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Millions of people celebrated the official start of spring on Friday by gifting flowers and trinkets adorned with red and white thread, a pagan feast which has been enjoyed for centuries in Romania and in the region. The festival is marked in Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, parts of Greece and Moldova. In Romania, the trinkets which are called ‘martisor’ appear in...

On the 1st of March, which celebrates both the arrival of spring and women and girls in Romania, women will have free entry to the Bucharest National Museum of Natural History. The museum is open between 10:00 - 18:00, and the last entry is at 17:00. The museum’s permanent exhibition occupies the most important part of the space accessible to the public,...

Biden should consider stepping aside and endorsing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, to save the US and the world from Trump 2.0 In Chicago in 1968, amid toxic national divisions, on a sweltering August day, Democratic party leaders chose someone other than the sitting US president as their nominee. There is an argument worth considering that this should happen again. It’s...

The opposition leader's widow told the European parliament ‘Putin is the leader of an organized criminal gang – poisoners and assassins … and keepers of mafia money.’ Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has called on European politicians and officials to investigate financial flows in the west linked to Russian president Vladimir Putin and his...

Students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine erupted in cheers and tears on Monday as Dr Ruth Gottesman, a former professor, announced the school would be tuition-free because of her $1bn donation. The statement from Einstein noted students in their final year will be reimbursed for their spring 2024 tuition, and from August, all students, including those who are...

US President Joe Biden has said he hopes to have a ceasefire by next Monday, after reports of progress in negotiations between Israel and Hamas representatives. "We're close", he said on Monday, speaking in an ice cream shop. "We're not done yet. My hope is by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire." Last week, the US was widely criticized for vetoing...

The execution of Idaho's longest-serving death row inmate has been delayed after officials failed to deliver a fatal lethal injection dose. The death sentence against serial killer Thomas Creech, 73, was due to be carried out in Boise on Wednesday. The execution would have been Idaho's first in 12 years. "The medical team could not establish an IV line, rendering the...

Romania will hold parliamentary elections in December and presidential elections in September, two months before the term of president Klaus Iohannis ends in December, the prime minister has announced. Premier Marcel Ciolacu said the presidential elections would take place on September 15 and 29, and general elections on December 8. The ruling coalition, made up of Ciolacu's Social Democrats and...

In the two years since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the energy landscape between Russia and the European Union (EU) has suffered a dramatic transformation. What once seemed an  impossible issue to solve, the reduction of the EU's reliance on Russian energy, is now a reality, writes eToro analyst for Romania, Bogdan Maioreanu. But this change came with...

Transnistria declared independence in 1992 but is not internationally recognized. The request could add to regional tensions as the war in neighboring Ukraine continues. The separatist region of Transnistria on Wednesday asked Russia to provide it with protection, repeating a scenario that played out in regions across eastern Ukraine which are now occupied by Moscow. Transnistria is a self-styled by republic...