July 26, 2016 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 26.07.2016, 12:30

DEFENCE Romania’s Higher Defence Council (CSAT) convened in Bucharest on Tuesday to assess the consequences for Romania of the decisions made at the recent NATO summit in Poland, over July 8th and 9th. Measures and actions for the implementation of these decisions were also tackled. At the end of the CSAT session, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis announced that a multinational brigade, whose formation was decided in the summit, would be set up in March-April 2017. At least six allies voiced readiness to participate in this brigade, including Poland and Bulgaria. President Iohannis said the participants had been briefed on the country’s security situation from the viewpoint of terror threats against the background of multiplying attacks in Europe. According to Iohannis, there are no reasons for raising the terror alert in Romania now. Also high on the CSAT agenda were the situations In Turkey and the Middle East. Giving the green light to a draft law on integrating Romania’s railway system into the Single European Railway Area was also high on the CSAT agenda.

DRILL Over July 27th and August 7th 27 hundred soldiers from 10 countries are participating in a large-scale exercise in Cincu, central Romania. Five NATO members are to join the drill: Romania, the USA, Canada, Poland and Bulgaria. They will join five members of the Partnership for Peace: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the ex-soviet Romanian-speaking Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The opening ceremony will be attended by Romanian Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc.

ZIKA The first case in Europe of a baby born with Zika-related microcephaly has been confirmed in Barcelona, Spain. The child’s mother got infected in Latin America but wanted to keep the baby. Roughly 200 people have been infected with the Zika virus in Spain. First identified in Uganda back in 1947, the virus causes a viral infectious disease in humans called the Zika fever. No vaccin against the virus has been discovered yet and according to the World Health Organisation, the Zika outbreak meets the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

ATTACK French president Francoise Hollande announced the Tuesday’s attack against a church in the north of the country had been carried out by two IS terrorists. After describing the attack as a ‘cowardly assassination’, president Hollande has given assurances that France will continue to fight daesh terrorism. A priest was killed in the attack and the assailants were neutralized by the police. The attack, also condemned by the Vatican, came within two weeks since the attack in Nice, which left 84 people dead.