June 1, 2018 UPDATE
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 01.06.2018, 19:44
TENNIS Romanian tennis player Mihaela Buzarnescu (33rd WTA) has for the first time qualified for the round of 16 of the Roland Garros tournament after a 6-3, 7-5 win on Friday against the 4th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Buzarnescu has also qualified for the second round of the womens doubles together with Irina Maria Bara. Two other Romanians will be playing in the third round: the worlds number one and the odds-on favourite Simona Halep is up against German Andrea Petkovic while Irina Begu will be playing Caroline Garcia of France. Begu is also to play in the womens doubles where together with Chinese Qiang Wang will be taking on Petra Martic of Croatia and Maria Sakkari of Greece.
NO CONFIDENCE VOTE Spains Parliament had passed a no confidence motion against the government of Mariano Rajoy and Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez on Friday became the seventh Prime Minister of Spain since the countrys return to democracy after Francos dictatorship in the 70s. The new head of the Spanish government enjoyed support from the socialist group of the left-wing coalition Unidos Podemos and of the nationalist and separatist groups in the Basque Country and Catalonia. MPs from Rajoys Popular Party and the Liberals from the Ciudadanos Party have voted against the motion. The executive headed by Conservative Rajoy who ruled Spain since 2011 was ousted amid a corruption scandal involving the party.
ROME The new Italian coalition government consisting of 18 ministers and led by Giuseppe Conte, which assures the balance between the two populist forces that make it, the anti-establishment Five Star (M5S) and the right-wing League, was sworn in before the countrys president Sergio Mattarella on Friday. The populist executive that promises new welfare spending and tax cuts is to face confidence votes in both chambers of parliament, where the M5S and the League have a majority.
TIFF The Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF), one of Europes biggest events of this kind, is underway in Cluj-Napoca, northwestern Romania. The present edition of the festival includes 227 productions – 178 feature films and 49 short reels from all over the world. The Romanian Film Days is a section inside the festival devoted to Romanian productions, which includes director Adina Pintilies debut film Touch Me Not, the recipient of the Golden Bear Award in Berlin this year as well as Andrei Cretulescus first feature film Charleston. The Transylvania trophy will be awarded by French actress Fanny Ardant, while the honorary invitee this year is famous opera singer Angela Gheorghiu.
AWARD Currently on a visit to Germany, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is to receive the ‘Franz Josef Strauss 2018 award from the prestigious foundation ‘Hanns Seidel on Saturday. The president has been awarded the prize for having promoted in a constructive and visionary way along his entire political career the democratic values of a united society and trust in the European project. The ‘Franz Josef Strauss prize has been awarded since 1996 and among its recipients there are the former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, the former US president George H. W. Bush and the incumbent president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. On Friday, the Romanian president presented Barbara Stamm, president of the Landtag of Bavaria, with the Romanian Star National Order in rank of commander for her attachment to Romania, where she paid over 100 visits.
