Radio România Internațional

Tag: epiphany

January 6, 2023 UPDATE

UKRAINE – The Kremlin has
announced that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has ordered his forces to
observe a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, on the occasion of the Old Rite
Orthodox Christmas, following a call to this effect by the Patriarch of Moscow,
Kirill. Putin invited the Ukrainian forces to respect this truce, to enable the
Orthodox, the majority denomination in both countries, to attend the Christmas
services. Patriarch Kirill’s call had been rejected by the advisor to the
Ukrainian Presidency, Mykhailo Podoliak, who denounced, on Twitter, right
before Putin’s announcement, what he called a cynical trap. Podoliak accused
Putin of not having the slightest desire to end the war and of trying to
convince the Europeans to put pressure on Kyiv for peace negotiations, an
option that Ukraine has systematically refused. For his part, the American
president, Joe Biden, appreciated that Putin wants a breath of air,
by launching the truce in Ukraine, given that, on December 25 and the New Year,
he was prepared to bomb hospitals, nurseries and churches.

FLU – Health Minister
Alexandru Rafila gave assurances that the authorities have identified solutions
to replinish the drug stocks of pharmacies and hospitals in order to treat the
wave of respiratory diseases and flu facing Romania at present. On Friday,
Minister Rafila discussed wit hthe top medicine producers and supplies in
Romania in order to address the shortage of drugs on the market amidst a
significat surge in demand in recent days. The estimated consum,ption for this
year was long exceeded in the context of the wave of respiratory diseases,
Minister Rafila pointed out. Currently, Romania is expecting the European
Commission to greenlight a proposal to introduce a temporary ban on the export
of certain drugs. Respiratory infections have been reporting an accelerate
increase in the last three weeks, prompting Bucharest authorities to declare a
state of epidemiological alert.

MAGISTRACY – The new president of
the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) in Romania, judge Daniel Grădinaru,
said that he wants unity within this body and a loyal cooperation with the
other state institutions. The new vice-president, prosecutor Daniel
Horodniceanu, former head of DIICOT (Directorate for Investigating Organized
Crime and Terrorism) has also pleaded for unity in the new Council, an
institution that manages the careers of magistrates and which, in recent years,
has been divided was unanimously voted for,
and the mandate of the two heads last one year, with no possibility of
extension. CSM is made up of nine judges and five prosecutors elected by
magistrates in the general assemblies of the courts and prosecutors’ offices,
two representatives of civil society elected by the Senate and three legal
members – the Minister of Justice, the President of the High Court of Cassation
and Justice and the Prosecutor General of Romania. All members have a six-yea
term, which cannot be renewed.

BORDERS – Nearly 4 million
people entered and left Romania during the winter holidays, representing a 75%
increase compared to 2021. 2.5 million people entered the country and 1.8
million people left, the Border Police reports. The highest traffic rates were
reported on the Hungarian border (1.4 million people) and in airports (1.2
million people).

EPIPHANY -Christians in Romania celebrated on
Friday the Baptism of the Lord, known as the Epiphany. The priests celebrated
outside churches the service of the Consecration of the water, in memory of the
Baptism received by Jesus Christ in the waters of the River Jordan. According
to theologians, after 30 years of life in anonymity, Jesus Christ, the Son of
God incarnate, began his mission on the banks of the River Jordan, where the
Prophet John baptized those who repented of their sins. The faithful who went to
church on this day received holy water, during a special service held after the
liturgy.

TIMIȘOARA – The city of Timișoara in western Romania is one of the 60 European cities
that were named Capitals of Culture in 2023. According to the European
Commission, the cities will be hosting numerous events, exhibitions and
performances to mark this occasion. The European Capital of Culture is an award
bearing testimony to European richness and diversity and is meant to boost
sustainable tourism and the development of recipient cities. (MI & VP)

6 January 2023
January 6, 2023

Alert. Today, the Romanian Ministry of Health is having talks with the most important manufacturers and distributors of medicines in Romania to find a solution to the lack of some treatments on the market, against the background of the significant increase in demand recently. Consumption estimates for this year were far exceeded in the context of the wave of viral infections lately, Minister Alexandru Rafila said, and currently an opinion is expected from the European Commission regarding the proposal to suspend the export of some medicines. Because of the accelerated increase, for three weeks in a row, in the number of respiratory infections, the authorities in Bucharest have decided to declare a state of epidemiological alert.

Magistracy. The new president of the Superior Council of Magistracy (SCM) in Romania, judge Daniel Grădinaru, said that he wants unity within this body and a loyal cooperation with the other state institutions. The new vice-president, prosecutor Daniel Horodniceanu, former head of DIICOT (Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism) has also pleaded for unity in the new Council, an institution that manages the careers of magistrates and which, in recent years, has been divided in terms of statements and points of view regarding important justice-related issues. The new management of SCM was unanimously voted for, and the mandate of the two heads last one year, with no possibility of extension. The SCM is made up of nine judges and five prosecutors elected by magistrates in the general assemblies of the courts and prosecutors offices, two representatives of civil society elected by the Senate and three legal members – the Minister of Justice, the President of the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Prosecutor General of Romania. All members have a six-yea term, which cannot be renewed.

Ukraine. The Kremlin has announced that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has ordered his forces to observe a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, on the occasion of the Old Rite Orthodox Christmas, following a call to this effect by the Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill. Putin invited the Ukrainian forces to respect this truce, to enable the Orthodox, the majority denomination in both countries, to attend the Christmas services. Patriarch Kirills call had been rejected by the advisor to the Ukrainian Presidency, Mihailo Podoliak, who denounced, on Twitter, right before Putins announcement, what he called a cynical trap. Podoliak accused Putin of not having the slightest desire to end the war and of trying to convince the Europeans to put pressure on Kyiv for peace negotiations, an option that Ukraine has systematically refused. For his part, the American president, Joe Biden, appreciated that Putin wants “a breath of air”, by launching the truce in Ukraine, given that, on December 25 and the New Year, he was prepared to bomb hospitals, nurseries and churches.

Epiphany. Christians in Romania celebrate, today, the Baptism of the Lord, known as the Epiphany. The priests officiate in front of the churches the service of the Consecration of the water, in memory of the Baptism received by Jesus Christ in the waters of the River Jordan. According to theologians, after 30 years of life in anonymity, Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate, began his mission on the banks of the River Jordan, where the Prophet John baptized those who repented of their sins. The faithful who go to church today will receive “agheasma”, holy water, during a special service held after the liturgy, in front of the churches or on the river banks.

Tennis. Romanian tennis player Irina Begu qualified, on Friday, for the semi-finals of the Adelaide International 1 (WTA 500) tournament in Australia, with more than 800 thousand dollars in prize money, after defeating the Russian Veronika Kudermetova 7-5, 6-4. Begu (32 years, 34 WTA) won the match after more than two hours (2 h 09 min). The Romanian will play in the semifinals with the Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, who defeated the Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 7-5. The only direct match between Begu and Sabalenka ended with the Romanians victory, 6-4, 6-4, last year, in the second round in Miami.

Handball. The Romanian mens national handball team was defeated by the Spanish team 42-29, on Thursday evening, in Benidorm, in a training tournament. In the other match on Thursday, Argentina beat Bahrain 31-27. The matches Romania – Argentina and Spain – Bahrain will be played on Friday, and the matches Romania – Bahrain and Spain – Argentina are scheduled for Saturday. Outside of Romania, the other teams participating in the tournament are qualified for the World Championship hosted by Poland and Sweden, between January 11-29. (MI)

6 January 2023
January 6, 2022

EPIPHANY – Christians in Romania celebrate the Epiphany today, one of the most important religious holidays in the country. This holiday marks the day when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. On this day, priests hold special services and distribute holy water, called agheasma, to believers. The believers use it to bless their houses, goods, and animals, as it is believed that this blessed water has miraculous powers and protects them. They also drink the water every morning, for eight days. Because this holiday involves the participation of numerous people, in all the churches across Romania, measures were taken to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Winter holidays in Romania are due to end on Friday with a festivity celebrating the birth of St. John the Baptist.

PROTESTS — Trade unionists with ALRO Slatina, in southern Romania, the largest aluminium plant in Central and Eastern Europe, have today taken to the streets in protest at the leadership’s decision to reduce production due to the energy crisis. According to protesters, more than 1,000 employees risk being laid off. Protests were also held at the aluminium plant in Tulcea, in the south-east, over the growing energy prices. The plant has already reduced production and the workers fear they may lose their jobs. In another development, the Social Democratic party (in power) has announced it will ask for a revision of the legislation regarding the protection of citizens from the constant increase in the energy and gas prices.

EDUCATION – The Romanian students’ associations have announced they will protest in front of the Education Ministry in Bucharest today and will challenge in Court the Minister’s order that leaves 730,000 of them without scholarships. The National Students’ Council have condemned the measure by which the education ministry decided to deprive tens of thousands of children of their right to education. The threshold for a merit scholarship was raised from 8.5 to 9.5, a criterion that students see as ineffective and unfair. Students also want the new criterion to be enforced only starting next year. In his turn, Education Minister Sorin Cimpeanu has recently said that during the classes held online due to the pandemic, grades were distorted so that 50% of Romania’s students could have received merit scholarships.

CORONAVIRUS — The number of Covid-19 infections in Romania has increased four times as against last week. More than 6 thousand cases have been announced today, as the Romanian authorities are getting ready for the 5th wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds of patients are in intensive care. The Department for Emergency Situations passed a decision that reintroduces compulsory face covering both outdoors and indoors. Also, only surgical masks or FFP2 masks can be used, as they provide better protection than cloth masks. Other restrictions will be reintroduced, depending on the number of new infections. The infection rate per one thousand people is on the increase in most counties and in Bucharest, and it stands at 0.67 at national level.

KAZAKHSTAN – Russia sent paratroopers into Kazakhstan on Thursday to quell a countrywide uprising after deadly violence spread across the former Soviet state, Reuters reports. Authorities said they had killed dozens of rioters in the main city Almaty, while13 members of the security forces had died, including two who had been decapitated. According to Reuters, a presidential residence and the mayors office were both ablaze. As the Internet had been shut down across the country the full extent of the violence was impossible to confirm. Protests started after a sudden increase in fuel prices but spread rapidly, taking authorities by surprise. Romania’s diplomatic personnel in Almaty is safe and the diplomatic mission in Kazakhstan is in touch with those almost 100 Romanian citizens in this country, mostly experts working in private companies, the Romanian Foreign Ministry announced.

HANDBALL – Romanias mens national handball team is training for the preliminary qualifying tournament of the World Championship, on home turf in Cluj-Napoca (northwest). Between January 7-9, 2022, the Romanians will take on the national teams of Israel, Cyprus and the Republic of Moldova. Last week, Romania played, also in Cluj, two training matches with the Turkish national team, and won both of them. The friendly matches replaced in the program of the two teams a new edition of the traditional Carpathian Trophy, which was canceled, as several members of the Swiss and Iranian teams tested positive for Covid-19. The coach of the Romanian team is the famous Spanish Xavi Pasqual, who won the Champions League with Barcelona three times. (EE)

6 January 2022
January 6, 2021 UPDATE

VACCINE A third batch of 15,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine has arrived in Romania on the airports in Bucharest, Cluj Napoca and Timisoara. Romanias immunization programme started on December 27th, and over 58,000 medical workers have been immunized so far. The campaign’s second stage is to commence at the end of next week and will be addressing vulnerable people and workers in key sectors. Authorities estimate that the third stage of the programme, targeting the entire population, may begin in April. Since the onset of the pandemic, roughly 654 thousand people have been infected on Romania’s territory and nearly 16,300 died.

PARTNERSHIP Romania joined the effort of several EU member states for the development of a European mechanism for the access of Eastern Partnership countries to the anti-COVID-19 vaccine. The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu and his counterparts from Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia sent a joint letter to the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and to other top European Commission officials. The document voices support for a EU mechanism enabling Eastern Partnership countries to have access to anti-COVID-19 vaccines, similar to Western Balkan countries. The 13 foreign ministers emphasized that the initiative will indirectly benefit millions of citizens in the Eastern Partnership countries and will strengthen health security within the EU.

GOVERNMENT Financial
audits in all companies and institutions subordinated to ministries and the
possible reopening of schools on February 8 were the main topics of Wednesday’s
government meeting. By February 4, ministers are to present the PM Florin Cîţu reports
on the financial state of all subordinated companies and solutions and
deadlines to making them efficient. Meanwhile, the education minister Sorin
Cîmpeanu announced schools may reopen in the second half of the academic year. He
explained a decision will be made by the end of January. Sorin Cimpeanu added
that in the meantime schools remain closed and classes are taught exclusively
online.

ALERTS Hydrologists have extended and broadened code-yellow and orange alerts for flooding on several rivers in northern, central and southern Romania. Scores of towns and villages in 11 counties across Romania have been affected by flooding in the past days. Heavy rainfalls have caused damage and temporarily disrupted traffic on several national and county roads. Rail traffic has also been disrupted and special teams have intervened to pump water out of households and unblock roads and railways in several regions.

DONATION The Romanian Defence Ministry Wednesday donated COVID-19 personal protective equipment to the Defence Ministry of the Republic of Moldova. The new batch, consisting in face masks, face shields and overgarments follows a previous donation made last spring and is part of a support package for the Republic of Moldova, reiterated by the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis during a recent visit to Chişinău. According to the Romanian Defence Ministry, this reconfirms Romanias commitment to supporting the Moldovan authorities and their efforts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

AMBASSADORS Nine
candidates for ambassador posts were interviewed by Parliament’s specialised
committees on Wednesday. Daniela Popescu, the candidate for Romania’s ambassador
to the UK, and Cristian Istrate, the candidate for Romania’s ambassador to the Russian
Federation, are among those who received the greenlight. The interviews had
been scheduled for last November, but were deferred.

HOLY DAY January 6th is a major date for Orthodox and Catholic believers in Romania, a country with an Orthodox majority, which today celebrated Epiphany or the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. On Wednesday priests gave special services and distributed holy water to believers. Because this holiday involves the participation of numerous people, in all the churches across Romania, measures were taken to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Winter holidays in Romania are due to end on Thursday with a festivity celebrating the birth of St. John the Baptist. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

6 January 2021
January 6, 2021

VACCINE The third batch of 15 thousand doses of
Covid-19 vaccine has arrived in Romania on the airports in Bucharest, Cluj
Napoca and Timisoara. The immunization campaign in Romania kicked off on
December 27th and over 41 medical workers have been immunized so
far. The campaign’s second stage is to commence at the end of next week and
will be addressing vulnerable people and the workers in the country’s key
sectors. Authorities estimate that the third stage of the campaign, which is
targeting the entire population is due to begin in April. Since the onset of
the pandemic, roughly 650 thousand people have been infected on Romania’s
territory and over 16 thousand died.

ALERTS Hydrologists have issued yellow and orange alerts for
flooding on several rivers in northern, central and southern Romania. Scores of
towns and villages in 11 counties across Romania have been affected by flooding
in the past days. Heavy rainfalls have caused damage and temporarily disrupted
traffic on several national and county roads. Rail traffic has also been
disrupted and special teams have intervened to pump water out of households and
unblock roads and railways in several regions. Rescue teams in southern
Carpathians have issued warnings for potential avalanche risks at altitudes
between 14 hundred and 20 hundred meters where some ski slopes have been closed
down.

HOLY DAY January 6th is a major date for the Orthodox and
Catholic believers in Romania, a country with an Orthodox majority, which today
celebrates Epiphany or the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan
River. Priests are giving sermons in front of the churches with holy water,
which is subsequently distributed among the believers. Because this holiday
involves the participation of numerous people, in all the churches across
Romania, measures have been taken to contain the spread of the novel
coronavirus. Winter holidays in Romania are due to end tomorrow with a
festivity celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist.

STATISTICS The number
of tourists looking for accommodation in Romania’s tourist infrastructure
diminished by half in the first eleven months of the year as compared to the
same period last year, shows data published by the National Institute for Statistics.
93% of the tourists applying for these services were from Romania and only
slightly above 7% from abroad. Most of the foreign tourists who chose to visit
Romania in 2020 came from Germany, Italy, Israel, France and Britain. The
number of Romanians who went abroad in the same period dropped by 60% as
compared to the same period of 2019.

(bill)

6 January 2021
January 6, 2020 UPDATE

VISITS The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis and PM Ludovic Orban have working visits scheduled for the next few days, including meetings with European officials. The head of state will travel on Tuesday to southern Germany, where he will have talks with the Bavarian PM Markus Soder, head of the Christian-Social Union, a partner in the ruling coalition in Germany, and will attend a meeting of the Bavarian government, where he will give an address. President Iohannis will also take part in the annual meeting of the CSU group in Bundestag, the lower chamber in the German parliament, where he is to present Romanias views on the future of Europe. On Tuesday, PM Ludovic Orban will travel to Brussels, for meetings with the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli.

BUDGET President Klaus Iohannis Monday signed into law the 2020 state budget and social security budget bills, the Presidency announced. On December 23, the Liberal Government took responsibility before Parliament for the budget bills, the first time when this procedure has been used, in order to make sure that the bills are adopted by year-end, as PM Ludovic Orban explained. The state budget relies on a 4.1% economic growth rate, a 3.1% inflation rate and an average exchange rate of 4.75 lei for the euro. The speakers of the 2 chambers of Parliament, both in Opposition, challenged the procedure and referred the issue to the Constitutional Court.

HOSPITAL Human error was the cause of the incident at the Floreasca Hospital in Bucharest, the largest emergency unit in Romania, where a patient died last month after suffering burns during surgery. This is the conclusion of the investigation that resulted in a roughly 6,300 euro fine against the hospital, as well as penalties against the entire surgery team. According to a news release issued by the Healthcare Ministry, the hospital also decided to dismiss Dr. Mircea Beuran as head of surgery, for failure to comply with the management contract. Doctors, nurses and assistants announced on Monday that they will go on strike to protest Dr. Beurans dismissal and that they will only attend to major emergencies. At the end of last month the National Healthcare Quality Management Authority suspended the accreditation of the hospital for failure to report the incident within 24 hours.

EPIPHANY Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers celebrated on Monday the Epiphany or the Baptism of Jesus, when the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ is marked. Waters are blessed on this occasion. The Epiphany is followed, on Tuesday, by St. John the Baptists feast day, which concludes the winter holiday cycle. Old-rite Christians, mostly Russian, Ukrainian and Serb ethnics, are celebrating Christmas on January 7. The separation of Orthodox churches took place in the early 20th Century, when the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople decided to switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar.

TENSIONS NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg
has called on Iran to avoid further violence and provocations, at the end of
a special meeting with NATO ambassadors in Brussels. We share concerns
regarding Iran’s missile tests, and are united in condemning Tehran’s support
for various terrorist groups, Stoltenberg also said. Huge crowds in mourning
and shouting Death to the USA accompanied in Tehran on Monday the coffin of General
Qassem Soleimani, the most popular military commander in Iran, killed in Iraq
in a US drone strike. As a result, Iran announced it will no longer be
bound by the international nuclear deal reached in 2015, and which the Trump
administration abandoned in 2018. European countries, still part of the agreement,
said they deeply regretted Iran’s decision to disregard uranium enrichment
restrictions. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with Russia’s
president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. Meanwhile, US president Donald
Trump threatened tough sanctions if Iraq expels the US troops from that
country. Trump made this statement after the Iraqi parliament endorsed a
resolution urging the government to work toward the removal of foreign troops
from Iraq. In Bucharest, PM Ludovic Orban said he is monitoring the situation with
concern and attention, and that an escalation of the tensions is not desired.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

6 January 2020
January 6, 2017

WEATHER — It is gradually getting colder in Romania, with freezing temperatures especially in the west, centre and the north. The sky is overcast and it is snowing on large areas, more heavily in the south, the east and the mountains. Gusty wind is also reported in places, particularly in the south and southeast, where it exceeds 70-85 km/h in places. The highs of the day range from minus 10 to 0 degrees Celsius. The southeastern part of the country is under red code alert against blizzard, in the first part of the day. The code yellow alert against snow is valid for the south and the east and a code orange alert against blizzard is valid for the south-east, Bucharest included. The counties in the east will further be under code yellow alert until Saturday. Tens of national roads have been closed and hundreds of localities have been left without electricity because of the blizzard.

MOLDOVA — Blizzard and extremely low temperatures are also reported in the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet state with a predominantly Romanian speaking population, where a code orange alert against heavy snowfalls is in force, in the centre and the south. Moldovan meteorologists have forecast temperatures of minus 17 degrees Celsius and issued a code yellow alert against low temperatures, between January 6 and 9. In this context, the Civil Protection and Emergency Situations Service has warned car drivers to properly equip their cars for winter conditions. The situation is similar in central Europe. Poland is swept by a wave of cold, with temperatures dropping to minus 25 degrees Celsius. Heavy snowfalls are reported in the northern half of Italy and Germany is facing the same situation, with a high risk of flooding. Bad weather is also reported in Denmark, Sweden and Croatia.

GOVERNMENT MEETING — The new government in Bucharest is analysing in today’s meeting, a 16% increase in the minimum gross salary, as of February 1, up to 1,450 lei (some 300 Euro). Representatives of major trade unions have hailed the announcement made by the government, but the employers’ associations show reservation. Also today, the salaries of public servants working in local administration will be increased by 20%, just like those of the actors and of other categories of artists. On Thursday, the Chamber of Deputies voted in a plenary session the law amending the Fiscal Code, and consequently pensioners with pensions of up to 2,000 lei (some 400 Euros) will be exempted from paying taxes on these sums. They will no longer pay for their health insurances, whose costs will be covered from the state budget. Sworn in on Wednesday, the cabinet led by the Social Democrat Sorin Grindeanu also pledges to reduce taxes, cut red-tape, build new factories and highways as well as high-speed railways. Economic analysts describe the governing program as very ambitious and point to the risks and impact on the budget.

BRUSSELS- The European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has posted on his Twitter page a message congratulating the Prime Minister of Romania, Sorin Grindeanu, on his recent appointment. The EU’s message reads: “we look forward to the continuation of the positive trend in Romania regarding a stable government, robust economic growth, increased productivity, rising living standards and an independent justice system that can sustain the fight against corruption.” The EU Commissioner assures PM Grindeanu that the EU executive remains a constant and reliable partner to Romania, be it through financial support or technical expertise.

BORDER POLICE — The Romanian border policemen deployed in Greece have rescued 34 refugees from Syria and Congo from the international waters of the Aegean Sea. The refugees, among whom 9 children, were on board an overloaded light boat, which was on point of overturning. It was the first intervention of its kind by the Romanian policemen. A patrolling and intervention boat of the Romanian Interior Ministry, with a 23 member crew, is carrying out surveillance missions along the external borders of the EU, in the Aegean Sea, for four months, as of January 1, as part of the Maritime Joint Operation “EPN POSEIDON SEA”, coordinated by the FRONTEX Agency. The border policemen carry out individual patrolling, search and rescue missions, alongside colleagues from other EU member states participating in the mission.

WikiLeaks — The CIA claims it has identified several Russian officials who, under the coordination of the Kremlin leader, Vladimir Putin, have sent stolen DNC emails to WikiLeaks. According to the CIA report, quoted by the CNN, Russia got involved in the electoral process in the US by supporting the campaign of the US President elect, Republican Donald Trump. The latter has expressed his scepticism over Russia’s involvement and, in his turn, continued to reject the accusations. Recently, the acting US President, Barack Obama, has ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats from the US over the alleged hacking.

EPIPHANY-The majority Christian orthodox believers in Romania are today celebrating the Epiphany, commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

6 January 2017