Romanian President appoints new Prime Minister
Bucharest, June 27 (IANS): Romanian President Klaus Iohannis appointed Social Democrat Mihai Tudose, candidate proposed by the parliamentary majority, as Prime Minister and mandated him to form a new government. “The crisis we are going through…seriously damages Romania. It damages the Romanian economy, the image of Romania in the world,” Iohannis said on Monday at Cotroceni Presidential Palace when announcing his decision, stressing that “the crisis must end as soon as possible”. Tudose was officially validated as proposal for the Prime Minister office earlier Monday by the National Executive Committee convention of the main ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD). Tudose, 50, is the acting Minister of Economy in the government led by Sorin Grindeanu which was dismissed by a motion of censure last week.
Ex-French PM exits Socialist Party
Paris, June 27 (IANS): Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday announced that he was exiting the outgoing ruling Socialist Party and wants to join President Emmanuel Macron’s parliamentary majority. “I want to sit in the heart of this majority … Part of my political life comes to an end. I leave the Socialist Party, or the Socialist Party leaves me,” Valls told RTL radio. “I will not sit in the group where there are ambiguities, where they will not vote confidence in the government. I will vote confidence in the government on July 4.” During the campaign for legislative elections held earlier this month, Valls expressed his desire to compete for a seat in the National Assembly under the banner of Macron’s The Republic on The Move (LREM) party, reports Xinhua news agency. Valls, who failed to book a ticket for the Elysee Palace in the left primary earlier this year, has been a member of the Socialist Party for more than three decades. The majority of representatives of the novice movement are untested faces with different backgrounds.
Israel bombards Hamas positions in Gaza
Tel Aviv, June 27 (IANS): The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Tuesday bombarded two Hamas positions, the governing authority in the Gaza Strip, following a missile attack on Israeli territory that caused no casualties. The rocket launched from Gaza earlier on Tuesday hit near the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council in southern Israel, according to the IDF. “In response to projectile fire from Gaza earlier today, IAF aircraft targeted two Hamas military infrastructures in Gaza,” the IDF said. Meanwhile, Palestinian security and medical sources reported that several explosions were heard in Gaza City and south of the coastal enclave, reports Efe news. Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra told the media that no injuries were reported and several rescue teams were deployed to the area of the attacks.
Libyan man burns himself in protest in Tripoli
Tripoli, June 27 (IANS): A Libyan young man on Tuesday burned himself in central Tripoli in protest against his poor living conditions. According to a Tripoli hospital, Abu-Alqasem, 28, was in critical condition, with burns covering nearly all of his body, reports Xinhua news agency. Social media posted a video clip showing Abu-Alqasem setting himself alight in the centre of Martyrs Square and another man trying to extinguish the fire.
350 migrants land in Sicily, six traffickers held
Rome, June 27 (IANS/AKI): Police in Sicily arrested a Nigerian, a Bangladeshi and a Gambian accused of people trafficking after a boat with 267 migrants on board arrived at the port of Pozzallo. Police also held three Ukraians after 100 migrants landed in eastern Sicily. The 25-year-old Nigerian, the 18-year-old Bangladeshi and the 20-year-old Gambian were identified by migrants about the boat, which docked in Pozzallo on Sunday. Passengers aboard the boat included pregnant women and minors, according to port officials. The migrants were rescued on Monday from a rubber dinghy and a fishing boat in the Mediterranean that were beginning to take on water.
