May 8, 2015 UPDATE
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Newsroom, 08.05.2015, 12:05
In Romania, Europe Day, celebrated on May 9, when the first step was taken towards the establishment of what is today the European Union — is marked with concerts and arts or sports events. In the capital city Bucharest, 16 underground stations have been redesigned to represent European Union member countries, more than 50 films are taking part in the European Film Festival, and 160 NGOs, institutions and companies take part in a festival called ONGFest. The events have been organised jointly with the European Commission Representation in Romania. On the other hand, France, UK, Poland and Germany celebrated 70 years since the end of World War II. Attending the ceremony in Poland was also the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. Together with the President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the president of the European Commission Donald Tusk, and other senior politicians, the head of the Romanian state took part in a ceremony in Gdańsk, the town where WW II broke out, in September 1939, and where the Solidarity social movement was born.
The Romanian ambassador to Islamabad, who was in the helicopter that crashed on Friday in Pakistan, has suffered slight injuries but is safe, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced. A Pakistani military helicopter crashed in northern Pakistan on Friday morning, killing 7 people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines.
The acting British PM David Cameron was received by Queen Elizabeth II, ahead of forming the new government, after the Conservatives won the largest number of seats in Parliament in Thursday’s elections in the UK. The Conservatives have won more than half of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, which enables them to form the new government alone. After the visit to Buckingham Palace, David Cameron announced he would organise a referendum on the UK’s EU membership, as he had promised during the campaign. Labour leader Ed Miliband conceded defeat and stepped down as president of the Labour Party. A major victory was reported for the Scottish National Party, which has won 56 out of the 59 seats for Scotland.