WAR IN UKRAINE – A new drone attack launched by Ukrainian forces hit an airbase
\nin southern Russia, killing three people. Russian air defense systems
\nreportedly shot down the drone while it was approaching the Engels base in
\nSaratov region. According to TASS, three Russian technicians were killed in the
\ncrash. Located some 600 km from the Ukrainian border, the base was hit by
\nanother drone strike earlier this month. Also on Monday, Ukraine wants to call for
\nexcluding Russia from the UN Security Council, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister,
\nDmytro Kuyleba has said. Does Russia have the right to remain a permanent
\nmember of the UN Security Council and to be in the United Nations at all?
\nhe said, speaking during a national television marathon. We have a
\nconvincing and reasoned answer — no, it does not.<\/p>\n
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SEARCH – Romanian authorities will resume search and rescue operations
\nto locate the four Ukrainian citizens who crossed the Maramure\u0219
\nMountains to enter
\nRomania. The Border Police spokesman said rescue teams failed to reach them on
\nSunday after having established contact previously. The caller was most likely
\nlocated on the opposite side of a cliffy area, which prevented rescue teams
\nfrom getting to him. Rescue teams managed to save another two Ukrainians on
\nSaturday. <\/p>\n
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REFUGEES – Some 341 thousand people, both Romanian and foreign nationals, crossed
\nthe Romanian border over December 24-25, the Border Police Inspectorate
\nannounced. Some 204 thousand people entered Romania during the interval, of
\nwhom 18,325 were Ukrainian citizens. Starting February 10, 2022, some 3.1
\nmillion Ukrainians entered Romania, most of whom were en route to other
\ncountries in Western Europe. According to the Interior Ministry, over 4,000
\npeople filed for asylum in Romania and thus benefit from every right under the
\nRomanian law. Since March, some 100 thousand stay permits have been issued for
\ntemporary protection beneficiaries. <\/p>\n
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EXTADITION – Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Moldova
\nare among the countries that ignore Romania’s request to extradite known
\ncriminals who are wanted for corruption back home. Bucharest journalists recall
\nthat high-profile politicians or businessmen are hiding abroad to avoid serving
\ntime in Romania. The list includes medical doctor Sorin Oprescu, who remained
\nin Greece after the Court of Appeal in Athens denied Romania’s request to
\nextradite the former Bucharest Mayor General, sentenced to 10 years and 8
\nmonths for bribe-taking. In Italy, the former anti-mafia prosecutor Alina Bic\u0103 managed to persuade magistrates
\nwith the Bari Court of Appeal that she deserved to serve her 4 year sentence
\nfor aiding and abetting here. Also in Bari, the former intelligence officer
\nDaniel Dragomir, sentenced to 3 years and 10 months, has also taken refuge. The
\nRepublic of Moldova is refusing to hand over Cristian Rizea to Romanian
\nauthorities. Rizea received a final sentence of 4 years and 8 months for
\ninfluence peddling. Puiu Popoviciu has been living in the United Kingdom for
\nyears, after London magistrates ruled that Popoviciu’s investigation had been
\npolitically instrumented. Popoviciu was sentenced at the time to 7 years for
\nfraud. Finally, Alexander Adamescu, the son of former magistrate Dan Adamescu,
\nmanaged to postpone his extradition from the United Kingdom for three
\nconsecutive years, although two British courts of law ruled Adamescu should be
\nput on trial in Romania for bribery. <\/p>\n
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\n
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CHRISTMAS – On
\nthe second day of Christmas, Orthodox and Eastern-Catholic Christians in
\nRomania celebrated the Synaxis of the Mother God, while Catholic Christians
\ncelebrated Saint Stephen, the first martyr. In his Christmas address, Romanian
\nOrthodox Church Patriarch Daniel spoke about the importance of faith, prayer
\nand generosity. The gold of faith and good deeds, the incense of fervent
\nprayer and the myrrh of upright living, these are the gifts that every
\nChristian, rich or poor, can give to Christ, the Patriarch said. In turn, Eastern-Catholic Archbishop Lucian
\nurged faithful to pray for peace in our families and peace in crisis-ravaged
\nEurope and peace to nations at war and the whole world. Despite all hardships,
\nChristians have discovered solace and hope in Messiah, following the true
\nlight, Roman-Catholic Archbishop Aurel Perc\u0103 also said in his Christmas sermon,
\nurging Christians to come closer to the Church, so that God’s love should make
\nour world better, bringing hope, peace and joy. <\/p>\n
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\n
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HANDBALL – The men’s handball teams of Romania, Egypt, Algeria and
\nSlovakia will take part in this year’s edition of the Carpa\u021bi Trophy tournament, held over
\nDecember 28-29 in Oradea, the Romanian Handball Federation reports. Egypt and
\nAlgeria have secured qualification to the 2023 World Cup, to be held in January
\n2023. Coach Xavi Pascual has called up 24 players to the squad, which convened
\non Monday for training. (VP)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roundup of domestic and international news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":105208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[31241,35941,31888,37279,36583,36572],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-106377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash","tag-carpati-trophy","tag-christmas-celebrations","tag-extradition","tag-search-and-rescue-operation","tag-ukrainian-refugees","tag-war-in-ukraine"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n