August 14, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 14.08.2022, 19:19

Navy Day. On Sunday, the
Romanian Naval Forces marked a day of gratitude in memory of the seafaring
heroes who lost their lives in the service of the country. On August 15, the
Naval Forces celebrate Navy Day with events staged in Romania’s river and Black
Sea ports. President Klaus Iohannis will participate in the festivities in
Constanţa (port on the Black Sea), and will give a speech at the official
ceremony. He will also visit the training ship Mircea, recently
returned from an international training march. In Port Tomis, the activities
organized on Navy Day include exhibitions of military equipment, and ship
enthusiasts can virtually witness a naval battle in a specially arranged space.

Firefighting. 36 Romanian
firefighters, using special vehicles and a large-capacity tanker, continue
extinguishing the wildfires near the city of Bordeaux, in the southwest of
France. According to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, the
firefighters are working in extreme conditions: high temperatures, low humidity
and strong winds. Their mission is to limit the spread of the fire to the homes
in the area and to extinguish hidden outbreaks. Romania supports the French
authorities in the fight against wildfires with a team made up of 77
firefighters and several specific pieces of equipment. France, like other European
countries, is facing successive heat waves and an unprecedented drought.

Rushdie. Writer Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed on
Friday, during a literary event in the state of New York, remains in the
hospital, but no longer requires artificial ventilation. Writers around the
world expressed their joy that Rushdie could finally speak, and President Joe
Biden joined international voices in condemning the attack, and hailing Sir
Rushdie for promoting universal ideas. Authorities have not made public the reason
given by the man who stabbed the writer. The attacker, aged 24, was born in
California to immigrant parents from southern Lebanon. One of his social media
accounts shows that he is a sympathizer of extremist Shiite groups and the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but it is not clear if he has any ties to
them. In the Muslim community, Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses
sparked numerous controversies, due to what many Muslims considered to be
blasphemy. The novel was banned in India, was burned at some demonstrations in
the United Kingdom, and triggered violent riots in Pakistan. In February 1989
the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a kind of decree, a
fatwa, calling on all good Muslims to kill Rushdie or help assassinate him and
his editors.

Anonimul. The film 107
Mothers (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine), directed by Peter Kerekes, won
the Anonimul 2022 trophy. The film tells the true story of mothers in a women’s
prison in Odessa (Ukraine). The feature film won, at the Venice Film Festival
2021, the prize of the Orizzonti section for the best screenplay and was
included in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera competition of the San Sebastian Film
Festival. Fragmentări (Fragmentations) by Miruna Minculescu was
designated the best Romanian short reel, and the award for the best foreign
short film went to Fantasma Neon (Brazil), by Leonardo Martinelli.
Aurică, a dog’s life, directed by Mihai Dragolea, is the short film
to which the Anonimul Foundation awarded the Ovidiu Bose Paştină Award. 12
films participated in the Romanian short film competition, and 10 in the
international short film competition. The 19th edition of the Anonimul
International Independent Film Festival took place between August 8 and 14, in
Sfântu Gheorghe (Danube Delta).

Rasnov. Two special
screenings and 12 international documentaries, from 11 countries, will be
presented at the 14th edition of the Râşnov Film and History Festival (central
Romania), which takes place from August 14 to September 4. The selection of
documentaries includes films from Chile, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Romania,
France, Australia, USA, Belgium, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. According
to the organizers, theme of the festival this year is focused around the idea
of ​​borders, a concept that aims to bring answers to multiple questions and
challenges related to individual and creative freedoms that today’s society
faces.

World record. The Romanian
swimmer David Popovici on Saturday set a new 100 meter freestyle world record
at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome. The 17-year-old athlete,
already a double world champion, broke by half a tenth of a second the previous
record, set 13 years ago, by the Brazilian Cesar Cielo, finishing the race
after 46 seconds and 86 hundredths, and winning the gold medal. David Popovici
says his goal now is to get under 45 in the 100m freestyle. On Sunday, David
Popovici qualified for the semifinals of the 200 m freestyle event.

Rowing. On Sunday,Romania won gold in the women’s 8+1 event
at the European Rowing Championships in Munich. Also on Sunday, Romanian
athlete Ionela Cozmiuc won the gold medal in the lightweight single sculls. So
Romania ended the championships with an excellent record: five gold and three
bronze medals. At last year’s European Rowing Championships, in Varese (Italy),
Romanian rowers won six medals, two gold and four silver. (MI)