July 9, 2024
A roundup of domestic and international news
Newsroom, 09.07.2024, 13:55
NATO. The NATO summit that begins today in Washington is expected to be dominated by the war in Ukraine and Russia’s threats, especially after the recent massive Russian attack on several Ukrainian cities, resulting in dozens of deaths. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is expected to participate in the summit, has called on the allies to respond more firmly to Russia’s attacks by strengthening his country’s air defense. For his part, US President Joe Biden said that the North Atlantic Alliance will announce new measures to help Ukraine protect its cities and civilians. Romania, represented by President Klaus Iohannis, will reaffirm its firm support for Ukraine, including with regard to NATO accession. Also, the Romanian President will plead for the continuation of support for the Alliance’s vulnerable partners, the Republic of Moldova in particular, and for increasing their capacity to respond to hybrid threats. The summit agenda will include three meetings at the highest level of the North Atlantic Council, including in formats with Ukraine, the European Union and NATO partners in the Indian – Pacific area, as well as an anniversary event on the occasion of NATO’s 75th anniversary.
TAROM. All internal and external flights of the Romanian airline TAROM were carried out, this morning, according to schedules, after, the day before, several flights had been cancelled, 30 of the company’s 150 pilots declaring themselves unfit for medical reasons. According to the Union of Air Line Pilots, it was, in fact, a protest related to the working and salary conditions, as well as the bad management of the company. Losses of 2.5 million euros were recorded. In the meantime, the management of TAROM and the representatives of the seafaring staff have reached an agreement regarding salaries. TAROM also apologized to its passengers for the inconvenience caused and gave assurances that it is making every effort to reduce the impact this situation had on their travel plans.
Mourning. The Ukrainian Ambassador to Bucharest, Ihor Prokopciuk, participated, on Monday, in a spontaneous action of mourning for the victims of Monday’s Russian attacks on the cities of the neighboring country, including on a children’s hospital in Kyiv. According to the diplomatic mission in Bucharest, the event was attended by Ukrainian diplomats, Ukrainian citizens who found shelter in Romania and Romanians. Ambassador Prokopciuk has strongly condemned Russian terrorism and stated that despite its brutal attacks, Russia will not succeed in defeating the Ukrainian nation, which will continue to fight for its independence and territorial integrity.
Commissioner. The European Commissioner for Transport, the Romanian Adina Vălean, is presenting today her 5-year activity report, focusing on topics such as sustainable and intelligent transport, reducing emissions, connected and automated mobility, accessibility and passenger rights, fair internal market, transport safety, international cooperation and dual mobility. The report also includes the achievements and challenges encountered and offers a perspective on the future of the transport sector in Europe. The event is hosted by the headquarters of the European Commission Representation in Bucharest.
Education. The Romanian Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, has announced that the pass rate in the first session of this year’s Baccalaureate exam is 76.4%, an increase of 3.6% compared to last year. According to the minister, it is the best result in the last 10 years. Ligia Deca presented, in a press conference, the results by sector. Thus, for the theoretical stream the pass rate was 91%, for the technological stream 63%, and for the vocational stream 77%. Education experts say, however, that the figures must be seen in the context in which only 79% of the graduates sat for the Baccalaureate exam.
Weather. The National Meteorological Administration has issued new warnings for excessive heat and severe thermal discomfort, in place on July 9 and 10, throughout Romania. A Code Yellow warning for extremely hot weather has been issued today for the north, west, southwest, south, southeast and most of the east and center of the country. The maximum temperatures are range between 33 and 37 degrees Celsius and, locally, temperatures have gone up to 39 degrees. The southern regions will continue to be affected by extreme heat and high thermal discomfort, and the temperature-humidity index (ITU) will exceed the critical threshold of 80 units. The noon reading in Bucharest was 35 degrees. At night, the minimums will not drop below 20 degrees Celsius, which is characteristic of tropical weather. During the day of Wednesday, July 10, the heatwave will intensify, and an amber warning will be in place in the west, southwest and south, including Bucharest. Meteorologists say that the wave of excessive heat will persist throughout Romania in the following days of the week. (MI)
