June 3, 2019
A roundup of Romanian and international news
Newsroom, 03.06.2019, 13:49
POPE FRANCIS “May Virgin Mary extend her maternal protection to all the citizens of Romania, who throughout history have always placed their trust in her intercession. It is to the Mother of God that I entrust you all, and I pray for her to guide you on the path of faith, Pope Francis posted in Romanian on his Twitter account on Sunday night, after his visit to Romania. The 3-day apostolic and state visit was held under the motto “Lets walk together! Hundreds of thousands attended the public events held on this occasion in Bucharest, Sumuleu Ciuc, Iasi and Blaj.
NATO The opening ceremony of Saber Guardian 2019 multinational exercise took place in Romania today. The exercise is designed to highlight the cohesion, unity and solidarity of the allied and partner states in the defence against any threat, particularly by ensuring quick mobilisation and deployment anywhere in Europe. The joint training sessions in Romania include vehicle road marches, several live fire exercises, air defence artillery training and medical training, all culminating in a river crossing. As many as 7,600 Romanian troops are taking part.
EU Bucharest is hosting, on Monday and Tuesday, an informal meeting of the EU agriculture ministers, as part of the events held under the Romanian presidency of the Council of the EU. The European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan is also attending the meeting. Research in agriculture and bioeconomy will be one of the main topics of discussion. In the context of negotiations on the multi-annual budget of the Union, Romania, as holder of the rotating presidency of the EU Council, believes the strategic planning of the common agricultural policy has the potential to consolidate the implementation of bioeconomy and to build synergies with agricultural policy and rural development instruments. While in Bucharest today, Phil Hogan is also scheduled to have a meeting with PM Viorica Dancila.
FESTIVAL The 7th edition of Grand Prix Nova International Radio Drama Festival, organised by Radio Romania, begins in Bucharest today. Devoted to innovation in radio, the event brings together professionals from several countries. In this years edition, 41 radio drama productions are competing for the Grand Prize in the 3 sections: drama, shorts and binaural. The latter offers a new type of experience, namely 3D audio. The participating works provide an overview of the global cultural trends and styles in the field of radio work.
VISIT The US President Donald Trump is on a state visit to Britain as of today. The agenda includes meetings with members of the Royal Family and a private lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. The visit marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, and takes place in the context of the Brexit crisis and of PM Theresa Mays forthcoming resignation. On Tuesday the US President will have meetings with the outgoing PM Theresa May and with business leaders, and on Wednesday he will attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to mark June 6, 1944 when 160,000 British, American, French and other Allied troops landed in Nazi-occupied Normandy in WW2. Donald Trump will then travel to Ireland and France.
TENNIS Number 3 in the world and defending Roland Garros champion Simona Halep is playing today in the French Opens 8th-finals against Iga Swiatek of Poland (104 WTA). If she wins, Simona will be playing the quarter-finals against the winner of the match pitting Amanda Anisimova of the USA (51 WTA) against Aliona Bolsova (137 WTA) of the Republic of Moldova. Also today, in the mens doubles, the Romanian Horia Tecău and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer are taking on Guido Pella/Diego Sebastian Schwartzman of Argentina, in the quarter-finals.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
