May 21, 2022

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 21.05.2022, 13:58

MFA. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted, at
the level of Secretary of State for European Affairs, the Hungarian Ambassador
to Romania and conveyed their concern over the statement posted on Facebook on
Friday by the new President of Hungary, Mrs. Katalin Novak. In the statement,
she assumes the status of representative of all Hungarians, no matter where
they live, inside or outside the borders of Hungary. The Bucharest Ministry of
Foreign Affairs says that, according to international law, a state cannot claim
its rights of any kind in relation to the citizens of another state. The
primary responsibility for observing the identity rights (ethnic, cultural,
religious or linguistic) of Romanian citizens of Hungarian ethnicity rests with
Romania, as a state of citizenship. Hungary, as a related state, can only be involved
in strengthening cultural ties.

Gazprom. The Russian energy corporation Gazprom announced today that it has stopped supplying natural gas to Finland due to the refusal of the Finnish system operator to pay in rubles. The Finnish company, on the other hand, has stated that it can obtain gas from other suppliers so that it could continue to operate normally. We recall that Gazprom asked European customers to pay in rubles for Russian gas, following the sanctions imposed on Moscow for invading Ukraine. In late April, the Russian giant shut down gas supplies to both Poland and Bulgaria. On Thursday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that half of Gazprom’s 54 client companies had opened ruble accounts with Gazprombank.

Bridge. The suspended bridge over the Danube in Braila,
southeastern Romania, will be rendered operational in December this year,
according to the Romanian Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu. 65% of the
works have been completed in almost five years since the start of the project.
The bridge will be 2 kilometers long, 200 meters high and 31 meters wide and it
will have four lanes. It will be the largest bridge in Romania and the third in
Europe in terms of central opening and length. The construction is the most
expensive of its kind in Romania after 1989, its estimated value standing at 500
million euros.

Refugees. According to the General Inspectorate of the Border Police,
the number of Ukrainian citizens who entered Romania on Friday increased slightly
compared to the previous day. In 24 hours, at national level, 8,823 Ukrainians
entered through the border crossing points. Since the start of the Russian
invasion in the neighboring state, on February 24, over 985 thousand refugees have
entered the country. Of these, only 4,349 applied for asylum in Romania.
Currently, the occupancy rate of the accommodation centers of the General
Inspectorate for Immigration is almost 45%.

Feast. The Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest celebrates its
patron saints, today, on the feast of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen. Celebrated
in the Orthodox Christian calendar on May 21, Constantine and his mother,
Helen, were the first Christian emperors. St. Constantine the Great ruled from
306 to 337. In 313, he issued the Edict of Mediolanum (Milan) – the first
official recognition of Christianity in the Roman Empire, ending the persecution
of Christians and guaranteeing freedom of faith and worship. Empress Helen, the
mother of Constantine the Great, had a major contribution to the flourishing of
the Church throughout the Empire – thousands of churches were opened or built,
and the Holy Cross on which Jesus was crucified was discovered in Jerusalem and
many places of worship were built at the Holy Places. On the feast day of
Saints Constantine and Helen, over 1.8 million Romanians celebrate their name
day.

Tennis. Romania will have no less than seven representatives in
the women’s singles events at Roland Garros. Mihaela Buzărnescu managed to get
on the main board of the Parisian competition as a ‘lucky loser’, after losing,
on Friday, in the last round of the qualifications to the Swede Mirjam
Bjorklund 6-1, 6-3. In the first round, Mihaela Buzărnescu will face the
American Madison Brengle. Simona Halep (19 WTA), champion at Roland Garros in
2018 and finalist in 2014 and 2017, will take on the Croatian Ana Konjuh in the
first round, and Sorana Cîrstea (27 WTA) will play against the German Tatjana
Maria. Gabriela Ruse (52 WTA) will have a difficult match against the Belgian
Elise Mertens, and Irina Begu (62 WTA) will have to deal with the Italian
player Jasmine Paolini. Irina Bara (114 WTA), coming from qualifications, will
face the Kazakh Iulia Putinţeva. Ana Bogdan (91 WTA) will have the hardest match,
though, against the Belarusian Victoria Azarenka. (MI)