HOLY WEEK – Orthodox and Eastern-Catholic Christians in Romania on Sunday are celebrating Easter. On Saturday, Jerusalem hosted the Holy Fire special service in the Holy Sepulcher, a unique ritual whereby the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem entered the Tomb of Jesus to receive the light of the Resurrection, lit by the Holy Spirit, which he then shared with the faithful. In his Easter sermon, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church said that healing the world of passing illnesses was not the ultimate design of Jesus Christ, but rather saving mankind from sin and death. The Patriarch urged Romanians to pursue good deeds. In turn, Cardinal Lucian of the Eastern-Catholic Church said that, although temptation is always lurking due to passion, evil, conflict, violence, breaches of human dignity or freedom, the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord strengthens our faith and kindles a hope that no one and nothing can destroy. The high-ranking Eastern-Catholic cleric also said that intellectual creativity and technological progress, including artificial intelligence, should be put to good use with the observance of ethical standards, in order to make society more humane and change it for the better. “The Resurrection of Christ recalls the Christian appeal to love thy neighbor and live in peace and understanding”, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis said in his Easter message, highlighting them as our cardinal values.
FRANCE – ROMANIA COOPERATION – The Romanian Foreign Minister, Luminița Odobescu, on Friday had a bilateral meeting with the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné. Talks focused on the robustness of bilateral dialogue, the close diplomatic cooperation between Bucharest and Paris regarding European topics, as well as a mutual desire to advance cooperation at both bilateral and European levels. The two foreign ministers agreed to continue joint efforts to consolidate the Strategic Agenda with a view to promoting the European project and boost resilience at EU level. Minister Odobescu thanked France for its remarkable contribution to the consolidation of the NATO Eastern Flank and for taking on the role of a framework nation in the NATO Battlegroup deployed to Romania. In addition, the Romanian official expressed gratitude for France’s growing interest in the Black Sea region, particularly in the context of Russia’s acts of aggression against Ukraine and regional challenges generated by the conflict. The two ministers highlighted the need to continue to provide multidimensional support to Ukraine and to coordinate actions to help the Republic of Moldova, a country faced with multiple security threats from the Russian Federation.
LIFE EXPECTANCY – Spain has the highest life expectancy rate at EU level – 84 years, above the EU average of 81.5 years. According to a Eurostat report, Romania has the third-lowest life expectancy in the EU, 76.6 years, followed only by Latvia with 75.9 years and Bulgaria with 75.8 years. However, the biggest increase in life expectancy rates across the EU over 2019-2023 was reported in Romania. 15 of the 27 EU Member States exceed the EU life expectancy average. Countries with lower rates are those in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, whereas countries in the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Central Europe have higher life expectancy rates.
HANDBALL – The Romanian women’s champions, CSM Bucharest, on Saturday failed to qualify to the EHF Champions league Final Four after losing to Metz of France away from home in the return leg of the quarterfinals. In the first leg Metz had won 27-24 in Bucharest. In men’s handball, Dinamo Bucharest has qualified to the EHF European League Final Four, where it will play SG Flesburg Handewitt of Germany. In the other semi-final, Fuchse Berlin, the defending champions, will go up against Rhein-Nekar Loewen in an all-German match. The Final Four tournament is hosted by Hamburg over May 25-26. (VP)
