July 7, 2015 UPDATE
A roundup of domestic and international news.
Newsroom, 07.07.2015, 12:15
Romania is the staunchest supporter of Moldovas EU integration and the two countries will one day be partners within the EU, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on Tuesday in Suceava, north-eastern Romania, where his Moldovan counterpart, Nicolae Tomofti, received the Doctor Honoris Causa title. President Iohannis hailed the democratic manner in which local elections were held in Moldova and said that the country needed to make efforts to reform the state. Formal talks are focusing on bilateral relations and the support Bucharest is giving to the European aspirations of Chisinau. President Timofti received the Doctor Honoris Causa title at the ‘Stephen the Great’ University in Suceava, for special merits in promoting the Republic of Moldova’s EU integration efforts, for deepening its relations with Romania, as well as for his focus on education and the training of the young generation.
Romanian meteorologists have announced extremely high temperatures for the next 24 hours throughout the country. An orange code alert for extreme heat is in place for 17 counties on Wednesday while the rest of the territory is under a yellow code. A red code alert might also be issued for Wednesday. The temperature humidity index will exceed the critical threshold of 80 units while maximum temperatures will stand at 39 degrees Celsius. Violent storms are expected as of Wednesday night.
Romania’s Gross Domestic Product went up in the first quarter of 2015 by 4.1% as compared to the same period last year, also seeing a 1.5% growth as against the last quarter of the same year, says a second provisional report the National Statistics Institute (INS) released on Tuesday. According to a first INS report the GDP’s dynamic remained unchanged. Romania’s economy last year saw a 2.8% growth as compared to 2013 and the National Forecast Committee has upgraded to 3.3% its forecasts on the country’s economic growth. According to the IMF, Romania’s economy will go up by 2.9% this year. The World Bank has also upgraded Romania’s economic growth rate from 2.9% to 3%.
Six hundred Romanian and US soldiers are participating in a joint military drill called Dacian Eagle 2015, which started in July and is due to end in September at an airbase in Campia Turzii, northwestern Romania. According to the Defence Ministry in Bucharest, Romanian Air Forces are participating with six MIG 21 Lancers and five Puma helicopters, while their US counterparts are using 12 multirole F-15 fighters. Troops from the two countries are training in tactics and technical procedures corresponding to NATO air operations. Romanian Defence Minister Mircea Dusa announced that on April 15th, the presence of NATO military would be permanent in the Alliance’s eastern flank.
Over 66% of the 12 graders in Romania, roughly 106 thousand of them, passed the Baccalaureate exam this summer session, sources with the Education Ministry in Bucharest announced. As compared to the same session last year, the number of those passing the exam was higher by 7%. 400 students have been eliminated for cheating or attempted cheating.
The team made up of the Romanian Horia Tecau and the Dutch Jean-Julien Rojer qualified on Tuesday to the mens doubles semi-finals in Wimbledon after defeating the Polish Serbian team Marcin Matkowski/ Nenad Zimonjic, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.
