April 29, 2016
Orthodox and Greek catholic believers are marking Good Friday.
Newsroom, 29.04.2016, 12:00
Orthodox and Greek Catholic believers worldwide, including Romania, a mostly Orthodox country, are today marking Good Friday. This day, also known as Holy Friday, is the day when Christians commemorate the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. From the early days of Christianity, Good Friday was observed as a day of sorrow, penance, and fasting. Special religious services are being held this evening. Hundreds of people will march in procession in Targu Jiu, in southern Romania, symbolically retracing “The Way of the Cross”.
The case concerning the fire that killed 64 young people in Bucharest’s Colectiv nightclub last autumn has reached the trial stage. Six people were sent to Court, including the three owners of the nightclub, under charges of manslaughter, bodily harm and breach of workplace safety and health regulations. Sixty-four people died and over 100 others were injured in the tragedy that shocked the entire country.
The unemployment rate in Romania continues to be on the decrease, being slightly smaller in March as against the previous month – 6.4% from 6.5%, according to the National Statistics Institute. Of the total number of people aged between 15 and 74, less than 600 thousands were still looking for a job in March. This figure is also smaller as compared with the same month of last year, when the number of unemployed stood at 613 thousand.
The Prime Minister’s Control Body has initiated checks at the National Opera House in Bucharest for a number of reasons, such as establishing the manner in which people were hired in the institution’s high level positions. Ninety-five years since its establishment, celebrated this very month, the National Opera House in Bucharest is the stage of a huge scandal and witnesses an unprecedented crisis, with three performances cancelled and the Culture Minister Vlad Alexandrescu stepping down as a consequence.
The Romanian, Ukrainian and Turkish border police plan to set up a joint patrol fleet in the Black Sea, aimed at ensuring stability in the region. Combating poaching and drug and weapons trafficking will be the patrol fleet’s main tasks. In Bucharest, Romanian Defense Minister Mihnea Motoc has recently announced that Romania will initiate procedures for the setting up of a NATO fleet in the Black Sea, for defense and determent purposes. Moscow has criticized this move, saying that it seriously undermines security and stability in this part of Europe forcing Russia to respond in order to maintain its security.
Romanian Lucian Bute will return to the boxing ring on Saturday evening. In a boxing gala hosted by Washington, Bute will fight Gambian-born Swedish boxer Badou Jack for the WBC super middleweight belt. Jack Badou has 20 wins in professional competitions, of which 12 by knockout, and only 1 defeat. Lucian Bute is the former super middleweight champion in the IBF version. He successfully defended his title nine times, for nearly four years and a half. He has 32 wins, of which 25 by knockout, and three defeats. If he wins on April 30, Bute will become the only Romanian boxer to hold two world titles in the two boxing versions.
