April 20, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 20.04.2025, 20:00
EASTER Christians of all denominations Sunday celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the greatest holiday of the Christian world. In Romania, a mostly Orthodox country, on Saturday night believers took part in the Midnight Mass of the Resurrection. In front of the churches, believers received light in candles, as a symbol of faith in the Resurrection of the Lord. The Holy Light for Orthodox Easter was brought to the country from Jerusalem on Saturday evening and distributed to each parish. At the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church, called on the faithful to spread joy around them, especially in the souls of the suffering. “The Feast of the Resurrection of Christ calls us all to receive in our souls the peace and joy of Christ through prayer and good deeds, and to share them these days with those around us, especially those suffering and alone, those mourning or saddened by troubles, illnesses and addictions, especially drug use, which has now become a great threat to people’s lives,” Patriarch Daniel said. Pope Francis, still recovering from severe pneumonia, blessed the believers gathered in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican on Sunday, and wished them “Happy Easter”.
MESSAGES Happy Easter holidays, in peace, harmony and joy, the interim president Ilie Bolojan and the PM Marcel Ciolacu wished Romanians. May God protect our country and all Romanians everywhere, said the head of state, who attended the Easter service with Christian believers in Bihor County. In turn, the PM urged Christians in Romania to think about the future with hope in the face of contemporary challenges and to preserve Christian values and teachings alive in their souls, treasuring good people and good deeds.
EASTER BREAK Around 24,600 employees of the Romanian interior ministry are mobilised every day to streamline traffic, ensure rapid response in emergency situations, prevent and combat illegal actions and save lives during the Easter break. Interior ministry personnel will also be monitoring churches where religious services are held. In order to prevent fires and other emergencies, fire-fighters have recently inspected churches, accommodation units and other sites that are crowded during the holidays. Around 5,000 fire and rescue personnel are on call every day to contain emergencies and provide first aid, and so are 12 ambulance aircraft. Over 1,600 traffic police officers are on duty on busy roads.
PROTESTS Thousands of people protested in rallies in several areas of the US against the policies of the Trump administration on several issues. According to the BBC, in Washington, a banner displayed in front of the White House read “Trump must go now!” One of the largest protests took place in New York, where a large number of demonstrators took to the streets of Manhattan. Some protesters chanted messages of support for migrants who were deported without due process, while others condemned the threats to suspend university funding. In San Francisco, protesters formed a human chain on a beach, with the message “Impeach and remove.”
CRUDE In the first two months of this year Romania produced crude oil in the amount of 415,400 tonnes of oil equivalent (toe), according to data centralised by the National Statistics Institute (INS). Crude oil imports totaled almost 1.53 million toe in January-February. According to the latest Energy Balance Forecast, released by the National Strategy and Forecast Commission (CNSP), crude oil production is expected to decrease by an average annual 2.5% by 2027, because of a natural decline of deposits as existing production units remain in place.
HANDBALL The Romanian champions CSM Bucharest defeated Team Esbjerg (Denmark) 30-29 at home on Sunday in the first leg of the Women’s Handball Champions League quarterfinals. The return leg of the qualifiers for the Final Four takes place on April 27. The Final Four is due to take place in Budapest on May 31 to June 1. CSM Bucharest won the trophy in 2016, and the bronze medal in the following two seasons. Since then, it has not gone beyond the Champions League quarterfinals. The current trophy holder is the Hungarian team Gyor ETO, which won its sixth title in 2024.
GYMNASTICS The Romanian athlete Sabrina Maneca Voinea won the gold in the floor event of the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha, with 13.600 points. The Canadian Audrey Rousseau came in second, with 12.833 points. Third on the podium was Hungary’s Sara Peter, also with 12.833 points. In the beam final, Maneca Voinea only came in fifth place. (AMP)
