EUROPE DAY – Military
\nceremonies, laying of flowers, exhibitions and film screenings were held around
\nthe country on Monday to mark Romania’s National Independence Day, the Victory
\nof the United Nations Coalition in WWII and Europe Day, all three of which are
\ncelebrated every year on May 9. The European Commission representation in
\nRomania launched a communication campaign entitled Faces of European
\nSolidarity and consisting in an exhibition of photographs documenting
\nRomanians’ solidarity with the people who fled Ukraine following the Russian
\ninvasion and the care and warmth with which they were received by the Romanians
\nnear the border areas, at refugee centers and in their homes. Europe must
\nbecome stronger, more vocal, more capable and better prepared, said Romania’s
\npresident Klaus Iohannis in a Europe Day statement.<\/p>\n
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VICTORY DAY -
\nRussian president Vladimir Putin on Monday said his army is fighting in Ukraine
\nto defend the fatherland against an unacceptable threat posed by the
\nneighboring country supported by the West. Putin told the crowds attending the
\nmilitary parade in Moscow that he ordered the special operation in Ukraine
\nbecause the Ukrainian authorities were preparing an attack against pro-Russian
\nseparatists in the east, because they wanted to develop nuclear weapons and
\nbring NATO to Russia’s doorstep. No foreign leader attended the festivities in
\nMoscow, which marked the victory of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany in
\nWWII. In Kyiv, president Volodymyr Zelensky said that evil has returned to
\nEurope, in a different form, under different slogans, but for the same
\npurpose, comparing the Russian invasion to the 1941 Nazi invasion. <\/p>\n
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REFUGEES – The
\nway in which Romania received refugees from Ukraine is a strong argument
\nproving our country is already acting as a member of Schengen, Foreign Minister
\nBogdan Aurescu said on Monday in the opening of the debate 15 years since
\nRomania’s EU accession – Romania’s contribution to the EU and its role in
\nconsolidating the Union. Minister Aurescu said citizens’ involvement in
\nhelping the refugees is a clear expression of Romanians’ genuine European
\nspirit. Since the start of the conflict, Romania has provided direct support
\nto over 927 thousand Ukrainian refugees, of whom over 89,000 chose to stay in
\nRomania. On Monday, the Border Police announced that nearly 7,700 Ukrainian
\ncitizens entered the country in the last 24 hours, down by 15% compared to the
\nprevious day. <\/p>\n
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PRESIDENCY – On
\nEurope Day, president Klaus Iohannis selected two projects which will take
\nplace this year under the high patronage of the Romanian Presidency, designed
\nto strengthen the unity of history, language, culture and European aspirations
\nbetween Romania and the Republic of Moldova -a the Bookfest International Fair
\nand the Meeting of Romanian Theatres. In 2022, Bookfest will take place over
\nAugust 31 – September 4, and is meant to promote reading and Romanian
\nliterature in the Republic of Moldova. In turn, the Meeting of Romanian
\nTheatres will take place over September 15-25. The two events are also held
\nunder the high patronage of the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu. <\/p>\n
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DNA – The National Anticorruption
\nDirectorate (DNA) announced 39 final sentences were passed in March against 86
\ndefendants in corruption cases, including giving and taking bribe, peddling in
\ninfluence and fraud involving European funds. Sentences vary between 7 years
\nand 8 months in prison and fines amounting to the equivalent in lei of 3,000 Euro.<\/p>\n
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WTA – Poland’s Iga Swiatek comfortably leads the WTA ranking published on
\nMonday, followed by Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Spain’s Paula
\nBadosa. Former world no. 1 Simona Halep remains the highest-ranked Romanian
\ntennis player, at no. 20. Romania has five other players in the top 100: Sorana
\nC\u00eerstea, at no. 26, Gabriela Ruse at no. 57, Irina Begu at no. 63, Jaqueline
\nCristian at no. 70 and Ana Bogdan at no. 95. In the women’s doubles ranking,
\nMonica Niculescu is the highest-ranked Romanian, at no. 42, as Raluca Olaru
\ndrops six places to no. 49. Irina Begu is at no. 47, Irina Bara at no. 62 and Gabriela
\nRuse at no. 93. (CM & VP)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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":[33173,29066,28945,36583,36712,28959,36572,36713],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-105899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-anticorruption-directorate","tag-europe-day","tag-klaus-iohannis","tag-ukrainian-refugees","tag-victory-day","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-war-in-ukraine","tag-wta-top-100"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n