February 5, 2016 UPDATE
For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.
România Internațional, 05.02.2016, 12:15
CAR ACCIDENT – 5 people died and around 30 were wounded in a serious car accident that occurred on Friday morning on a national road in the south east of Romania, 60 kms away from Bucharest. A coach transporting 33 people hit from the back a tipper truck carrying sand. No braking traces have been identified at the accident site. The authorities are considering several scenarios among which technical problems or the likelihood of the bus driver falling asleep. A code red intervention plan has been activated, including the mobilization of human and material resources of all institutions with intervention attributes.
DEFENCE – National Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc on Friday met in Amsterdam his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, on the sidelines of the informal meeting of the European Union Defence Ministers. The Romanian official highlighted the need to carry on NATOs process of adjustment to the new security environment, underscoring the essential role of strengthening NATOs presence on its eastern flank and on the Black Sea. Also on Friday, Minister Mihnea Motoc met his Italian counterpart Roberta Pinotti. Talks focused on establishing a new legal framework for bilateral cooperation. The cooperation regards defence management and planning, training military and civilian personnel, controlling arms and disarmament, cyber defence in the military field and economic, military, technological and scientific projects.
SYRIA – The UN will verify the will of the countries involved in the Syrian conflict to have peace, as part of next weeks meeting of the international support group for Syria, which includes the US, Russia and Iran, says the UN envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura. On Wednesday, the UN official decided to call off peace negotiations in Geneva until February 25. He warned that negotiations must take place only with a view to reach an agreement. In another development, Russia on Friday denied the accusation of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said Russias air raids in Syria are undermining peace negotiations between the Government in Damascus and the opposition. Several Western and regional countries have criticized Russia for its support to president Bashar al-Assad and for attacking rebel-controled areas. A US-led international coalition is also carrying out air strikes in Syria, targeting the Islamic State terrorist organization.
VATICAN – Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill are meeting on February 12 on Havana Airport in Cuba, the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Church announced on Friday. This will be the first such meeting since the Great Schism of 1054. While Patriarch Kirill is on an official visit to Cuba, the Pope will stop in Havana on his way to Mexico. The two will meet for two hours and hen sign a joint declaration. Since he was elected head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has made ecumenism a priority, advocating for consolidating relations between the various Christian churches.
ZIKA VIRUS – Spain has confirmed that a pregnant woman has been diagnosed with the Zika virus, this being the first case reported in Europe. The Spanish Health Ministry says the woman has recently returned from a trip to Columbia where she is supposed to have been contaminated. The World Health Organization set up in early February a Global Response Unit to coordinate the actions meant to fight the propagation of the Zika virus. The measure was taken following the sudden increase in cases of microcephaly and other neurological disorders registered in Brazil, a country that has confirmed more than 400 cases of new born babies suffering of microcephaly, most likely caused by the Zika virus. The WHO has declared the virus, which continues to spread across the two Americas, a global public, medical emergency.
TENNIS – Friday saw the drawing of lots for the single matches to be played by Romania and the Czech Republic as part of the Fed Cup, to take place on Saturday and Sunday in Cluj (in the north west of Romania). The match counts for the World Group 1st round. The first match will be pitting Simona Halep (3rd in the WTA classification) and Karolina Pliskova (13th in the WTA ranking). The Czech Republic is also represented by Petra Kvitova (9th in the WTA ranking), Barbora Strycova (41st WTA seed) and Denisa Allertova (59th WTA seed). In the absence of Alexandra Dulgheru(61st in the WTA ranking) and Irina Begu (31st) who are injured, Romanias team is made up of Simona Halep, Monica Niculescu (WTA 40th seed), Andreea Mitu (96th in the WTA) and Raluca Olaru (45th in the WTA, doubles). The Czech team has been the best team of the past years at the Fed Cup, wining 9 titles including in 2015.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
