May 21, 2016 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 21.05.2016, 12:30
VISIT Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos will on Sunday start an official four-day visit to the United States, during which he will be having talks with US Vice President Joseph Biden. According to a communiqué issued by the executive in Bucharest, the Romanian official will be meeting several high-ranking US officials, representatives of the business environment as well as members of the Romanian community in the Washington area. The visit is mainly aimed at highlighting the success of the strategic partnership with the USA in the field of security but it also has an economic dimension.
TENNIS Five Romanians will be playing on Roland Garros main draw, the years second Grand Slam tournament with prizes of 32 million dollars. The competition, which is due to start on Sunday will be pitting WTA sixth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania against Japans Nao Hibino, while Irina Begu will be playing Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the USA. Monica Niculescu will be up against French Pauline Parmentier, while Alexandra Dulgheru will be facing Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium. Sorana Carstea, also from Romania, will play against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the tournaments first round. The only male tennis player from Romania who qualified for the singles in Roland Garros, Adrian Ungur will be up against Igor Sijsling from the Netherlands.
NATO Romania is supporting the consolidation of NATOs eastern flank, the head of the Romanian diplomacy, Lazar Comanescu, said during the NATO foreign ministers meeting recently held in Brussels. He underlined the importance of the fact that the Alliance is paying increased attention to the latest security developments in the Black Sea area also pleading for an increased NATO assistance to partners in the region, such as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. NATO foreign ministers have decided to continue the mission in Afghanistan after 2016 as well. Comanescu has said that Romania has been and will continue to be one of the main contributors to the international alliance in Afghanistan.
FRIGATE French frigate Jean Bart has arrived in the Black Sea port of Constanta for a joint drill with the Romanian Naval Forces. The exercise is aimed at improving cooperation to carry out joint missions inside NATO. The French frigate will be joining Romanian frigate ‘Queen Maria and other seven Romanian warships, 800 Romanian soldiers as well as three Mig 21 fighter jets of the Romanian Armed Forces for anti-submarine exercises, artillery and anti-aircraft defence.
PLANE CRASH Flight MS 804 belonging to EgyptAir that crashed into the Mediterranean on Thursday had apparently mentioned smoke in the pilots cockpit several minutes before the contact was lost, French experts investigating the crash have reported. The Egyptian army reported that debris and body parts had been found 290 km north of the city of Alexandria. The plane, en route from Paris to Cairo had 66 on board mostly French and Egyptian citizens. A group affiliated to the Islamic State claims to have brought down the plane.
CANNES According to France Press, two Romanian productions are favourite in
the race for the most coveted Palme d’Or trophy. These are Cristian
Mungiu’s ‘Baccalaureate’, a 2007 Palme d’Or laureate about compromises and
corruption and director Cristi Puiu’s Sieranevada, a story with
autobiographical tinges unfolding during a commemoration. Another production
representing Romania in Cannes this year is Bogdan Mirica’s debut thriller
‘Dogs’, which is running in the Un Certain Regard section.
The award ceremony for Palme d’Or and the festival’s other prizes is due on
Sunday.
