July 19, 2022 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 19.07.2022, 19:54

Visit. The Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday had talks in Bucharest with his Palestinian
counterpart Mahmoud Abbas, who is on an official visit to Romania. According to
a statement from the Romanian president’s office, the two leaders discussed
ways to develop bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on the latest
developments in the Middle East, including the peace process, as well on the
consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Mr Abbas was also received
by prime minister Nicolae Ciucă. Romanian-Palestinian agreements were signed in
the field of education and collaboration to prevent and combat organised crime,
terrorism and other crimes.

Talks. Romanian prime
minister Nicolae Ciucă on Tuesday had talks with visiting Irish minister for Foreign Affairs
& Minister for Defence Simon Coveney. The two officials discussed bilateral cooperation, the
situation in eastern Europe, as well as energy and the enlargement of the
European Union, the government said in a statement. Referring to the Romanian
community in Ireland, Ciucă thanked the Irish
authorities for their openness and the inclusivity of the measures taken to
support the Romanians who are now contributing to the development of Irish
economy and society.

Competition.
Romanian pupils won 3rd place in the world, after Singapore and Lithuania, at
the International Geography Olympiad. As many as 209 pupils from 54 countries
took part in this year’s competition. This success comes after the outstanding achievements
of the Romanian pupils in other international competitions. They won 2nd place
at the International Physics Olympiad organised online by Switzerland, while
Romania’s team won 1st place in Europe and 5th in the world at the
International Maths Olympiad in Oslo, out of 105 competing countries.

EU. The
European Union Tuesday opened the accession negotiations with Albania and North
Macedonia, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen
announced. The 27 EU member states Monday night agreed to open accession talks,
after Skopje and Sofia signed a protocol that eliminates the last remaining
obstacles. North Macedonia has been a candidate country since 2005, and Albania
since 2014.

Drought. Nearly
half of the EU territory is at risk of drought, the European Commission warns,
as a new heat wave has hit the continent. France, Romania, Spain, Portugal and
Italy will likely have to handle a drop in agricultural yield, especially
grains, the Commission explains. Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia
will also be affected. The European Commissioner for crisis management Janez
Lenarčič said that the worst is yet to come. Europe is struggling with an
extreme heat wave, with temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius reported in
France and the UK, and even 43 degrees in some areas in the north of Spain.
Wildfires also destroyed thousands of hectares of land in France, Greece,
Portugal and Spain, forcing thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate
these regions.

Fencing.
Romanian fencer Maria Boldor won the bronze medal in the women’s individual foil
event, having lost to France’s Ysaora Thibus 15-3 in the semifinals of the World Fencing
Championships hosted by Cairo. This the Boldor’s best ever result. Aged 25, she
is ranked 117 in the world. Another Romanian fencer, Iulian Teodosiu on Monday
won a bronze medal in the individual men’s sabre. Romania last won a medal in
the foil event in 2003 in Havana, when Roxana Scarlat won the gold. (CM)