December 27, 2014 UPDATE
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Florentin Căpitănescu, 27.12.2014, 18:41
Pakistani troops have killed 55 Islamic militants either in direct clashes or in air strikes, the authorities in Islamabad on Saturday announced. The Pakistani army has stepped up its onslaught against the Islamists after last week the Taliban killed 136 children at a school in Peshawar, the northwest of the country. Their bloody attack has prompted the authorities to lift the moratorium on the death penalty. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on Islamabad to stop the executions after at least six detainees have been given the death penalty.
Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko on Saturday hailed the return of nearly 150 soldiers released as part of the largest prisoner swap between the pro-Russia rebels and the Ukrainian authorities to date. The prisoner swap was the only agreement obtained during the tensioned negotiations in Minsk, under OSCE mediation. A new round of talks was scheduled for Friday, but it was later cancelled. The negotiations have been resumed after a four-month deadlock; in the meantime the death toll of the conflict in Ukraine exceeded 47 hundred people.
On January 1st, the Romanian Cultural Institute in Brussels is taking over the presidency of the EUNIC network of the European Cultural Institutes in Belgium. With over 20 members, among which Alliance Francaise, British Council, Goethe-Institut, the Cervantes Institute, the Polish Institute, EUNIC Brussels supports multilingualism, intercultural dialogue, diversity and common European values. EUNIC boasts 89 networks in 74 countries.
As a first reaction to Russia’s new military doctrine, the North-Atlantic Alliance says that ‘any steps taken by NATO to ensure the security of its members are clearly defensive in nature, proportionate and in compliance with international law.’ The statement belongs to NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu who recalls that Russia’s actions in Ukraine are breaking international law. According to its spokeswoman, NATO will continue to seek a constructive relation with Moscow, only if the latter respects the right of nations to choose their own future in a free way. The new military doctrine, adopted on Friday, is defining NATO as a fundamental threat to Russia’s security.
Bad weather has eventually made its way to Romania, where meteorologists have announced a code yellow alert for snowfalls, gale force wind, mixed precipitations and glazed frost in most of the regions. Temperatures are to drop to minus 8 degrees centigrade, while a fresh wave of cold is expected to begin on Sunday.
