May 2, 2016
Romanians celebrate the second day of Easter
Newsroom, 02.05.2016, 13:43
Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians, which make up the religious majority in Romania, celebrate as of today the Bright Week, the first week after Easter, when light is seen as the symbol of the Resurrection of Christ. In churches, on the second day of Easter, the same religious service is celebrated as the one on Resurrection night.
On the first day of Easter President Klaus Iohannis visited the Romanian troops deployed in Afghanistan, and told them that their presence in this conflict zone is Bucharests firm answer to NATOs request to ensure the security and stability of this country. The President also discussed the NATO summit due in two months time in Warsaw, where Romania will plead for a strengthened presence of the Alliance in Romania, particularly on the western coast of the Black Sea. President Klaus Iohannis also had a meeting with Brigadier General Antonio Aguto, head of the Train, Advise, Assist Command – South in Afghanistan. Their talks highlighted the excellent cooperation between the Romanian and American troops.
The Prime Minister of Romania, Dacian Cioloş, will submit to President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday a request to discharge Vlad Alexandrescu as Culture Minister and a nomination for his replacement. The dismissal comes against the backdrop of a scandal at the Romanian Opera House in Bucharest, triggered by discontent with the successive appointments for the director post as well as with the substantial imbalances between the salaries paid to the Romanian and the foreign dancers. Protests led to the cancellation of three shows, and PM Ciolos asked for Vlad Alexandrescus resignation. In messages posted on Facebook or published in the media, Vlad Alexandrescu says he was forced out because he upset various interest groups. The head of government said he had not been informed of the problems Vlad Alexandrescu claimed to have been facing and promised he would urge the new minister to carry on the reforms initiated by Alexandrescu.
The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, has said the officials convened in Geneva are getting closer to a consensus with respect to renewing the truce deal in Syria, particularly around the town of Aleppo, the BBC reports. Kerry had talks with Arab and UN officials about ways to reach a ceasefire in Aleppo, where the situation threatens to lead to a complete failure of the peace efforts. The UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura had called on the US and Russia to salvage the ceasefire agreement. According to BBC, the US Secretary of State will also have to find a way to bring the representatives of the Syrian opposition to the negotiations table in Geneva.
The football club Astra from Giurgiu, in the south of the country, is virtually Romanias football champion, for the first time in its history. Mathematically, Astra can no longer be caught up with by the runner-up, the defending champions Steaua Bucharest, regardless of the results of the last round in the League One play offs. The owner of Astra is Ioan Niculae, one of the richest and most controversial Romanian businessmen. He is serving time after having been sentenced for the illegal financing of a politician in the 2009 presidential election campaign.
The Romanian tennis players Patricia Ţig and Irina Begu are playing today in the second round of the WTA Premier tournament in Madrid, which has nearly 4.8 million US dollars in prize money. Ţig is facing the American Sloane Stephens and Begu takes on one of the tournament top seeds, Spains Garbine Muguruza. Also qualified in the second round of the Madrid tournament are two other Romanians, Simona Halep, seed no. 6, and Sorana Carstea. Halep played the final of the Madrid tournament in 2014, when she lost to Russias Maria Sharapova.
