020.
A policewoman has been killed today in an armed incident in Montrouge, southern Paris. The assailant managed to escape. The French authorities have not yet established a connection between the incident and yesterday’s terror attack. In another development, explosions took place at three mosques in the north, south and southwest of France, but no victims have been reported. France is on high alert after masked gunmen yesterday opened fire against the employees of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
