July 7, 2017

Hamburg hosts the G20 summit; Romania's GDP has gone up in the first quarter of the year

Ştefan Stoica, 07.07.2017, 13:55

G20 – Hamburg, in northern Germany, plays host today to the G20 meeting. World leaders will discuss trade, climate change, as well as the North Korean nuclear threat. The main event is expected to be the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to press sources, the discussions between the two are expected to focus on a number of sensitive topics, such as the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria, sanctions imposed on Russia, as well as Russian meddling in the last US presidential elections. The German authorities have taken strict security measures, after security forces last night faced off against protesters against capitalism. Dozens of police have been injured in street fighting. Clashes between police and protesters continue today.

GDP – Romania’s GDP in the first quarter of the year was 5.7% higher than the similar period in 2016, according to preliminary data from the National Institute of Statistics issued today. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2016, the GDP in the first quarter of 2017 was higher by 1.7% in real terms. In its latest report, the World Bank adjusted its prediction for economic growth to 4.4% for this year, compared to the figure issued in January, which was 3.7%. The IMF also adjusted its expectation for economic growth this year from 3.8 to 4.2%. In Bucharest, the National Forecast Commission said that this year Romania’s economic growth was 5.2%.

TENNIS – Romania’s top tennis player, Simona Halep, number two in the world, plays today against Shuai Peng of China, ranked 37th in the world. The game is in the third round of the grass court tournament in Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the year. Romanian player Sorana Cirstea, 63rd seeded, qualified to the third round on Thursday after winning the game against American player Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 103rd seeded. The US player had to abandon the game after sustaining a severe injury. Cirstea will play on Saturday for a place in the eighth finals with Garbine Muguruza of Spain, ranked 15th. In the men’s doubles, the pair Florin Mergea of Romania and Pakistani player Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi has qualified to the second round. On Saturday, they will play against the all Austrian pair Julian Knowle and Philipp Oswald.

FESTIVAL – Over 150,000 people are expected today at the Neversea music festival, taking place in Constanta this weekend, the biggest of the festivals taking place on the Romanian Black Sea beach this summer. The three day event gathers over 100 famous artists, such as Tiesto, Afrojack, Jason Derulo, Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Fatboy Slim, Years&Years, and Ella Eyre. At the same time, the village of Garana is the venue for the 21st edition of the International Jazz Festival, the most complex outdoor event of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe, bringing to the stage 18 bands.