Radio România Internațional

Tag: Pentecost

  • June 5, 2017 UPDATE

    June 5, 2017 UPDATE

    HOLIDAY Christians, including from Romania, a country with an Orthodox majority, on Monday were celebrating the second day of Pentecost — the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles of Jesus Christ. The New Testament book of Acts describes the moment we celebrated on Monday. The 12 apostles were together in Jerusalim fifty days after Jesus’ Ressurection and ten days after his Ascension. At a certain moment, wind started to blow in the room the apostles were in, a noise was heard after which they began speaking in foreign languages, languages they didn’t know before. Small flames of fire were hovering above their heads. Peter explained that it was the Holy Spirit that enabled them to speak in tongues. Following Peter’s sermon on that day three thousand people came to Christ, making the first Christian community, the nucleus of the future Church.



    AWARD Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis is these days paying a formal visit to the United States, during which he will be received by his American counterpart Donald Trump at the White House. According to our correspondent in Washington, Iohannis is the first leader from Central and Eastern Europe to be received by the US president since the latter took office. Talks will be focusing on strengthening the bilateral relations and the Strategic Partnership Romania is having with the USA for the past 20 years. Iohannis’ agenda also includes participation in the Global Forum of the prestigious American Jewish Committee. On this occasion AJC is expected to honour the Romanian president with its highest award, ‘Light Unto the Nations’, given to heads of state and government in recognition of their international impact in fields like peace, security, democracy and promoting human values. The Romanian official’s agenda also includes a meeting with the Romanians living in the USA.



    TENNIS The world’s fourth tennis player, Romanian Simona Halep has qualified for the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros tournament, the year’s second Grand Slam, after a two-set win 6-1, 6-1 against Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain. In the quarterfinals, Simona, the competition’s third favourite, will be playing Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, WTA no. 6. Svitolina comes after a win against Petra Martici of Croatia, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. In the women’s doubles, Romanian Raluca Olaru and Ukrainian Olga Savchuk have also qualified for the quarters where they will be up against Yung-Jan of Taiwan and Martina Hingis of Switzerland. The pair made up of Romanian Irina Begu and Chinese Saisai Zheng will be playing the winners of the game pitching Australians Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua against Daria Gavrilova of Australia and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.



    ECONOMY Romania’s economy will register a growth rate of 4.4% as compared to the one of 3.7% envisaged in January, the World Bank announced in its Global Economy Prospects on Monday. The same institution has revised up it prospects for 2018 and 2019 when Romania’s GDP is expected to grow by 3.7% and 3.5% respectively. Although fiscal relaxation has a lower contribution to economic growth it will put pressure on public and external deficits, the document also shows. We recall that in the first quarter of 2017, Romania reported the EU’s highest growth rate 5.7% thanks to rising consumption. A slight budget surplus was also reported in late April.



    ATTACK Jihadi group the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday night in London when 7 people were killed and scores wounded. Police have detained several people including women in a sting operation in eastern London. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has extended condolences to the victims’ families, firmly condemning the attack. In turn, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis has joined the Western leaders in firmly condemning the London attack. We recall that on Saturday night three assailants drove their van into pedestrians on London Bridge and started stabbing people randomly before being shot dead by the police. The attack took place five days before the early election in the UK and the election campaign has been suspended for the second time for the same reason, terrorism. Britain has seen three terror attacks in the past three months; 34 people have been killed and hundreds wounded.



    TIFF The 16th edition of the Transylvania International Film Festival is underway in Cluj Napoca, northwestern Romania. On Monday films related to cooking were screened and visitors were also given the occasion to taste dishes prepared by famous chefs invited to attend the festival. 12 movies are vying for the first prize during the festival, which is also to see the screening of 255 films from 53 countries. Over 12 hundred invitees from Romania and abroad are participating in the screening, the concerts, workshops, debates and film-launching ceremonies at Romania’s most important film festival. We recall that Radio Romania is a partner of this prestigious event, which will also be attended by famous French film star Alain Delon, at his first presence in Romania.



    CONFERENCE Migration is one of the factors that can have the biggest influence upon the security architecture, against the complex background of the threats it is currently facing, Romanian Minister for European Affairs, Ana Birchall has said. From Monday until Thursday, the Romanian official will be attending the conference ”International Migration and Global Security” staged in Garmisch Partenkirchen jointly by the governments of the United States and Germany and which brings together more than 80 experts and governmental representatives from 45 countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific area, Middle East and Africa. High on the conference’s agenda are the prospects of global migration, the future of global security and sustainable solutions the international community should come up with to properly meet this challenge.


  • June 4, 2017 UPDATE

    June 4, 2017 UPDATE

    REACTIONS – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, firmly condemned on Sunday the terror attack that killed 7 and wounded nearly 50 people in London on Saturday night, and expressed compassion for the victims. In Bucharest, the Royal House learned with profound sadness about the tragedy that hit the British capital once again. The new terror attack is an act targeting humanity, human freedom and dignity, Crown Princess Margareta of Romania says in a news release. The Romanian Embassy in London is closely monitoring the incident and has taken emergency measures to get additional information from the local authorities and establish whether Romanian citizens were among the victims. London received condolence messages from around the world. The US President, Donald Trump, who had a phone conversation with the British PM after the attack, offered his countrys full support in the face of what he called a brutal terror attack. The leaders of Germany, France, Canada and Russia also sent compassion and support messages.




    STATE VISIT – The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis is, as of Sunday, on an official visit to the United States, where he has a meeting scheduled with his US counterpart, Donald Trump on June 9. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Washington, Klaus Iohannis is the first Central and East European head of state to be received at the White House since Trump took office. The talks are intended to strengthen bilateral relations and the strategic partnership between the two countries, 20 years after it was signed. Over the past 2 decades Bucharest has grown into an important ally for Washington in the region. The agenda of the Romanian Presidents visit to the US also includes meetings with the Romanians living in that country. On Monday, Klaus Iohannis will be the guest of honour in the Global Forum of the American Jewish Committee, where he is to receive the highest distinction of this organisation.




    PENTECOST – 50 days after Easter, Christians around the world, including in mostly Orthodox Romania, are celebrating the Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the birth of the first Christian community. The holiday is also known as White Sunday, or Whitsunday. The biblical narrative of Pentecost is given in the Book of Acts. 50 days after Resurrection, about one hundred and twenty followers of Christ, including the Twelve Apostles, heard a sound from heaven and saw tongues of fire. The Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in languages they had not known before. On that day, following Apostle Peters address, 3,000 people were baptised, coming together into the first Christian community, which was the core of the future Christian Church.





    TURIN PANIC – 1,500 people were injured as they fled in fear on Saturday night in a piazza in Turin, Italy, where thousands of supporters were watching the Champions League final. According to some reports, a handrail that people had been leaning against collapsed, creating the panic. Others say people mistook firecrackers for a bomb.




    JUDO – The Romanian athlete Daniel Natea Sunday won the gold in the +100 kilo category of the European Judo Open in Bucharest, defeating the Azeri Ushangi Kokauri by ippon. In the 90 kilo category, Cristian Bodîrlău won the broze, while on Saturday Monica Ungureanu won the gold in the 48 kilo category. Romania ranks 3rd in the medal standings, after France and Ukraine. 376 athletes from 29 countries took part in the competition.




    ROLAND GARROS – The best ranking Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep (no. 4 WTA), is facing Spains Carla Suarez Navarro, no 23 WTA in Mondays eighth-finals Roland Garros. This will be the 12th direct match for the two, six of which were won by the Romanian. In the womens doubles event, the Romanian Irina Begu and the Chinese Saisai Zheng Sunday qualified into the quarter-finals, after defeating the Chinese pair made up of Ying-Ying Duan/Shuai Peng.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 4, 2017

    June 4, 2017

    LONDON ATTACK – Terror attacks are a distortion of Islam, and Britain “cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are, the British PM Theresa May said on Sunday, after the terror attack on Saturday night in London, which killed 7 and wounded nearly 50 others. After a meeting of the Governments emergency response committee on Sunday, the British PM emphasised that the 3 recent attacks in Britain are not connected, although all are linked by radical Islamist ideology. May said there was far too much tolerance of extremism in Britain, and added the anti-terrorism strategy would be reconfigured. According to the British PM, the parliamentary election will still be held on June 8, as scheduled. Three attackers rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday night, before getting out and attacking people with knives. They were shot dead by police. This is the third terror attack in UK in less than 3 months, after the Westminster Bridge one less than two weeks ago and Manchester Arena. The international community, including the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis, firmly condemned the attack. The Romanian Embassy in UK is closely monitoring the incident, and has taken emergency measures to obtain further information on whether Romanian citizens were among the victims.





    STATE VISIT – The President of Romania Klaus Iohannis is, as of Sunday, on an official visit to the United States, where he has a meeting scheduled with his US counterpart, Donald Trump on June 9. According to the Radio Romania correspondent in Washington, Klaus Iohannis is the first Central and East European head of state to be received at the White House since Trump took office. The talks are intended to strengthen bilateral relations and the strategic partnership between the two countries, 20 years after it was signed. Over the past 2 decades Bucharest has grown into an important ally for Washington in the region. The agenda of the Romanian Presidents visit to the US also includes meetings with the Romanians living in that country. On June 5, Klaus Iohannis will be the guest of honour in the Global Forum of the American Jewish Committee, where he is to receive the highest distinction of this organisation.






    PENTECOST – 50 days after Easter, Christians around the world, including in mostly Orthodox Romania, are celebrating the Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the birth of the first Christian community. The holiday is also known as White Sunday, or Whitsunday. The biblical narrative of Pentecost is given in the Book of Acts. 50 days after Resurrection, about one hundred and twenty followers of Christ, including the Twelve Apostles, heard a sound from heaven and saw tongues of fire. The Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in languages they had not known before. On that day, following Apostle Peters address, 3,000 people were baptised, coming together into the first Christian community, which was the core of the future Christian Church.





    TURIN PANIC – Hundreds of people were injured as they fled in fear on Sunday night in a piazza in Turin, Italy, while watching the Champions League final. What led people to stampede is still unclear, as media reports diverge: one points to people mistaking firecrackers for a bomb, others that a handrail to an underground parking collapsed, creating the panic. Around 400 people were treated for injuries, while 5 are seriously injured.




    JUDO – The Romanian Monica Ungureanu won the gold in the 48 kilo category of the Bucharest Judo Open, after defeating the Italian Francesca Milani in Saturdays final. Ungureanu is a two-time winner of bronze in the European Championships, in 2016 and 2017. This is the most important judo competition organised in Romania, with 438 athletes from 31 countries on 4 continents taking part. Romania is represented by 52 athletes, 34 men and 18 women.




    ROLAND GARROS – The best ranking Romanian tennis player, Simona Halep (no. 4 WTA), is facing Spains Carla Suarez Navarro, no 23 WTA in Mondays eighth-finals of the Roland Garros. This will be the 12th direct match for the two, six of which were won by the Romanian. In the womens doubles event, the Romanian Irina Begu and the Chinese Saisai Zheng are playing on Sunday, in the eighth-finals, against the Chinese pair made up of Ying-Ying Duan/Shuai Peng, while the Romanian Raluca Olaru and Ukrainian Olga Savchuk are taking on Gabriela Gabrowski of Canada / Yi Fan Xu of China.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 20, 2016 UPDATE

    June 20, 2016 UPDATE

    VISIT The relation with Germany is privileged and of strategic importance for Romania, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said on Monday after holding talks in Bucharest with his German counterpart Joachim Gauck. Iohannis said that for several years Germany had been Romania’s first trade partner and the third investor in its economy and that development potential continues to be high. The German official said that Romania must offer a legal framework that offers security so that it may benefit from the economic potential it has. Gauck said that Germany is closely monitoring the reforms and anti-graft fight in Romania and the Romanian anti-corruption agency DNA offers positive signals to the business and political environments. The German official went on to say that Germany received an important signal from the Romanian state and society of being loyal to Europe, particularly at a difficult time like this. Also on Monday Joachim Gauck met Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and the presidents of the two chambers of Parliament.




    DECEASED Romania’s former Defence Minister between 1990 –1991, gen. Victor Atanasie Stanculescu died at the eage of 88 on Sunday. He was a key player in the Romanian anti-communist uprising of 1989, when as a deputy of the then Minister of Defence, was sent to stifle the street protests in Timisoara, western Romania. After the flee of dictator Ceausescu and his wife, it was general Stanculescu who ordered the troops to return to their barracks and stop shooting at protesters. However, for the role he played in repressing the revolts in Timisoara, the Supreme Court had Stanculescu sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2008. He did five years of his sentence before being released on medical grounds.



    HOLIDAYS Over 60,000 Romanians have spent their Pentecost holidays in various resorts on the Black Sea coast spending roughly 8 million euros in three days, says data released by the Romanian Tourist Employers Federation. On the other hand, according to a survey by an on-line travel agency, some of the affluent Romanians who rely on mobile devices to plan and book holiday tickets, could pay even up to 1,500 euros for a holiday. London was the top tourist destination of mobile device users last year. Women also prefer holidays in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and Athens, while Athens comes next in the men’s preferences followed by Berlin, Rome and Amsterdam. The average age of those booking holiday tickets via mobile devices is 34 years.




    WEATHER Bad weather wreaks havoc on Romania. In the centre of the country a two-year-old girl died when a tree broken by storm smashed into the family car. Gale force winds have destroyed hundreds of roofs, including of two churches, as well as many electricity poles, leaving over 10 thousand households without electricity. A man was killed and another one wounded by lightning in the west of the country. Meteorologists have issued a code yellow alert for bad weather in 12 counties in the north, northwest, centre, west and southwest, valid through Tuesday. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos will be hosting a videoconference tomorrow with the prefects in the affected areas to discuss measures to reduce the effects of the bad weather. The weather remains unsettled for this period, with showers, thunderstorms, gale-force winds and even hailstorms in some places. The country’s south and centre have been plagued by hot weather, where the discomfort index remains above 80.



    FOOTBALL Disciplinary procedings have been opened against football federations in Romania and Albania for the incidents involving their fans during the game between the two sides in Lyon on Sunday. We recall that on Sunday night Romania’s national football side blew its chances to qualify for the round of 16 of the European Championships in France after conceding a one-nil defeat to Albania. With only one point, Romania ended on the last position in Group A. We recall that Romania was also outperformed by France 2-1 in the tournament’s first game, ending in a one-all draw their match against Switzerland. The Sunday’s game pitching France against Switzerland ended in a goaless draw. The two sides have qualified for the competition’s next stage, while Albania only stands theoretical chances. Romania’s last participation in a European Football Championship was in 2008, when our side was also eliminated in the group’s stage.




  • June 19, 2016 UPDATE

    June 19, 2016 UPDATE

    FOOTBALL — Romania failed to qualify into the eighth-finals of the European Championship in France, after it lost on Sunday night in Lyon against Albania, 0-1, in its last match in Group A of the European football championship in France. With just one point, Romania finished last in Group A. Also on Sunday night, France and Switzerland drew, nil-all. The two secured their qualification into the next stages of the championship. This is the first time in the European championship when 24 teams take part, and qualifying in the next rounds are not only the first two teams in each group, but also four teams ranking third in their respective groups.




    VISIT — The President of Germany, Joachim Gauck, with be on an official three-day visit to Romania as of Monday. In Bucharest, he will have a meeting with President Klaus Iohannis and PM Dacian Cioloş and will give an address at the National Library. On Tuesday, the two presidents will travel to Sibiu, in central Romania, a city founded by Saxon colonists in the 14th Century. Sibiu is also the home town of President Klaus Iohannis, a German ethnic himself, who was the mayor there for 14 years. On Wednesday the Romanian and German heads of state will attend a meeting with Romanian and German business people.




    LA BLOUSE ROUMAINE — The Mayor of the US capital city, Washington, Ms Muriel Bowser, proclaimed June 24th as the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse in Washington, in response to an initiative of the Romanian Embassy in the USA. The Romanian blouse has been acknowledged as an international symbol of Romanian culture and a source of inspiration for major designers. Initiated and coordinated by the online community called “La Blouse Roumaine,” the International Day of the Romanian Blouse is aimed at promoting a Romanian tradition and at creating a country brand recognised around the world. The Romanian blouse is a white shirt, part of the traditional folk costume of Romanian women, and is richly embroidered with folk motifs.




    NAMASTE FESTIVAL — The Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest hosted, between June 17 and 19, the NAMASTE INDIA Festival, celebrating Indian culture in Romania. the Festival included a variety of events, from introductory language courses to henna painting workshops, and from yoga classes to documentary film screenings. On Sunday, the closing day, a sari parade was followed by traditional music and dance performances.




    PENTECOST – Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania and across the world continue to celebrate the three-day feast of the Pentecost, marking 50 days from Easter and the foundation of the Christian Church. This feast day refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, who could thus spread the gospels in languages they could not speak before. On the same day, with St. Peter’s fervent proclamation, some 3,000 people converted to Christianity, making up the first Christian community in Jerusalem, the core of the future Christian Church.




    HOLIDAYS — More than 22,000 Interior Ministry employees are to ensure public order in Romania during the Pentecost holiday which ends on Monday night. Some 40,000 tourists are already in Romanian seaside resorts, where most accommodation facilities are fully booked. A growing number of hotels have added spa and treatment facilities to their offers. Other Romanians took advantage of the three-day holiday to go to mountain resorts.





    RUGBY — Romania’s national rugby team defeated Argentina B, 20-8, in Bucharest on Saturday night, in the final match of the last stage of the World Rugby Nations Cup. In the previous games, the Romanians had outplayed Namibia, 20-8, and Uruguay, 40-0. Romania thus won the trophy of this competition for the fourth time. Ten of the 11 editions of World Rugby Nations Cup have been held in Romania so far.




    FESTIVAL — The International Theatre Festival in Sibiu, central Romania came to a close on Sunday. The event, one of the landmarks of European performing arts, has brought together this year over 2,800 artists from 70 countries. The last performances included Moliere’s The Miser, staged by a French company, Love. The trilogy of my family, by the Belgian director Luk Perceval, who received a star on the Sibiu walk of fame on Saturday, and the famous Faustus, directed by Silviu Purcărete, staged by the Sibiu National Theatre. Another play performed on Sunday was the Demon-Hag, a Japanese Noh play.

  • June 19, 2016

    June 19, 2016

    WEATHER — The heavy rainfalls and thunderstorms caused problems last night in eastern and southern Romania. Houses were flooded, trees fell on the roads blocking traffic, and hailstorms destroyed crops and homes. Tens of people have been evacuated. After the extreme heat of the past few days, a code-yellow warning against heavy rains and hailstorms was issued for the west, south-west and centre of the country. Code-orange flood alerts are also in place for rivers in 11 counties, most of them in eastern Romania.




    VISIT — The President of Germany, Joachim Gauck, with be on an official three-day visit to Romania as of Monday. In Bucharest, he will have a meeting with President Klaus Iohannis and PM Dacian Cioloş and will give an address at the National Library. On Tuesday, the two presidents will travel to Sibiu, in central Romania, a city founded by Saxon colonists in the 14th Century. Sibiu is also the home town of President Klaus Iohannis, a German ethnic himself, who was the mayor there for 14 years. On Wednesday the Romanian and German heads of state will attend a meeting with Romanian and German business people.




    HOLIDAYS — More than 22,000 Interior Ministry employees are to ensure public order in Romania during the Pentecost holiday which ends on Monday night. Some 40,000 tourists are already in Romanian seaside resorts, where most accommodation facilities are fully booked. A growing number of hotels have added spa and treatment facilities to their offers. Other Romanians took advantage of the three-day holiday to go to mountain resorts.



    DIASPORA — The Minister Delegate for relations with the Romanian diaspora, Dan Stoenescu, had a meeting yesterday with members of the Romanian community in the Netherlands. According to the Foreign Ministry, the Romanian official encouraged the involvement of Romanian associations, jointly with the Dutch and Romanian authorities, in awareness raising campaigns focusing on the rights and obligations of the Romanian citizens residing in the Netherlands. Stoenescu also emphasised the importance of the Romanian-Dutch cooperation in organising joint events to promote inter-cultural dialogue. Minister Dan Stoenescu had previously had a meeting with members of the Romanian community in Brussels.




    LA BLOUSE ROUMAINE — The Mayor of the US capital city, Washington, Ms Muriel Bowser, proclaimed June 24th as the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse in Washington, in response to an initiative of the Romanian Embassy in the USA. The Romanian blouse has been acknowledged as an international symbol of Romanian culture and a source of inspiration for major designers. Initiated and coordinated by the online community called “La Blouse Roumaine,” the International Day of the Romanian Blouse is aimed at promoting a Romanian tradition and at creating a country brand recognised around the world. The Romanian blouse is a white shirt, part of the traditional folk costume of Romanian women, and is richly embroidered with folk motifs.




    PENTECOST – Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania and across the world continue to celebrate the three-day feast of the Pentecost, marking 50 days from Easter and the foundation of the Christian Church. This feast day refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, who could thus spread the gospels in languages they could not speak before. On the same day, with St. Peter’s fervent proclamation, some 3,000 people converted to Christianity, making up the first Christian community in Jerusalem, the core of the future Christian Church.



    NAMASTE INDIA — The Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest hosted, between June 17 and 19, the NAMASTE INDIA Festival, celebrating Indian culture in Romania. the Festival included a variety of events, from introductory language courses to henna painting workshops, and from yoga classes to documentary film screenings. On Sunday, the closing day, a sari parade was followed by traditional music and dance performances.




    FOOTBALL — Romania plays tonight in Lyon against Albania, in its last match in Group A of the European football championship in France, concurrently with the match between the host country’s team and Switzerland. The two matches will decide the teams that qualify into the eighth-finals of the competition. With 6 points in 2 games, France is the group leader and has already secured its qualification. Switzerland has 4 points, Romania 1, and Albania none. This is the first time in the European championship when 24 teams take part, and qualifying in the next rounds are not only the first two teams in each group, but also four teams ranking third in their respective groups.




    RUGBY — Romania’s national rugby team defeated Argentina B, 20-8, in Bucharest on Saturday night, in the final match of the last stage of the World Rugby Nations Cup. In the previous games, the Romanians had outplayed Namibia, 20-8, and Uruguay, 40-0. Romania thus won the trophy of this competition for the fourth time. Ten of the 11 editions of World Rugby Nations Cup have been held in Romania so far.


    (translated by: Ana Maria Popescu)

  • May 31, 2015

    May 31, 2015

    May 31 marks the celebration of the Day of Romanians living abroad. On this occasion, president Klaus Iohannis assured the Romanians, in a message, that he would always be the guarantor of their fundamental rights and liberties. He has added that a project has been initiated regarding the establishment of a Consultative Council of the Romanian Diaspora. Moreover, a law that guarantees that all Romanians in the Diaspora will be able to vote remains a priority and a constitutional obligation of the political class, the Romanian President added. On the other hand, voting in the diaspora is the main topic of a motion of censure that the Liberal Opposition intends to table against the Government on June 5. In last years presidential election, thousands of Romanians living abroad were unable to cast their ballots because of the flawed organisation of polling stations.



    Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christians around the world, including in Romania, celebrate the Pentecost or Whitsunday, marking the foundation of the Christian Church. Trinity Sunday celebrates every year the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the 12 Apostles, who were thus able to spread the word of God in languages they had never spoken before. On the same day, thanks to an inspired speech, St. Peter the Apostle converted 3,000 people to the Christian faith. This was the first Christian community in Jerusalem, the core of what was to become the Christian Church.



    The President of Romania receives this afternoon in Bucharest the Crown Prince of Britain, Charles. He comes frequently to Romania, where he owns real estate property. The Prince is interested in the Saxon medieval architecture in central Romania – citadels, fortified churches and houses built by the German settlers who came to Transylvania in the Middle Ages, whose descendants also include President Iohannis.



    The EU continues to harshly criticise the Russian authorities over the “black list that denies access to Russia for 89 Europeans, including former heads of government, senior defence officials and MEPs. Five Romanians are on that list: Adrian Cioroianu, a former Foreign Minister, Iulian Chifu, a former state adviser, Tiberiu Liviu Chondon, chief of staff of the Naval Forces, Gheorghe Haţegan, deputy manager of Transgaz, and Eugen Tomac, a former secretary of state for the Romanian diaspora. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said the Romanian Embassy in Russia received a list of people whose access to Russia is banned, and will request explanations in this respect. The list was made public in the context of the sanctions applied by the EU against Russia after its annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea last March. Romania has always voiced support for neighbouring Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity and has criticised Moscows involvement in this issue.



    Italy holds local elections today in 7 of the countrys 20 regions. The ballot is a test for the left-of-centre PM Matteo Renzi. The candidate lists include 50 Romanians, but most of them on positions that are not eligible. In a statement to the Radio Romanian correspondent in Italy, one of the candidates said the interest in this election among the Romanian community in Italy is rather low, because most Romanians hope to be returning to their home country and are not interested in the administration of the towns and villages where they live. Italy hosts the largest Romanian community abroad, with more than 1 million people.



    The Romanian tennis player Andreea Mitu (no. 100 WTA) is playing today in the eighth-finals of the French Open against the Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck (no. 93 WTA). In the same tournament, the Romanian – Slovenian pair Horia Tecău / Katarina Srebotnik faces, in the mixed doubles quarter-finals Robert Lindstedt (Sweden) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain). In the mixed doubles Round 2, Florin Mergea (Romania) / Michaella Krajicek (the Netherlands) are playing against Marcin Matkowski (Poland) / Lucie Hradecka (the Czeck Republic). The Romanians Horia Tecău (together with the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer) and Florin Mergea (with the Indian Rohan Bopanna) will be facing each other in the mens doubles eighth-finals.