May 31, 2014
A roundup of domestic and international news
România Internațional, 31.05.2014, 13:55
Romanian President Traian Basescu is today meeting in Bucharest his Royal Highness Prince Charles of Wales, who is on a private visit to Romania. During his current visit, Prince Charles has met with villagers from Valea Zalanului, an isolated village in Covasna, Transylvania, where he owns a mansion. The mansion was refurbished and Prince Charles goes there on a regular basis. Very much interested in the preservation of historical monuments, in particular those in Transylvania, the Prince of Wales is involved in a program for the rehabilitation of several Saxon villages established in the 12th century, some of which are on UNESCO’s heritage list.
An IMF delegation is expected in Bucharest on Monday for the third assessment of the stand-by agreement with Romania. The international experts will meet authorities as well as representatives of political parties, trade unions and banks. The agenda of talks includes topics such as a potential 5% reduction of the employers’ contribution to the social security fund, as well as means to boost employment and reduce taxation. We recall that the current precautionary agreement that Romania has concluded with the IMF and the European Commission is worth 4 billion Euros.
The governmental troops’ offensive against the separatists in the east of Ukraine continues. They have rejected an attack by the pro-Russian militias at a border check point in the region of Lugansk. Kiev, through the voice of the newly elected president Petro Porosenko, has called for the punishment of the pro-Russia separatists who on Thursday shot down a government military helicopter, killing 12 soldiers, including a general. NATO has stated that Russia has pulled out almost two thirds of its troops deployed on the border with Ukraine. The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has announced that a NATO — Russia council will be held in Brussels on Monday.
The 6th edition of an International Street Theatre Festival entitled “B-FIT in the Street”, featuring dozens of performances, from giant puppet shows, concerts and light and water shows, continues in Romania’s capital Bucharest. Participating are over 200 artists from Romania, Spain, France, Holland, the UK, Slovakia, Belgium, Italy and Australia. Among the special performances to be hosted by the festival is the light and water show staged by Aquatique Show International and a special rendering of “Hamlet”, by the famous London based theatre Shakespeare’s Globe, which is on a world tour, celebrating 450 years since the birth of the great British playwright William Shakespeare.
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, ranked 4th in the WTA classification, is today playing against the Spanish player Maria Teresa Torro Floor, in the third round of the Roland Gaross open, the second Grand Slam tournament this year. Another Romanian player, Sorana Carstea, 26th seed, will also play in the third round, against Serbian Jelena Jankovici, who is the tournament’s favourite no. 6. In the women’s double, Romanian Irina Camelia Begu and Italian Karin Knapp will play against the pair made up of Americans Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigal Spears. In the men’s double, Romania is represented by Horia Tecau, playing alongside the Dutch Jean Julien Rojer.
