June 26, 2017
Romanian President consults parties on new prime minister; Romanian high school students begin baccalaureate
Ştefan Stoica, 26.06.2017, 13:19
CONSULTATIONS — Romanian President Klaus Iohannis holds consultations today with parliamentary party leaders to designate a new PM. The coalition in power, the Social Democrats and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, believes it is entitled to nominate the premier, even though last week they removed their previous government, headed by Sorin Grindeanu. The Social Democrats will designate their proposal for the position within their executive committee. The center-right opposition ruled out any collaboration with the Social Democrats. At the same time, the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania has a protocol for parliamentary collaboration with the Social Democrats, and signaled they would vote in favor of a government proposed by the ruling coalition.
BACCALAUREATE — 135,000 high school graduates in Romania have their first baccalaureate test today, the Romanian language and literature test. On Tuesday, students with alternate native languages will have their own test in language and literature. Wednesday, all students take the test that is compulsory as part of their chosen profile. The last test, the optional, is scheduled for Friday. Statistics show that almost 3.6 million students registered for all levels of study in the school year ending, almost 45,000 less than last year.
LONDON — Romanian tennis player Sorana Cîrstea, 62nd seeded, plays today against Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, 39th seeded, in the first round of the tournament in Eastbourne, in the UK, with 750,000 US dollars in prize money. Two more Romanians, Simona Halep, second in the world, and Monica Niculescu, 51st, are scheduled to play in second round. Halep has already qualified, while Niculescu will play against Petra Kvitova, also of the Czech Republic, 12th seeded. In the first round, Niculescu defeated Croatian Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, 27th seeded, 2-1. The Eastbourne tournament is the last preliminary for the tournament in Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the year.
FLAG — Today Romania celebrates National Flag Day, celebrated by all public authorities and state institutions. It is also celebrated by the military with ceremonies, held alongside those held by the Interior Ministry. National Flag Day, June 26, was instituted in 1998, celebrating the date in 1848, during the revolution, when the tricolor flag was adopted as national symbol.
STRASBOURG — Fighting government corruption and migration are two of the topics on the agenda of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, which starts today its summer session. According to Radio Romanias correspondent in Strasbourg, the members of parliament are discussing four reports on migration. The documents include human rights implications of the European reaction to transition migration in the Mediterranean area. The Council of Europe has 47 members, including all EU members.
FILM — The Romanian film Short Circuit, by Catalin Saizescu, won the award for remarkable artistic achievement at the Shanghai International Film Festival, now in its 20th edition. Organizers said the award was given for the courage to touch on sensitive contemporary dramas, and the ability to blend a variety of perspectives on the same truth. This is the first Romanian film selected for the official competition of the festival. The movie was inspired by the tragic event of August 2010, when several babies born prematurely died in a Bucharest maternity. It is the love story of two teenagers caught in the tragedy.
