April 19, 2015
For a roundup of domestic and international events, click here.
Bogdan Matei, 19.04.2015, 12:00
TALKS — President Klaus Iohannis is on Monday holding a new round of talks with parliamentary parties. Attending will be representatives of the centre-left ruling coalition and the Liberal opposition. The meeting will focus on the election law, including the necessary provisions that would allow Romanians abroad to exercise their voting rights. Talks will also tackle parliamentary procedures to approve the prosecution, detention and pre-trial arrest of MPs. This is the third round of talks Iohannis will be holding with parliamentary factions since he took office as president on December 21, 2014.
LOAN — Romania got a loan from the World Bank worth over 200 million euros, which will be used in a programme aimed at combating school dropout. The project is the largest of its kind supported by the World Bank in Europe and Central Asia and will be implemented by the Education Ministry over the next seven years. The loan agreement was signed in Washington by Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici, who is attending the spring session of the World Bank and the IMF. Teodorovici discussed with representatives of international lenders about the news Fiscal Code, the state budget and progress on observing Romania’s commitments to its international lenders.
INVENTIONS — Romanian engineer Corneliu Birtok Baneasa, known for his innovations in the car industry, was awarded a gold medal in this year’s edition of the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions. He also got two special prizes from the delegations of Iran and the Republic of Moldova. His medal rewards the invention of a device that selectively feeds windshield washer fluid to any type of vehicle. The invention will make obsolete the classical method using plastic canisters to stock washer fluid. Dubbed “Good Fill”, his invention can be used in all filling stations, service stations, car parks or highway refuge areas. A total of 25 inventions represented Romania in Geneva.
TENNIS — Romania is playing Canada in the Fed Cup World Group playoffs. In the singles competition, Irina Begu will take on Eugenie Bouchard while Alexandra Dulgheru will play Francoise Abanda. In the doubles event Andreea Mitu and Raluca Olaru will play Gabriela Dabrowski and Sharon Fichman. The score reads 1-all after day one. On Saturday, Dulgheru outperformed WTA 7th ranked Eugenie Bouchard, while Irina Begu lost to Francoise Abanda. The winner will play in the Fed Cup’s World Group in 2016. WTA 3rd-ranked Simona Halep decided not to answer the call, due to her busy schedule in European competitions.
GYMNASTICS — Marius Berbecar and Andrei Muntean are today competing in the parallel bars event at the European Gymnastics Championships held in Montpellier, France. In the women’s competition, Andreea Munteanu is today competing in the beam and floor finals. At the end of the tournament, European Gymnastics Union president Georges Guelzec will be handing on the flag of the competition to Bucharest, which will be hosting the next championships in 2017.
ST. THOMAS — Orthodox Christians in Romania are today celebrating the last day of Easter Week, devoted to St. Thomas the Apostle. St. Thomas is also known as ‘doubting Thomas’, because he doubted Jesus’ resurrection when first told, followed later by his confession of faith, upon seeing Jesus’ wounded body.
FILM — Jahar Panahi’s “Taxi”, which scooped the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, will be opening the 11th edition of the B-EST International Film Festival in Bucharest. A total of six films are competing for the trophy of what is now the oldest film festival in Bucharest. For over a week, filmgoers will be able to watch other feature films premiered in Romania.
PEACE AGREEMENT — The Government in Yemen voted against the Iran-backed peace plan. Meanwhile on the ground, Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Sunni Arabic coalition continue their air strikes on Shiite Houthi rebels, backed by Teheran. The Romanian Foreign Ministry on Saturday said it would continue efforts to safely evacuate all Romanian citizens in Yemen and that it would maintain permanent contact with these and with the relevant authorities in the region. So far 54 Romanians and 9 Yemeni members of their families have been evacuated.
