April 8, 2026
A roundup of local and international news.
Newsroom, 08.04.2026, 13:55
COACH – Mircea Lucescu, the most successful coach in the history of Romanian football, has died at the age of 80. He had been hospitalized in Bucharest’s University Emergency Hospital since March 29 and was in a coma after reportedly suffering a heart attack on April 3. Having led the Romanian national team until a few days ago, Lucescu had previously coached Pisa, Brescia and Inter Milan in Italy. In Romania, he led Dinamo and Rapid Bucharest to success. The peak of his career was when he coached the Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk, where, between 2004 and 2016, he won 21 national trophies, as well as the UEFA Cup in 2009. Lucescu also coached the Turkish national football team. Mircea Lucescu is the third most successful coach in the history of world football, with 36 trophies, being surpassed only by Pep Guardiola and by Sir Alex Ferguson. Lucescu surpasses other legends of world football, such as Carlo Ancelotti, Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger. The death of the one who experts say built generations, characters and dreams sent a shock wave in international football.
CEASEFIRE – World leaders have welcomed the two-week ceasefire agreement announced by the United States and Iran an hour before the expiration of the ultimatum given to Tehran by US President Donald Trump and stressed the importance of establishing a lasting peace in the Middle East, international news agencies reported on Wednesday. Israel supports President Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, on the condition that Tehran immediately reopens the straits and ends attacks against the United States, Israel and countries in the region, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the temporary ceasefire and called on the warring parties to commit to establishing a lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The most important thing is to take concrete measures to defuse the situation, especially to guarantee the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Japanese government also stressed. Japan is the world’s fifth largest oil importer. About 93% of its oil imports transit the Strait of Hormuz. The South Korean Foreign Ministry said that the Seoul government hopes that the negotiations between the two parties will achieve their goal and that peace and stability will be restored in the Middle East as soon as possible. Australia also welcomed the ceasefire, warning, however, that prolonging the war would have a greater impact on the world economy and the human costs would be high.
UKRAINE – New attacks launched by the Russian invasion army in Ukraine, near the border with Romania, have been reported. A new alert has been issued in Tulcea county (southeast). Two military aircraft were taken off the ground, tracking 17 air targets, which did not enter Romanian national airspace, however. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the population of four counties in Romania has received over 70 extreme alert messages, most of them in Tulcea county.
EASTER – The Romanian Orthodox Church has announced that, if the Holy Easter Light cannot be brought from Jerusalem this year, the faithful will be able to receive it from the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest. According to the Patriarchate, there are all the premises for the tradition of bringing the Holy Light to be respected this year as well. However, the church authorities are also taking into account the possibility of an extreme situation, in the context of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East. In such a situation, the faithful will be offered the Holy Light brought in 2025, which was kept continuously lit in a special candle at the Patriarchal Cathedral. Usually, the Holy Light is brought to Romania on Holy Saturday by the representative of the Romanian Patriarchate at the Holy Places, and is then distributed to all dioceses and parishes in the country.
FINANCES – The National Bank of Romania decided to maintain the key interest rate at 6.5% per year. The inflation rate fell slightly at the beginning of the year, but the Central Bank warns that pressures persist, especially amid rising energy prices and external uncertainties, and that it will increase between March and June to higher values than previously forecast, in the context of the conflict in the Middle East. (EE)
