October 3, 2017
Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 03.10.2017, 13:45
Business Forum — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his Croat counterpart Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is on a state visit to Bucharest, on Tuesday opened the works of the Forum of Romanian and Croat businesspeople. On the occasion, the Romanian President pointed out that bilateral trade exchanges neared a threshold of 300 million euros. In his opinion, although this is a low level given the potential of the two economies, recent developments are nevertheless encouraging. During Monday’s talks the two presidents approached, among other things, ways to improve cooperation within the EU and NATO.
Border-crossing point — The Romanian PM Mihai Tudose and his Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov on Tuesday participated in a ceremony for the inauguration of the Lipniţa-Kainargea joint border-crossing point. In Varna the Romanian and Bulgarian government representatives are meeting for a 4th joint working meeting. High on the agenda of talks are, among others, economic cooperation, transport and energy infrastructure, regional development and cross-border cooperation. A joint declaration will be signed in the presence of the two officials related to the guidelines for cooperation at bilateral, regional, European, Euro-Atlantic and international levels. Also in Varna, the Romanian PM is taking part in a 4-party summit involving the participation of Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia ad Greece.
Catalonia — An anti-police strike on Tuesday gripped the province of Catalonia, in northeastern Spain. Catalan trade unions called the strike to show public anger at Spanish police violence during Sunday’s referendum for the region’s independence. On Monday as many as 15 thousand people took to the streets of Barcelona and other cities across Catalonia to denounce the violent intervention of the police during the referendum and to defend the results of the referendum, which was declared illegal by the central government. The leader of the Catalan regional government, Carles Puigdemont, called for the withdrawal of the riot police deployed in Madrid and said international mediation was needed. In Bucharest the Romanian Foreign Ministry representatives reiterated Romania’s firm support for Spain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Nobel Prize — Three American astrophysicists Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish and Kip Thorne on Tuesday won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on constructing Ligo and the detection of gravitational waves. The Nobel Prize in Physics is the second prize announced in the series of prizes made public each year. On Wednesday the Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced. According to tradition, the Nobel Prizes will be handed to their winners as part of an official ceremony to be held on December 10, the day when the death of the founder of the Nobel Prize, Alfred Nobel, is commemorated.
Las Vegas shooting — A Romanian citizen was wounded in Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, which killed 59 and wounded more than 500. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has condemned all such acts and firmly rejected violence. The Romanian President and the Foreign Minister have conveyed a message of condolence to and expressed solidarity with the American people. The shooting occurred during an open-air country music festival. According to the police, the killer, Stephen Paddock (64), who opened fire from the 32nd floor of a nearby hotel, killed himself before the police reached him. The police are working to establish the motive behind the mass shooting.
Tennis — The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep (2 WTA) on Tuesday qualified to the eighth finals of the Beijing tournament which has prizes up for grabs worth 6.4 million dollars, after she defeated Slovak player Magdalena Rybarikova (28 WTA). The latter abandoned in the second set, when the Romanian player had a 2-1 lead. Simona Halep had already won the first set 6-1. In the next round, Simona Halep will take on the Russian Maria Sharapova (104 WTA), whom she has not managed to defeat so far. Another two Romanian players are today playing in the eighth finals. Monica Niculescu (65 WTA) will play against the Chinese Shuai Peng (25 WTA) and Sorana Cirstea (44 WTA) will take on the American Christina McHale (71 WTA). (translation by L.Simion)
