Radio România Internațional

Tag: Catholic Easter

  • April 21, 2019

    April 21, 2019

    Palm Sunday – Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania are today celebrating Palm Sunday, commemorating Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem prior to his Crucifixion. On Saturday, many believers and priests took part in processions in Bucharest and other cities. Palm Sunday marks the start of the last week of Lent, known as Passion Week, which remembers the most dramatic events in the life of Jesus. On Palm Sunday, as many as 1.4 million Romanians bearing names of flowers celebrate their name day. In another development, Catholic and Protestant Christians are celebrating Easter today, the biggest holiday in the Christian world. Today Pope Francis holds a Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican and will read the ‘Urbi et Orbi’ message (To the City and the World).



    Message — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis addressed Catholic and Protestant Christians the traditional Easter wish “Christ is Risen!” and made wishes to all those who are celebrating their name day on Palm Sunday. Also on Sunday, the PM Viorica Dancila conveyed a message to Orthodox Christians, recalling the significance of Palm Sunday and of the Passion Week, when people should show more empathy to each other. The PM also made good wishes to those Christians who are celebrating Easter on Sunday.



    HMS Echo – HMS Echo multi-role hydrographic survey ship arrives today in the port of Constanta (south-eastern Romania) for a 4-day stopover — the Chief of Staff of the Romanian Navy announced. During the stopover, the ship representatives will have working meetings with experts from the Maritime Hydrographic Directorate in Constanta and will have official meetings with public authorities, civilian and military officials. The presence of HMS Echo military ship in the Black Sea is part of the NATO measures meant to provide the security of Allied members on the eastern flank, according to NATO’s commitment to collective defence.



    Colombo — The explosions occurring on Sunday, on Easter Day for Catholics and Protestants, on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka have killed almost 160 people among whom 35 foreign citizens. Over 300 people have been injured. The PM of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe has condemned the attacks and has given assurances that the government is taking immediate action to control the situation. The Romanian President also condemned the attacks in Sri Lanka and said that religious freedom and faith need to be defended. Sri Lanka, an island country in South Asia, has a majority Buddhist population, Catholics accounting for almost 1.2 million of a total population of 21 million.



    Tennis — Romania’s and France’s teams have equal scores, 1-1, in the Fed Cup semi-finals, after Simona Halep, world’s no.2 player, defeated Kristina Mladenovic (66 WTA), and Mihaela Buzărnescu (30 WTA) was defeated by Caroline Garcia (21 WTA) in Rouen. Sunday will see 3 matches: Caroline Garcia – Simona Halep, Kristina Mladenovic – Mihaela Buzărnescu and Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic – Irina Begu / Monica Niculescu. For the 2nd time in history, after 46 years, Romania goes as far as the Fed Cup semi-finals. France’s performance in this competition is notable: two times champion in 1997 and 2003, finalist in 2004, 2005 and 2016, semi-finalist several times, most recently last year. If Romania defeats France, it will take on the winner of the match pitting Australia against Belarus in the final scheduled for November.



    Elections — As many as 30 million people are today expected to the polls in Ukraine to vote for the president in the final tour pitting the current president Petro Poroshenko against comedian Volodimir Zelenski, who runs as favourite in the surveys and who obtained a landslide victory in the first round. According to France Press new agency the slow pace of the anti-corruption fight and the deadlock in the conflict in eastern Ukraine made the Ukrainians vote for Zelenski. On the other hand, Poroshenko is credited by his supporters with getting the country closer to the West, redressing the army and saving the country from collapse, although no high official was indicted for corruption, France Press also writes. (translation by L. Simion)

  • March 31, 2018 UPDATE

    March 31, 2018 UPDATE

    Declassification — On Thursday the Romanian Intelligence Service declassified and made public a 2009 agreement concluded with the General Prosecutor’s Office. The document was signed by the then Prosecutor General Laura Codruta Kovesi, who is currently the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and her assistant, on the one hand, and the then head of the Romanian Intelligence Service George Maior and his first deputy, on the other hand. Based on this cooperation agreement, for 7 years the Romanian Intelligence Service granted assistance to prosecutors, and joint operative teams were set up to document certain cases. The current political class has hailed the declassification of this agreement, claiming that the state institutions concluded abnormal agreements that allowed the intelligence services to interfere in the activity of the judicial police. The opposition, in turn, has said that, on behalf of the transparency principle, the publication of the cooperation agreement was a normal gesture in a democratic state.



    Diplomacy — The Romanian Foreign Ministry confirmed the expulsion of a Romanian diplomat from Russia after Romania had previously declared a Russian diplomat ‘a persona non grata’. Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu explained that Bucharest’s decision was a gesture of solidarity with London, following the serious incidents that occurred on the British territory. After the Russian Embassy in Romania labeled the expulsion of the Russian diplomat as ‘a manifestation of collective political madness’ Teodor Melescanu retorted by saying that political madness was the nerve agent attack in the English city of Salisbury, on March 4, against a former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter. In order to send Moscow a strong signal that it cannot defy the international legislation on chemical weapons, as many as 150 Russian diplomats from North America and Europe to Australia have been expelled in sign of solidarity with Great Britain.



    Immunoglobulin — The first immunoglobulin vials requested through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism have reached Romania and will be distributed to patients, the Health Ministry officials announced. Actually 16 thousand vials from Austria will arrive to Romania, in installments, by the end of May. This week another 1,000 immunoglobulin vials came to Romania, which were bought from foreign producers by the Health Ministry’s medicine distributor. Discontinuities in immunoglobulin supply were caused by the withdrawal from the Romanian market of the producers that ensured more than 80% of the needed amount.



    Religious celebrations — Roman Catholic and Protestant believers from Romania and the world over are celebrating Easter on Sunday. This year Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers celebrate Easter one week later, so this Sunday they will mark Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. To mark this religious celebration Bucharest and other cities across Romania will host religious processions. From March 30 until April 7 Jews will be celebrating the festival of Passover when they recollect how Moses led the Jews out of Egypt following centuries of slavery.




    Gendarmerie — This weekend many cities of Romania will be hosting manifestations anticipating the anniversary of 168 years since the setting up of the Romanian Gendarmerie. There will be various events for both kids and adults who will be able to try the gendarmes’ equipment used in missions. In Bucharest people are invited to participate in the Gendarmerie Race to take place on a distance of 5 kilometers. Gendarmerie Day is marked each year on April 3.



    Weather — 29 counties in the north, center and west of Romania are under code yellow alert for strong wind and heavy rainfalls which is valid until Sunday night. The weather is getting colder all across Romania with temperatures dropping by 10 up to 12 degrees C as compared to the previous day. The wind speed will reach 45, 55 kms per hour and around 75 kms in the mountains and in the west, centre and south of the territory. On Saturday, hydrologists issued code yellow and code orange alerts for flooding in 27 river basins in the north, west, centre and south, valid until Monday at midnight. Also code yellow and code orange alerts for flooding are in place for the Danube River course on Romania’s territory for the next week. (news translated and updated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • March 31, 2018

    March 31, 2018

    Declassification — On Thursday the Romanian Intelligence Service declassified and made public a 2009 agreement concluded with the General Prosecutor’s Office. The document was signed by the then Prosecutor General Laura Codruta Kovesi, who is currently the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and her assistant, on the one hand, and the then head of the Romanian Intelligence Service George Maior and his first deputy. Based on this cooperation agreement, for 7 years the Romanian Intelligence Service granted assistance to prosecutors, and joint operative teams were set up to document certain cases. The current political class has hailed the declassification of this agreement, claiming that the state institutions concluded abnormal agreements that allowed the intelligence services to interfere in the activity of the judicial police. The opposition, in turn, has said that, on behalf of the transparency principle, the publication of the cooperation agreement was a normal gesture in a democratic state.



    Diplomacy — The Romanian Foreign Ministry confirmed the expulsion of a Romanian diplomat from Russia after Romania had previously declared a Russian diplomat ‘a persona non grata’. Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu explained that Bucharest’s decision was a gesture of solidarity with London, following the serious incidents that occurred on the British territory. After the Russian Embassy in Romania labeled the expulsion of the Russian diplomat as ‘a manifestation of collective political madness’ Teodor Melescanu retorted by saying that political madness was the nerve agent attack in the English city of Salisbury, on March 4, against a former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter. In order to send Moscow a strong signal that it cannot defy the international legislation on chemical weapons, as many as 150 Russian diplomats from North America and Europe to Australia have been expelled in sign of solidarity with Great Britain.



    Religious celebrations — Roman Catholic and Protestant believers from Romania and the world over are celebrating Easter on Sunday. This year Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers celebrate Easter one week later, so this Sunday they will mark Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. To mark this religious celebration Bucharest and other cities across Romania will host religious processions. From March 30 until April 7 Jews will be celebrating the festival of Passover when the recollect how Moses led the Jews out of Egypt following centuries of slavery.



    Gendarmerie — This weekend many cities of Romania will be hosting manifestations anticipating the anniversary of 168 years since the setting up of the Romanian Gendarmerie. There will be various events for both kids and adults who will be able to try the gendarmes’ equipment used in missions. In Bucharest people are invited to participate in the Gendarmerie Race to take place on a distance of 5 kilometers. Gendarmerie Day is marked each year on April 3. (news translated by Lacramioara Simion)

  • March 27, 2016

    March 27, 2016

    MESSAGE – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has today conveyed a message of solidarity with the victims of violence and intolerance. On the occasion of the Catholic Easter, Iohannis said in a post on his Facebook page that “these days, when we celebrate the gift of light and life, we should be close to all those who need our solidarity.” A German ethnic, President Iohannis is a Lutheran, the traditional religion of Transylvanian Saxons, who also celebrate Easter today. However, Iohannis attends the religious service at the Roman-Catholic Church in Sibiu, whose member his wife, Carmen, is. In Romania, about 1.5 million Christians are today celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The country’s majority Orthodox community and the Greek-Catholic believers will celebrate Easter on May 1st.




    SECURITY – The risk of terrorist attacks in Romania is real, but things are kept under control, Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has said. In an interview with a private TV station, Ciolos has said that intelligence services must be provided with the instruments they need in order to monitor the situation without affecting transparency and citizens’ rights. Ciolos has pleaded for a more thorough control of the prepaid phone cards sold, which in Romania can be purchased without checking the buyer’s identity, and has explained that the issue is in the attention of the justice and interior ministers. Prepaid phone cards from Romania have been used during in preparation for attacks in EU member countries, Ciolos has said. His statements come after Tuesday’s attacks at Brussels’s airport and metro station that killed 31 people and injured around 300.




    DST – Clocks changed in Romania on Saturday night, when 3 am became 4 am. The practice, known as Daylight Saving Time, is meant to use sunlight as much as possible. In summer, clocks are turned forward by one hour. Now there is a 3-hour difference between Romanias time and UTC. Sunday is thus the shortest day of the year, with only 23 hours. More than 100 different countries worldwide use Daylight Saving Time. In Romania, this system has been used since 1932.




    ANNIVERSARY — Street events are marking this evening in downtown Bucharest, the 98th anniversary of the union of Bessarabia with the Kingdom of Romania. On March 27, 1918, as the Russian Empire fell apart, the legislative body of Bessarabia voted in favour of the mostly Romanian-speaking province joining the Kingdom of Romania. The establishment of the Romanian nation state was to be completed late that same year with the union of Bukovina, in the north-east and Transylvania, Banat, Crisana and Maramures, which had that far been part of the Habsburg Empire. In 1940, further to an ultimatum, Moscow annexed both Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, which are currently part of the national territories of the ex-Soviet republics of Moldova and Ukraine.




    FOOTBALL – Romania’s national football team is playing this evening against the defending European champions Spain, in a friendly game on home turf, in preparation for the European Championship scheduled to take place this summer in France. On Wednesday, Romania won a match against Lithuania, 1-nill, in the southern Romanian town of Giurgiu. In Euro 2016, the Romanians will play the opening game, on June 10, against France, in a group that also includes Switzerland and Albania. Romania’s latest participation in a continental final tournament was in 2008, when they left the competition in the group stage.




    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, No. 5 in the world, will play against British Heather Watson in the fourth round of the Miami Open, with 6 million dollars in prize money. In the third round Halep defeated German Julia Goerges in two sets, 6-4, 6-1. In the same round, Romanian Monica Niculescu will be up against the American Coco Vanderweghe while Irina Begu will play against Krstyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic.




    (Translated by Elena Enache)