Romania’s
\nforeign minister Bogdan Aurescu is attending the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council
\nministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar. Chaired jointly by the EU High
\nRepresentative for Foreign Policy Federica Mogherini and Qatar’s foreign
\nminister Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah,
\nthe meeting aims to strengthen ties between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Talks focus on the
\nlatest developments in the wider Middle East region and the fight against
\nterrorism, including ways to counteract the Islamic State organisation.
\nMinister Aurescu emphasised the
\nneed to continue international efforts to combat extremism and terrorism and
\npresented Romania’s proposal to create an International Court to combat
\nterrorism. On the sidelines of the
\nmeeting, he also had talks with counterparts from the Gulf region, reiterating
\nBucharest’s wish to intensify bilateral relations. The Gulf Cooperation Council
\nbrings together Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain
\nand Oman. Romania’s prime minister Victor Ponta travelled to the first four of
\nthese countries early this month as part of a tour of the region to discuss
\neconomic aspects.<\/p>\n
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12 Romanian vessels, an American
\nwarship and a Bulgarian minesweeper, as well as 1,500 military will be taking
\npart in an exercise called Trident Poseidon 2015 that gets under way on Monday.
\nHeld over four days in Romania’s territorial waters and the Black Sea
\ninternational waters, the exercise aims at improving the interoperability
\nbetween the NATO forces and interagency cooperation in Romania. One of the
\nactivities forming part of this exercise is the evacuation of civilians in the
\nevent of a conflict, an activity which will be carried out on the 27th
\nof May in Constanta’s military port. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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The United
\nStates has expressed concern over a new Russian law allowing the authorities to
\ndeclare foreign non-governmental organisations undesirable. We are concerned this new power will further restrict the
\nwork of civil society in Russia, said State
\nDepartment spokesperson Marie Harf. The human rights organisation Amnesty
\nInternational also described the law as part of an ongoing draconian
\ncrackdown which is squeezing the life out of civil society in Russia. The
\nlegislation allows the government to ban foreign NGOs, block their bank
\naccounts and prosecute their employees, who may face up to six years in prison.
\n<\/p>\n
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\n
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The
\nIslamic State group is responsible for the killing of at least 400 people,
\nmostly women and children, in the Syrian city of Palmyra, according to the
\nSyrian state television. The jihadists this week seized control of the city, an
\nimportant strategic site in the middle of the dessert but home to thousand-year
\nold vestiges protected by UNESCO. The group controls a growing number of
\nterritories in Syria and Iraq, including the border area between the two
\ncountries. In Iraq, the Islamic State won a strategic victory in Ramadi, the
\ncapital of the Anbar province, following weeks of heavy clashes. Tens of
\nthousands of residents fled the city. The Iraqi army launched a counter-offensive
\nto regain control of the city, which is located close to the capital Baghdad. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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Corneliu Porumboiu’s The
\nTreasure has won the Un Certain Talent prize at the Cannes International Film
\nFestival as part of the Un Certain Regard category. The film is about two men
\nand their adventures as they try to find a buried treasure. The top prize in
\nthis category was awarded to the Icelandic production Rams, by Grimur
\nHakonarson. The Romanian short film Ramona, by Andrei Cretulescu, was awarded
\nthe Canal + prize in the Semaine de la Critique category. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nRomania’s no. 1 tennis
\nplayer Simona Halep defeated the Russian player Evgeniya Rodina in two sets in
\nthe first round at Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam tournament of the year.
\nIn the second round, she will face Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia. Last year,
\nSimona Halep reached the final in Paris, but lost to Maria Sharapova of Russia
\nin three sets. Four other Romanian players are in the singles main draw: Irina
\nBegu, Alexandra Dulgheru, Monica Niculescu and Andreea Mitu. Romania has no
\nplayer in the men’s singles. In the doubles, Horia Tecau pairs up with the
\nDutch player Jean Julien Rojer, while Florin Mergea forms a pair with the
\nIndian player Rohan Bopanna.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of local and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":100004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[28877],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-100239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n