Radio România Internațional

Tag: Assumption

August 15, 2023

CELEBRATION – Orthodox Christians and Catholic believers are today marking the Dormition of Virgin Mary, also known as the Assumption of Virgin Mary, the oldest religious holiday dedicated to the Mother of Jesus. The term “Dormition“ or “falling asleep” is a reminder that Mary’s death was a gentle and holy passage from earthly life into the arms of her Son. It is a day of celebration for the reunion of Mother and her Son rather than one of mourning and loss. The feast is preceded by 14 days of strict fasting. The Dormition or the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, marked every year on the 15th of August, is a public holiday in Romania.

NAVY DAY – The Romanian Naval Forces contribute significantly to the improvement of the regional, European and Euro-Atlantic security, and the missions carried out with our allies and partners from NATO and the European Union in order to make the territorial waters and those of the world safer, fully prove this fact, Romania President Klaus Iohannis said in Constanta (south-east), where the Navy Day celebrations are under way. Romania, the head of state emphasized, is important for NATOs reinforced deterrence and defense posture, and the presence and activity of the 5,000 allied soldiers in the country clearly proves our unity, solidarity and unwavering commitment, as Allies, to the provisions of the North Atlantic Treaty, including in terms of collective defense. The Romanian Naval Forces have had and will continue to have a significant contribution to the security of Romania and our partners in the North-Atlantic area, said in turn Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, who also attends the ceremonies alongside other high-ranking officials.

EXERCISE – About 250 servicemen from France and Luxembourg and 65 pieces of military equipment from the NATO Battle Group stationed in Romania are involved as of Monday until August 18th in a military drill entitled DEPLOYEX, which is taking place in the shooting range at Babadag, south-eastern Romania, the Romanian Defense Ministry has announced. The exercise is meant to test the rapid deployment of troops and military gear and contributes to improving the level of interoperability of the forces making up the NATO Battle Group, being a sequel of the training programs earlier staged in Cincu, central Romania. The NATO battle group contributes to increasing Romanias military cooperation with the rotating participant countries, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and implicitly to strengthening the security of the Euro-Atlantic space on the Eastern Flank, a Defense Ministry communiqué writes. Cooperation with the strategic partners and the existence on the national territory of relevant war structures contribute to raising the of defense and deterrence capabilities in the context of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Black Sea region, the ministry also shows.

FIREFIGHTERS – Two aircraft of the Romanian Air Force transported 20 Romanian firefighters and three special vehicles to the island of Corsica, France, on a mission to put out wildfires, the Romanian Ministry of Defense has announced. The Romanian firefighters thus answered the request for support by the French authorities through the CECIS (Common Emergency Communication and Information System) a dedicated information portal of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, as a result of the situation created by the extension of wildfires in recent days. The Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union coordinates the response to natural and man-made disasters at the EU level, allowing the provision of coordinated, effective and rapid assistance in support of the affected populations.

CHISINAU – Dozens of Russian diplomats and employees in administrative positions with the Russian embassy and consulate and the Russian culture center in Chisinau, as well as members of their families, left the Republic of Moldova on Monday. Last month, the small state neighboring Romania and Ukraine ordered the reduction of the number of Russian diplomats and technical personnel on its territory, to 25 from 80, to establish parity with Moldovas embassy in Moscow. The decision was taken amid concerns about alleged Russian attempts to destabilize Moldova.

WASHINGTON –Romanian tennis player Irina Begu is today up against the Czech Marie Bouzkova, in the first round of the WTA tournament in Cincinnati (Ohio, USA). This is the first time that Begu and Bouzkova meet on court. The other Romanian in the competition, Sorana Cirstea, will face the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova on Wednesday, also for the first time, in the first round of the American tournament. (EE)

15 August 2023
August 14, 2023 UPDATE

Government – The Romanian government is working on finalizing two laws aimed at reducing the budget deficit. According to a draft law made public recently, the owners of luxury cars would have to pay a tax. Those who work in the IT field, now exempt from taxation, will have to pay the tax, if their salary exceeds 10,000 lei (about 2,000 Euros) per month. Those working in constructions and agriculture will have to pay health insurance contributions, from now on. Finally, state employees who have a monthly gross salary of over 10,000 lei will no longer receive holiday vouchers. SMEs with incomes up to 300,000 lei will pay a tax of 1%, and those that exceed this income will pay a tax of 3%. Regarding the emergency ordinance that will reduce the state apparatus, the government is analyzing the possibility of abolishing 200,000 unfilled positions, merging some public institutions and reducing the number of state secretaries, the number of management positions, the number of members in the boards of administrators and of members of local authorities offices. Some of the measures mentioned in the press are already publicly contested by state employees and the business environment.

Mini-holiday – This is the busiest period on the Romanian Black Sea coast resorts this summer as many Romanians are on a mini-holiday occasioned by the Christian celebration of the Assumption of Mary also called the Dormition of the Mother of God in the Eastern Church. Over 120 thousand tourists are estimated to be spending this mini-holiday in Romanias seaside resorts. From the resort of Mamaia to Vama Veche, musical events, theatre performances and open-air recitals are attracting tourists as well as the demonstrative military drills due on August 15th which also marks the Navy Day in Romania. After a break of four years, people will be able to witness from the shores of the cities of Constanta and Mangalia a series of military exercises involving the participation of Romanias naval forces followed by a parade of its warships. The Romanian seamen will participate in a series of games and contests, which will be followed by fireworks at night. Numerous events are already underway on the Romanian Black Sea coast, and are likely to continue for the entire week. Standing out among them is the Festival of the ancient cities of Dobrogea at Tropaeum Traiani in Adamclisi, southern Romania.

Conviction – The former Social Democratic finance minister, Darius Vâlcov, who was definitively convicted by the Romanian justice system and fled to Italy, was brought to the country on Monday afternoon, under escort, by an airline flight. He is to serve a 6-year sentence in a penitentiary. The extradition took place after the Court of Cassation in Rome issued a final sentence in this regard. Vâlcov is the first famous fugitive that the Romanian authorities manage to bring from Italy. Several Romanians convicted by the countrys courts, mostly in corruption cases, found refuge there to escape prison.

Exercise – About 250 servicemen from France and Luxembourg and 65 pieces of military equipment from the NATO Battle Group stationed in Romania are involved as of Monday until August 18th in a military drill entitled DEPLOYEX, which is taking place in the shooting range at Babadag, south-eastern Romania, the Romanian Defense Ministry has announced. The exercise is meant to test the rapid deployment of troops and military gear and contributes to improving the level of interoperability of the forces making up the NATO Battle Group, being a sequel of the training programs earlier staged in Cincu, central Romania. The NATO battle group contributes to increasing Romanias military cooperation with the rotating participant countries, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and implicitly to strengthening the security of the Euro-Atlantic space on the Eastern Flank, a Defense Ministry communiqué writes. Cooperation with the strategic partners and the existence on the national territory of relevant war structures contribute to raising the of defense and deterrence capabilities in the context of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Black Sea region, the ministry also shows.

Ice cream – Romania is the ninth producer of ice cream in the European Union, with a production of 35 million liters in 2022, according to data published on Monday by Eurostat. Germany ranks first, with a production of 620 million liters, followed by France and Italy. Besides being the largest producer of ice cream in 2022, Germany produced, on average, the cheapest ice cream in the EU, at a price of 1.5 Euros per liter. At the opposite pole, the most expensive ice cream was made in Austria, with an average price of 7 Euros per liter. The member countries produced a quantity of 3.2 billion liters of ice cream last year, increasing by 5% compared to 2021.

14 August 2023
Crowds take to the seaside and mountain resorts

As every year around this time, the Romanian Black Sea Coast is the favorite destination of a large number of Romanians, as on August 15 Romanians celebrate both the Assumption of Mary and the Navy Day, and this year’s long weekend was another reason for choosing the Black Sea resorts. Official data show that more than 120 thousand tourists are now at the seaside during the Assumption mini-holiday. The accommodation units occupancy rate in the seaside resorts exceeds 90%, and many hotels, guesthouses or villas are at full capacity, despite the skyrocketing prices. Mamaia, Eforie Nord and Neptun are the most crowded resorts, and tourists come from all areas of the country.

Events take place all along the Black Sea Coast: music festivals attract thousands of young people to the beaches of Venus and Vama Veche, and theater, music and ballet evenings make headlines in Mamaia and Constanţa, where the Madrigal Choir offers a series of performances on the Casino Promenade. The events started a few days ago and will continue throughout the week. The peak of the events organized by the Romanian Naval Forces to celebrate Navy Day will be on August 15, in Constanţa. The military sailors will present, after an absence of four years, a joint demonstration exercise called Romanian Naval Forces 2023, on the esplanade in front of the Fleet Command. After the speeches addressed by Romanian officials and the religious service, anchors of flowers will be thrown into the sea water in memory of the seafaring heroes, who sleep their eternal sleep in the depths of the waters. The god Neptune will appear from the sea through a water gate, secured by tugboats. The demonstrations will thus start with the opening greeting message of the exercise performed by helicopters and fast boats, which will carry the flags of Romania, the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union.

The moment will be followed by the parade of the Mircea Training Vessel, Romanias Honorary Ambassador on the seas and oceans of the world, with cadets from the Mircea the Elder Naval Academy at the spars. The public will be able to admire from the promenades in Constanța and Mangalia the demonstration exercises of the naval forces and the parade of dozens of military ships, alongside aircraft and helicopters, soldiers from the national defense structures, as well as from the partner countries within the Alliance. Ship and sailor games and contests will be organized in the tourist ports, and in the evening, after the sailors retire with torches, the local authorities will offer a multimedia show created for the first time in Romania with the help of light drones and fireworks. The Interior Ministry has announced that it has increased public order troops, especially in congested areas, given that events with large audiences will be organized throughout the country. The mountain areas are also crowded during the Assumption mini-holiday as many Romanians chose the mountain resorts for relaxation these days. (LS)

14 August 2023
August 15, 2022

Celebrations. Christian believers are celebrating today the
Assumption of Mary, one of the biggest feasts of the year. Some 2.3 million
Romanians are celebrating their name day today. August 15th is also
the Navy Day, as Virgin Mary is the protector of sailors. Events to mark this
day are underway in Romania’s Danube and Black Sea ports. The festivities in
Contanta have been attended by Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis, who stressed
the importance of sailors’ work, which entails lots of sacrifices but also satisfaction. PM Nicolae Ciuca too
has conveyed a message, stating that he will support programs aimed at
modernizing the Romanian army. In turn, the defense minister Vasile Dincu has
voiced conviction that starting next year, the Romanian Naval Forces will be
better equipped and prepared. On Navy Day, visitors to the port of Constanta
can watch exhibitions and a virtual sea battle.

Firefighters. Romanian firefighters continue their mission
in the Chapelle Saint Blaise area, south of Bordeaux, France. 36 firefighters
and several pieces of equipment have been deployed in the region, where they
have to work in harsh conditions: high temperatures, low humidity and strong
winds. Their mission is to keep the fire from spreading to the residential area
and to put out hidden outbreaks. A total of 77 firefighters are supporting the French authorities in their fight against wildfires,
caused by extreme heat and severe drought.

Olympiad. Young Romanians
obtained new outstanding results in Informatics. The Romanian team won four
medals, the second place in Europe and the 8th place in the world, out of 90
countries, at the International Olympiad in Informatics held in Indonesia.
Alexandru Luchianov won the gold medal, Luca Perju Verzotti and Alexandru Raul
Todoran each took the silver and Andrei Robert Ion, the bronze medal. The
Minister of Education, Sorin Cîmpeanu, who announced on Facebook the success of
the Romanian high school students, said that now Romania is in second place in
a ranking of the international informatics Olympiads of all time. He thanked
all those who over the years have made such a performance possible, students,
teachers and parents.

Rasnov. Two special screenings and 12
international documentaries, from 11 countries, are part of the program of the 14th edition of the Râşnov Film and
History Festival (central Romania). The selection of documentaries includes
films from Chile, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Romania, France, Australia, USA,
Belgium, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. According to the organizers, the theme
of the festival this year is focused around the idea of borders, a concept
that aims to bring answers to multiple questions and challenges related to
individual and creative freedoms that today’s society faces.

Tennis. Romanian tennis
player Simona Halep (15 WTA) won the WTA 1,000 tournament in Toronto (Canada),
with over 2.5 million dollars in prize money. She defeated, on Sunday, in the
final, the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia (24 WTA), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Simona thus
won the Canadian Open for the third time, after the finals she won in Montreal
in 2016 and 2018. For the former world leader, this is the 24th title of her career.
After the victory in Toronto, Simona Halep climbed nine places up the rankings
and is now sixth in the WTA classification.

World record. The Romanian swimmer David
Popovici has qualified for today’s 200 m freestyle final at the European
Aquatics Championship in Rome. On Saturday, he set a new 100 meter freestyle
world record . The 17-year-old athlete is also the defending world champion in
the 200 m freestyle. Romania is represented in Rome by a delegation of 11
athletes. (MI)

15 August 2022
Ceremonies and pilgrimages in Romania

In Romania, which has an Orthodox
majority, pilgrimages to various monasteries around the country are commonplace
on this occasion. Numerous Orthodox believers gathered around the Nicula
Monastery in Cluj, north-western Romania, while Greek-Catholics attended the
religious service at the St. Mary’s Sisters Church in Cluj-Napoca.

Thousands of believers of various
denominations gathered at the Maria Radna Basilica in Arad, western Romania,
where the religious service was offered in several languages, Hungarian,
Romanian, German and Croatian. And because St. Mary is also known as the patron
saint of sailors, on August 15th Romania also celebrates its Navy
Day, with a series of religious and military ceremonies in its ports and cities
at the Black Sea and the Danube. The Navy Day was marked on Sunday in the
Military Port of Constanta, on the Black Sea coast through an anniversary
ceremony, which was also attended by the country’s president Klaus Iohannis.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic this
year the public wasn’t allowed to attend the ceremonies, which were limited to
a military parade of the war vessels, which the locals and tourists could watch
from the coast. The parade this year, which was headed by the Marasesti
Frigate, the biggest warship ever built in Romania, was attended by vessels
belonging to Romania’s Armed Forces and to its Interior Ministry and by a
frigate from Turkey. On this occasion, President Iohannis reviewed the Guard of
Honour, made up of Romanian, British and US troops and offered medals to Fleet
56 and the Maritime Hydrographic Direction for their activity.

The president thanked the Romanian
sailors and their families for their daily efforts and sacrifices and mentioned
the strategic role played by the Romanian Navy in our present time, when the Black
Sea region’s geo-strategic role had been increased as the foreign border of the
EU and by its NATO membership.

The National Security and the
security of the Romanian citizens are the main vectors guiding our strategic
positioning as well as the efforts of the Romanian Armed Forces’, Iohannis went
on to say. According to the Romanian official, ‘significant progress has been
made in recent years in the process of fitting the Romanian Navy with the
necessary equipment, including through a programme aimed at streamlining the
coastal defence system. As part of this process, Iohannis recalled that the
documents of an inter-governmental procurement agreement between the United
States and Romania were signed in April.

(bill)

16 August 2021
August 15, 2016 UPDATE

ASSUMPTION FEAST On Monday,
Christian believers celebrated the Assumption of Mary, the oldest celebration
of Virgin Mary. On this day, believers and pilgrims from all over the
country go to churches and monasteries to pray. In the Christian faith, the
Mother of God is the most revered after the Holy Trinity. She gave birth to the
Son of God as a human being, and when she died she was taken up into Heaven.
August 15th is also the Romanian Navy Day. To celebrate the occasion, Romania’s
president Klaus Iohannis participated in the events held on the promenade of
the Black Sea port-town of Constanta. In his speech, the president said that
what’s happening in the Black Sea Area is no longer a local matter.
Developments in this area have effects beyond its borders and implications for the Euro-Atlantic
security, and the Black Sea is important from a strategic point of view. That
is why Romania’s stand and its main security options are so decisive now, the
president also said.

SUMMER UNIVERSITY Representatives
of the Romanian historical communities and the Diaspora took part on Monday in
the Feast of the Assumption of Mary at the Monastery in Izvoru Muresului,
dubbed the monastery of the Romanians around the world. According to the Bishop of Covasna and Harghita Andrei
Moldovan, this monastery is an oasis of Romanian spirituality. Starting August
15th, for a week, Harghita county in central Romania is playing host to the
14th Izvoru Muresului Summer University. There are 100 participants, including
representatives of the academic environment, of the main political parties, of
Romanian communities in the country and
around the borders. The theme of this year’s edition is The Romanian State and
the Romanians on the Border of the EU and NATO. The participants will talk
about inter-faith conflicts and xenophobic manifestations in Europe, the fight
against human trafficking and the law on postal voting.

LOCARNO The feature film
Scarred Hearts by the Romanian director Radu Jude won the Special Jury Award at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.
A post on the festival’s web page reads that the film was highly praised by
international critics. This is Radu Jude’s fourth feature film. Last year he
won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival with Aferim!.

DRILLS On Monday, Russia started tactical
drills in the east of the Mediterranean, to test its military capacity to
counterattack terrorist threats, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced.
The participating ships are equipped with long-range Kalibr missiles, which
were used to hit Jihadist strongholds in Syria in 2015. In the past months, Russia has strengthened its naval capacity in the east of the Mediterranean, as
part of its intervention in Syria, where it is running an air-strike campaign in
support for president Bashar al-Assad’s troops.

VISIT The US Vice President
Joe Biden is paying a two-day visit to Serbia and Kosovo. The White House has
not given details about the agenda of talks, but the visit is taking place five
months after the one paid to the White House by the former president of Kosovo,
Mrs. Atifete Jahjaga, news agencies report. Back then, Vice President Biden stressed the US’s support for the
dialogue with Serbia, facilitated by the EU, encouraging the Kosovo government
to take steps forward in normalizing its relations with Serbia, 16 years after
the NATO air intervention, which opened the door for the former province’s
independence. On Thursday, the Serbian Parliament endorsed a new, populist
government, headed by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who promised to pursue
Serbia’s EU integration, while at the same time maintaining close ties with
Russia.

FOOTBALL The Romanian
football squad Steaua Bucharest will play against Manchester City on home turf
on Tuesday, in a match counting for the first leg of the Champions League’s
play-off. The return game is scheduled for august 24th in Manchester. If it
manages to defeat Manchester, Steaua will qualify for the Champions League
groups.

TENNIS Romanian Simona Halep, ranked 3rd in
the WTA classification, is taking part in the Cincinnati tournament, in the US,
with 2.8 million dollars in prize money. She will start straight in the second
round of the competition. Another Romanian player, Irina Begu, no. 24 in the
WTA rankings, is also taking part in the tournament, but enters the competition
in the first round. In 2015, Simona Halep played the Cincinnati final, but was
defeated by Serena Williams. This tournament is the last before the famous US
Open, the last Grand Slam of the year.

15 August 2016