EASTER Catholic and
\nProtestant Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. At the
\nVatican, Pope Francis once again called for peace, describing Easter as the
\ngift of hope during the Mass held in a basilica with thousands of believers.
\nToday, the service takes place in San Pietro Square after 2 years of
\nCovid-related restrictions. For Orthodox and Greek-Catholic believers, who
\ncelebrate Easter next weekend, today is Palm Sunday, commemorating the moment
\nwhen Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem. In Romania, a mostly Orthodox country,
\nnearly one and a half million people are celebrating their name day. President
\nKlaus Iohannis wished happy and peaceful holidays to all those who celebrate
\nEaster or Palm Sunday today.<\/p>\n
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UKRAINE As of midnight
\nRussian vessels are no longer allowed to enter EU ports, Romanian ports
\nincluded. The ban also covers ships that replaced the Russian flag with the
\ncolours of another state after February 24 when the war in Ukraine started, but
\nnot those which need assistance or shelter for safety reasons or those which
\nhave saved lives at the sea. In an interview to Sunday’s issue of the German
\nmagazine Bild am Sonntag, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der
\nLeyen said the next stage of EU sanctions will target Russia’s oil and banking
\nsectors, particularly the country’s largest bank, Sberbank. She added that
\nBrussels was working on smart mechanisms to include Russian oil in the new list
\nof sanctions, so as to reduce the financing for Vladimir Putin’s invasion army.
\nEU member states are currently paying for Russian gas and oil via Sberbank and
\nGazprombank, which have so far been exempt from Europe’s sanctions, Reuters
\nexplains. Meanwhile, Russia carries on attacks on several cities in Ukraine,
\nincluding the capital Kyiv, in response to the sinking of its Black Sea
\nflagship, the Moskva. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in
\nUkraine, Russian forces shelled several cities in the south of Ukraine, whereas
\nin Herson Ukrainian troops continue to attack the occupying Russian forces.<\/p>\n
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REFUGEES The number of Ukrainian nationals who reached
\nRomania on Saturday was 12.4% higher than on the previous days, the Romanian
\nborder police announced. Since the start of the crisis, over 730,000 Ukrainian
\ncitizens have entered the country, most of them leaving Romania for other
\ndestinations.<\/p>\n
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INVICTUS A group of 20 Romanian military wounded in battle
\nfields are taking part in the one-week long Invictus Games, hosted his year by
\nThe Hague in the Netherlands. They will compete in 7 sports, 6 of them
\nindividual competitions (hand archery, athletics,
\nrowing, powerlifting, cycling and swimming) and a team sport (sitting volleyball). The Invictus Games promote respect
\nand empathy for the sacrifice and traumas of wounded military, whose
\ninvolvement in these activities is an opportunity for social reintegration and
\nfor regaining self-confidence, the Romanian Defence Ministry says. For Romanian
\ntroops, this year’s Invictus participation is the third, after the ones in Toronto,
\nin 2017, and Sydney, one year later. <\/p>\n
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DIPLOMACY The Romanian Foreign Ministry celebrates 25 years
\nsince the Joint Statement on the Romania-Italy Strategic Partnership was
\nsigned. The genuine friendship between the 2 countries is facilitated by the
\npresence of over 1 million Romanians in Italy, making up the largest foreign
\ncommunity in that country and also the largest Romanian community abroad, reads
\na news release issued by the institution.<\/p>\n
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NORTH KOREA North Korea announced
\nthe successful test firing of a new type of tactical guided weapon aimed at
\nboosting the country’s nuclear capabilities, which may indicate that Pyongyang
\nis ready to resume nuclear testing. North Korea suspended nuclear testing in 2017,
\nand the following year it blew up the tunnels in its underground nuclear test
\nsite, but recent satellite imagery indicates digging and construction
\nactivities have been resumed.(AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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