June 3, 2018

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Newsroom, 03.06.2018, 13:43

EXERCISE — Until June 17, 30 Romanian marines and two staff officers are participating in the multinational drill BALTOPS 18, one of the biggest joint drills in northern Europe. The maneuvers are to be held in Lithuania, Poland, Germany and the international waters of the Baltic Sea. BALTOPS 18 is an annual drill staged and funded by the United States European Command (EUCOM). The participation of the Romanian troops in these maneuvers significantly increase their training level at the same time boosting the image of Romania and its naval forces in terms of cooperation with NATO structures, the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Navy has pointed out.

NORTH KOREA — US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said North Korea must make verifiable and irreversible steps towards denuclearization if it wants the UN to lift the sanctions. The US official is attending a security summit in Singapore. US President Donald Trump will meet North-Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on June 12 in Singapore, for talks over a peaceful solution to North Korea’s nuclear programme. Pyongyang accepted to start talks on denuclearization, provided the process goes both ways.

TIFF — Marcelo Martinessi’s The Heiresses has scooped the grand prize of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF), one of Europe’s biggest such events hosted by Cluj-Napoca, northwestern Romania. The awards gala also brought an homage to Romanian director Lucian Pintilie, who recently passed away. French actress Fanny Ardant grabbed the lifelong achievement award. This year’s edition included 227 productions, 178 feature films and 49 short reels from all over the world. In the Romanian film section some 35 local productions were screened, among which Adina Pintilie’s Touch Me Not, which won the Golden Bear this year, as well as Andrei Cretulescu’s debut feature Charleston. This year’s guest of honor was opera singer Angela Gheorghiu.

ELECTION IN MOLDOVA — Moldovan citizens residing in Chisinau are today voting in the second ballot of local elections. After the first round, Socialist Ion Ceban, a close associate of pro-Russian president Igor Dodon, is running against the candidate of the Dignity and Truth platform, the former pro-European civic militant Andrei Nastase. The office of mayor was left vacant after the pro-European Liberal Dorin Chirtoaca resigned, being investigated in a corruption case which he claims to be politically instrumented.

ELECTION IN SLOVENIA — Some 1,7 million voters are today taking part in legislative election in Slovenia, where the former Conservative Prime Minister Janez Jansa hopes to win a new term in office. Defeated in 2014 after campaigning out of prison, where he was serving a corruption sentence, Janez Jansa, aged 59, is seen as favourite to win, with over 25% of voters’ choice. The leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party will most likely win the election to the detriment of the current Prime Minister, Miro Cerar, whose position has been weakened during his four-year term in office, despite a record-high economic growth. His Modern Center Party will reportedly grab only 9.3% of voters’ choice. 25 political parties have enrolled in this year’s legislative election.

TENNIS — Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world number one and seeded first at Roland Garros, on Saturday secured qualification to the round of 16 at the French Open, after brushing aside Germany’s Andrea Petkovic in straight sets, 7-5, 6-nil. Another Romanian, Mihaela Buzarnescu, qualified to the round of 16. Irina Begu lost to Caroline Garcia of France, 6-1, 6-4. Begu also lost the doubles match against Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain, 6-3, 7-5 in the opening round of the doubles competition. Irina Maria Bara and Mihaela Buzarnescu will compete in the doubles’ round of 16, playing against Jennifer Brady and Vania King of the United States, while Sorana Cirstea and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain will play Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan and Zhaoxuan Yang of China, the competition’s eighth-seeds.

(Translated by V. Palcu)