July 18, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 18.07.2014, 12:00
At least one Romanian was among the 297 people onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which crashed on Thursday in Ukraine, on the border with Russia. More than half of the passengers were Dutch, and the rest Australian, Indonesian, British, German, French, Belgian, Filipino and one Canadian. The US has called on all the parties involved in the conflict in eastern Ukraine to cease fire in order to allow a proper investigation into the crash. An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is due today. According to US officials, the plane, heading for Kuala Lumpur after departing from Amsterdam, was hit by a ground-air missile, near the border with Russia, an area affected by the conflict between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia insurgents. Kiev has blamed the attack on the rebels, saying they used sophisticated equipment to fell down the plane, provided by Moscow. On the other side, the insurgents have blamed the Ukrainian authorities for the accident and have denied they own such devices.
After 10 days of air strikes, Israel last night launched a ground offensive in Gaza. At least 8 Palestinians were killed by Israeli tanks, the local health-care services have announced. According to Israeli leaders, the goal of the ground operation is to destroy the tunnels dug by terrorists to infiltrate into Gaza and was started in response to Hamas’s refusal to accept the peace plan proposed by Egypt. On its part, Hamas has threatened the Jewish state with serious consequences. The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has voiced his worry that the Israeli offensive will lead to more blood-shed and will complicate the cease fire efforts in Gaza. Over one thousand nine hundred Palestinians have been wounded since the start of the Israeli operation on July 8th.
A large military ceremony will be held in the south-western town of Craiova today, marking the completion of the Romanian mission in Afghanistan. Romanian soldiers’ participation in the theatres of operations in Afghanistan started in June 2002, when the Red Scorpions battalion of Craiova was deployed in Zabul, in southern Afghanistan. In 12 years of participation, the Romanian army contributed 25 thousand soldiers to the NATO missions in that country, of which 26 have been killed. The withdrawal of the Romanian troops started in June 2014, and starting October this year, only 200 Romanian soldiers will remain there, to train the Afghan army.
Four NATO navy ships from the Fight Against Naval Mines Group are in the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta today, to participate in a joint Romanian — Foreign navy drill. The drill is part of the Romanian Navy’s plan of international activities this year. The Group fighting against naval mines is an integrated multi-national task force, specializing in mining and de-mining operations, and is made up of two vessels from Italy, one from Turkey and one from Great Britain. They are to leave the port of Constanta on Monday, when they will also participate in sea exercises, alongside Romanian ships and helicopters.
The Oltchim chemical works in Ramnicu Valcea, southern Romania, will recover by the end of this year, the Romanian Minister of the Economy, Constantin Nita has stated. He has also said that a new production line will be rendered operational next month, which translates into a 40% increase in the production capacity. Currently in a state of insolvency because of huge debts, Oltchim is on the list of the big state-owned companies that must be privatized. One attempt to privatize Oltchim failed in September 2012, as the winner of the bid did not pay the necessary amount, namely 45 million Euros. Since then, the Romanian state has been making efforts to keep the works functional.
The sale of new cars increased by almost one third in the first half of the year as compared to the previous term. Also, 60% more cars made by the Dacia Renault group were sold in the same period. On the other hand, sales of imported second hand cars dropped by 20%. Between January and June 2009, 35% more Dacia cars were registered in 29 European countries as compared with the 6 months of the year 2013.
Romanian football team Petrolul Ploiesti has defeated on home turf the Albanian squad Flamurtari Vlora, 2-nil, in the first round of Europa League’s second leg. The other Romanian team participating in the competition, CFR Cluj ended in a draw the game against the Serbians from Jagodina. The return game is due next week. Also in Europa League, vice champion Astra Giurgiu, the winner of Romania’s Supercup, has qualified straight to the third preliminary round. On Wednesday, Romania’s champion Steaua Bucharest defeated away from Home the Norwegian squad Stroemsgodset IF, 1-nil.
