June 15, 2014
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România Internațional, 15.06.2014, 14:16
At least six people have been killed and 20 wounded in an Iraqi army raid over a convoy of Kurdish rebels north of Baghdad. Government forces backed by Shia militias on Saturday night took control over several localities north and north-east of the capital, which had been occupied by the Sunni militants in a blitzkrieg operation in the past days. The United States, which announced its readiness to support the government in Baghdad, including through air strikes on Saturday deployed an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf.
The first round of EU-brokered negotiations over the issue of gas deliveries between Russia and Ukraine has ended in a deadlock, Serghei Kuprianov, spokesman for Russian giant Gazprom has been quoted by ITAR-TASS as saying. The debt payment deadline for Ukraine in order to avoid a cut-off in gas deliveries has been set for Monday. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko announced a day of national mourning for tomorrow after rebels shot down a military transport plane as it approached Luhansk airport, killing 40 soldiers and nine crew. The president has also vowed to retaliate following this incident which enraged the Ukrainians. Hundreds of people staged an angry protest in front of the Russian embassy on Saturday night, taking down the Russian flag from the building throwing eggs and vandalizing embassy vehicles. Moscow has accused the authorities in Kiev of having taken no measure in order to protect the diplomats. The USA and the OSCE have condemned the protest against the Russian embassy.
Romanian foreign minister Titus Corlatean has voiced profound regret for the incident in which pro-Russian rebels shot down a plane in eastern Ukraine. According to the Romanian official such deplorable events are unacceptable in today’s Europe. In another move, the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest has reiterated its appeal for the cessation of the conflict sparked off by the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s eastern regions as well as for keeping and maintaining Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. At the same time, the ministry supports NATO secretary general’s call for cutting off weapons supplies for the rebels from the Russian Federation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the Islamic movement Hamas in relation to the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers on Thursday in the West Bank. The Israeli security forces have launched a large-scale operation in the area in order to find the three young men before being transferred to Gaza, currently under Hamas control. At least 80 Palestinian suspects have been detained during the operation.
On Sunday, the last day of his visit to Austria, Romania’s delegate minister for the Romanians all over the world Bogdan Stanoevici is participating in a series of events marking 125 years since the death of Romania’s national poet Mihai Eminescu. The Romanian official will participate in a special show dedicated to Eminescu at Pygmalion Theatre in Vienna and in a religious service at the Romanian Orthodox Church in the Austrian capital. Yesterday, the Romanian official held talks with the head of the Integration Department of Austrian Foreign Ministry, with representatives of the Romanian community in Austria and with representatives of the Romanian students’ league in that country.
