August 13, 2022

Celebration. More than 200 thousand tourists are expected, these days, on the Romanian coast at the Black Sea, to spend the mini-vacation occasioned by the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, on August 15, when the Romanian Navy Day will also be marked. The army ports of Constanta and Mangalia have opened their doors today, so locals and tourists can visit military ships, technical and armament exhibitions or stands presenting the educational offers of military educational institutions. On Monday, everyone's attention will focus on the events organized to celebrate the navy. Thousands of people are expected to attend the parade of ships on the sea, in Constanţa, and a naval exercise in Mangalia, but also the seamanship competitions and games in the tourist ports of the two towns.  In the evening, there will be music concerts and the spectacular torchlight retreat of the sailors, as well as fireworks. Until then, this weekend, the Romanians who chose to spend their mini-vacation at the seaside can benefit from a wide range of entertaining events, from  theater and music evenings, opera and ballet performances to a pop-rock festival and a jazz festival organized outdoors . Throughout this period, 25,000 employees of the Ministry of the Interior - policemen, gendarmes or firefighters - are mobilized at national level to secure order and public safety.

Firefighters. The Romanian firefighters stationed in France yesterday carried out their first mission in that country, where they intervened to limit the spread of a fire in residential buildings and acted to liquidate hidden outbreaks on an area of ​​more than two square kilometers. The operations were carried out by 19 of the 77 Romanian military firefighters deployed in the southwest of the Hexagon. We recall that the support mission that Romania offers to the French authorities in the fight against wildfires takes place based on the request for international assistance formulated by the French Government through the European Civil Protection Mechanism.

Rushdie. British writer Salman Rushdie was connected to a ventilator after he was stabbed yesterday in New York state by a man who was arrested. The 75-year-old writer's agent told The New York Times that Salman Rushdie will probably lose an eye, the nerves in his arm were severed and he was stabbed in the liver. Salman Rushdie has written about 15 novels, stories for young people, short stories and essays. However, he became famous most likely due to his novel 'The Satanic Verses', from 1988. The book, considered blasphemy by many Muslims, triggered widespread protests, and the former supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, called for the assassination of the writer and his editors. For decades, Salman Rushdie was forced to live in hiding and under police protection.

Competitions. Romania has today won the gold medals  in the women's and the men's double sculls events at the European Rowing Championships in Munich. Also today, the Romanian swimmer David Popovici, a world champion in 100 and 200 m freestyle, is competing today in the 100 m freestyle final of the European Aquatics Championships in Rome. Last night he qualified with a time of 46 sec / 98 hundredths, setting a new European record. The world best is held by the Brazilian Cesar Cielo Filho (46 sec / 91 hundredths), recorded in 2009. At the championships in Rome, Romania is represented by 11 athletes, competing in the swimming, diving and high diving events.

Tennis. The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep qualified, yesterday, in the semifinals of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Toronto, with over 2.5 million dollars in prize money.  Halep (30 years old, 15 WTA) defeated the American player Cori Gauff 6-4, 7-6. In the penultimate act of the competition, she will also meet an American - Jessica Pegula. The two will face each other for the first time in the professional circuit. Simona Halep won the Canadian Open twice, which is played alternately in Montreal and Toronto, each time winning when the competition took place in Montreal (2016, 2018). She lost the 2015 final in Toronto. (MI)