Culture and Sports: Pelendritou breaks 100m breaststroke Paralympic record

04/06/2008

A Cypriot swimming gold medalist breaks another Paralympic record. Also in the news: the Sibiu International Theatre Festival opens in Romania, and the 21st International Classical Guitar Festival begins in Bulgaria.

Carolina Pelendritou. [EU]

Cypriot Paralympic Games gold medalist Carolina Pelendritou broke the Paralympic record for the women's 100-metre breaststroke Sunday (June 1st), at the Eurowaves 2008 Open Cup in the Czech Republic. Pelendritou clocked 1:17:32. This is her second record in less than a week. The first was in the women's 50-metre breaststroke in Berlin.

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The Sibiu International Theatre Festival opened on Thursday (May 29th) in Romania. The 15th-anniversary edition, titled "Energies", features over 350 performances by theatre companies from 70 countries. The 11-day programme also includes concerts, traditional Japanese theatre and ballet.

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The 21st International Classical Guitar Festival kicked off in the town of Gotse Delchev, Bulgaria, on Wednesday (May 28th). More than 130 Bulgarian and foreign guitarists are participating. A jury of 12 distinguished Bulgarian and foreign guitarists will rate them.

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The European Stability Initiative presented the documentary "Bosnia -- a Miracle That Does Not Shine" on Wednesday (May 28th) in Brussels. The 52-minute film features both achievements and difficulties that still exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), following the 1990s conflict. The project was an initiative of the Slovenian EU presidency and BiH Embassy in Belgium.

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The Council of Europe disbursed a grant worth 1m euros for excavation of the Tirana Castle, Lorenc Bejko, the head of the Albanian Cultural Monument Institute, said on Monday (June 2nd). He said the culture ministry and the Tirana municipality are also ready to provide necessary financing. Members of the public first saw the castle ruins this year, while experts and archaeologists claim they knew of its existence earlier.

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The Kosovo Ministry of Culture, with financial assistance from Turkey, has begun restoring two mosques, Mehmet Fatih in Pristina and Sinan Pasa in Prizren, which are both on the Kosovo Cultural Heritage List, Kosovo newspapers reported on Monday (June 2nd).

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The 2008 European Short Stories Festival opened on Monday (June 2nd) with the presentation of authors at the Dverce Palace in Zagreb. The event will focus on award-winning Scottish authors who will present new trends in contemporary Scottish short stories, the Scottish literary scene and Scottish identity to audiences in Zagreb and Dubrovnik.

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Three Serbs reached the semifinals of the French Open. Second seed Ana Ivanovic will face third seed and compatriot Jelena Jankovic in the women's semifinals on Thursday (June 5th). The one-country semifinal is the first in Grand Slam history. Novak Djokovic reached the men's semis by beating Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in straight sets. He will play Spain's Rafael Nadal.

(Various sources – 28/05/08-04/06/08)