January 18, 2014
For a roundup of domestic and international news, click here.
Bogdan Matei, 18.01.2014, 12:00
VISIT – Romania’s president Traian Basescu has praised Romanian-Israeli relations. President Basescu told the Israeli press that during a visit to Israel scheduled for next week, he would hold talks with his counterpart Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as other high-ranking officials. Basescu went on to say that peace in the Middle East could not be achieved without guaranteeing security for Israel, adding that Palestinians also deserved a state of their own. The President insisted on conveying his personal greetings to Romanian-speaking Israelis, among whom some of his former schoolmates. Some 400,000 Israeli citizens at present are Romanian-born or come from a Romanian-speaking family.
IMMIGRATION – The National Strategy established by the Government in Bucharest with respect to immigration provides for setting up a legal framework aimed at helping foreigners studying in Romania obtain a permanent residence permit. According to a project put up for debate on the website of the Interior Ministry, the framework addresses graduates in fields with a shortage of highly-skilled workforce, as well as those involved in research projects. Moreover, the Government wants to create a flexible system allowing foreign investors to enter the country and stay here. Under the new programme the list of states whose citizens must obtain a special invitation before applying for a short-stay visa will be revised. Analysts say the strategy is an attempt to attract more foreign investment and to tackle the shortage of specialists facing Romania at present, given that many have chosen to relocate in the West. Some 3 million Romanians have left the country since the anti-communist revolution of 1989.
BOXING – Romanian boxer Lucian Bute, a former world champion in the super middleweight category, will be taking on Jean Pascal of Haiti in a boxing gala hosted by Montreal. The match was originally scheduled for last year, but it was postponed after Bute underwent an urgent surgery. With 31 wins out of 32 matches in his professional career, Bute lost his IBF super middleweight belt in 2012 to Carl Froch of the United Kingdom.
WEEK OF PRAYER – Bucharest is playing host until January 25 to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. According to a press release of the Romanian Orthodox Patriarchate, prayers will be held in churches belonging to all religious denominations in Bucharest, which includes Orthodox, Roman-Catholic, Greek-Catholic, Anglican, Calvinist, Envagelical and Armenian churches. Marked every year since 1908, the Week of Prayer is an initiative promoted by the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
BOMB ATTACK – The head of the IMF mission to Afghanistan, as well as four UN employees and five children are among the 21 people killed in a suicide bomb attack on a public restaurant in Kabul. The restaurant was a popular site among foreigners, diplomats and humanitarian officials. Officials say the restaurant was packed at the time of the attack. The international community has criticized the attack, against the backdrop of the scheduled withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. A terrorist Taliban cell has claimed responsibility.
TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, currently 11th-ranked in WTA standings, has qualified to the Australian Open round of 16 for the first time in her professional career. On Saturday Halep brushed aside Zarina Dias of Kazakhstan, 6-1, 6-4. Halep has thus repeated her career best of last year, when she qualified to the US Open round of 16. In the next round Halep will play Jelena Jankovici of Serbia. In the mixed doubles competition, Romanian Horia Tecau and Sania Mirza of India have qualified to the round of 16, after pulling a win over Robert Lindstedt of Sweden and Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan, score 4-6, 7-6, 10-3. Seeded 6th in the competition, Tecau and Mirza will play the winner of the match pitting Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia or Anastasia Rodionova of Australia and Colin Fleming of the United Kingdom.
