Visit.<\/strong> Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has met in Bucharest today with the Ukrainian
<\/p>\n
Ukraine.<\/strong> In a video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
\n<\/p>\n
Refugees.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Book Fair.<\/strong> In Paris, the International
<\/p>\n
Good Friday<\/strong>. For Orthodox Christians (majority in Romania) and Greek
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nForeign Minister Dmitro Kuleba. The two analyzed the security situation in the
\nregion following the Russian military aggression. The Prime Minister highlighted
\nthe efforts made by authorities, together with civil society, volunteers and
\ninternational humanitarian organizations to support the more than 800,000
\nUkrainian refugees who have entered Romania since the outbreak of the war.
\nDmitro Kuleba gave an extensive presentation on the military situation on the
\nground and thanked the Government of Bucharest and the Romanian citizens for all
\nthe support and solidarity shown since the outbreak of the war. On his formal
\nvisit to Bucharest, Dmitro Kuleba also spoke with his Romanian counterpart,
\nBogdan Aurescu. The latter has stated that Romania strongly supports Ukraine’s
\nEuropean prospects and is ready to be part of the reconstruction effort. War
\nis the moment of truth, when you see the true face of someone, and Romania has
\nshown its true face, the face of a friend. Not only did they speak, but they
\nacted. We will never forget this, said the Kyiv official. He congratulated the
\nRomanian Government, which has carried out a very smart policy since the
\nbeginning of the Russian aggression, and thanked Romania for receiving the
\nUkrainian refugees. Kuleba’s visit to
\nBucharest comes after the one in Bulgaria, the country that refused to provide
\nmilitary aid to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nZelensky says that Russia has rejected a proposal for a truce over the Orthodox
\nEaster period this weekend, adding though that he still hopes there will be
\npeace. The Easter service begins on Saturday evening and lasts until Sunday
\nmorning. Volodymyr Zelensky has also denied statements by the Kremlin leader
\nVladimir Putin that the strategically vital port city of Mariupol fell to the
\nRussian military on Thursday. The city was surrounded by Russian troops shortly
\nafter the Russian invasion began, was bombed and almost completely destroyed.
\nAbout 120,000 civilians were unable to leave Mariupol. Meanwhile, US President
\nJoe Biden has pledged $ 800 million in additional weapons to Ukraine and said
\nhe would ask Congress for more money to help the Ukrainian military. On the
\nground, Russian forces have occupied 42 villages in the eastern part of the
\nDonetsk region, according to a Ukrainian official, and are advancing towards
\nKramatorsk, which continues to be hit by rockets. The mayor of Kharkov, the
\nsecond largest city in Ukraine, says the city is under heavy bombardment.
\nMoscow continues its offensive in Donetsk and Luhansk, trying to expand its
\ncontrol in the eastern regions.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nAccording to the Romanian Border Police,
\nmore than 84 thousand people crossed Romania’s borders on Thursday, of whom
\n7,608 Ukrainian citizens (1.2% less than on the day before). 3,845 Ukrainians entered
\nRomania via the crossing points on the border with Ukraine, and 1,334 crossed
\nthe border from Moldova. The border staff on mission in the border areas has
\nbeen supplemented. Also, an operative exchange of data and information is
\nensured between all the relevant institutions.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nElection.<\/strong> The election campaign has come to an end in France. Ahead of the second round of presidential elections scheduled for Sunday, the two candidates, incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine le Pen, had their final meetings with the electorate. According to the Radio Romania correspondent, Marine Le Pen went to the north, where she has the most loyal supporters and where she won the largest number of votes in the first round, as she didn’t want to risk meeting with potentially hostile voters. Instead, Emmanuel Macron visited an area in the immediate vicinity of Paris, where there are the so-called difficult neighborhoods, with a poor population, especially from African immigration, an electorate that voted en masse in the first round for the leader of the Radical Left Party Unsubmissive France, Jean-Luc Melenchon. They told the president right away the problems they are facing. The incumbent president continues to gain ground. According to an opinion poll commissioned by the daily Le Parisien, 57.5% of the French voters will give Macron their votes, and only 42.5% will vote for Marine Le Pen.<\/p>\n
\nBook Fair opens its doors today, after two canceled editions due to the
\ncoronavirus pandemic. The event returns in the form of a festival, with a new
\nconcept, and the organizers expect about 100,000 visitors. The guest of honor
\nof this edition is India. Numerous meetings with writers, book launches are
\nscheduled for the next three days. Romania has its own stand, organized by the
\nRomanian Cultural Institute in Paris, where Radio Romania News is a media
\npartner.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nCatholics, today is Good Friday. It is the day when Jesus Christ, the Son of
\nGod, turned man, lived the most tragic of human experiences: death. He was
\ncrucified between two robbers, accused of blasphemy and opposition to Roman
\nauthority. According to the Gospel texts, while Jesus was dying on the cross,
\nthe earth trembled and the sky got dark. After being taken down from the cross, Jesus
\nwas placed in the tomb offered by Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man of the
\ntime. The burial of Jesus is symbolized today by the placement of the Holy Epitaph
\nin the middle of the church and then by carrying it around the holy places.
\nThis procession takes place at the evening mass. On Sunday, Orthodox and Greek Catholics will
\ncelebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. More than 9,000 police officers will on
\nduty daily at national level, between April 22 and 25, to maintain public order
\nand safety, both in areas with a large influx of people and in the vicinity of
\nplaces of worship. (MI)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"