August 13, 2016 UPDATE

Romania and the Republic of Moldova on Saturday observed a day of national mourning in memory of Queen Anne, the consort of Romanias last sovereign, Michael I/ The womens eight rowing crew brought the fourth medal to Romania, at Rio 2016

Bogdan Matei, 13.08.2016, 12:30

ROYALTY FUNERAL– Romania and the Republic of Moldova on Saturday observed a day of national mourning in memory of Queen Anne, the consort of Romanias last sovereign, Michael I. The ceremonies started on Saturday morning in front of the Royal Palace in Bucharest, with a burial service in the Catholic rite, as Queen Anne was a Catholic believer. The remains were laid to rest, in Curtea de Arges, Southern Romania, which hosts the final resting places of the Romanian Royalties. A burial service was celebrated in the Orthodox rite, the faith of the Romanian Royal House and of most Romanians. Among those attending the funeral were Romanian high officials as well as members of the Imperial Families of Russia, Austria and Germany, of the Royal Houses of the Netherlands and Belgium, of Luxembourg, Baden, Württemberg and Bourbon-Parma. Aged 94, and himself severely ill, King Michael could not attend the funeral of his wife, whom he visited every day in the Swiss hospital where she died of cancer, on August 1. Born in Paris, in 1923, Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma met King Michael in London, in 1947. The same year, on December 30, at a time when the country was practically under Soviet military occupation and was led by a puppet communist government, King Michael was forced to abdicate and into exile. The Royal Family returned to the country only after the Anti-communist Revolution of 1989 and regained Romanian citizenship, withdrawn by the communists, as well as some of the properties.

OLYMPIC UPDATE – Romania’s women’s eight rowing crew on Saturday won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Ranking first was the US, followed by Great Britain. This is the fourth medal grabbed by Romania at Rio 2016. On Friday, the Romanian tennis pair, Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau, won a silver medal and weightlifter Gabriel Sincraian got bronze in the 85-kilo category. Earlier, Romanias womens epee team had grabbed a gold medal, after defeating the current champion, China, in the finals, 44 – 38. “Through their talent, their stamina and after thousands of hours of training, Simona Gherman, Ana Maria Popescu, Simona Pop and Loredana Dinu have managed to bring Romania a gold medal, making an entire country proud of their performance, Romanias President, Klaus Iohannis, wrote on his Facebook page. In turn, PM Dacian Ciolos congratulated the Romanian athletes who won medals for Romania in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. “Such an extraordinary performance is impressive, unites us and brings us a lot of joy, says Dacian Ciolos.

BEIJING BOOK FAIR– Romania, alongside other central and east European countries is guest of honour at the International Book Fair in Beijing, which runs between August 24 and 28. Over 1,200 albums and books, brought out by 20 Romanian publishers will be put on show, as well as translations of various Romanian authors into foreign languages, published with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute. The program of the fair also includes book launches, among which the volume “Step by Step by Romanias President Klaus Iohannis and “The Grammar of the Contemporary Romanian Language, by Dong Xixiao. The presentation of Romanian books will be accompanied by recitals given by the traditional folk vocalist Grigore Lese and violinist Andrei Mihail. A show after Matei Visniecs play “Old Clown Wanted is also performed at the fair, in the attendance of the well-known Romanian playwright settled in France.

SKY NEWS REPORT – The three men featured in the report broadcast by the British Channel Sky News on alleged gun running in Romania have been taken into temporary custody. Initially, they were taken into custody for setting up an organised criminal group, violating the regime of arms and ammunition and circulating false information. Justice minister, Raluca Pruna, said the Romanian state should react to the issue. Earlier, PM Dacian Ciolos had termed the report as unacceptable and said a country cant be denigrated without proof. According to the Romanian prosecutors, the report was re-broadcast by mass-media institutions in Romania and other countries, and the facts presented in the report generated bad sentiment towards the Romanian state, as well as insecurity among Romanians. The inquiry shows that in reality, the so-called journalistic investigation was not based on real facts and circumstances, but staged by the journalists, who presented false data and information as true. The three alleged smugglers were requested, on July 31st, when the report was filmed, to speak the Romanian language, although their native language is Hungarian.

(Translated by Diana Vijeu)