June 28, 2015 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news

Newsroom, 28.06.2015, 12:15

The Parliament leadership is to establish on Monday the date when Mihai
Razvan Ungureanu, the man proposed to head the Romanian Foreign Intelligence
Service, is to be interviewed and approved by Parliament. Ungureanu enjoys the
support of the Liberal Party, the largest opposition party in Romania, the
Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians and the National Union for the Progress
of Romania, the junior partners in the ruling coalition, and the group of
national minorities, while the ruling Social Democrats and their coalition
partners, the newly created Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, are opposed to
his appointment. Mihai Razvan Ungureanu headed the Service before, between 2007
and 2012, and also acted as foreign minister between 2004 and 2007 and served a
short stint as prime minister in the first part of 2012.

The European
Central Bank said it would maintain the current level of emergency funding for
Greek banks, thus in effect leaving the door open for a solution to prevent the
collapse of Greek economy and Greece’s eurozone exit, writes the France Presse
news agency. The European Central Bank said it would conduct a close assessment
of the situation and its implications on its monetary policy. The Bank of
Greece also said it would take all necessary measures to ensure citizens’
financial stability in these difficult times. On Saturday, the Eurogroup
refused a bailout extension after June 30th following an
announcement by the Greek government that it would call a referendum on July 5th
on the terms of the bailout. The referendum has been approved by the Greek
Parliament. Greece has to repay 1.6 billion euros by June 30th.

Yassin Salhi, the suspect
held over a jihadist attack in France, admitted having killed his boss,
according to a source close to the investigation quoted by France Presse. The
suspect, who was arrested at the site of the attack, a chemical plant near
Lyon, started collaborating with the investigators on Saturday night. The
French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Yassin Salhi was under
investigation between 2006 and 2008 and suspected of radicalisation. More than 60 people were
killed in a wave of terrorist attacks on Friday. Almost 40, including British,
German, Belgian and French tourists, were killed at a spa in Tunisia, after a young
man opened fire on a beach. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State
extremist group. 26 others were killed and 227 wounded in a suicide attack on a
Shiite mosque in Kuwait’s capital, also claimed by the Islamic State. Romania
offered its deepest sympathy and condolences over the attacks in France,
Tunisia and Kuwait and reiterated its solidarity in the fight against
terrorism.

The Iranian nuclear talks in Vienna are to go beyond Tuesday’s deadline
for a deal, the BBC quoted a senior US official as saying. An Iranian official
had also indicated earlier the possibility of extending the talks. Attending
the talks on Sunday, the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said time
had come for a political decision in this respect. Nuclear talks between Iran
and six world powers, the US, Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China, began
20 months ago. A final agreement is being negotiated that will guarantee the
peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting
international sanctions on Iranian economy.

Third seed Simona Halep will face the Slovakian player Jana Cepelova in the first round at
Wimbledon. Last year, the Romanian player reached as far as the semifinals.
Another Romanian player, Irina Begu, no. 29 in the world, will play against the
Russian player Daria Gavrilova in the first round, while Monica Niculescu, no.
46, will face Monica Puig of Puerto Rico. If they get past the first round, the
two Romanians will face each other in the second round. Also in the opening
round, Alexandra Dulgheru, world no. 59, faces Kristina Mladenovic of France,
while Andreea Mitu, no. 70, meets Olga Govortsova of Belarus. In the men’s
doubles, the 4th seed Romanian-Dutch pair Horia Tecau and Jean
Julien Rojer face the Slovakian-Czech pair Martin Klizan and Lukas Rosol, while
the 9th seed Romanian-Indian pair Florin Mergea and Rohan Bopanna
face the American-Czech pair Tim Smyczek and Jiri Vesely.