January 6, 2026 UPDATE
A roundup of local and world news
Newsroom, 06.01.2026, 19:16
HOLIDAY Christians on Tuesday celebrated Jesus 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 in the form of 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 were 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.
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.
POLL More than two thirds of the Romanians interviewed, 68%, believe that peace in Ukraine should be signed under the conditions imposed by the United States, an Avangarde poll released on Tuesday says. According to the poll entitled ‘Regional security – perceptions and expectations’, only 18% of the Romanians do not believe the peace accord should not be signed under the conditions imposed by the USA. The same poll says that roughly 74% of the respondents believe that Romania would be defended by NATO in case of a Russian attack. 49% of the interviewees believe the military service should again become compulsory in Romania, whereas 47% are against the idea. 71% answered ‘yes’ to the question whether Romania should get rapidly armed in order to strengthen its defence capabilities, while 22% said no. 36% of the respondents are satisfied with the bilateral relations between Romania and the USA, while 56% aren’t satisfied. The survey was carried by Avangarde over December 27 and 30, 2025, on one thousand adult respondents.
STATEMENT The governments of Spain, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Poland and Denmark on Tuesday stood for the sovereignty of Greenland in a joint statement in which they say that arctic security is a priority for Europe and is critical for the international and transatlantic security Reuters and EFE report. The European leaders said: “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland and them only to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.” Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain joined Denmark in saying they would defend the ‘universal principles’ of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders’. The US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to take control over Greenland and told the Atlantic review on Sunday that the USA needs Greenland badly.
(bill)
