2 January, 2018

A new anti-government protest was held in Bucharest on Monday night./ Three Romanian players have qualified for the last 16 of the Shenzhen tournament.

Newsroom, 02.01.2018, 13:38

Protests Bucharest. A new anti-government protest was held on Monday
night in Bucharest. The initiators are non-governmental organisations that
accuse the government and the parliamentary majority of trying to control the
judiciary by amending the legislation in the field. Last Wednesday, talks on
this subject between prime minister Mihai Tudose and the representatives of
civic organisations ended without a breakthrough. The civic activists had
requested the prime minister to notify the Venice Commission about the new
justice laws and the changes to the criminal codes, to postpone their
application through emergency order and to sack the justice minister Tudorel
Toader. In a joint letter, the Bucharest embassies of France, Denmark, Finland,
Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden called on all parties involved in
the justice reform process to avoid any action that may weaken the independence
of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. In response, the foreign
ministry said strengthening the rule of law and the fight against corruption
form part of the government’s priorities.

Republic of Moldova. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Moldova is today discussing a request to temporarily suspend president Igor
Dodon from office. Dodon refused for the second time to appoint the seven new
ministers proposed by the government, so a group of Moldovan MPs asked the
Constitutional Court to note that the president has violated the Constitution
and can thus be temporarily suspended. Radio Chisinau explains that with Dodon
suspended, an interim president would be able to sign the decrees on the appointment
of the new minister. A similar solution was used in October for the appointment
of the country’s defence minister.

Protests Iran. The European Union has expressed hope that people’s
right to demonstrate will be respected in Iran, which has been the site of
anti-government protests, some violent, for the last six days. The US president
Donald Trump said on Monday that the time for change has arrived in Iran.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in a number of cities across Iran
to protest against the government’s economic policies, the living standard and
corruption. 13 people have been killed and several hundred arrested since
demonstrations began last Thursday in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city,
before spreading to the rest of the country.

Cultural heritage. 2018 will be
the European Year of Cultural Heritage, following a decision by the European
Parliament and the European Council. The programme runs under the motto Our heritage: where the past meets the
future and is an excellent opportunity to discover the richness of European
heritage and foster a sense of European identity. 8 million euros is allocated
to this programme, which features events and information, education and
awareness raising campaigns encouraging citizens to get involved in the
protection of cultural heritage. With 453, Europe accounts for about a half of
UNESCO’s world heritage sites.

Tennis. The all-Romanian pair
Irina Begu and Simona Halep on Tuesday reached the doubles semifinals in a WTA
tournament in Shenzhen, in China, worth around 630,000 dollars in prize
money. Halep and Begu played a dramatic match against another all-Romanian
pair, Mihaela Buzarnescu and Irina Bara, which they won
in super-tiebreak, 13-11. Also on Tuesday, Romania’s Ana Bogdan defeated
Italy’s Camila Georgi in the singles to reach the last 16. Bogdan will next
face the Czech player Kristyna Pliskova. Two other Romanian players have
reached this round in the singles competition, namely Simona Halep and Irina
Begu. Halep, who is world no. 1 and is seeded first, will face the Chinese
player Ying-Ying
Duan, while Irina Begu, who is seeded fourth in this tournament, will play
against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Handball. The Romanian men’s
handball side have begun training for the Carpati Trophy which begins on the 5th
of January. Portugal, Tunisia and Bahrain are also taking part. Romania, who
are managed by the Spanish coach Xavi
Pascual, are also preparing for the first round of the 2019 World
Championships preliminary games to be held between the 11th and the
13th of January in Bolzano, Italy, and where they will face Ukraine
and the Faeroe Islands, as well as the host country. Only the winners of the
six preliminary groups qualify for the World Championships play-offs in June
2018. Last Saturday, Romania won the third place at the Yellow Cup tournament
in Winterthur, in Switzerland, after defeating Serbia in the third-place
play-off.