NATO At the NATO summit, which ended in Madrid on Thursday, US
\npresident Joe Biden said the US would establish a permanent headquarters for
\nthe US 5th Army Corps in Poland add a rotational brigade of 3,000
\ntroops and 2,000 other personnel to be headquartered in Romania. Biden has also
\npledged to enhance rotational deployments in the Baltic region, deploy two
\nsquadrons of F-35 aircraft to the UK, station additional air defence in Germany
\nand Italy and seek to increase the number of destroyers stationed in Spain. At the NATO summit in Madrid, Romanian
\npresident Klaus Iohannis on Thursday reiterated Romania’s support for the
\nAlliance’s cooperation with the European Union. He also pledged Bucharest’s
\nactive support for the consolidation and deep cooperation with the partners in
\nthe eastern and southern neighborhoods. Iohannis has underlined that the Black
\nSea region has been a platform for the projection of Russia’s power to the
\nMiddle East, North Africa and the region of Sahel. President Iohannis has also
\nsaid that Romania supports the adoption as soon as possible of a joint NATO-EU
\nstatement for the common approach and handling of the Ukrainian crisis. Finland
\nand Sweden are to sign the NATO accession protocol on Tuesday, the alliance’s
\nSecretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced, according to Reuters. The
\nprotocol must be ratified by the parliaments of all 30 NATO members. On
\nWednesday, NATO endorsed a new strategic concept, which defines Russia as the
\nmost significant and direct threat to the allies’ security and stability.<\/p>\n
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UKRAINE The Russian army on Thursday announced its withdrawal from the Snake
\nIsland, a strategic point in the Black Sea, Moscow conquered as early as the
\nonset of its invasion in Ukraine. The Russian Defence Ministry has announced
\nthe move is a gesture of goodwill to facilitate Ukraine’s cereal exports. Kyiv
\nhad earlier announced the Russian troops were forced to pull out following a
\nsuccessful operation mounted by the Ukrainian forces. According to Ukraine’s
\nInterior Minister Vadim Denisenko, Russia was trying to turn the island into some
\nsort of aircraft-carrier fitted with defence systems, which could enable it to
\ncontrol this part of the Black Sea. According to British Prime Minister Boris
\nJohnson, Russia’s withdrawal from the Snake Island proves that in the end it
\nwill prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept his
\nrule.<\/p>\n
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HEAT WAVE
\nThe National Meteorology Agency issued a code-red alert for extreme heat for
\nThursday and Friday in 6 counties in the west and north-west of the country.
\nAccording to weather experts, highs of 38-39 degrees Celsius will be reported
\nin these counties, an absolute record for this time of the year. The rest of
\nthe country is mostly under orange-code alerts, for temperatures of up to 36-38
\ndegrees Celsius, and code-yellow alerts, for highs of 33 to 36 degrees Celsius.
\nOn the other hand, 18 counties in the east and centre of the country are today
\nunder a code-yellow alert for atmospheric instability. <\/p>\n
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EXAMS After the appeals stage, the share of 8th-graders
\nwho passed the national evaluation this year is 82.4%, the Education Minister Sorin
\nC\u00eempeanu
\nannounced. The number of children who got straight As has also increased to 237. Minister C\u00eempeanu said last week
\nthat the number of pass grades among students sitting the national evaluation
\nexam reached an absolute record this year compared to the last 10 years,
\nnamely 82.3%, which means 122,166 children had passed the exam prior to appeals.
\nLast year the figure was 5.5% smaller. The grades obtained in the national
\nevaluation are the main criterion for high school admission.<\/p>\n
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\n
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FESTIVAL The Sibiu International Theatre Festival continues in
\ncentral Romania until the 3rd July. This year’s motto is
\nBeauty. This 29th edition of the festival brings together artists
\nfrom around the world in theatre, dance, cinema, musical, opera and circus
\nperformances. Concerts, book shows and exhibitions are also organized as part
\nof the festival. Some of the performances taking place in cultural or
\nunconventional venues can be watched on the Festival’s official website,
\ndigital streaming platform www.scena-digitala.ro, and on the event’s official
\nFacebook page and YouTube channel.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
(bill)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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