Radio România Internațional

Tag: St. Nicholas

  • December 6, 2024

    December 6, 2024

    A roundup of local and international news.

     

    CYBER SECURITY – The European Commission has stepped up its monitoring of the TikTok platform, asking it to freeze all information on its system related to the European Union elections, in order to study it in depth. The Commission has also convened several meetings with officials from member states, European institutions and other digital platforms with which it will analyze systemic information risks across the entire bloc. The decisions come after, in the presidential elections in Romania, the candidate ranked first in the first round on November 24, Călin Georgescu, was allegedly heavily promoted on TikTok through a well-organized campaign, worth millions of dollars, although he says he did not spend anything.

     

    ELECTIONS – More than 4,200 people voted in the Diaspora by Friday at 1 p.m. (Bucharest time), in the second round of the presidential elections in Romania. The independent Călin Georgescu and the USR leader Elena Lasconi are the two contenders. Voting began abroad on Friday at 1 a.m. (Romania’s time), and the first polling station was opened in New Zealand. Australia, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and India followed. Voting in the Diaspora in the presidential elections takes place over three days, from Friday to Sunday. Voting in the country is allowed only on Sunday, between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.

     

    PROTESTS – Thousands of people participated, on Thursday evening, in the University Square in Bucharest, in a rally for freedom and democracy. Famous figures from the arts and literary world were present, including actor Victor Rebengiuc and writer Ana Blandiana, both known for their civic involvement. We recall that the victory of the pro-Russian extremist Calin Georgescu in the first round of the presidential elections, on November 24, triggered protests in Bucharest and other major cities. The United States voiced concern about what Romanian intelligence services have demonstrated to be Russia’s involvement in the election process, in order to influence the outcome of the presidential elections. The high political uncertainty has, on the other hand, led to a decrease in confidence in the Romanian economy.

     

    St. NICHOLAS – Christians celebrate Saint Nicholas today, one of the most popular saints, to whom the tradition of giving gifts is related. He was a bishop at the beginning of the 4th century in Myra, the current city of Demre in Turkey. He was very generous and helped those in need in a discreet way. He did it in such a way that the person who received it did not know where the help came from. Hence the tradition that Saint Nicholas is waited for by children to leave them gifts in shoes on the morning of December 6. Over 800,000 Romanians celebrate their name day today.

     

    HANDBALL – The Romanian women’s national handball team plays today against Sweden, their second match in the main Group I of the European Championship – EHF EURO 2024, hosted by Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. On Thursday evening, the Romanian women were defeated, 30-25, by the world champion, France. They will also play in the group with Hungary and Poland. Romania has participated 14 times in the European Women’s Championship, obtaining a single medal, bronze, in 2010. In men’s handball the Romanian champion, Dinamo Bucharest was defeated, also on Thursday, on home turf, by the French team Paris Saint-Germain Handball, 40-33, in Group A of the Champions League. Dinamo suffered its third consecutive defeat in the group. The Romanians will next play against group leaders Veszprem of Hungary on February 13, 2025.

     

    GAUDEAMUS – The Gaudeamus 2024 Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania, continues in Bucharest until Sunday. The honorary president of the current edition is writer Mircea Cărtărescu, one of the best-known and most appreciated contemporary Romanian writers, the holder of numerous national and international awards. Over 200 exhibitors have announced their participation in Gaudeamus 2024, hundreds of editorial events are scheduled and tens of thousands of titles are presented, many of them for the first time.

     

  • VIPs in the Limelight – Orieta Hulea, country manager at WWF Romania

    VIPs in the Limelight – Orieta Hulea, country manager at WWF Romania

    On St. Nicholas Day in Sunday Studio we’ll have a look at customs and traditions in Romania on that feast day; then joining us on our talk-show VIPs in the Limelight will be Mrs. Orieta Hulea, country manager of World Wide Fund for Nature Romania who will tell us about various projects of that organization and to conclude we’ll bring you new challengers in Romanian without Tears.

  • December 5, 2015 UPDATE

    December 5, 2015 UPDATE

    The Romanian Ministry for Finances made public the draft budget for 2016. The ministries that will receive more money than in the previous financial year include the defence, interior, education, culture and healthcare. Fewer funds than in 2015 will be allocated for the transport, labour, justice and finance ministries. According to the bill, the budget revenues for next year will be nearly 0.8 billion euros higher than in 2015, while expenses will be 3.5 billion euro higher, and cover all the measures approved this year by the Government and Parliament. According to the Government, next year’s budget reflects a number of principles, including fiscal predictability, aimed at encouraging private investments and enhancing the confidence of the business community, efficient budget spending, improved transparency in spending public money and a transformation of the relationship between the state and taxpayers, in the sense of a more friendly attitude of public institutions towards citizens.



    The Romanian Health Ministry announced that all the victims of the October 30th fire at Bucharest’s Colectiv nightclub who are still in hospitals in Romania would be transferred abroad if their doctors recommend it and their families agree. The decision comes after the management of the Hospital for Plastic, Reconstructive and Burns Surgery in Bucharest admitted that three of the patients injured in the tragedy died from infections acquired in the hospital. Sixty people died in that fire and many others were injured. At present there are 31 patients in hospitals in Bucharest and 30 in clinics abroad. The protests against corruption in central and local administration that followed the tragedy led to the resignation of the Social Democrat Victor Ponta’s Cabinet.



    Orthodox, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic Christians in Romania Sunday celebrate St. Nicholas, also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. Born in the 3rd Century in the Middle East, he has a reputation for gift-giving, and a lot of miracles are attributed to him. Nearly 800,000 Romanians bearing his name are also celebrating their name day on Sunday. According to Romanian tradition, the evening before St. Nicholas’ Feast Day shoes are taken out, and during the night the Saint will put gifts in them.



    Romanian troops will be training for a week, as of Monday, together with military from the USA and the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, at a shooting range in south-eastern Romania, which is hosting the Platinum Lynx 16.2 module of the Black Sea Rotational Force multinational exercise. The exercise is aimed at carrying on the joint training of troops, at enhancing the interoperability of participating forces and strengthening their partnership.



    The US Federal Bureau of Investigations officially rated as an act of terrorism the attack that killed 14 people and wounded 21 others on Wednesday in San Bernardino, California. The FBI chief, James Comey, said there are indications that the attackers were inspired by foreign terrorist organisations, but added that there is no evidence that they were members of a terrorist group.



    Romania’s national women’s handball team Saturday won its first match at the World Championship in Denmark, outperforming Puerto Rico 47-14. The next game, against Kazakhstan, is scheduled for Monday. The same Group D also includes Spain, Norway and Russia. The top four ranking teams in each group qualify into the eighth-finals. The World Championship is also a qualification criterion for the Rio Olympics, with the winner of this competition qualified to the Olympic Games and the teams ranking 2nd to 7th getting access to the pre-Olympic tournaments of April 2016. Romania is the only country which has taken part in all the World Championships final tournaments since 1957. The Romanians won gold in 1962 and silver in 1973 and 2005.