July 27, 2019 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 27.07.2019, 19:09

CARACAL
INVESTIGATION – Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Saturday set
up a task force led by State Secretary Raed Arafat to look into the
disappearance of the 15-year-old girl from Caracal, presumed dead. The group has
15 days to come up with an emergency plan to streamline response times to
critical situations across the entire state apparatus. An emergency Government
meeting was held on this matter. The head of the Romanian Police Ioan Buda was
sacked by Interior Minister Nicolae Moga for the poor handling of the case. In
turn, President Klaus Iohannis called on the Interior Minister and the head of
the Special Telecommunications Service to handle the investigation with extreme
celerity. The president expects a first official report at Monday’s meeting of
the country’s Supreme Defense Council. We recall a 66-year old man from Caracal
was arrested on Friday after a search at his home revealed human remains and
jewelry, allegedly belonging to a 15-year-old girl who went missing on
Wednesday. On Thursday the girl called the emergency service three times, giving
details as to where she was being detained. The special unit investigating
justice-related crimes has also opened an investigation into this matter.

VOTE -
Romanians in the Diaspora can register on the online platform
www.votstrainatate.ro as of Sunday. The website was created by the Election
Authority to get better idea of the number of Romanians living outside the
country’s borders, so they may be better informed regarding the voting process
ahead of the presidential election due in November. The Ministry of Romanians
Worldwide has recently announced over 5 and a half million Romanians have left
the country. The total number of Romanians living abroad is ten million,
including those in historic regions. Any Romanian who chooses to vote abroad
will fill an online form, including his name, personal identification number,
the city and state where they want to vote, also attaching a scanned copy of their
ID. An additional polling station can be set up upon written request from a
minimum 100 citizens from the same area. Any voter who wants to register for
postal voting needs to fill an online form, including his name, personal
identification number, home address, e-mail address, as well as whether he
wants to submit his vote at home or at the diplomatic representation. The voter
also needs to attach a scanned copy of his ID and of his stay permit.

AGREEMENT -
US President Donald Trump has congratulated British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson for obtaining this position, also announcing he is preparing a free trade
agreement between the two countries which will be crucial post-Brexit. The
White House leader was an overt critic of outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May,
for the way she handled Brexit. Donald Trump pointed out that the United States
was so far prevented from trading more with Britain due to their relations with
the EU, and that two-way trade with the UK can increase five times, France
Press reports. Trump and Johnson also tacked the Gulf crisis and Iran’s seizure
of a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, expressing excitement ahead of
their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit due next month in France.

TOURISTS -
Tens of thousands of tourists are spending the weekend on the seacoast,
attending concerts, runs, car races or theatre shows. The weeknd started with a
concert given by Stefan Banica Jr. and VH2 in Constanta. On Saturday Voltaj, 3
Sud Est, Connect-R and Antonia climbed on stage while on Sunday Cristi
Minculescu and the band Celelalte Cuvinte will perform live. The city of
Navodari will also host music concerts. Sports lovers are invited to visit
Constanta to take part in the Aqua Chellenge, the sea swimming marathon which
includes a special race for children. Also on Saturday the The Color Run Love
Tour kicked off, with runners wearing white outfits and getting sprayed with a
different color for every new kilometer they run. The Ford V Rally Raid was
also held in northern Constanta. Also scores of events were held in southern
Black Sea Coast, such as theatre plays in Jupiter, Saturn and Mangalia.

MEDAL -
Bianca Andreea Costea has won a new gold medal in the swimming competition at
the European Youth Olympic Festival hosted by Baku. Costea won the 50-meter
freestyle event. Also on Saturday Romania’s women’s volleyball team won silver
after losing the final to Russia 3-1. In athletics Talida Sfarghiu won silver
in the 1,500-meter race. In gymnastics, Robert and Gabriel Burtanete, Silviana
Maria Sfiringu-Gheorghe and Ioana Stanciulescu on Saturday won three silver and
two bronze. So far Romania has won 12 medals in Baku – four gold, five silver
and three bronze. A total of 103 athletes are representing Romania in the
European Youth Olympic Festival.

HALEP -
President Klaus Iohannis signed the decree for decorating tennis player Simona
Halep with the Star of Romania National Order in rank of knight. The head of
state has conveyed this distinction as a sign of appreciation and recognition
for winning the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, for the outstanding career-long
results, for achieving the top position in women’s singles as well as for the
talent, devotion and professionalism invested in helping Romanian sports
achieve international recognition and promoting sport among young people. The
decoration ceremony will be held on Tuesday. Currently in 4th place
in WTA standings, Simona Halep was world no. 1 two times between 2017 and 2019.
She held onto this position for 64 weeks, becoming the tenth player in the WTA
circuit to do so. Apart from Wimbledon she is the winner of another Grand Slam,
Roland Garros in 2018.

FESTIVAL – The
city of Sighisoara in central Romania is playing host to the 26th
edition of the oldest and most important medieval festival in Romania. Taking
part are 250 artists from at home and abroad. The theme this year is medieval
mystery, referencing theatre in the Middle Ages. People can visit the five
camps set up in the citadel and across the city, where they can witness
historic reenactments, duels, street music concerts, including Renaissance
music, medieval dancing, military demonstrations and arts workshops.

(Translated by V.
Palcu)