February 23, 2025 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 23.02.2025, 20:00
UKRAINE The interim president of Romania Ilie Bolojan takes part on Monday in an online summit on ‘Defence and Security Strategy of Unity. Action Plan’, organised in the neighbouring Russia-invaded Ukraine, the Romanian presidency announced. On Wednesday, Bolojan took part in a meeting on Ukraine and the security challenges in Europe in Paris. The interim president stated that participants in the meeting in Paris concluded that the best way to solve the crisis is collaboration between European countries and the United States of America, so that there is a ceasefire and a just peace, which cannot be achieved without the participation of Ukraine and the European Union in the negotiations.
COMMEMORATION Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said that any responsible person wants a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and expressed hope that, despite the harsh political rhetoric of recent days, the efforts to end the war in Romania’s neighbouring country will be successful. The Romanian PM said in a Facebook post that Romanian companies should play an important role in the reconstruction of Ukraine. It is a project worth over EUR 500 billion, from which Romanian companies should gain as much as possible, Mr. Ciolacu added. On Sunday, around 150 people, mostly Ukrainian refugees, gathered in front of the Ukrainian embassy in Bucharest to mark 11 years of Russian aggression and 3 years since the start of the full-scale invasion. The participants carried Ukrainian and Romanian flags, as well as banners with messages against the war started by Russia and against the Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Ukrainian ambassador to Bucharest also attended the protest.
POPE FRANCIS Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church wished Pope Francis a speedy recovery, in a message sent on Sunday on behalf of himself, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, the clergy and all Romanian Orthodox believers. The Patriarch says he prays for Pope Francis to recover and resume his pastoral and missionary work as soon as possible. Aged 88, Pope Francis has been hospitalised in Rome for almost 10 days with bilateral pneumonia, and his health has worsened. Pope Francis was elected head of the Catholic Church in 2013.
FILM The Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude was awarded the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. The distinction was awarded for his latest film, “Kontinental ’25”, the story of a female bailiff in the grips of a moral crisis, filmed with a phone in just 10 days. In his acceptance speech, Radu Jude thanked his team and said that the award proves that there is a lot of talent in Romania. The Golden Bear for best film went to ‘Dreams (Sex Love)’/'(Drommer’), directed by the Norwegian Dag Johan Haugerud. The second most important trophy of the Berlinale, the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, was awarded to the Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro for the production ‘The Blue Trail’ (‘O último azul’), and the Silver Bear for best director went to the Chinese filmmaker Huo Meng for ‘Living The Land’ (‘Sheng xi zhi di’).
ARREST Ten individuals close to a French drug trafficker arrested on Saturday in Romania, have been detained over suspicions of having participated in the escape and flight of the repeat offender, the Paris prosecutor announced on Sunday. The known leader of a drug trafficking group, the man had been wanted since his escape in France in May 2024, during which two police officers were killed. On Saturday, Romanian police identified and detained him near a shopping center in Bucharest, and handed him over to the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime.
TENNIS The Romanian player Elizabeta Samara won the silver at the CCB Europe Top 16 Cup, which brought together Europe’s best table tennis players in Montreux (Switzerland). On Sunday, the Romanian lost the final to Ying Han (Germany), 2-3. Another Romanian, Bernadette Szocs, lost the quarter-finals on Saturday. Szocs won the competition in 2018, in 2019 she lost the final, and in 2021, 2022 and 2024 she came out third. Elizabeta Samara also won a third place in 2018.
HANDBALL The Romanian women’s handball team HC Dunărea Brăila have qualified for the quarter-finals of the EHF European League, after a 33-33 draw against the Norwegian side Larvik on Sunday in their last match in Group A. The result won Dunărea Brăila the group stage. In the quarter-finals, they will face the second-placed team in Group B, Ikast Handbold (Denmark). In turn, SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea, the winners of Group B, will face Thueringer HC (Germany). The first leg games take place on March 22-23, and the return matches on March 29-30. Meanwhile on Sunday, CS Rapid Bucharest managed to qualify for the play-offs of the Women’s Handball Champions League, after drawing away from home against the Montenegrin team Buducnost Podgorica, 21-21, in the last round of Group B. (AMP)
