Feast
<\/p>\n
Culture.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n
Ukraine.
<\/p>\n
Handball.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n
Tennis.<\/strong> Romania’s Irina Begu lost 6-3, 6-2 to second
A roundup of local 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-106401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsflash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nday. <\/strong>Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in majority-Orthodox Romania are
\ntoday celebrating St. John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament
\nand the only one to know the Messiah, whose coming he prepared. The Judeans
\nrecognised him as a prophet and came to be baptised in the Jordan river, in
\nrepentance for their sins. It is at Jordan river that John met Jesus, whom he
\nrecognised as the Messiah. St. John the Baptist died by beheading. Almost two
\nmillion Romanians are named after the saint. Old rite Christians are celebrating
\nChristmas. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nThe western Romanian city of Timi\u015foara is this year holding the title of
\nEuropean Capital of Culture together with Elefsina in Greece and Veszpr\u00e9m in
\nHungary. According to a statement from the European Commission, the three
\ncities join 60 others that held the title in previous years, both in the
\nEuropean Union and outside the bloc. Throughout this year, the three cities
\nwill be hosting special events, exhibitions and performances. The title of
\nEuropean capital of culture demonstrates the wealth and diversity of European
\ncultures, encourages sustainable tourism and promotes the development of
\ncities. It has a positive social and economic impact in the long term both for
\nthe cities themselves and the neighbouring regions. The cities applying for
\nthis prestigious title must come up with a cultural programme with a strong
\nEuropean dimension that promotes the active involvement of the local
\ninhabitants and communities. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the decision of the United
\nStates to supply Ukraine, for the first time, with heavy armour. The Bradley
\nfighting vehicles are used to transport infantry and provide covering fire. The
\nAmericans will also provide ground-to-air missiles, armoured vehicles for the
\ntroops and artillery systems as part of an assistance package worth over 3
\nbillion dollars. The supply with armoured fighting vehicles indicates a change
\nin the approach of some western states who have so far been reluctant to send
\nmore lethal support to Ukraine amid fears of escalating the conflict, notes the
\nBBC. The move comes at a time when Ukraine prepares for a new stage in its
\nattempt to regain the territories occupied by the Russians. In another
\ndevelopment, incidents were reported in the east of Ukraine in violation of the
\nceasefire unilaterally declared by Russia over Orthodox Christmas. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nThe Romanian women’s handball vicechampions CSM Bucharest are today facing the
\nCzech side Banik Most in a Champions League Group A
\nmatch. CSM are in the top position in the group, while Banik Most are in last
\nplace. In the Champions League Group B, another Romanian side, the local
\nchampions Rapid Bucharest, will on Sunday be playing Buducnost from Montenegro
\nat home. Rapid are in fourth place and Buducnost in fifth. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nseed Arina Sabalenka of Belarus in Saturday’s semifinals in Adelaide, a WTA 500
\ntournament worth over 800,000 US dollars. Begu will climb to the 28th
\nplace in the WTA ranking. She is also in
\nthe main draw at the Australian Open, together with four other players from
\nRomania: Sorana Cirstea, Ana Bogdan, Jaqueline Cristian and Patricia Tig. The
\nfirst Grand Slam of the year will be taking place between the 16th
\nand the 29th of January. Temporarily suspended following a positive
\ndrug test at the US Open, Simona Halep cannot play at the Australian Open. (CM)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"