Friday, December 15th

Thousands of mourners say farewell to Romania’s King Michael

Thousand of Romanians on Friday paid their respects to King Michael I whose body is lying in state at the Royal Palace in the capital Bucharest before his funeral on Saturday. Carrying flowers and candles, people of all ages waited in line for hours before bowing in front of the coffin, which was covered in the regal coat of arms, in the palace’s throne room. Since the king’s death, Bucharest’s palace — now home to Romania’s National Art Museum — has become a place of pilgrimage for many Romanians.
Romania observes three days of national mourning to mark the death of its former king Michael, who was one of the last surviving World War II leaders. The national flag remains flown at half-staff until December 16 when the coffin will be buried at Curtea de Argeş, the traditional burial ground of Romanian Royalty, where his father Carol II and grandfather Ferdinand are buried.

Romania’s next budget under debate in Parliament

Romania’s 2018 Budget is under debate at a meeting of the Budget and Finance Committees in Parliament on Friday. A final report is expected as the government’s draft remained mostly unchanged. Any additional money to the Budget is unlikely as the country’s Finance Ministry already announced that reserve funds were exhausted. Debates on Friday are expected to focus on budget issues concerning the country’s Ministry for Romanians Abroad, Finance Ministry, Ministry for Business Environment, Romanian Academy and Romania’s Broadcasting Corporation (SRR). Institutions expected to receive additional funds include Transport, Culture and Agriculture Ministries.

Earthquake in Romania’s Vrancea region

An earthquake was reported in Romania’s eastern county of Vrancea on Friday morninng, the country’s National Institute for Earth Physics reported. The earthquake of 3.5 magnitude on Richter scale was felt in an area of around 57 km. It was a small earthquake as it was 127 km. deep, which dampened its effect. An earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale in 1977 rendered over 1,000 buildings in the city in a critical condition, injuring up to 11,000 people and leaving the capital in a war-like state. The earthquakes that hit the region tend to have their epicentre in the nearby Vrancea Mountains, the most seismically active area of Romania.
Alexandru Danga/adanga