25 March 2018, UPDATE

Romanian justice minister Tudorel Toader travels to Serbia. / Flood alert in place for rivers in south of Romania and the Danube Delta.

Newsroom, 25.03.2018, 18:37

Extradition. The
Romanian justice minister Tudorel Toader will travel to Belgrade on Monday for
a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Nela Kuburovich.
The two are also expected to discuss the situation of the former Romanian MP
and businessman Sebastian Ghita who fled to Serbia just before an interview
with the National Anticorruption Directorate and one day before his parliamentary
immunity was about to expire. The Romanian justice minister has said recently
that the Romanian side has handed over all the information needed for Ghita to
be extradited. The latter is the subject of several criminal cases in Romania.
Seen as a close aide of the former Social Democratic prime minister Victor
Ponta, Ghita fled the country in December 2016 and was arrested in Serbia in
April last year. The Romanian authorities are now trying to obtain his
extradition.

Anniversary. A large rally to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the union of Bassarabia with
Romania was held on Sunday in Chisinau, the capital of the ex-Soviet,
majority-Romanian speaking Republic of Moldova. The participants adopted a
proclamation in which they pledge to seek reunification with Romania. The event
was also attended by Romanian politicians, including the former president
Traian Basescu. A province with a majority ethnic Romanian population that
formed part of the Tsarist Empire, Bassarabia became united with Romania at the
end of the First World War, on the 27th of March 1918. The Soviet
Union later re-annexed Bassarabia in 1940 following an ultimatum, and created
today’s Republic of Moldova on its territory. The 100th anniversary
of the union of Bassarabia with Romania will also be celebrated by the
Parliament in Bucharest on Tuesday through a special meeting.

Palm Sunday. Roman-Catholic Christians across the world,
including Romania, which is a majority Orthodox country, celebrated Palm
Sunday, which marks the beginning of Passion Week. The celebration honours
Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by people holding
fig branches. In Bucharest, believers took part in a procession held in the
centre of the city. On Palm Sunday, the Roman-Catholic Church also celebrates
World Youth Day, which is now in its 33rd year. On this occasion,
Pope Francis urged young people to overcome their fears, to be authentic and
have courage in loving God and their peers, after the example of the Virgin
Mary. Catholics and Roman-Catholics celebrate Easter next Sunday, followed by
the Orthodox and the Greek-Catholics a week later.

Catalonia. The
former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont was detained on Sunday in Germany after
the Spanish authorities issued an international arrest warrant for six Catalan
politicians who fled abroad, including Puigdemont. 25 separatist politicians
are to appear before the Supreme Court in Madrid on charges of rebellion,
misuse of public funds and disobeying the state. On the 27th of
October last year, the Catalan Parliament approved through secret vote the
proclamation of the region’s independence from Spain and the creation of a
republic based on a referendum. Later, the Spanish Senate suspended Catalonia’s
autonomy and sacked all regional leaders, saying the declaration of
independence was illegal.

Flood
alert. Temperatures will continue to rise slightly in the next 24 hours in most
of Romania, but it’s still colder than usual at this time of the year. Rain is
expected in the south and south-east and sleet in the mountains. Hydrologists
have issued a yellow code alert for flooding from Monday lunch-time until
Wednesday evening for rivers in several counties in southern Romania. An orange
code alert is also in place until the end of the month warning of flooding on
several sections of the river Danube and in the Danube Delta.