April 24, 2014 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 24.04.2014, 20:07
Ukraine will not give in to the terrorist threats posed by the separatist insurgents supported by Russia, warned on Thursday the Ukrainian interim president Oleksandr Turcinov. He called on Moscow to stop interfering into Ukraine’s domestic affairs, to put an end to its blackmail and to pull out its troops from the border with Ukraine. On Thursday, the Russian army started fresh military maneuvers on the border with Ukraine, in response to the operations carried by Kiev authorities against the Pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country and the NATO exercises in eastern Europe. The announcement was made by the Russian Defense Ministry, a few hours after president Vladimir Putin had stated that the use of arms in eastern Ukraine was a crime against the Russian people, warning that would have consequences. Putin’s reaction was triggered by the Ukrainian operation in Slavianks, in the east, a city controlled by pro-Russian separatists. According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, five insurgents were allegedly killed and an Ukrainian soldier was wounded during the operation. In another move, on Thursday the Ukrainian police took control over the city hall of Mariupol, a port town with a population of 500 thousand people, which the separatists had occupied on April 13th.
The situation in Ukraine and the region is a big threat to the Republic of Moldova, but also an opportunity for its faster accession to the EU, said on Thursday Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on the public radio. He also said that first Romania, then the EU and the US should support the neighboring Moldova to integrate faster into the EU and NATO. In another move, the French Foreign Minister, Larent Fabius and his German counterpart Frank Walter Steinmeier announced in Chisinau on Wednesday that the EU would provide the Republic of Moldova with technical and financial support after the signing of the Association Agreement. The agreement was initialed in November 2913 and is to be signed in late June this year.
64% of the Romanian citizens believe that working conditions in Romania are bad, as compared to the EU average of 46%. 32% of them say conditions are good, according to the Eurobarometer published on Thursday, which analyzed the way in which crisis affected the quality of work in the EU. 55% of the interviewees believe that in the past five years working conditions have worsened in Romania. At European level there are big gaps between the member countries, the percentage of those satisfied ranging from 94% in Denmark to 38% in Greece To 58% of the Romanians stress sis the major threat to their health and safety at the work place. The European average stands at 53%.
Israel decided on Thursday to halt peace negotiations with Palestinians, in reaction to the inter-Palestinian reconciliation agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s’ office has announced. The Israeli government has stated it cannot carry on negotiations with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, a terrorist organization that seeks to destroy Israel. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, signed on Wednesday a reconciliation agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority. The agreement was signed at a time when peace negotiations had reached a deadlock. Since their resumption in July 2012, under the aegis of the the US, these negotiations have failed to render any concrete results.
Flood risk still looms in several counties in southern Romania, already affected by the rivers that have burst their banks. On Thursday, hydrologists issued a fresh code orange warning for flooding in place for the rivers in 9 counties in the south until Saturday evening. The code yellow warning for the other river basins in the south is still on. In the affected areas, water volumes may exceed 20 liters per square meter, and even 40 liters in certain areas. The weather remains unsettled in most regions of the country.
Romanian boxer Mustafa Arsen on Thursday won silver at the Youth World Championship in Sofia. In the final he was defeated by Ablaihan Jusupov from Kazakhstan. Following the result, Mustafa Arsen has qualified for the Youth Olimpyc Games, due to take place this year in Najing China, between August 16th — 28th.
