October 23, 2016
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Newsroom, 23.10.2016, 12:00
RALLY The Interior Minister in Bucharest, Dragos Tudorache has asked for a report from the Romanian Gendarme Corps over the events on Saturday in downtown Bucharest during the rally for the union of Romania with the Republic of Moldova. Five people have been detained by the gendarmes after clashes with protesters. Numerous participants in the rally came from the neighboring former soviet republic with a Romanian-speaking majority. They believe that under the present geo-political context, the union of the two states is the only solution for the ethnic Romanians in the Republic so that they may not fall victims of a possible Russian aggression, like that against Ukraine. Already traditional in Bucharest, support rallies for Bessarabia were inaugurated in 2012, which marked 200 years since the annexation of this province by Czarist Russia. The present Republic of Moldova was created on a part of the historical province of Bessarabia, which joined Romania after the First World War and was re-annexed by the USSR back in 1940.
TENNIS Romanian tennis player Simona Halep will today be playing American Madison Keys in her first match of the WTA Finals held in Singapore with seven million dollars in prize money. Halep, the competitions third favourite is playing in the Red Group, which also includes the worlds number one Angelique Kerber of Germany and Dominica Cibulkova of Slovakia. The competitions White Group includes Polish Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, Spanish Garbine Muguruza and Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. The present WTA Finals edition represents Haleps third participation after that in 2014, when she took on Serena Williams in the finals and that last year when she was knocked out in the groups stage. Another Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu (WTA 51) on Saturday won the tournament in Luxembourg with total prizes of 250 thousand dollars after a two-set win 6-4, 6-0 against the tournaments odds on favourite Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. This is the third WTA tournament Niculescu has won in her career after that in Florianopolis, Brazil in 2013 and Guangzhou, China in 2014.
AWARDS Romanian director Cristi Puius film Sieranevada has reaped two major awards at the Chicago International Film Festival, according to the festivals webpage. Sieranevada got the Gold Hugo award for best film and Silver Hugo for best director. Another Romanian production, Graduation by Cristi Mungiu has been awarded Silver Plaque for best screenplay while Adrian Titieni got Silver Hugo for best actor. The Chicago International Festival has reached its 52nd edition this year.
INVESTIGATION Over 80 thousand people are being investigated in Turkey, of which 35 thousand have already been arrested after the abortive coup on July 15th, the Justice Ministry in Ankara has announced. The Turkish authorities are blaming the failed coup on the reclusive cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is currently living in the USA, and his supporters. Efforts to stifle the coup have caused the death of 270 people leaving thousands others wounded. Upon the events in July the Turkish authorities have commenced an unprecedented campaign in order to purge Gulens supporters from administration, a campaign that attracted a lot of heat from the West.
