April 9, 2016
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 09.04.2016, 12:05
FESTIVAL – The “Ion Creanga” National College in Bucharest is hosting, on April 9 and 10, the 20th edition of the Japanese Culture Festival “Taiju Matsuri”. Participants will have the chance to learn more about the Japanese culture through Japanese language classes, origami and kimono workshops, film screenings and shows. The theme of this year’s edition is centred on the five basic elements in Japanese philosophy: fire, water, air, earth and void.
POLL — More than a half of Romanians do not agree with the refugees’ presence on Romania’s territory, according to an opinion poll conducted by Pro Democratia Association, made public on Friday. Most of the people questioned are against the refugee quotas imposed on the EU states. The report also shows that 45% of Romanians associate the refugee crisis with social war, 31% with religious conflicts while half of them feel unsafe because of the refugee crisis. In Romania, the number of asylum applications has so far been 1,200-1,300 per year.
BRUSSELS — The Belgian interior minister has congratulated security forces following the arrest of a main suspect believed to have been involved in the Paris attacks last November, that killed 130 people. Jan Jambon has congratulated the security forces after Mohamed Abrini and another four suspects were arrested in Brussels. According to the BBC, investigators are trying to establish if Abrini has also been involved in last month’s attack at the Brussels airport.
RATING — The international rating agency Standard&Poor’s has decided to maintain Romania’s rating at BBB minus, with a stabile outlook. This is the first rating in the category of those granted to countries recommended for investment.
UNITED NATIONS — Romania’s permanent representative at the United Nations, ambassador Ion Jinga, on Friday received the visit of the 2016 Class of student officers of the United States Army War College, among whom is the Romanian officer Cristian Teglas. On this occasion, Ambassador Jinga said that Romania wants to be an active presence in the field of preventive diplomacy, in preventing conflicts, consolidating peace and promoting mediation. Ion Jinga said that Romania is the only country in the world with teams in high-risk areas, aimed to protect UN officials, and the first among the EU countries contributing police officers under the UN flag.
FRIGATE — A Canadian frigate part of the NATO Standing Maritime Group in the Mediterranean Sea is currently in the Black Sea Port of Constanta. For three days, Craig Baines, Commander of the Canadian Fleet Atlantic, will have meetings with officials of the Romanian Naval Forces. The Romanian and Canadian marines will train together to perfect tactics and procedures specific to anti-submarine fight and maritime traffic monitoring.
(Translated by E. Enache)
