January 6, 2026
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 06.01.2026, 14:01
COALITION Romanian President, Nicusor Dan, is attending on Tuesday the meeting of the heads of state and government from the Coalition of the Willing in Paris. According to AFP, the coalition is made up of the countries, which are supporting Ukraine. The US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner are also expected to attend the meeting. The European allies of Ukraine also met in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the latest version of the peace plan with Russia. High on today’s meeting agenda are the coalition’s support for Ukraine and also the firm security guarantees Kyiv needs for the peace talks with Russia.
HOLIDAY Christians are today celebrating Christ’s baptism in the Jordan, also known as Epiphany or Theophany. After 30 years of anonymity, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, started His mission on the bank of the Jordan River, where John the Baptist was baptizing those who had repented. While the ritual was being performed a voice from heaven said: ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.’ The sky opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. Christian theologians are interpreting the events as the revelation of the Holy Trinity to confirm Jesus’ identity as the Son of God who became man. Christians who attended religious services in front of the churches or on river banks have been given holy water.
TENNIS Romanian tennis player, Sorana Cirstea, on Tuesday qualified for the quarter finals of the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane, Australia, a competition with 1.7 million dollars in prize money after a two-set win against Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-2, 7-6. The Romanian will next be up against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus who tops the WTA ranking. Cirstea and Sabalenka have so far played twice and each has claimed a match.
MADURO Thousands of supporters of the former Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, took to the streets of capital Caracas to demand the release of their captured president and his return from the United States, where he is presently facing legal charges, the BBC reports. During his first hearing in New York, Maduro has described his capture by the US forces as ‘kidnapping’. Nicolas Maduro and his wife are facing charges of conspiracy for narco-terrorism and arms trafficking. Prosecutors say the two have got rich in the past 25 years from working with international traffickers and shipping illegal drugs into the United States.
FUNDS The Romanian Minister of Investment and European Projects, Dragos Pislaru, says the European money started reaching the economy five times faster than in the first half of last year. The minister has mentioned a massive and unprecedented rise in the absorption process in the past six months as compared to the entire period since the onset of the present financial exercise. The minister says that before June 2025, the state was paying an average of 87 million Euros out of European funds and in the past six months it has reached 456 million. Romania’s goal for 2026 is the attraction of at least 15 billion out of European funds a sum which represents a record high in the absorption process. This money will be invested in hospitals, schools, motorways, local infrastructure and economic competitiveness, the minister went on to say.
(bill)
