October 10, 2016
The President of Slovakia, Andrej Kiska, is on a 2-day official visit to Romania.
Newsroom, 10.10.2016, 00:00
OFFICIAL VISIT– The President of Slovakia, Andrej Kiska, is on a 2-day official visit to Romania. The agenda includes talks with President Klaus Iohannis, as well as a meeting in the western Romanian village of Nădlac with representatives of the Slovakian minority in Romania. Klaus Iohannis will discuss with his Slovakian counterpart the main topics on the European agenda, given that Slovakia is currently holding the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council. The two heads of state will exchange opinions on the EU enlargement policy and the eastern neighbourhood, as well as on the reflection on the future of the Union launched at the informal summit held last month in Bratislava. With respect to cooperation within NATO, the Romanian President will reiterate the need for the Alliance to maintain its focus on the Black Sea region, a major component of Euro-Atlantic security, particularly in the context of the current security challenges in the region.
HOLOCAUST COMMEMORATION – The Jewish and Roma victims in Nazi extermination camps are commemorated today at the Holocaust Memorial in Bucharest. The National Holocaust Victim Commemoration Day is celebrated on October 9 in Romania. On this day in 1941, the deportation to Transdniester of the Jewish population of Bukovina and Bessarabia began. The Romanian authorities officially accepted responsibility for the Holocaust in Romania in 2004, based on the conclusions of a commission headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ellie Wiesel.
NOBEL PRIZE – The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced today the names of the winners of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Professor Oliver Hart and Professor Bengt Holmstrom of the Massachusets Institute of Technology were awarded the prize, for their insights into how best to write contracts. Their work paved the way for institutions and policies in many fields, from bankruptcy legislation to constitutional policies, the jury explained. The winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was the American professor Angus Deaton, for his analysis of consumption, poverty and welfare. The Nobel prize for Economic Sciences has been awarded since 1968 by the Central Bank of Sweden, unlike the other prizes which are financed by the Nobel Foundation. The 2016 Nobel Prize season concludes this week with the award for literature.
US ELECTION – The nominees of the Republican and Democratic parties in the US election, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Sunday night clashed in the second presidential debate. According to a CNN poll, 57% of the American viewers believe the debate was won by Hillary Clinton, while 34% say the winner was Trump. Also, 39% of the respondents said Hillary Clinton did better than in the first debate. Donald Trump attacked ex-President Bill Clinton, Hillarys husband, and accused her of having “deleted 35,000 emails that had allegedly ruined peoples lives. In turn, Hillary Clinton claimed Russia was getting involved in the US election in order to have Donald Trump win the race. The two candidates also disagreed over the way to handle the crisis in Syria, but according to commentators none of them suggested a concrete solution.
FOOTBALL – Romanias football team is playing on Tuesday in Astana against the national team of Kazakhstan, in its third preliminary game in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On Saturday, in Erevan, Romania defeated Armenia, 5-0. In the same group E, Poland won 3-2 against Denmark, and Montenegro beat Kazakhstan 5-0. With 4 points each, Romania, Montenegro and Poland top the group table. Last month the national team drew at home against Montenegro, 1-1, in the first game with the German Cristoph Daum as the first foreign manager of the Romanian team. This autumn Romania is to also play at home against Poland, on November 11.
TENNIS – The best ranking Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep, is as of Monday no. 4 in the WTA standings, one place up since last week. Halep is already qualified into the WTA Finals, a tournament that brings together the best 8 players of the world and held this year in Singapore, between October 23 and 30. Angelique Kerber, of Germany, is the WTA leader, followed by American Serena Williams and Polands Agnieskza Radwanska. Four other Romanian players are in the WTA Top 100: Irina Camelia Begu (no. 28), Monica Niculescu (no. 50), and Sorana Carstea (no. 83).
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
