July 25, 2014
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 25.07.2014, 12:14
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko today has called on the country’s Parliament to reject Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniyk and his government resignation. Waiting for a vote in Parliaments, the government has appointed deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Grossman, the minister of regional development and constructions, Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister. On Thursday Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk announced his resignation, following the dissolution of the pro-European governing coalition. Yatsenyuk’s resignation comes at a time when the armed conflict with the Russian-speaking separatists in eastern Ukraine is in full swing, and the issue of the Malaysian airlines plane crash, claiming the lives of 289 people, is far from being solved, news agencies have announced. Should a new parliamentary coalition fail to be formed within 30 days, Ukraine’s president may use his right to dissolve parliament, also calling for snap ellections.
Israel is dead set to continue its powerful military operation in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Netanyahu went on to say important results have been obtained, regarding the destruction of the terrorist infrastructure. The announcement has been made right after an Israeli missile cannon son Thursday hit a UN-coordinated school, which was offering shelter to Palestinian refugees. The attack left 15 people dead and many other wounded. Victims also United Nations employees. Since the launch f the Israeli offensive on July the 8th, more than 800 Palestinians, most of whom were civilians and 35 Israelis have been killed. On the West Bank, two Palestinians were killed during clashes pitting security forces against rioters, who were protesting against recent developments in Gaza.
Fifteen Romanian tourists who were stranded on the West Bank last night arrived in Bucharest, the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest has announced. The Ministry also advises Romanian citizens to avoid traveling to areas nearby Gaza Strip, which for quite some time has been the theater of a Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We recall in the last two weeks, against the backdrop of the mounting tension in the Gaza Strip, the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry repatriated 103 Romanian citizens from the region, as well as members of their families.
Bad weather conditions have been the main cause of yesterday’s crash of an Algerian line airplane in Mali, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has announced today. A French observation drone in Mali last night, along the border with Burkina Faso, discovered the wrecked aircraft, in an unpopulated desert area. The plane, flying from Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou to Algiers, had 110 passengers on board, 51 of whom were French, while six others, making the crew, were Spanish. Algerian authorities have announced a Romanian was on the passenger list. Bucharest is waiting for the information to be officially confirmed. It has been the third air catastrophe in the last seven days, after the Malaysian airlines plane crash in Ukraine and the crash of a TransAsia Airways plane in Taiwan, which left 400 people dead.
Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Sir Adrian Bradshaw currently on a working visit to Romania today has held a meeting with the Secretary of State for Defense Policy and Planning Valeriu Nicut. According to a Romanian National Defense Ministry press release, the two high-ranking officials focused on key issues of the NATO Summit, to be held in Wales in September, also looking closely into recent developments in Afghanistan. General Bradshaw, who also had a meeting with Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Stefan Danila has hailed the excellent joint work of Romanian Army and Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe as well as the Romanian military contribution to NATO missions in Afghanistan and Kossovo.
Three Romanian football teams have made headway into the Europa League’s third preliminary round. The competition’s upcoming fixture will see western Romanian team CFR from Cluj taking on Dinamo Minsk from Belarus, as this past Thursday CFR secured a 1-nil away win against Serbian team FK Jagodina, while on home turf the Romanian team only managed a blank draw. In the Europa League’s same stage, southern Romanian team Petrolul from Ploiesti are pitted against Czech vice-champions Viktoria Plzen. Petrolul snatched two wins in the double-legged tie against Albanian squad Flamurtari Vlora, 3-1 and 2-nil, respectively. Romania’s vice-champion team Astra Giurgiu, winner of Romania’s Cup and Supercup, respectively, have qualified straight into Europa League’s 3rd preliminary round; they will be facing Czech team Slovan Liberec. In the Champions League, another Romanian team, Steaua Bucharest have qualified for the competition’s 3rd preliminary round, as Wednesday night on home turf Steaua snatched a 2-nil win against Norwegian champions Stroemsgodset FK. Having secured a first-match 1-nil win away from home Steaua rank as favorites even ahead of the double-legged tie against Kazakh team FK Aktobe.
