August 28, 2016
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Newsroom, 28.08.2016, 12:00
CEREMONIES Ceremonies marking 100 years since Romanias entry into the First World War, which led to the biggest accomplishment in national history, namely the Great Union of December 1st 1918, are underway in Bucharest. A century ago on August 27th Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary and its troops crossed the Carpathians into Transylvania, at that time part of the kingdom of Hungary. Bucharest will today be hosting a commemorative event at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A round table talk, a military drill and a concert given by an army brass band have been scheduled for Monday. Romania lost 330 thousand soldiers in the Great War, while 76 thousand others were disabled.
TALKS The Minister for the Romanians the World Over, Maria Ligor, is in Italy for talks with members of the Romanian community affected by the earthquake that rocked the centre of the country last week. Out of the 291 people killed in the quake, 11 are Romanians. Representatives of the Romanian embassy in Rome are keeping a permanent contact with the two hospitals in Rieti and LAguila, where six wounded Romanians have been admitted. The consular teams in Rome and Bologna are in the field trying to glean information on the 14 Romanians missing also trying to help those left without identity papers. On Monday the government in Bucharest will be discussing the financial support it can offer to survivors.
DIPLOMACY The Annual Meeting of Romanian Diplomacy, an event dedicated to the Romanian diplomatic staff, is due to begin in Bucharest on Monday. The event, held annually around September 1st, which is the day of the Romanian diplomacy, is staged by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Bucharest. This meeting will have high on agenda the latest developments in the field of security, the dynamics of the EUs domestic processes and preparations for Romanias taking over for the first time of the Presidency of the European Unions Council in the first half of 2019. Also high on the agenda are ways of strengthening the capabilities of granting professional consular assistance in order to defend the interests and rights of the Romanians abroad.
VISIT The Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has announced that in the following days he will be paying a visit with an economic profile to three German states – Bavaria, Baden Wurttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia. The Romanian official will be seeing representatives of German companies that have already invested in Romania and others which have planned investment in this country. Ciolos says that Romanias relation with Germany continues in a dynamic way, not only at the political level but also at the economic one. The Romanian Prime Minister has added that in the following period, president Klaus Iohannis will be having a meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel.
NATO Preparations are underway for hosting the multinational NATO brigade on the Romanian territory, the countrys Prime Minister, Dacian Ciolos, has announced in Gura Humorului, northeastern Romania. After talks with his Polish counterpart Beata Szydlo, the Romanian official said the authorities in Warsaw had decided to contribute to this brigade as well. Furthermore, the Foreign and Defence Ministries in the two countries have set a schedule so that this objective may be met by the end of the year. In turn, the head of the Polish Executive has underlined the need for talks over the future of the European Union, adding that Brussels migration policy must be changed so that humanitarian aid outside its borders be stepped up.
TENNIS Second seeded Romanian-Indian pair Monica Niculescu / Sania Mirza last night won the doubles contest of the WTA tournament in New Haven, Connecticut. That was the two tennis players first match together in which they defeated Katerina Bodnarenko of Ukraine and Chia-Jun Chung of Taiwan 7-5, 6-4. This is Monica Niculescus third trophy in 2016. We recall that Niculescu has also won the doubles matches in Shenzhen together with American Vania King and in Washington together with Yanina Wickmayer. The victory in New Haven is Monicas seventh win in a WTA tournament, after those in Budapest, in 2009, Hobart, 2012 and 2014, Shenzen in 2014 and 2016 and Washington in 2016.
