May 21, 2022 UPDATE

Ukraine. The National Committee for Emergency Situations in Bucharest adopted on Saturday two decisions regarding the granting of free assistance for Ukraine, as well as the allocation from the state reserves of some food products for the Ukrainian refugees in Romania. Romania will send to Ukraine surgical masks, visors and coveralls, as a significant number of medical units were destroyed there, and lots of medicines and medical equipment were lost. According to the General Inspectorate of the Border Police, the number of Ukrainian citizens who entered Romania on Friday increased slightly compared to the previous day. In 24 hours, at national level, 8,823 Ukrainians entered through the border crossing points. Since the start of the Russian invasion in the neighboring state, on February 24, over 985 thousand refugees have entered the country. Of these, only 4,349 applied for asylum in Romania. Currently, the occupancy rate of the accommodation centers of the General Inspectorate for Immigration is almost 45%.

MFA. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted, at the level of Secretary of State for European Affairs, the Hungarian Ambassador to Romania and conveyed their concern over the statement posted on Facebook on Friday by the new President of Hungary, Mrs. Katalin Novak. In the statement, she assumes the status of representative of all Hungarians, no matter where they live, inside or outside the borders of Hungary. The Bucharest Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that, according to international law, a state cannot claim its rights of any kind in relation to the citizens of another state. The primary responsibility for observing the identity rights (ethnic, cultural, religious or linguistic) of Romanian citizens of Hungarian ethnicity rests with Romania, as a state of citizenship. Hungary, as a related state, can only be involved in strengthening cultural ties.

Gazprom. The Russian energy corporation Gazprom announced on Saturday that it had stopped supplying natural gas to Finland due to the refusal of the Finnish system operator to pay in rubles. The  Finnish company, on the other hand, has stated that it can obtain gas from other suppliers so that it could continue to operate normally. We recall that Gazprom asked European customers to pay in rubles for Russian gas, following the sanctions imposed on Moscow for invading Ukraine. In late April, the Russian giant shut down gas supplies to both Poland and Bulgaria. On Thursday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that half of Gazprom's 54 client companies had opened ruble accounts with Gazprombank.

Bridge. The suspended bridge over the Danube in Braila, southeastern Romania, will be rendered operational in December this year, according to the Romanian Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu. 65% of the works have been completed in almost five years since the start of the project. The bridge will be 2 kilometers long, 200 meters high and 31 meters wide and it will have four lanes. It will be the largest bridge in Romania and the third in Europe in terms of central opening and length. The construction is the most expensive of its kind in Romania after 1989, its estimated value standing at 500 million euros.

Feast. The Patriarchal Cathedral of Bucharest celebrated its patron saints on Saturday, on the feast of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen. Celebrated in the Orthodox Christian calendar on May 21, Constantine and his mother, Helen, were the first Christian emperors. St. Constantine the Great ruled from 306 to 337. In 313, he issued the Edict of Mediolanum (Milan) - the first official recognition of Christianity in the Roman Empire, ending the persecution of Christians and guaranteeing freedom of faith and worship. Empress Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great, had a major contribution to the flourishing of the Church throughout the Empire - thousands of churches were opened or built, and the Holy Cross on which Jesus was crucified was discovered in Jerusalem and many places of worship were built at the Holy Places. On the feast day of Saints Constantine and Helen, over 1.8 million Romanians celebrate their name day.

Tennis. Romanian tennis player Simona Halep will meet German Nastasja Schunk in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros, after Croatian Ana Konjuh withdrew from the competition. Simona Halep (19 WTA), who won the Roland Garros in 2018 and was a finalist in 2014 and 2017, will face for the first time Schunk (167 WTA), who qualified as a "lucky loser". On Sunday, the first day of the competition, two Romanian players will perform, Sorana Cîrstea and Gabriela Ruse. Sorana Cirstea (27 WTA) will play against the German Tatjana Maria (107 WTA), and Gabriela Ruse (52 WTA) will have a difficult match, against the Belgian Elise Mertens (33 WTA). Seven Romanians participate in the singles events of the Paris tournament, including Irina Begu, Ana Bogdan, Irina Bara and Mihaela Buzarnescu (MI)