July 14, 2017
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Newsroom, 14.07.2017, 13:41
SABER GUARDIAN — The Romanian Foreign Ministry has hailed the 2017 Saber Guardian multinational military exercise, held on Romania’s territory by the United States Ground and Service Forces Europe. According to a Ministry press release, the exercise brings together over 20 NATO and partner states, with a significant number of troops and technical equipment, being the largest and most comprehensive military drill hosted by Romania in recent years. Saber Guardian is a key military exercise, contributing to consolidating defense and deterrence capabilities on NATO’s eastern flank and to developing interoperability between participant countries. The exercise is also a sign of solidarity, highlighting the robust trans-Atlantic relation and the bilateral strategic partnership between Romania and the United States, signed 20 years ago.
JULY 14 — The National Day of France is today marked at the French Embassy in Bucharest. The theme at this year’s cocktail party is sports, with famous Romanian and French athletes among the guests of honor. Attending the event will be Prime Minister Mihai Tudose. Last week former Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu met in Paris with his counterpart, Edouard Philippe. It was the first official meeting for Philippe after taking over as Prime Minister in May. Romania currently has a strategic bilateral partnership with France, signed in 2008.
ROMANIAN-FRENCH RELATIONS — Romania plays a key role in Central and Eastern Europe, promoting fundamental European values, French Ambassador to Bucharest Michele Ramis said. In an interview to RFI, Ramis said she wants to strengthen bilateral economic relations, which are good right now against the backdrop of economic growth in Romania. On the other hand, France will support Romania in preparing its term at the helm of the European Council in the first semester of 2019, Michele Ramis said.
WORLD EXHIBITION — Romania’s pavilion at the World Exhibition hosted by Astana, Kazakhstan, has a daily average number of 1,500 visitors, Mihail Dediu, the head of the Romanian delegation told Radio Romania. The theme this year is the energy of tomorrow. Romania’s pavilion is devoted to the high-power laser in Magurele, southern Romania, the largest research project in Romania in the last 50 years. Romania thus wants to promote Romania’s potential for innovation in the field of research, Mihail Dediu said.
CLIMATE CHANGE — Climate change will prompt a swift temperature spike, intensifying extreme meteorological phenomena and heavy downpours, causing crop failures and coral loss in the Asia-Pacific area, climatologists have warned. These developments are the result of the failure to observe the Paris Accord on Climate Change. Signed in 2015 and enacted in November 2016, the agreement provides for keeping a global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius as compared to pre-industrial levels. To reach this target, swifter and harsher measures are needed, climate experts argue. If the world’s population keeps emitting greenhouse gases fueling global warming, the average global temperature will rise by at least 4 degrees by the end of the century, and even by 6 degrees Celsius in some regions.
WIMBLEDON — The pair made up of Monica Niculescu of Romania and Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan is today playing Markota Ninomiya of Japan and Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic in the women’s doubles semi-finals at Wimbledon. Niculescu and Chan previously knocked out Catherine Bellis of the United States and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. This is Niculescu’s best performance in a Grand Slam doubles competition, after reaching the Roland Garros quarterfinals in 2010 and the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2012. The best-rated player from Romania right now, Simona Halep, WTA no. 2, was knocked out in the quarterfinals after losing to Johanna Konta of Great Britain.
FOOTBALL — Romanian football club Astra Giurgiu defeated 3-1 Zira FK of Azerbaijan in the first leg of the Europa League second preliminary round. The return leg will be played on July 20 in Baku. The other teams representing Romania in Europa League are Dinamo Bucharest and CSU Craiova. Playing in the Champions League preliminaries will be Viitorul Constanta and FCSB. (Translated by V. Palcu)
