May 10, 2018 UPDATE
The Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă is on a visit to the Vatican until Sunday
Newsroom, 10.05.2018, 19:53
VISIT – The Romanian PM Viorica Dăncilă is on a visit to the Vatican until Sunday. On Friday the PM will be received by Pope Francis, followed by a meeting with his Holiness Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The chief of the Romanian government will also hold meetings with the Grand master of the Sovereign Order of Malta and with the president of the Community of SantEgidio. According to a news release issued by the Government of Romania, the PMs visit to Vatican comes against the backdrop of very good bilateral relations, in a year when Romania celebrates the Centennial of the Great Union, which will be marked at the Holy See through a number of academic and cultural events. The agenda of the visit also includes a meeting with the Romanian students attending the programmes of the “Pio Romeno Pontifical Romanian College.
JUDICIARY – The High Court of Cassation and Justice Thursday ruled to drop charges against the former PM and president of the Social Democratic Party Victor Ponta in the Turceni-Rovinari case, in which he was tried for forgery, aiding tax evasion and money laundering. The former transport minister Dan Şova, who was charged in the same case with aiding abuse of office, forgery, tax evasion and money laundering, was also acquitted. Thursdays ruling is not final, and it can be challenged by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate. In the last hearing of the trial, the Anti-Corruption Directorate requested that the former PM Victor Ponta and former Senator Dan Şova, both of them accused of corruption-related offences, should serve time in prison. The prosecutors said that in 2007 – 2008, Victor Pontas law practice received from another law firm, ”Şova şi Asociaţii”, around 39,000 euro, allegedly for work performed jointly, which in fact had never been performed. According to prosecutors, this was a form of repaying Victor Ponta for contracts awarded by the state-owned energy companies Turceni and Rovinari to “Şova şi Asociaţii.
SUMMIT – The historic summit between the US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un will take place on June 12 in Singapore, Trump confirmed on Twitter. “We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace, the US President wrote. The 2 are expected to discuss the North-Korean nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, which have further deepened the decade-long tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. Trumps announcement comes just hours after 3 American citizens detained in North Korea were released. The three arrived at a military base near Washington.
TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, number 1 in the world, was defeated by the Czech Karolina Pliskova (6 WTA), in the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Madrid, which has 6.7 million euros in total prize money. The 2 players had faced each other 7 times before, with the Romanian winning 6 times and Pliskovas only win coming in the 2016 Fed Cup. Simona Halep won the last 2 editions of the Madrid tournament.
HANDBALL – The Romanian womens handball team SCM Craiova is playing at home on Friday against the Norwegian side Vipers Kristiansand, in the second leg of the EHF Cup finals. In the first leg, last Saturday, the Norwegians won 26-22. Meanwhile, Romanian champions, CSM Bucharest, will face on Saturday the Hungarian team Gyor ETO, in the so-called Final Four, the Champions League semi-finals. If they get into the final, CSM will play on Sunday against the winner of the match pitting HC Vardar, of Macedonia, against Rostov-Don, of Russia. CSM Bucharest won the Final Four in 2016.
(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)
