April 21, 2014 UPDATE

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Florentin Căpitănescu, 21.04.2014, 12:05

FLOODS – At least four people were killed after massive floods hit southern Romania. Hydrologists have extended the code red alert against floods until Tuesday evening for Teleorman County and issued a code orange alert against floods on the rivers Olt, Ialomita, Dambovita, Ilfov and Giurgiu. Households in hundreds of villages have been flooded, while large surfaces of farmland remain submerged, according to data made public by the Emergency Situations Inspectorate. Fire brigade units intervened to drain the waters from flooded areas, but also to unclog water ditches and outflow routes. Hundreds of people have been evacuated. On Tuesday minimum temperatures will go down, while the highs will reach 24 degrees in the east and the south.

EASTER WEEK — Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Roman Catholic Christians in Romania and worldwide celebrated the first day of Easter Week on Monday. This is the week following Holy Week, when religious services are held with the holy doors in the iconostasis open, symbolizing the open tomb of Resurrected Christ. The period ends after fifty days on the Pentecost. Addressing Christians on Easter night, Romanian Orthodox Church patriarch his holiness Daniel urged Romanians to see to the poor and suffering. In the Vatican, his holy father Pope Francis, in his traditional Easter blessing “Urbi et Orbi”, sent out a message of peace and solidarity among sick and poor people, women and children subject to violence and abuse.

TALKS – US vice-president Joe Biden is paying a two-day visit to Kiev to discuss with Ukrainian authorities about the efforts of the international community to stabilize and strengthen the country’s economy, about international support to implement constitutional reform, the decentralization of power, combating corruption and holding free and fair presidential elections. On the sideline of the event, the US official will hold consultations regarding the latest developments in eastern Ukraine and the next necessary steps to ensure short- and long-term energy security. In another development, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told the NBC television station that Russia was trying to “undermine international stability”, calling on its Western allies for economic support to modernize the Ukrainian army. In Moscow, Russian president Vladimir Putin adopted legislative amendments aimed at facilitating the process of granting Russian citizenship to Russian nationals in Ukraine, the Kremlin has announced. The amendments were pushed after the Crimean Peninsula became part of the Russian Federation and in the wake of rising tension in eastern Ukraine, currently home to large numbers of Russian nationals.

NEGOTIATIONS — Palestinians do not rule out a possible dissolution of the Palestinian Authority provided peace negotiations with Israel fail, a high-ranking Palestinian official told France Press news agency. A team of Palestinian peace negotiators told US peace envoy Martin Indyk that the Palestinian people might want to disestablish the Palestinian Authority, currently led by president Mahmoud Abbas. Negotiators have warned they may pass responsibility for their territory back to occupying power Israel if peace talks remain stalled. Press agencies across the world recall that, over the last few years, Palestinians have repeatedly considered the dissolution of the Palestinian authority, set up under the 1993 Olso Accords, granting them autonomy to manage their territories. This is the first time the idea comes up during peacemaking talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, kicked off in July last year and supervised by US Secretary of State John Kerry. On Sunday and Saturday Ramallah will play host to an important summit of the Palestine Liberation Organization, aimed at reviewing the peacemaking process and various options on the table in the event Kerry’s initiative should fail.

TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Simona Halep continues to rank fifth in a recent WTA standings made public on Monday. This is the all-time best ranking for a Romanian tennis player. Other Romanian tennis players currently ranking in the WTA top 100 are Sorana Cirstea, ranked 27th, Alexandra Cadantu, ranked 76th, and Monica Niculescu, ranked 81st.