A round up of some of the main stories in Romania today.
The Romanian justice minister Tudorel Toader said on Sunday that no application has yet been submitted for the position of chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate, Monday being the deadline. The post has been vacant since the dismissal of Laura Codruta Kovesi on the 9th of July, when president Klaus Iohannis signed the dismissal order, one month after the publication of the Constitutional Court's justification of a ruling to that effect. Kovesi's dismissal had been requested by the justice minister and following the president's refusal to do so, considering the request to be unfounded, the Constitutional Court ruled that this would lead to a legal conflict of a constitutional nature.
The French and German ambassadors to Bucharest, Michele Ramis and Cord Meier-Klodt, respectively, are advising Romania to overcome internal fighting and take advantage of the opportunities provided by its upcoming presidency of the European Union Council. The two diplomats, alongside the US ambassador Hans Klemm, took part in a debate about Romania's place in Europe and the world held during the Histories and Film Festival in Rasnov, in the centre. Michele Ramis and Cord Meier-Klodt say Romania has the potential to play a crucial role in the region in an international context full of challenges. They warned that the European Union is today facing challenges both from inside and outside, such as terrorism, migration, scepticism and the violation of international laws. The US ambassador Hans Klemm praised the efforts made by Romania both before and after its NATO entry. He added that, as far as the US is concerned, Romania occupies an important place in the Alliance and recalled that it deploys the fourth largest amount of troops to the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.
The Romanian government is determined to support local cinematography and it encourages film producers to apply for funds as part of a state-funded scheme, said the first deputy prime minister Ana Birchall, who has attended the Ischia Global Film and Music Festival in Italy between the 19th and the 21st of July. She said the scheme covers non-reimbursable funds amounting to 35% of total expenses. Funding may increase if the production in question promotes, for example, a given geographical area or town or city from Romania. Ana Birchall had talks in Italy with leading producers and representatives of big international production companies, telling them to come and invest in Romania and make use of the opportunities provided by the local film-making industry.
Between the 23rd of July and the 6th of August, the Bucharest University is hosting its 58th edition of the summer courses for Romanian language, culture and civilisation, which is attended by 28 foreign students from Europe and the US. This year's edition is dedicated to the celebration of the Great Union of 1918 and the commemoration of the Romanian poet Nichita Stanescu. The young students take part in intensive Romanian language courses, workshops, conferences on Romanian culture and civilisation and cultural events and visit museums. This year will see the introduction of two workshops, one for media and advertising and the other for comic books. Other events include meetings with writers and literary critics, a debate on Cristian Mungiu's films, a less conventional encounter with traditional musical instruments and a music concert at the Romanian Athenaeum.
The Romanian pair Irina Begu and Andreea Mitu on Sunday defeated the Montenegrin-Belgian pair Danka Kovinic and Maryna Zanevska 6-3, 6-4 to win the doubles final of the BRD Bucharest Open tennis tournament worth over 226,000 dollars in prize money. Begu also won the doubles title last year, when she paired up with Raluca Olaru.
The Romanian fencer Ana Maria Popescu won the silver medal in the women's individual epee event at the Fencing World Champions in Wuxi, China. She lost the final to Italy's Mara Navarria, 13-9. Ana Maria Popescu has two bronze medals in individual events, which she won in 2002 and 2011, as well as two world team titles.
A yellow alert code for heavy rain and storms is in place in most of Romania for the next 48 hours. The first areas to be affected by heavy rain are the west and south-west and rains will then expand to the rest of the country, to the south, centre and east and at higher altitudes. Hail storms are also expected in some areas. Forecasts say the weather remains unstable all week.
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