May 1, 2015 UPDATE
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Ştefan Stoica, 01.05.2015, 12:30
The minister delegate for the relations with the Romanians all over the world, Angel Tilvar, on Friday had a meeting with members of the community of Romanian-born Israelis, sources with the Foreign Ministry inform. The Romanian official has highlighted the major role this community plays in boosting the Romanian-Israeli relations and encouraged them to keep and strengthen the ties they have with their country of origin. The Romanian official has underlined the Bucharest authorities’ interest in developing and diversifying the associative environment of the Romanian community in Israel. Angel Tilvar has reiterated the support offered by the Romanian institutions to Romanian-born people living outside the country. The Romanians’ contribution to the universal cultural heritage is the best argument for preserving Romanian identity, Tilvar went on to say.
Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Friday commenced his formal visit to Qatar, the first paid by a Romanian Prime Minister to this country since the two states established diplomatic relations 25 years ago. According to the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, the commercial trade exchanges between the two countries last year saw a 28% increase as compared to 2013, up to 61 million dollars. Saudi Arabia was the first leg of Prime Minister Ponta’s Gulf tour, which will also take him to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
One thousand people from EU countries, mostly tourists are reported missing in Nepal, a week after the devastating earthquake, which rocked the country, the EU ambassador in Kathmandu said. According to another EU official, most of them will be probably found alive in the following days but the inaccessible regions affected by the quake make almost impossible the process of gleaning information about them. The 7.8 magnitude quake that struck Nepal last week killed over 6,200 people and triggered an avalanche that caused the death of 18 people on Mount Everest.
For the next six months the city of Milan in Italy will be playing venue for a universal exhibition with a suggestive title, Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. The event has brought together 145 countries, out of which 55, including Romania, have their own stands. The Romanian stand was built in the central area in the form of a traditional house from the Danube Delta, a region that is part of the UNESCO heritage list. Visitors are invited to discover Romania’s cultural treasure, its natural food resources and organic solutions for sustainable development. Romania’s Day at Expo Milan has been scheduled for July 29th.
Romania is a country of working people and the solution for an economy to foster growth is to support these working people — Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said in a message conveyed on the International Workers’ Day. As a country cannot develop without a strong economy, a strong economy cannot be built without respecting the rights and dignity of all those who work hard, Ponta went on to say. The EU’s statistical institute Eurostat has recently published in Brussels data concerning employment in all the 28 members. Romania is the country with the lowest number of temporary employment contracts, only 1.5% of its total number. Romania is also a country with the shortest work period, a Romanian on an average works 32 years until retiring. According to Eurostat, over 7% out of Romania’s employees are working in night shifts.
Romania’s best tennis player Simona Halep currently ranking second in the world standings will be playing French Alize Cornet in the opening round of the Madrid tennis tournament with 4.2 million dollars in prize money. Cornet has a two-one advance in head-to-head matches. Irina Begu will be playing Kurumi Nara of Japan in the first round, while Alexandra Dulgheru will be meeting seventh-seeded Serbian player Ana Ivanovici.