December 25, 2024 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.12.2024, 19:00

Christmas. Wednesday was Christmas Day for New Rite Orthodox Christians, Greek Catholics and Catholics around the world. The birth of Christ is the celebration based on the biblical account made by the evangelists Matthew and Luke. More than 2,000 years ago, the Virgin Mary and her fiancé Joseph went from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for the census ordered by Augustus. Mary was pregnant following the miraculous appearance of the angel Gabriel, who had told her that she would give birth to the Messiah. In Bethlehem, the two stayed in a grotto used as a shelter for animals. There, Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, the Savior. Three wise men came from the East, guided by a star, to the place where Christ was born and brought gifts to the baby, recognizing that a king had been born. Christmas is a celebration of generosity and compassion, of the revival of hope for a better future, President Klaus Iohannis wrote on social media. The Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, also conveyed a message, stressing that Christmas is a celebration of joy, and true faith is the one that works through love. In his traditional Christmas message, Pope Francis called for peace in Ukraine and an end to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The Sovereign Pontiff also called for the release of the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Revolution. 35 years ago, after a summary trial by a military court, the dictatorial couple Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu was executed, on December 25, 1989, in a military unit in Targoviste (south). The two were caught shortly after, on December 22, they fled by helicopter from the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Bucharest. The official charges were: genocide and undermining the national economy. The trial lasted less than an hour and ended in a death sentence. The 3 days that followed the dictators escape, until their execution, were the bloodiest of the 1989 anti-Communist Revolution. Romania was the only Eastern European country in which the transition from totalitarianism to democracy was made with bloodshed, after the outbreak of the revolt, on December 16, in Timisoara (west), which then spread to Bucharest and other cities. In total, over 1,000 people died and around 3,000 were injured.

Government. The investiture of the new Romanian Government (PSD-PNL-UDMR) sent a positive signal to Romanian businesspeople and foreign investors, says the Prime Minister and head of the Social Democratic Party Marcel Ciolacu. He has also stated that the interest rates for Romania’s external loans have already started to decrease. One of the priorities of the new Government is the preparation of the budget for next year, which seems to be at the same time the main difficulty it will face in the assumed effort to reduce expenses. The budget draft is based on a new emergency ordinance regarding fiscal-budgetary measures, the so-called “train” ordinance, which will include a large part of the unpopular measures that the Government must implement in order to reduce the deficit.

Missile. The Romanian Ministry of National Defense (MApN) has announced that the crossing of Romania’s airspace by a Russian missile has not been confirmed. The clarifications come after information appeared in the public space about a Russian missile that would have crossed the national airspace on Wednesday morning. The Romanian military authorities were informed by the Ukrainian ones about the fact that, this morning, a missile of the Russian Federation forces, aiming at a target in the Chernivtsi region (Ukraine), allegedly flew through the airspace of the Republic of Moldova and also through the Romanian airspace, near the town of Darabani. The competent military structures will continue to investigate this situation, and all the circumstances surrounding it. Also, the forces and means engaged in the execution of the Air Policeing Combat Service – under national command and under NATO command remain permanently on duty to protect the national and allied airspace, the ministry has also stressed.

Moldova. Romania and the Republic of Moldova (predominantly Romanian-speaking) will continue to work for well-being, stability, European values, resilience and democracy, stated the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, who congratulated the president of the neighboring country, Maia Sandu, on taking over her second term in office. In her inauguration speech, Maia Sandu stressed that European integration and justice reform remain the main goals of her second term. At the same time, Maia Sandu warned that joining the EU is not a miraculous solution for all the internal problems facing the country, but she said that the Republic of Moldova has managed to defend its democracy in the face of external threats. Despite the regional and global crises, caused by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, external threats and the energy blackmail of the Kremlin, the Republic of Moldova managed to maintain peace and advance on the European path, the president of the former Soviet republic also said. Maia Sandu is the first woman to hold this position and the first president elected by direct vote who obtained two mandates. (MI)