December 18, 2022 UPDATE

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 18.12.2022, 19:38

COMMEMORATION Timisoara, a city in
Western Romania, on Saturday kept a moment of silence in memory of the first
victims of the Romanian anti-communist revolution 33 years ago. Following the
orders given by dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, officers with the Interior and
Defence Ministries opened fire on the peaceful protesters who had taken to the
streets of this martyr-city. The anti-communist revolt broke out in Timisoara,
on December 16th and extended to Bucharest on December 21st and also to other
cities across Romania. Over one thousand people were killed and about 3
thousand were wounded in clashes between the protesters and troops of the
defence and interior ministries all over Romania, the only country in eastern
Europe where the communist regime was changed through violence and
bloodshed.

SPORT Romanian swimmer David Popovici
on Sunday won the silver medal in the 200 meter free-style race of the FINA
World Swimming Championship 25 meters in Melbourne, Australia. The Romanian
came second after South-Korean Sunwoo Hwang with Tom Dean of Britain coming
third in the race. Popovici’s prize closet also includes a European title in
the 200 meter free-style race, which he won in Kazan last year. In 2022 he
walked away with gold in the 100 meter and 200 meter races both in the European
and world championships.

TALKS
After heated debates on Saturday night, negotiators of the European Parliament
and EU Council reached an agreement to overhaul the bloc’s carbon market,
cutting planet-heating emissions faster and imposing new CO2 costs on fuels
used in road transport and buildings. According to the Czech Environment
Minister Marian Jurecka, the agreement will allow the EU to meet climate
objectives within the main sectors of the economy while making sure the most
vulnerable citizens and micro-enterprises are effectively supported in the
climate transition.

GAS Azerbaijan intends to slightly increase its gas exports to Europe in
2023, the country’s president Ilham Aliyev has said as Brussels seeks to
replace the diminishing energy supplies from Russia, Reuters reports. On
Thursday, Gazprom announced its exports to countries outside the Community of
Independent States dropped 45.1% between January 1st and December 15th
as compared to the same period in 2021. If Russia completely stops gas
deliveries to Europe and Chinese gas demand rebounded from the Covid-19
restrictions, the EU could face a shortfall of 27 billion cubic meters of gas
next year.

REFUGEES According to sources with the Interior Ministry in Bucharest,
since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th,
4,396 Ukrainian nationals have applied for asylum in Romania. They are
benefitting all the rights stipulated by the national legislation. According to
a communiqué released on Sunday, since March 3rd, more than 98
thousand residence permits have been issued for those who requested temporary
protection, of which 21 in the past 24 hours.

TOURISM According to data released by the National Institute for
Statistics, foreign tourists traveling to Romania spent about 600 million Euros
in the first nine months of the year. More than half of them came to Romania on
business trips and almost three quarters of them arrived here by plane. 16.5%
came by car and a little over 5% by bus.

MESSAGE In his Christmas pastoral
message, Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church urges believers to
show merciful love and solidarity to everybody but mainly to those suffering
from war. According to the Church’s Holy Fathers, selfish acts like greed, the
love for money, power and pleasure have a negative effect on the spirit, says
the Patriarch. This negative effect will be further affecting the relationships
among people, causing tension, conflicts and even violence, mainly due to the injustice
and suffering caused by the greed or will of some peoples to conquer others. At
the same time, the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church has urged believers to
pray for the Romanians abroad in order to keep the national unity of faith.

HANDBALL Romania’s vice-champions in women’s handball CSM Bucharest
clinched a 27-24 home win against trophy-holder Norwegian side Vipers
Kristiansand in a group A match counting towards the Champions League. CSM end
the year first in their group with 15 points. In group B, Romania’s champions
Rapid Bucharest secured a 36-29 away victory against Storhamar Handball Elite
also from Norway. The Romanians are ranking second in their group with the same
number of points, 14, as the leader, Team Esbjerg of Denmark. In the men’s
competition of the Champions League, Dinamo Bucharest obtained a 31-all home draw
against Telekom Veszprem of Hungary. Dinamo rank fourth in their group with 11
points. Bucharest is the only European capital with three sides in the
continent’s most prestigious club tournament.

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