UNION Romanians are today celebrating the union of the historical provinces
of Moldavia and Wallachia, a political event, which took place 164 years ago,
in 1859, under the leadership of ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The move was the
first step in the process of creating the Romanian modern state, process
completed back in 1918. Military and religious services have been staged by the
Ministry of National Defence jointly with central and local authorities at the
monuments devoted to the union of the Romanian principalities. Wreath laying
ceremonies were held at the monument of the Unknown Soldier. Present at the
event, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis says that the successes achieved back
in 1859 are a lesson of responsibility for all those who are building the
European, modern and democratic Romania. He reiterated the appeal to use all
the instruments available to complete all the reforms Romania needs and to
eradicate the malfunctions, which are still affecting this process. Thousands
of people took to the streets of Iasi, in eastern Romania to participate in a
series of events on this occasion. The country’s Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca
and the president of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu have also
participated in these events. In his public address on this special occasion,
Prime Minister Ciuca said the roots of the European Romania can be found in the
union completed 164 years ago – an authentic example of the unity of the
Romanians, which paved the way for the emancipation and modernization of the state.
In his opinion, the responsibility of the political class and the state
institutions is to honour this act of uniting the Romanian nation. Religious
services have been held in Orthodox churches around the country on this
occasion.
UKRAINE Several high officials in Ukraine have today announced their
resignations amid high-level corruption allegations during the war with Russia,
France Press reports. Deputy Defence Minister, Viacheslav Shapovalov, and the
deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko are among the
high officials to have stepped down. Deputy prosecutor General Oleksiy
Symonenko has also resigned amid allegations about a holiday he spent with his
family in Spain after Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council had
banned state officials from leaving the country during martial law. Amid all
these allegations, which threaten to dampen the West’s enthusiasm to help the
government in Kyiv, president Zelensky has pledged to launch a staff shake-up
in the central and local administrations including at top level. Ukraine’s
endemic corruption has been overlooked since the beginning of the Russian
invasion, but fighting the scourge is one of the key conditions for the country
to join the European Union.
NATO
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Sweden not to expect Turkey’s
support for its NATO membership bid, after a copy of the Quran was burned in a
Stockholm protest. Sweden’s accession to NATO must be ratified by all the
member states, but the tensions between Ankara and Stockholm have escalated in
the past weeks. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May last year
after Russia had invaded Ukraine. Turkey has accused Sweden of backing groups,
which are considered terrorist by the government in Ankara. Finland’s Foreign
Minister Pekka Haavisto has today said that Finland must consider joining NATO
without Sweden.
WEATHER The weather is getting colder in Romania with temperatures, which are
normal for the time of the year. The sky is overcast in several regions in the
south-west, south and east, which can also see precipitations as rain, sleet
and even snow. Glazed frost has been reported on small areas in the south-east
and south. The wind is moderate everywhere apart from some regions in the south
and in the mountains. The highs of the day are ranging between 0 and 10 degrees
Celsius. The noon reading in Bucharest was two degrees.
(bill)