May 4, 2015
A roundup of local and international news
Newsroom, 04.05.2015, 12:00
Romania’s prime minister Victor Ponta, currently on a tour of the Gulf region, is today having talks in Kuwait with officials and representatives of the business community in this country in a move to attract investors to Romania. He will also discuss the creation of partnerships in areas such as oil, gas, petrochemistry, the building sector, energy, agriculture and tourism. On Sunday in Doha, prime minister Victor Ponta had talks with high officials from Qatar about the latter country’s possible involvement in a project to restructure the Romanian airline Tarom and the development of the Otopeni International Airport in Bucharest. Victor Ponta’s Gulf tour, which started in Saudi Arabia and also takes him to the United Arab Emirates, ends on the 5th of May and is aimed at relaunching Romania’s political dialogue and economic relations with the countries in the region.
Wide-scale NATO military exercises begin today in Estonia, the largest in the history of this ex-Soviet Baltic state, said the Chief of Staff of the Estonian army. The exercises, which are meant to replace the annual Spring Storm drills come to an end on the 15th of May and involve 13,000 military. Recently, NATO has intensified military training in Eastern Europe as a result of the security situation in the area generated by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
More than 5,800 migrants have been rescued at sea and 10 bodies recovered in operations in the Mediterranean off the Libyan coast at the weekend, the Italian Coast Guard announced. Almost 1,300 people arrived this morning in Sicily. Hundreds of illegal migrants arrive every day in Italian ports from African countries and Syria, often on board make-shift vessels, many unsafe, which leads to shipwrecks such as the recent tragedy on the 18th of April, when more than 800 people died. At least 1,750 people have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean.
The Romanian film Aferim! directed by Radu Jude won the IndieLisboa International Film Festival held in the Portuguese capital between the 23rd of April and the 3rd of May. Aferim! was also awarded the trophy of the city of Lisbon, the Grand Prix for best fiction film and the Distribution Award given by the cinema bloggers’ jury. One of the most important cinematographic projects in Romania in recent years, Aferim! also won the Silver Bear trophy in Berlin for best director and has so far been the most successful Romanian production this year. The film is set in early 19th century Wallachia and deals with the theme of Gypsy slavery in the Romanian Principalities.
The Romanian tennis player Irina Begu, no. 33 in the world, has qualified to the second round of the Madrid tournament worth 4.2 million euros, one of the most important competitions ahead of the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament. In the first round, Begu defeated the Japanese player Kurumi Nara, no. 52 in the world. On Sunday, two Romanian players were eliminated from the competition: world no. 2 Simona Halep, who lost to the French player Alize Cornet, and Andreea Mitu, who lost to the American player Varvara Lepchenko.
Radio Romania’s Culture channel marks 60 years since the death of composer George Enescu, who is considered the biggest Romanian musician. A special onair and online project entitled Avatar Enescu is held this week to pay tribute to George Enescu and his complex career as a composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher. Also, Radio Romania’s music magazine will carry 20 interviews made by George Enescu in 1951 for the French Radio.
