October 6th, 2013
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Mihai Pelin, 06.10.2013, 13:55
Two earthquakes of 5.5 and 2.7 Richter degrees took place on Sunday morning in Vrancea county, southeastern Romania. The first quake was felt in several cities across Romania, including Bucharest. No material damage was reported. Six earthquakes of up to 4 degrees on the Richter scale have rocked Romania since March this year. Over 30 tremors with the magnitude above 2.5 Richter degrees have reportedly taken place in Galati, eastern Romania, in the past two weeks.
Runners from 35 countries, including 15 of the world’s best athletes have convened in the Romanian capital city for the 6th edition of the Bucharest International Marathon. A wheelchair racing, marathon, half marathon, relay marathon races and a competition for amateurs have been scheduled for Sunday. According to organizers, six Romanian runners will be trying to set a world record for running tied to each other. Saturday saw a children’s race and a babies’ race, when over 100 parents ran pushing their baby strollers in an 8 hundred meter dash.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is to take part in a ceremony in the Red Square on Sunday devoted to the start of the Sochi 2014 Olympic torch relay, sources with the Kremlin have announced. The flame was lit in a traditional ceremony in Ancient Olympia, Greece, last Sunday and after a tour of 33 towns and cities was transported from Athens to Moscow on Saturday.
US president Barack Obama has again appealed to Republicans to pass the budget in order to avoid bringing the entire economy to a halt. The only compromise the Democrats and the Republicans have reached was the retroactive pay of the 800 thousand government employees as soon as the budget is passed. In another move the Pentagon has recalled 350 thousand of its Civilian Department employees, which might diminish the effects of the deadlock. Congress has so far failed to reach an agreement over the 2014 budget, which led to a partial government shutdown, the first in the past 17 years. Many public institutions have suspended their activity and close to 800 public servants were put out of work.
The International Animation Film Festival Animest is underway in Bucharest, where productions by one of the world’s most reputed studios, Aardam will be screened. Until October 13th animation lovers will be able to watch various short reels and feature films, winners of numerous international awards, as well as videos and commercials that made history. The festival includes news conferences held by experts from the field as well as workshops. Established in 2006, the Anim’est is the only festival in Romania exclusively devoted to animation productions and one of the largest in Europe.
The Belgian city of Anvers will today be seeing the apparatus finals of the World Gymnastics Championships. Romanian gymnast Larisa Iordache, who came fourth in the individual all-round event, has qualified for the beam and floor finals. Another Romanian, Olympic champion Sandra Izbasa, will participate in the floor event while Marius Berbecar is to represent Romania in the men’s vault and uneven bars competition. Ana Porgras obtained a world title for Romania in Rotterdam, the Netherlands back in 2010, while Marian Dragulescu managed a double win in 2009 in London.
