April 8, 2018
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Newsroom, 08.04.2018, 13:38
EASTER — The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the most important day in the Christian Calendar, was celebrated on Sunday by Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christians all over the world, including Romania. At midnight Christians gathered in Churches and monasteries to receive the holy fire and sing Christ is risen! The Holy Light was distributed to Christians by Patriarch Daniel at the Orthodox Cathedral in Bucharest. The Holy Fire was brought from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In his public Easter message, Patriarch Daniel said Christ’s Resurrection gives meaning to our lives and urged people to share the joy of this celebration with their family and friends.
MESSAGES — Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis wished Romanians Happy Easter alongside their families and friends. In turn, Romania’s Defense Minister, Mihai Fifor, conveyed an Easter greeting to all Romanian military, wherever they may be, at home or in various corners of the world, as well as to the veterans and the families of the victims who were killed in the line of duty. “In moments like these, more than ever, we should not forget the sacrifice our military make every day for each and every one of us, to defend the security and stability of Romania and the Alliance we are part of”, Minister Fifor said in his message.
SECURITY MEASURES – Over 50,000 employees of the Romanian Interior Ministry were mobilized to maintain public order, safety and security across the country during Easter. Gendarme and police troops were chiefly deployed around churches and other religious institutions. 250 thousand people are expected to attend more than 700 public events that will take place in Romania in the next four days. Traffic police, equipped with more than 300 traffic radars and backed by helicopters, will be monitoring traffic on Romania’s motorways during the Easter days. The Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said over 1,000 emergency calls were received on Resurrection Night, mostly for first aid. No church reported any fire problems. Over 4,600 officers of the fire brigade and over 800 fire trucks, as well as 320 first aid units were standing by on Saturday night.
ATTACK — German officials say there is no clue to confirm that the man who drove a truck into a crowd of people in the Western city of Muenster on Saturday is in any way linked to an Islamic terrorist cell. Two people were killed in the attack. The driver, a German national, shot himself after the attack. According to some sources, the man had a history of mental health issues.
ELECTION — Some eight million Hungarians are today expected to hit the polls to choose the 198 members of the Hungarian Parliament, which will stay in officer for the next four years. Opinion polls place the current ruling party FIDESZ, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known for his anti-immigrant and euroskeptic policies, as favourite to win. According to our correspondent in Budapest, Viktor Orban is expected to win his fourth term at the helm of the executive after a long anti-immigration campaign. His party however is estimated to lose its two-third majority in Parliament, which it has been enjoying after the 2010 and 2014 elections.
TENNIS — Romania’s Davis Cup team on Sunday defeated Morocco in the second round of Europe/Africa Zone Group II. On Saturday Marius Copil defeated Amine Ahouda in straight sets 6-0, 6-1 while Adrian Ungur beat Lamine Ouahab, 6-0, 7-6. On Sunday in the men’s doubles Marius Copil and Florin Mergea defeated Amine Ahouda/ Lamine Ouahab, 6-2, 6-1. In the singles Marius Copil will play Lamine Ouhab and Adrian Ungur will face Amine Ahouda. Romania will play either Poland or Zimbabwe in the third round. In other news from tennis, Romanian Ana Bogdan, 90 WTA, lost the semi-finals of the WTA tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, totaling over 225 thousand dollars in prize money. Bogdan was ousted by the WTA third-ranked Garbine Muguruza of Spain, 6-nil, 7-5.
(Translated by V. Palcu)
