December 26, 2025
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 26.12.2025, 14:00
Second day of Christmas
Orthodox, Eastern-Catholic and Roman-Catholic Christians worldwide on Friday celebrate the second day of Christmas.
On December 26, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Council of the Mother of God, one of the oldest feast days, which refers to the calling of all people to worship the Virgin Mary immediately after the birth of Jesus Christ. Symbolically, this is the day when, to honor the Mother of God, the faithful on Earth gather with all the Saints in Heaven. In rural areas of Romania, the second day of Christmas is the moment when carolers continue their visits, especially to relatives and close friends. In some villages, there is the custom of the “youth band”, which brings wishes of abundance and prosperity through traditional songs and folk dances. Another custom is the festive meal on the second day of Christmas. On Thursday, Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrated the Divine Liturgy of the Lord’s Nativity at the Patriarchal Cathedral in Bucharest. Daniel spoke to the people about faith, good deeds and a pure life, and urged them to offer gifts and signs of joy to those around them.
Roman-Catholics in Romania celebrate the feast day of Saint Stephen, one of the early martyrs of the Christian Church. At the Vatican, in his traditional Christmas “Urbi et Orbi” address, Pope Leo XIV deplored the situation of homeless people worldwide and the destruction caused by war. The Pontiff particularly denounced the war in Ukraine and the developments in the Gaza Strip.
Security forces deployed for the Christmas mini-holiday
Some 23,000 employees of Romania’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (police officers, gendarmes, firefighters, emergency service personnel and border police) will be deployed every day during the Christmas mini-holiday, according to Interior Ministry spokesperson Monica Dajbog. An average of 2,000 traffic police officers will monitor roads that typically become congested during such periods to ensure smooth traffic flow and assist motorists. They will deploy approximately 400 radar devices to detect drivers who pose a threat to traffic participants. Monica Dajbog noted that police officers will continue operations during these days to prevent and combat illegal trade in dangerous pyrotechnic articles.
For the roughly 10,000 public events organized during this period, which could draw nearly one million people, police and gendarmes will be mobilized to prevent incidents that could affect citizens’ safety. Supporting citizens spending the mini-holiday in the mountains, approximately 170 mountain gendarmes will be ready to intervene daily.
Also during the Christmas mini-holiday, approximately 3,300 border police will be mobilized to protect borders, prevent cross-border crime and ensure smooth control at Romania’s external borders.
Bucharest and Chișinău sign witness protection memorandum
The General Police Inspectorate of Romania and the General Police Inspectorate of the Republic of Moldova signed a Memorandum in Chișinău regarding the strengthening of institutional cooperation in the field of witness protection.
The Memorandum reflects the common commitment of the two institutions to develop and strengthen witness protection mechanisms, in line with international standards and best practices, for effectively combating organized crime. In this context, the parties emphasized the need for continuous adaptation of witness protection policies and strategies to the evolution of crime, as well as the importance of aligning the Republic of Moldova with European standards in this field.
Cyprus to take over the presidency of the EU Council
Cyprus takes over the rotating presidency of the EU Council on January 1, 2026. Top priorities include European security, with an implicit focus on Ukraine, EU enlargement and especially migration, Radio Romania’s Brussels correspondent reports.
Cyprus is on the front line of the migration route and will insist on implementing the European migration pact, with emphasis on shared responsibility and the protection of external borders. The new European legislation in this area will enter into force mid-year, and Cyprus is preparing the ground to make it operational, so that pressures on the continent diminish.
A second major priority is security and concerns not just the military dimension, but also energy or cybersecurity, and Cyprus will insist on collaboration with neighbors in the south of the Union and those in the Middle East, from where the EU still sources much of its oil consumption.
Health authorities issue flu alert
Medical authorities have issued an epidemiological alert in Romania after more than 11,000 cases of clinical flu were reported nationwide in the last week, nearly double compared to the previous week. Most cases were in Bucharest, Cluj (northwest), Botoșani (northeast), Bihor (northwest) and Iași (northeast). Unfortunately, the first death from flu this season has been confirmed: an 88-year-old woman from Cluj, not vaccinated against flu and with pre-existing medical conditions.
The National Center for Surveillance and Control of Communicable Diseases (CNSCBT) urges people at high risk of severe illness to get vaccinated. The Health Ministry also recommends consulting a family physician at the onset of respiratory symptoms and avoiding crowds.
Drone attacks reported on Thursday night on Danube ports
New drone attacks were reported on Ukrainian Danube on Thursday night, and an early warning alert was also issued for people living in northern Tulcea County (southeast), warning them about the possibility of objects falling from the sky. The population was urged to protect themselves in safe spaces, away from windows. The Defense Ministry announced that on Thursday night, two F-16 aircraft from Fetesti Air Base (southeast) were scrambled to monitor airspace on the Ukrainian border, following attacks by the Russian army on Ukrainian territory, close to the Romanian border.
US attack on ISIS in Nigeria
The United States launched an attack against Islamic State militants in northwest Nigeria, President Donald Trump and the US military announced, claiming the group was targeting Christians in the region, Reuters reports. The US Africa Command specified that the attack was carried out in Sokoto, in coordination with Nigerian authorities, and that several ISIS militants were killed.
The attack comes after, at the end of October, president Trump warned that Christianity faces an “existential threat” in Nigeria and threatened to intervene militarily in this West African country for what he considered its failure to stop violence against Christian communities.
The Nigerian government said that armed groups target both Muslims and Christians, and US claims that Christians are persecuted do not reflect the complex security situation and ignore efforts to protect religious freedom. Nevertheless, the government agreed to collaborate with the US to strengthen its forces against militant groups. The country’s population is divided between Muslims, who live mainly in the north, and Christians in the south. (VP)
