TALKS The president of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas is on an official
\nvisit to Romania today, at the invitation of president Klaus Iohannis. The 2
\nleaders will discuss ways to encourage and strengthen bilateral cooperation in
\nareas of mutual interest, particularly political dialogue, home affairs,
\neducation, economy and trade. The agenda of talks also includes regional
\ndevelopments in the Middle East, the progress and prospects of the Peace
\nProcess, the security situation and the consequences of Russia’s illegal
\naggression against Ukraine, the Romanian Presidency says. Also today, president
\nIohannis is scheduled to receive Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs and
\nminister for defence, Simon Coveney.<\/p>\n
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\n
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DIPLOMACY The Romanian foreign minister Bogdan Aurescu had a meeting on
\nMonday with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on the sidelines of the
\nForeign Affairs Council held in Brussels. According to the Romanian Foreign
\nMinistry, the Greek party thanked Romania for the assistance given by Romanian
\nfire-fighters in containing the recent wildfires in Greece. The 2 officials
\nalso discussed the situation in Ukraine, with a focus on the consequences and impact
\nat regional and EU level of Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked military campaign
\nin that country. They highlighted the importance of ensuring energy security, a
\nsector in which Romania and Greece have converging interests and approaches.
\nBogdan Aurescu welcomed the consolidation of bilateral dialogue and cooperation
\nin this field, mentioning the recent opening of the Greece-Bulgaria natural gas
\ninterconnecting pipeline, a major step in consolidating the energy security of
\nthe countries in the region. <\/p>\n
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\n
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EDUCATION Romanian students won 3rd place in the world, after
\nSingapore and Lithuania, at the International Geography Olympiad. As many as
\n209 students from 54 countries took part in this year’s competition. This
\nsuccess comes after the outstanding performances of Romanian students in other
\ninternational competitions. They won 2nd place at the International
\nPhysics Olympiad organised online by Switzerland, while Romania’s team won 1st
\nplace in Europe and 5th in the world at the International Maths
\nOlympiad in Oslo, out of 105 competing countries. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
LOAN The World Bank
\nand Romania Tuesday signed a EUR 600 mln development policy loan, with a focus
\non inclusive green economic growth, the WB announced. This is the first of 2
\nsuch financing operations, and is accompanied by USD 24.2 mln non-reimbursable
\nfinancial assistance. The WB is currently running 10 investment projects in
\nRomania, totalling USD 1.78 bln, in addition to 31 technical and analytical
\nassistance projects worth USD 104 mln.<\/p>\n
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\n
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COVID The Romanian
\nhealth ministry Tuesday announced 7,658 new SARS-CoV-2 infections in the last
\n24 hours, over 4,000 more than on Monday. The number of patients in intensive
\ncare has also increased to 136, and 9 people died from the disease in 24 hours.
\n<\/p>\n
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\n
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EU ACCESSION The European Union Tuesday opened the accession
\nnegotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, the president of the European
\nCommission, Ursula von der Leyen announced. The 27 EU member states Monday
\nnight agreed to open accession talks, after Skopje and Sofia signed a protocol
\nthat eliminates the last remaining obstacles. North Macedonia has been a
\ncandidate country since 2005, and Albania since 2014. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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UKRAINE The president of Russia Vladimir Putin and the president of
\nTurkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are attending a summit in Tehran today, together
\nwith their Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi. According to the BBC, following
\nthe sanctions introduced by the West, Putin will use this opportunity to prove
\nthat Moscow still has strong allies. Putin will also have separate meetings
\nwith the leaders of the two states. Turkey negotiated with Russia and Ukraine
\nto unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, while Iran and Russia are
\nlooking for new trade routes to bypass sanctions, the BBC also says. Meanwhile,
\nin Ukraine, Russian forces carried on the shelling of Nikopol, with scores of
\nattacks launched during the night. Several people, including a child, were also
\nwounded after Russian missiles hit Odessa.<\/p>\n
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\n
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DROUGHT Nearly half of the EU territory is facing drought risks, the
\nEuropean Commission warns, as a new heat wave has hit the continent. France,
\nRomania, Spain, Portugal and Italy will likely have to handle a drop in
\nagricultural yield, especially grains, the Commission explains. Germany,
\nPoland, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia will also be affected. In turn, the
\nEuropean Commissioner for crisis management Janez Lenar\u010di\u010d said that the worst
\nis yet to come. Europe is struggling with an extreme heat wave these days, with
\ntemperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius reported in France and the UK, and even
\n43 degrees in some areas in the north of Spain. Wildfires
\nalso destroyed thousands of hectares of land in
\nFrance, Greece, Portugal and Spain, forcing thousands of residents and tourists
\nout of those regions. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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