31 December 2017, UPDATE

31 december 2017, update President Klaus Iohannis calls for unity in his New Year’s address.

New Year's address. In his New Year's message on Sunday, Romania's president Klaus Iohannis called for unity. He said that in 2018, when Romania celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Great Union of 1918 that saw all provinces with majority Romanian populations comeunder Bucharest's authority, Romanians will together have the strength to overcome the challenges of the future. He also said that in 2017 the Romanian society fully demonstrated its maturity and attachment to the democratic values. "The lessons of the past give us confidence that together, in unity and solidarity, we have the power to build a better Romania for us and for future generations", president Klaus Iohannis also said in his New Year's address.


The Custodian of the Crown of Romania, Princess Margareta, also conveyed her New Year's wishes to Romanians in Romania, the Republic of Moldova and all corners of the globe. Her father, King Michael, Romania's last sovereign, passed away on the 5th of December at the age of 96 and was buried on the 16th of December in the royal necropolis at Curtea de Arges. He reigned between 1940 and 1947, when he was forced to abdicate and go into exile by the puppet communist regime installed by the occupying Soviet troops.


Flag. A Romanian flag measuring 100 metres in length was spread out on Sunday across the railway bridge over the river Prut connecting Romania and the Republic of Moldova, an ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population. Residents from both banks of the river thus hope to raise the awareness of the authorities in Bucharest and Chisinau and persuade them to reopen the road and railway bridges over the river Prut and set up a border crossing point. The organiser of the event is the Unionist Platform, an association of non-governmental organisations and the flag's 100 m length symbolises the 100th anniversary of the Great Union of 1918. We recall that the Republic of Moldova was established on some of the Romanian eastern territories annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940 following an ultimatum.


Protests. Fresh anti-government protests have been scheduled on Monday night in Bucharest. The initiators are non-governmental organisations who accuse the government and the parliamentary majority of trying to control the judiciary by amending the legislation in the field. In their opinion, Romania is seriously deviating at this point from the standards of the rule of law and democracy. On Wednesday, talks on this subject between prime minister Mihai Tudose and the representatives of civic organisations ended without a breakthrough. The civic activists had requested the prime minister to notify the Venice Commission about the new justice laws and the changes to the criminal codes, to postpone their application through emergency order and to sack the justice minister Tudorel Toader. In a joint letter, the Bucharest embassies of France, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden called on all parties involved in the justice reform process to avoid any action that may weaken the independence of the judiciary and the fight against corruption. In response, the foreign ministry said strengthening the rule of law and the fight against corruption form part of the government's priorities.


Condolences. The patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church Daniel sent a message of condolence to the Patriarch of the Coptic Church in Egypt Tawadros II in the wake of a terrorist attack near a church in Cairo in which at least 9 people were killed. Patriarch Daniel expressed his solidarity with the Orthodox Coptic Church and his wish that peace replaces violence and religion fosters understanding among people. The Christian Coptic community in Egypt, which accounts for around 10% of Egypt's majority Muslim population of 100 million, has been the target of several bloody attacks in the past year, most of which have been claimed by the Islamic State terrorist organisation.


Corruption. The former mayor of the Black Sea port of Constanta Radu Mazare is believed to be in Madagascar, where he has reportedly requested political asylum. The police say Mazare was not forbidden to leave the country, despite facing a number of judicial restrictions imposed by the court. In the past year alone, he has been indicted in four new corruption cases, including for abuse of office. Mazare is known to have spent his holidays in Madagascar on many occasions, where he also has some investments, such as a small water sports resort on the shore of the Indian Ocean. Mazare served as Constanta mayor for four terms, from 2000 until 2015, when he resigned after he was arrested for the first time.


Handball. On the first day of January, the Romanian men's handball side start training for the Carpati Trophy which begins on the 5th of January. Portugal, Tunisia and Bahrain are also taking part. Romania, who are managed by the Spanish coach Xavi Pascual, are also preparing for the first round of the 2019 World Championships preliminary games to be held between the 11th and the 13th of January in Bolzano, Italy, and where they will face Ukraine and the Faeroe Islands, as well as the host country. Only the winners of the six preliminary groups qualify for the World Championships play-offs in June 2018. The Romanian men's handball side ranked third at the Yellow Cup tournament in Winterthur, Switzerland, after beating Serbia on Saturday night in the third-place match. Russia won the title, defeating Switzerland in the final.


Tennis. Several Romanian tennis players are taking party in the Shenzhen tournament in China, worth almost 630,000 dollars in prize money and which began on the 31st of December. In the singles, Irina Begu defeated the Chinese player Fangzhou Liu in the opening round, while Monica Niculescu was eliminated by Arina Sabalenka of Belarus.In the doubles, Irina Begu and Simona Halep have reached the quarterfinals after defeating the all Chinese pair Xinyun Han and Chen Liang. Simona Halep, who is world no. 1, will play her opening singles match against the American player Nicole Gibbs. Mihaela  Buzărnescu, who had a great season in 2017 to go up almost 500 places in the world rankings, will face Maria Sharapova, while Ana Bogdan plays against Camila Giorgi. Simona Halep is seeded first at this tournament, which she won in 2015. She must win the title to secure her no. 1 world ranking.



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Publicat: 2017-12-31 17:42:00
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