Seoul – On the last day of the visit of Romania’s President, Klaus Iohannis, to South Korea, the official delegation visited, today, the Doosan Enerbility complex in Busan, a world leader in energy production. On Tuesday evening, the Romanian president participated in an exhibition of traditional Romanian art. During his visit to Seoul, Romania and South Korea decided to expand their bilateral cooperation, by signing a joint declaration on strengthening the bilateral strategic partnership and several cooperation agreements in the fields of defense, energy or emergency situations management.
Study – The number of Romanian children whose parents went to work abroad is five times higher than the official figures show, and the local authorities need more information about them, so as to be able to develop programs to help them. These are the main conclusions of a study carried out by the “Save the Children Romania” organization for the south-eastern region of the country, where 57,000 minors are in such a situation. The data also show that almost 14% of children in Romania had, in the last year, at least one parent who went to work abroad, and those left in the care of grandparents, relatives or, sometimes, left to fend for themselves run a higher risk of dropping out of school, are more prone to emotional trauma and more vulnerable to violence and bullying.
Cannes – Two Romanian films are in the official selection of the famous Cannes Film Festival in France: the feature film “Three kilometers to the end of the world”, the story of the complicated relationships between a teenager and his parents, directed by Emanuel Pârvu, and the documentary “Nasty”, about the life and career of the first world number one in men’s tennis, the Romanian Ilie Năstase, made by Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu. “Nasty” will be presented in the Special Screenings section. The Cannes festival also invited in the competition an Iranian filmmaker who criticizes the fundamentalist regime in Tehran, Mohammad Rasoulof. A total of 22 films will compete in 2024 to win the Palme d’Or trophy. The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival will take place between May 14-25.
Report – The US State Department published the annual report on human rights observance in Romania. The document shows that in 2023, human rights were affected by “serious government corruption” and the authorities sometimes did not do enough against officials who committed abuses. The report also shows that there is inefficiency and lack of accountability in relation to judicial oversight, and bribery was perceived to be common in the public sector. According to Washington, there are also problems in Romania regarding domestic violence and ethnic discrimination.
Fair – Today, the largest book fair in Transylvania – Gaudeamus, organized by Radio Romania, begins in Cluj-Napoca (north-west). The event reached its 23rd edition. 16 pavilions host 60 stands of 85 publishing houses. The fair offers books, music and educational games. There are several thousand books in Romanian, in international languages and in the languages of the national minorities living in Romania. All in all, more than 40 launches and book presentations are scheduled, as well as meetings between writers and readers. The first launch is that of the volume “Naraton” by the late writer Cornel Udrea, one of the voices of the Cluj public radio, who passed away a few days ago.
Handball – The Romanian men’s handball champions, CS Dinamo Bucharest, defeated the Danish team Skjern Handbold, on Tuesday evening, at home, with the score 28-27, in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the EHF European League. More than 2,500 spectators were in the stands, and Dinamo’s coach, the famous Spanish technician Xavi Pascual, said he was delighted with the victory. The second leg takes place on April 30 in Denmark. The winning team advances to the European League Final Four in Hamburg, Germany.
Court – The Constitutional Court of Romania is going to debate, today, the notification submitted by Save Romania Union – USR and the opposition Force of the Right in relation to the law for amending and completing the ordinance on road transport. The opposition MPs criticize the law, on the grounds that it would once again postpone the real liberalization of the road transport of people, in order to defend what they call the interests of the politically protected mafia. Today’s agenda of the Constitutional Court also includes several notifications submitted by President Klaus Iohannis. (LS)