Radio România Internațional

Tag: Kurds

  • July 30, 2016 UPDATE

    July 30, 2016 UPDATE

    AIR SHOW – The 8th edition of Bucharest International Air Show, the biggest air show in Romania was held on Saturday in the capital city. The event was a demonstration with an emphasis on military aviation and the Romanian Air Forces took part in it with all their models. The show included 100 civil and military aircraft and 250 pilots and parachutists from countries such as Romania, Spain, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, the US, Greece, Austria, Belgium and Lithuania.




    CONFLICT – The Turkish military has killed 35 Kurdish militants after they attempted to storm a base in the south-eastern Hakkari province, military officials say. The overnight attack came hours after clashes in Hakkaris Cukurca district between soldiers and militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that left eight soldiers dead, the military officials said. The attack, that took place close to the border with Iraq, is one of the bloodiest ones since the attempted coup of July 15th. The battle between Kurdish fighters and the Turkish army have continued even after the coup. In fact, the number of Kurdish attacks has increased in the past year. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK — designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union — began its insurgency in 1984.




    NATO – A large-scale military exercise is under way, until August 7th in Cincu, central Romania. As many as 2700 soldiers from 10 countries are taking part in it. Participating are NATO members, namely Romania, the USA, Canada, Poland and Bulgaria, joined by five members of the Partnership for Peace: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.




    CORRUPTION — The deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania, Bogdan Olteanu, was placed under 30-day house arrest on Friday. Olteanu had been taken into custody on Thursday night for influence peddling. According to prosecutors, between July and November 2008, while serving as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Olteanu requested and received 1 million euro and election support from a business man, in exchange for appointing someone as governor of the Danube Delta. The same source mentions that the individual in question was appointed Danube Delta governor in September 2008. Olteanu’s lawyer has announced that on Monday his client will submit his resignation from the position of deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania. A Liberal since 1991, Bogdan Olteanu has been a deputy governor of Romania’s central bank since 2009. The National Bank explained in a news release that the investigation targets Bogdan Olteanu’s activity before he was appointed deputy governor.




    BREXIT – Most Scots still back remaining in the United Kingdom despite Britons voting to leave the European Union, a move that was opposed by the majority in Scotland, according to an opinion poll published on Saturday, Reuters reports. Scotlands nationalist First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the vote for Brexit had put Scottish independence back on the agenda just two years after it was rejected in a referendum. While Britons backed leaving the EU by 52percent, Scots voted by 62percent to remain in the bloc. However according to Saturdays YouGov survey, 53 percent of Scots wanted to stay part of the United Kingdom with 47 percent backing independence, Reuters reports.




    TERRORISM – Two brothers suspected of involvement in terrorist activities were detained on Friday evening in Belgium. The two allegedly planned attacks on the country’s territory. In this stage of the investigation, there is no connection between suspects and the investigation into the attacks committed on March 22nd in Belgium’s capital that claimed the life of 32 people.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)




  • July 30, 2016

    July 30, 2016

    NATO – A large-scale military exercise is under way, until August 7th in Cincu, central Romania. As many as 2700 soldiers from 10 countries are taking part in it. Participating are NATO members, namely Romania, the USA, Canada, Poland and Bulgaria, joined by five members of the Partnership for Peace: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.




    CORRUPTION — The deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania, Bogdan Olteanu, was placed under 30-day house arrest on Friday. Olteanu had been taken into custody on Thursday night for influence peddling. According to prosecutors, between July and November 2008, while serving as Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Olteanu requested and received 1 million euro and election support from a business man, in exchange for appointing someone as governor of the Danube Delta. The same source mentions that the individual in question was appointed Danube Delta governor in September 2008. Olteanu’s lawyer has announced that on Monday his client will submit his resignation from the position of deputy governor of the National Bank of Romania. A Liberal since 1991, Bogdan Olteanu has been a deputy governor of Romania’s central bank since 2009. The National Bank explained in a news release that the investigation targets Bogdan Olteanu’s activity before he was appointed deputy governor.




    CONFLICT – As many as eight Turkish soldiers have been killed on Saturday morning by armed fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The attack, that took place close to the border with Iraq, is one of the bloodiest ones since the attempted coup of July 15th. The battle between Kurdish fighters and the Turkish army have continued even after the coup. In fact, the number of Kurdish attacks has increased in the past year. The Ankara Government’s conflict with the PKK, an organisation seen as terrorist by the US and the EU, which has made over 40 thousand victims since 1984 up to present.




    BREXIT – Most Scots still back remaining in the United Kingdom despite Britons voting to leave the European Union, a move that was opposed by the majority in Scotland, according to an opinion poll published on Saturday, Reuters reports. Scotlands nationalist First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the vote for Brexit had put Scottish independence back on the agenda just two years after it was rejected in a referendum. While Britons backed leaving the EU by 52percent, Scots voted by 62percent to remain in the bloc. However according to Saturdays YouGov survey, 53 percent of Scots wanted to stay part of the United Kingdom with 47 percent backing independence, Reuters reports.




    TERRORISM – Two brothers suspected of involvement in terrorist activities were detained on Friday evening in Belgium. The two allegedly planned attacks on the country’s territory. In this stage of the investigation, there is no connection between suspects and the investigation into the attacks committed on March 22nd in Belgium’s capital that claimed the life of 32 people.




    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 5 in the world, is today playing against WTA’s 2nd seed, Angelique Kerber in the semi-finals of the Montreal tournament, worth 2.5 million dollars. In the quarterfinals, Halep defeated Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova (WTA’s 11th seed) in three sets. Halep also qualified to the semi-finals in women’s doubles alongside Romanian Monica Niculescu, and will next meet the team Andreja Klepca / Katarina Strebotnik of Slovenia.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)


  • March 29, 2016

    March 29, 2016

    HIJACKED PLANE – An EgyptAir plane on a flight between Alexandria and Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Larnaca, Cyprus. The hijacker is an Egyptian citizen, a professor at the University of Alexandria. Civil aviation authorities have announced that, following negotiations, the hijacker released all the people onboard except for four foreign passengers and the crew. About 60 people, including seven crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320. The airport in Larnaca has been closed and flights redirected to the one in Paphos, in western Cyprus.




    COLECTIV – State Secretary with the Interior Ministry, Raed Arafat, said he was considering resignation but only if Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos asked it. On Monday, Arafat took part in a meeting with the PM’s Control Body to give explanations for irregularities found in how the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU), which he coordinates, acted in the case of the Colectiv nightclub fire that killed 64 people. One of the conclusions of the meeting was that the report of the Control Body needed to be reviewed, as it included ungrounded and unacceptable statements regarding the DSU’s activity.




    CONFLICT– Turkish security forces have killed over 5,300 militants belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since its ceasefire with the Turkish state collapsed in July 2015, Anadolu news agency quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying. According to President Erdogan, 350 state security forces had been killed in the past nine months alone. PKK suspended the ceasefire agreement with Turkey after the brutal intervention of state security forces in reaction to a series of attacks. Pundits say Erdogan has been using the war against the IS terrorist group to suppress Kurds. The Kurdish population in southeast Turkey and northern Syria, Iraq and Iran wants to form an autonomous state, Kurdistan. Over the past four decades, the conflict between PKK and Turkish security forces has made around 40,000 victims.




    BUDGET – Romania’s National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) collected 43.7 billion euros last year, by 7.8% more than in 2014, according to the institution’s report made public today. According to the document, the revenues to the state budget accounted for 27.9% of the GDP, 0.5% more than in 2014. At the same time, VAT collection went up by 12% while the collection of the tax on profit also increased, by 13%.




    FILM – Radu Jude’s feature film “Aferim!” is the winner of the 10th edition of the Gopo Awards Gala held on Monday evening in Bucharest. The film won all 12 categories in which it was nominated, including best film, best director and best lead actor. Teodor Corban ( “Aferim!”) and Ioana Flora (“Back Home”) won the award for best actors in a lead role. Actor Nicolae Constantin won the award for Debut for his performance in the feature film “The World is Mine” while actor Florin Piersic won the award for his entire artistic career.



    TENNIS – Romania’s best tennis player Simona Halep, No. 5 in the world, is today playing against Timea Bacsinszky (20 WTA) of Switzerland in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open, with 6 million dollars in prize money. In the fourth round, Halep defeated British Heather Watson, 6-3, 6-4. In the same round, another Romanian, Irina Begu (35WTA), was defeated by American Madison Keys (24 WTA), while Monica Niculescu (33 WTA) lost to Johanna Konta (23 WTA). On the other hand, in the fourth round, Niculescu and Russian Margarita Gasparian defeated in two sets 6-4, 6-2, Martina Hingis (Elvetia) and Sania Mirza (India), the competition’s favourites in women’s doubles.



    (Translated by Elena Enache)