Romania’s Higher Council of Magistracy has a new leadership / World's No. 1 Simona Halep wins the Shenzhen Open
LEADERSHIP - Romania’s Higher Council of Magistracy (CSM) has a new leadership as of Friday, as judge Simona Camelia Marcu was appointed president of the institution and prosecutor Codrut Olaru vice-president. The two spoke about unity in the system and openness towards the other state institutions. Simona Marcu pointed out that the justice system is meant to serve the citizens while Codrut Olaru pleaded for full constitutional and legal guarantees aimed at consolidating the magistrates’ status. Attending the CSM meeting, Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, criticised the adoption by Parliament of the justice laws. The recent amendments to the justice laws by the ruling coalition made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats were highly contested by the right-of-centre Opposition and a part of the civil society and the magistrates, who argued that the new laws are confusing and against the principles of the Constitution. The Power, however, says that these laws have not been revised for 13 years, which has generated anomalies as to the magistrates’ career and has allowed prosecutors and judges to commit abuse.
TENNIS - World’s no. 1 Simona Halep won the Shenzhen Open on Saturday. She defeated Katerina Siniakova, of the Chech Republic, in three sets, 6-1, 2-6, 6-0. On Friday, defending champion Siniakova defeated Maria Sharapova 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in her first meeting with the five-time major winner, to reach the final of the Shenzhen Open. In the first semi-final in Shenzhen on Friday, Halep defeated her fellow Romanian, Irina Begu.
EPIPHANY – Christians celebrate today the Feast of Epiphany. Religious services are held in churches and monasteries to bless the water, which is believed to have healing and spiritual cleansing powers. On Sunday, Orthodox Christians will celebrate Saint John the Baptist. He baptised Jesus in the Jordan river, revealing to people that he was the Messiah. The religious celebrations of the Epiphany and Saint John the Baptist mark the end of the winter celebrations and those dedicated to the nativity of Christ. As many as 2 million Romanians are named after Saint John.
TALKS - Romanian President Klaus Iohannis discussed on Friday, over the phone, with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the initiative of the latter, about a possible relocation of Romania’s Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. According to a release of the Romanian presidential administration, Jerusalem is an important topic in the peace negotiations in the Middle East, and its status should be decided following a direct accord between Israelis and Palestinians. Romania emphasised the need for a fair and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, through the implementation of the so-called ”two-state solution”, that would create an independent Israel and Palestine, able to cohabit in peace. Consequently, a decision regarding the relocation of Romania’s Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem can only be taken based on the aforementioned elements, by taking into account the future evolutions of the peace process in the Middle East and the status of Jerusalem. President Iohannis assured PM Netanyahu of the fact that Romania further supports the development, consolidation and diversification of its relationship with Israel, which has a strategic character.
VISIT – Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced that at the end of next week he would visit several countries in Eastern Europe, including Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This will be the first visit by a Japanese Prime Minister to this region, Kyodo news agency reports. “I will expand the borders of Japanese diplomacy, while at the same time asserting our close coordination in connection to North Korea and other pressing issues facing the international community”, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
TOURISM – The number of bookings with Romania’s tourist accommodation units has gone up by 6.2% in the first 11 months of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016, totalling 25 million, reads a recent survey published by the National Statistics Institute. Arrivals in Romania reached 11 million, up by 10.4%. Romanians accounted for nearly 80% of total accommodations, as compared to foreign tourists representing 20%. With a 73% share, most tourists came from Europe, while 85% of these were citizens of EU Member states.
HANDBALL - The international competition Carpati Trophy kicks-starts today in the southern Romanian town of Calarasi, pitting Romania against Portugal. Joining Romania for the competition are the teams of Tunisia, Portugal and Bahrain. For the Romanian national squad, the Carpati Trophy is their last test confrontation ahead of the 2019 edition of the World Championship preliminaries. (Translated by Elena Enache)
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