June 4, 2017 UPDATE

International community reacts after Saturday night's London Bridge attack

Newsroom, 04.06.2017, 19:22

REACTIONS – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, firmly condemned on Sunday the terror attack that killed 7 and wounded nearly 50 people in London on Saturday night, and expressed compassion for the victims. In Bucharest, the Royal House learned with profound sadness about the tragedy that hit the British capital once again. The new terror attack is an act targeting humanity, human freedom and dignity, Crown Princess Margareta of Romania says in a news release. The Romanian Embassy in London is closely monitoring the incident and has taken emergency measures to get additional information from the local authorities and establish whether Romanian citizens were among the victims. London received condolence messages from around the world. The US President, Donald Trump, who had a phone conversation with the British PM after the attack, offered his countrys full support in the face of what he called a brutal terror attack. The leaders of Germany, France, Canada and Russia also sent compassion and support messages.

STATE VISIT – The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis is, as of Sunday, on an official visit to the United States, where he has a meeting scheduled with his US counterpart, Donald Trump on June 9. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Washington, Klaus Iohannis is the first Central and East European head of state to be received at the White House since Trump took office. The talks are intended to strengthen bilateral relations and the strategic partnership between the two countries, 20 years after it was signed. Over the past 2 decades Bucharest has grown into an important ally for Washington in the region. The agenda of the Romanian Presidents visit to the US also includes meetings with the Romanians living in that country. On Monday, Klaus Iohannis will be the guest of honour in the Global Forum of the American Jewish Committee, where he is to receive the highest distinction of this organisation.

PENTECOST – 50 days after Easter, Christians around the world, including in mostly Orthodox Romania, are celebrating the Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the birth of the first Christian community. The holiday is also known as White Sunday, or Whitsunday. The biblical narrative of Pentecost is given in the Book of Acts. 50 days after Resurrection, about one hundred and twenty followers of Christ, including the Twelve Apostles, heard a sound from heaven and saw tongues of fire. The Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in languages they had not known before. On that day, following Apostle Peters address, 3,000 people were baptised, coming together into the first Christian community, which was the core of the future Christian Church.

TURIN PANIC – 1,500 people were injured as they fled in fear on Saturday night in a piazza in Turin, Italy, where thousands of supporters were watching the Champions League final. According to some reports, a handrail that people had been leaning against collapsed, creating the panic. Others say people mistook firecrackers for a bomb.

JUDO – The Romanian athlete Daniel Natea Sunday won the gold in the +100 kilo category of the European Judo Open in Bucharest, defeating the Azeri Ushangi Kokauri by ippon. In the 90 kilo category, Cristian Bodîrlău won the broze, while on Saturday Monica Ungureanu won the gold in the 48 kilo category. Romania ranks 3rd in the medal standings, after France and Ukraine. 376 athletes from 29 countries took part in the competition.

ROLAND GARROS – The best ranking Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep (no. 4 WTA), is facing Spains Carla Suarez Navarro, no 23 WTA in Mondays eighth-finals Roland Garros. This will be the 12th direct match for the two, six of which were won by the Romanian. In the womens doubles event, the Romanian Irina Begu and the Chinese Saisai Zheng Sunday qualified into the quarter-finals, after defeating the Chinese pair made up of Ying-Ying Duan/Shuai Peng.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)