October 18, 2013
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 18.10.2013, 12:10
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has announced that next week he will pay an official and political visit to the US, for talks on the bilateral strategic partnership. According to Ponta, one of the focal points on the agenda of the talks with the American officials is bilateral cooperation in the economic and educational field. In another move, Romanian defence minister Mircea Dusa, is currently on a visit to Washington, where he is due to meet his US counterpart, Charles Timothy Hagel.
Romania’s country rating is limited to weak prospects of economic growth and vulnerability to foreign financial shocks. The improvement of the rating depends on the fiscal consolidation which should continue and the improvement of bank assets quality, Moody shows in a communiqué.
The EU is today marking the Day against human trafficking. Romania is among the 18 member states which have fully transposed the community norms in the domain of human trafficking, into its national legislation. The European Commission has recently adopted new directives to contain this phenomenon. Among others, they provide for harsher penalties for traffickers, and protection measures for the victims. The EU has drafted a strategy in the domain for the 2012-2016 period, which also includes a platform for civil society. Official statistical data show over 30 thousand people have been trafficked in the past five years, whereas the number of sentenced traffickers has decreased by 13%. 93% of the EU citizens express concern about the phenomenon and want joint actions to be carried out to contain it.
US Secretary of State, John Kerry, the artisan of the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue, returns to Europe next week to give an impetus to the peace process, the US State Department has announced, also dismissing the information according to which negotiations are in a deadlock, FP reports. Kerry will be in Paris on Monday, for a meeting with Saudi foreign minister, Saud Al-Faisal, and with the Arab Committee which is monitoring the peace initiative presented by the Arab League, in the process of re-launching the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The same issue will be approached in Rome, by the US official and the Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu. Kerry will also be received by the Italian prime minister, Enrico Letta. The direct contacts between the Israelis and Palestinians have unfolded under the aegis of the US since the end of July.
An overall strike in the transportation system is today staged in Italy, at national level. Apparently, it will affect all means of transportation. A march is scheduled in Rome, with an estimated participation of tens of thousands of people. Trade unions criticize the 2014 draft budget, which provides among other things, for a cut in public spending, in order to stimulate economic growth. At the same time, salaries in the state sector are further frozen. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has sent a travel warning for Italy, for all Romanian citizens willing to travel to that country or who are already on Italian soil.
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has qualified for the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in Moscow with 800 thousand dollars in prize money. In the eighth finals Halep has outperformed Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2, after the latter had to retire in the second set due to injury. The victory has brought 18th seeded Halep 20 thousand dollars and 120 WTA points. The Romanian will play Alisa Keibanova from Russia in the quarters.
