October 9, 2019 UPDATE
Turkey launched offensive in northeastern Syria on Wednesday, Motion of no confidence against Dancila govt
Newsroom, 09.10.2019, 19:47
Attack — The EU, NATO, the UN have reacted to the military offensive Turkey launched on Wednesday in northeastern Syria, a few days after the withdrawal of the American troops from the area. The president of the European Commission on Wednesday called for the cessation of the military operation and warned that, if Ankara intended to create a safe area, it would not receive any European funding. In turn, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Turkey’s action in Syria should be proportionate and measured, adding that “It is important to avoid actions that may further destabilize the region, escalate tensions and cause more human suffering.” The president of the UN Security Council the South-African ambassador Jerry Matthews Matjila called on Turkey to protect civilians and exercise maximum restraint. An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was scheduled for Thursday meant to discuss the Turkish offensive. Turkish planes on Wednesday bombed the region of Ras al – Ain, on Syria’s northern border with Turkey. The Turkish president called the operation ‘Spring of Peace’ saying that the targets are the Islamic state and the YPG Kurdish militias which Ankara considers the allies of PKK, a party forbidden in Turkey. The Turkish president added the ‘safe zone’ cleared of Kurdish militias will also house Syrian refugees. An alliance of the Kurdish and Arab fighters announced the air strikes already killed and wounded people.
Revolution file — The first court date in the December 1989 revolution file was set by the Supreme Court for November 29. The pre-trial hearing will take place without the access of the public. In this file, the former leftist president Ion Iliescu was prosecuted for crimes against humanity. The former deputy prime minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu and general Iosif Rus, the former head of the Military Aviation were prosecuted for the same crimes in the same file. Prosecutors claim that Ion Iliescu was the head of a dissident group made up of military officials and civilians, whose aim was to remove from power the former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu but to maintain Romania in the sphere of influence of the former USSR.
Nobel Prize — Researcher John B. Goodenough of the USA, M. Stanley Whittingham of Great Britain and Akira Yoshino of Japan on Wednesday received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2019, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced. The three were made laureates for the development of lithium-ion batteries. Through their research the Nobel prize in chemistry winners have set the basis for a wireless society and without fossil fuels. The Nobel Prize in Literature will be awarded on October 10 and that for Peace on October 11. The Riksbank Sveriges Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel will be announced on October 14.
Holocaust — Each year on October 9 Romania pays homage to the victims of the Holocaust. October 9 was chosen for this commemoration as on this day in 1941 the deportation of Jews from Romania to Transdniester. The Romanian Foreign Ministry paid homage to the victims of the Holocaust expressing solidarity with the survivors of the tragic events of WWII. The Foreign Ministry officials recall that Romania made significant efforts of late to assume its past, condemn the denial of the Holocaust and of anti-Semitism. On Tuesday, President Klaus Iohannis promulgated the law under which the National Museum of History of the Jews and the Holocaust in Romania will be set up. The museum will be based in Bucharest and will host a permanent exhibition about the history of the Jewish communities on Romania’s territory from the 17th century until the present time. (update by L. Simion)
