April 16, 2023 UPDATE

Easter. In Romania, Orthodox (majority) and Greek-Catholic Christians celebrated on Sunday the Resurrection of Jesus, the biggest holiday in the Christian calendar. On Saturday, at midnight, believers received the holy light from the priests and listened to the evangelical account of the Resurrection in front of churches. In his sermon, Patriarch Daniel of the Orthodox Church explained how the Resurrection of the Lord gave a new orientation to the Christian's life and a new meaning to death. "The source of joy and peace in a Christian's life is their connection with the Crucified and Resurrected Christ, that is why on Easter we should not be sad, but rejoice", said Patriarch Daniel.

Protests. Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv again on Saturday evening to protest against the justice reform desired by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which the demonstrators consider an attack on democracy, FP reports. Smaller demonstrations also took place in other Israeli cities. Since the announcement of the controversial reform project in early January, tens of thousands of Israelis have gathered every week to protest it. Prime Minister Netanyahu announced on March 27 a break to give 'a chance to dialogue', after the start of a general strike and the emergence of tensions within the government majority. The government claims that the reform aims, among other things, to rebalance the powers by reducing the prerogatives of the Supreme Court, which the executive considers politicized, for the benefit of Parliament. Critics of the reform believe, on the contrary, that it risks opening the way to an authoritarian drift, AFP also reports.

Electricity. Romanians consumed less electricity in the first two months of this year compared to the same period in 2022, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics. The decrease was more than 18%. Businesses also consumed less, by 3%, and public lighting was reduced by more than a quarter. INS reports that in January and February the production in hydropower plants increased by almost a third compared to the beginning of last year. Wind energy production increased, but the production of nuclear energy slightly decreased.  The National Institute of Statistics has also announced that Romania's oil production dropped by almost 4% in the first two months of the year, as compared to the similar period of 2022. Oil imports, on the other hand, went up by 5%.

G7. The G7 Energy and Environment Ministers set on Sunday the goal of reducing the C02 emissions of motor vehicles by at least 50% by 2035, compared to the levels of 2000. The goal appears in a Joint Declaration adopted at the end of the two-day meeting that took place in Sapporo (northern Japan), and which focused on accelerating efforts to combat climate change. The measure is part of the global goal of reaching net zero emissions in the automotive sector by 2050. This will require key industry actions in all countries, including measures already implemented by the G7 members to achieve 100% electric vehicle sales  by 2035.

Gymnastics. On Sunday, the Romanian athlete Sabrina Maneca-Voinea won the bronze medal in the floor final of the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antalya (Turkey). The Romanian was overtaken by the British Jessica Gadirova, who won gold, and Alice Kinsella, silver medalist. Romania has achieved its goals at the European Championships in Antalya, including team qualification for the World Championships.

Weightlifting. Romanian athlete Valentin Ionadi Iancu won one silver and two bronze medals, on Sunday, in the 55 kg category of the European Weightlifting Championships in Erevan, Armenia. Iancu won the bronze in the snatch event, lifting 109 kg. In the throw, he won the silver, with 136 kg, just like the Georgian bronze medalist Ramini Shamilishvili. Iancu took the bronze overall, with 245 kg. Romania aims to win four medals at the European Championships in Yerevan, which is a qualifier for the Olympic Games due in Paris in 2024. (MI)