August 27, 2014
News and current affairs from Romania
Ştefan Stoica, 27.08.2014, 11:57
Romanian PM Victor Ponta is in neighboring Moldova, attending an inaugural ceremony with his counterpart Iurie Leanca for inaugurating the Iasi-Ungheni gas pipeline. The 43 km pipeline is aimed at reducing Moldovan dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Romania is to deliver an initial 50 million cubic meters per year, a quantity to eventually triple. Bucharest footed most of the 26 million Euro bill, with the EC funding the rest. Ponta’s visit coincides with Moldova’s celebration of its independence from the USSR 23 years ago. On August 27, 1991, after the putsch in Moscow failed, the Moldovan parliament, under popular pressure, voted to break away from the USSR. The Republic of Moldova was constituted after Stalin’s regime took over Romanian territories in 1940. Stay tuned for details after the news.
The three day Annual Romanian Diplomacy Meeting starts today in Bucharest. Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean is joined by Romanian heads of diplomatic missions abroad and heads of Romanian cultural institutes all over the world in an analysis and review of Romanian diplomatic activity and aims. According to the ministry, the meeting comes against the background of major regional and international events, such as the security situation in Ukraine and the European aspirations of Moldova and Ukraine, as well as EU economic and energy issues. Among the foreign guests are EU head of diplomacy Catherine Ashton, who also acts as vice-president of the EU, as well as the Georgian and Moldovan foreign ministers, Maia Panjikidze and Natalia Gherman.
Romania’s football champions Steaua Bucharest play tonight in Sofia, Bulgaria, against local team Ludogorets Razgrad, in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs. In the first leg, Steaua won the home gaime 1-0. In the Europa League, Romanian Cup winners Astra Giurgiu play on Thursday on home turf against French team Olympique Lyon, which they defeated 2-1 in the first leg of the playoffs. Also in the Europa League, Petrolul Ploiesti play away from home against Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, which defeated them at home 1-3.
All five Romanian players in the New York US Open have qualified for the second stage of the last Grand Slam of the year. Last night, the last Romanian to join the fray, Monica Niculescu, defeated Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan after a game almost three hours long. Niculescu is set to meet Barbora Zakhlavova-Strycova of the Czech Reublic in the second stage. Sorana Carstea previously defeated British player Heather Watson, and will go on to play against Canadian Eugenie Bouchard. Simona Halep, currently second in the world, plays against Jana Cepalova of Slovakia, Alexandra Dulgheru meets Russian powerhouse Maria Sharapova, while Irina Begu plays against Italian Roberta Vinci.
