July 23, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 23.07.2014, 12:02
Two Ukrainian military jets were shot down Wednesday in the eastern part of the country, where pro-Russian rebels are fighting against government forces, a Ukrainian military office said. News of the jets downing comes six days after the deadly crash of the civilian passenger plane Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine.
The Netherlands declared July 23rd a national day of mourning for the 193 Dutch citizens killed in the plane crash in Ukraine. Also on Wednesday, the planes carrying the remains of the 298 victims landed on the airport in Eindhoven, where they were met by the victims’ families, the Dutch king and queen, Willem Alexander and Maxima, prime minister Mark Rutte and representatives of the 10 other countries where the victims came from. A Malaysian airliner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed last Thursday, presumably downed, in an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. An international investigation is under way. Accusations point at the separatists, who allegedly used a Russia-supplied missile, while Moscow has blamed the Ukrainian government. The pro-Russian rebels have handed over the plane’s two black boxes, which have been sent to the UK for analysis.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) used its services as a neutral intermediary to facilitate suspension of hostilities between the Israel Defence Force and Hamas, to allow for the evacuation of the sick and injured people in several areas in the Gaza Strip. As a neutral intermediary, the ICRC maintains confidential bilateral dialogue with all parties to the conflict. The resulting coordination allows emergency access to people in need and the maintenance of vital infrastructure such as the water-supply system. Clashes between the Palestinian movement Hamas and Israel continued on Wednesday morning despite calls for end to current fighting from the UN secretary general Ban ki Moon. Over 600 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 30 Israelis have been killed so far since July 8th, when the conflict started. Several American and European airway companies have cancelled their flights to Tel Aviv for security reasons. Other companies, including Romania’s Tarom, have resumed flights after a temporary halt.
Securing strategic ground, maritime and air routes linking Europe to Asia is a must not only for the two regions but for the entire international community, Romania’s foreign minister Titus Corlatean said on Wednesday in Brussels , where he attended a ministerial meeting between the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Brussels. The meeting looked at cooperation and future areas of development, including the possibility of signing a free trade agreement between the two regions. EU foreign ministers also discussed with their southeast Asian counterparts topical issues on the international agenda, such as the recent developments in Ukraine, the Middle East and North Africa. Talks between the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations take place every two years.
8 Romanian nationals from a single family died on Tuesday in a car crash in Alicante, south-eastern Spain. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Madrid, their bus was hit by a truck, caught fire and burnt. Three women, three men and two children were killed. The driver of the truck was seriously injured.
