June 15, 2014 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Valentin Țigău, 15.06.2014, 19:33
Ukraine’s president Petro Porosenko declared a day of national mourning on Sunday for the 49 soldiers and crew who died when the pro-Russian separatists shot down a Ukrainian transport plane at Luhansk. In another development, NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmusen told newspaper El Pais on Sunday that NATO is preparing measures aimed at helping Ukraine defend itself in its stand-off with Russia and must adapt to the fact that Moscow views it as an adversary. Last week NATO announced that it was considering together with other NATO states the Ukrainian requests on assistance in the field of communications, military training, weaponry and lethal aid. However, any assistance from NATO itself was likely to be advice rather than equipment.
Government forces backed by Shia militias on Saturday night took control over several localities in the north and north-east of Iraqi capital Baghdad, 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, yesterday deployed an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf.
On Sunday Romania marked 125 years since the death of its national poet Mihai Eminescu. Wreath laying ceremonies took place in front of the Romanian Atheneum in Bucharest, which also saw a special programme dedicated to the poet. At his grave in Bucharest, academicians Adam Puslojic from Serbia, Vasile Tarateanu from Ukraine and Mihai Cimpoi from the Republic of Moldova evoked the life and work of the great Romanian poet.
A Romanian professor has been decorated by the president of Germany for the promotion of German language and culture in the Romanian superior education system. His name is Constantin Anton Micu and he has been awarded the Cross in rank of Knight of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for having created over 70 lines of study in German, whose students are subsequently hired by German companies. 90% of these people choose to remain in Romania, professor Micu explained upon receiving the medal from the German ambassador in Bucharest Werner Hans Lauk, Radio Romania News and Current Affairs has announced.
Romanian foreign minister Titus Corlatean has voiced profound regret for the incident in which pro-Russian rebels shot down a Ukraine army transport plane in Luhansk killing all on board. 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 the 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.
