July 24, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 24.07.2023, 19:51

ATTACK – The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis “firmly” condemned Russias recent attacks against Ukraine, on the Danube, close to the border with Romania. “This escalation (…) poses a serious threat in terms of security in the Black Sea,” said Iohannis, who emphasized the fact that the transport of grain from Ukraine and global food security could be affected. Russia attacked with drones, on Monday morning, the Ukrainian ports of Ismail and Reni, located on the Danube, at the border with Romania. According to the head of the administration of the port city of Ismail, Rodion Abashev, quoted by Deutsche Welle, six people were injured and a grain shed was destroyed. After the explosions in the port, of Reni, the commanders of the seven Romanian ships there asked for permission to cross the Danube and are now on the Romanian shore. At present there are no traffic restrictions on the Danube, in the Romanian territorial waters. Also, the two ferries that make crossings from Isaccea to Orlivka in Ukraine, operate within the normal schedule, every hour and a half, and commercial activities in the Galati Free Zone port are not affected. The Ukrainian ports of Reni and Ismail are particularly important for the transport of Ukrainian grain on the Danube, after Russia announced that it is no longer extending the agreement on the export of grain on the Black Sea.

EDUCATION – More than 5,600 education units in Romania will be modernized and properly equipped in the next period, Education Minister Education Ligia Deca has announced. Around 1 billion euros, allocated through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, will be earmarked for that, and the contracts will be signed on Wednesday. The minister has explained that the money will go into digitalizing the educational process at preschool, primary, secondary and high school levels, as well into modernizing the school infrastructure. She has also said that this is a way for the authorities to make sure that the reform in education is doubled by good conditions in schools. Ligia Deca added that, at the budget adjustment in August, the Ministry of Education will request the necessary funds to increase teachers salaries, as agreed after the May-June strike, as well as additional money, so that the educational system can function properly.

WEATHER – Meteorologists have announced two red code alerts for extreme heat on Tuesday and Wednesday, valid for the south and the southeast of Romania, respectively, including the capital Bucharest, where temperatures can reach as much as 42 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday, the high temperatures will be felt throughout the country. Until Tuesday morning, a yellow code alert for heat remains in place for the west, south and partially east of the country.

NAVY – The training ship “Mircea”, of the Romanian Navy, has docked today in the Turkish port if Izmir, where it will say until Thursday. Its mission is to promote Romanias maritime values and traditions and the Romanian naval military education. The ship has a crew of 145 people and is on an international training march in the Mediterranean until July 31st. Since leaving the country it has stopped in the Greek port of Piraeus and in Taranto, Italy. The ships crew includes 64 second-year students of the “Mircea cel Bătrân” Naval Academy and 10 foreign cadets from partner academies in Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, Turkey, Italy and Spain. The diplomatic mission of Romania, through the Consulate General in Izmir, planned, during the stopover of the School Ship “Mircea” in the Port of Izmir, visits by the crew and cadets on board to the tourist attractions in the area, official meetings of the ships commander with the local public authorities, as well as a reception, on board the ship, with guests from the local diplomacy, civil and military authorities in the region. The training ship “Mircea”, designated, in 2019, Honorary Ambassador of Romania for the Seas and Oceans of the World and, in 2022, Ambassador of Sustainable Romania, left the Romanian port of Constanţa on July 3.

TENNIS – Romania won no less than 17 medals, “an absolute record”, at the European Youth Table Tennis Championships in Gliwice (Poland), which ended on Sunday. Romania came in first in the nations ranking, with 6 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze medals. The gold medals (U19) were won in Poland by the womens team, the mens team and in the womens singles, mens singles, mixed doubles and mens doubles events. (EE)