January 25, 2015
A roundup of domestic and international news.
România Internațional, 24.01.2015, 12:16
World number three Simona Halep of Romania on Sunday qualified to the quarterfinals of Australian Open. Halep has broken her hoodoo against Belgian Yanina Wickmayer with a 6-4, 6-2 win to sail into the quarterfinals. Another Romanian tennis player, Irina Begu, lost on Sunday to Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, in a fourth-round match.
Russia prevented the UN Security Council from condemning Saturday’s rocket attacks on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which killed dozens of civilians and left over one hundred injured. The UN proposed a Security Council statement and called for an investigation into the attacks on Mariupol, but Russia rejected it. Council statements need unanimous approval. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said the rockets came from rebel-held areas, BBC reports. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declared January 25th a day of national mourning.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends today in Rome with a religious service held by Pope Francis. Romania’s Ambassador at the Vatican, Bogdan Tataru Cazaban told Radio Romania that the religious service is also attended by Archbishop Siluan who represents the Romanian Orthodox community in Italy, alongside representatives of the Catholic Committee for Cultural Cooperation with the Orthodox churches.
Legislative elections are under way in Greece. Almost 10 million citizens entitled to vote must decide whether to support a radical left wing or a moderate right. Anti-austerity opposition party Syriza are tipped to win, but without an overall majority. After MPs rejected the governments choice of president in December, an election had to be held within a month under the Greek constitution.
A new labour code has been enforced today in Romania. According to the document OK-ed by president Klaus Iohannis, unpaid leave and unmotivated absences will not be calculated as accumulated service. Also, sick leave and maternity leave shall be taken into account when annual leave is calculated.
