August 6, 2018 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 06.08.2018, 19:08
PROCEDURE – The Romanian Justice Ministry on Monday started again the procedure for the selection of the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate, which will last until September 6. Candidates can apply until August 24. A similar procedure, carried out in July, produced no result, as all four candidacies were rejected by the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader. The chief-prosecutor position became vacant last month, when president Klaus Iohannis dismissed Laura Codruta Kovesi, in order to comply with a Constitutional Court ruling. The interim chief-prosecutor has been Anca Jurma, a former adviser to Ms. Kovesi.
REACTION – The anti-Semitic graffiti that was painted on the Elie Wiesel Memorial House in Sighetu Marmatiei, in northern Romania, has been erased. The vandalization of the house where the Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was born has been condemned by the Romanian Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in Bucharest. The Romanian Deputy Prime Minister Ana Birchall has reacted too, writing on a social network that Antisemitism, discrimination and violence are manifestations of intolerance, which Romania has committed to combating, including when it held the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The Romanian police started an investigation into the matter.
LABOUR – More than 55% of Romanians would like to work abroad, according to the most recent study conducted internationally by one of the most important Romanian online recruitment companies and the worlds biggest business consultant. Most of Romanians who want to work abroad are under 30 and have a university degree. The top ten countries where they would like to work are Germany, the UK, France, Switzerland, the US, Canada, Austria, Spain, Belgium and Italy. At the same time, Romania is among the top five countries preferred by respondents from Israel, South Korea, Italy, Turkey, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Norway, Greece or Qatar. Among the reasons why they would like to work abroad, Romanians have mentioned political instability in Romania, as well as the need for a better standard of living, access to better government and social services and better job opportunities.
MOLDOVA – As of Monday, the Russian Federation has a new ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, the former Soviet republic with a predominantly Romanian-speaking population. The new ambassador, Oleg Vasnetsov, is a career diplomat and former head of department with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has thus replaced Farit Mukhametshin, who was called back home for exceeding the age limit for public office. The Russian publication “Kommmersant” reads that the change occurred after an unprecedented deterioration of the relations between Moldova and the Russian Federation. In March this year, three diplomats with the Russian Embassy in Chisinau were declared persona non grata, as a token of solidarity with Great Britain, in the Skripal case. In May last year, Chisinau had expelled another five diplomats, accused of espionage.
FILM FESTIVAL – The village of Sfantu Gheorghe in the Danube Delta, south-eastern Romania, is hosting the 15th “Anonimul” International Independent Film Festival. Three Faces, the most recent film by the Iranian director Jafar Panahi, which won the award for best script at this years edition of the Cannes Film festival, opened the event, followed by Radu Judes “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians”, which is Romanias proposal for next years Academy Awards. 6 Romanian and foreign feature films and 26 short-reels have been selected for the official competition. Films awarded at international competitions this year will also be screened during the festival, followed by Q&A sessions with the production teams, public debates with film producers, critics and special guests. The Kazak director Emir Baigazin will this year be awarded the Anonimul Trophy for his contribution to the beauty of universal cinema.
TENNIS – 6 Romanian female tennis players are taking part in the singles competition of the tournament in Montreal, with 2.8 million dollars in prize money. Simona Halep, worlds number one player, is first seed at the tournament, which she won before in 2016. She will play straight into the second round. Irina Begu, ranking 55th in the WTA classification will play on Tuesday against the Australian Ashleigh Barty. Sorana Cirstea will play against another Romanian, Monica Niculescu, Mihaela Buzarnescu against the Chinese Qiang Wang, and Ana Bogdan will take on Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
