A roundup of domestic and international news
EXTREME HEAT - Meteorologists have extended the code red alert for extreme heat for two counties in the south-west, where the highs on Sunday reached 40-41 degrees Celsius. Three quarters of the country remain under code orange alert. The extreme heat wave hit Romania on Friday and has created many problems, with a temperature - humidity ratio exceeding the critical 80 unit threshold. Four people have died and hundreds have needed medical attention because of the extreme heat. First-aid tents have been set up in all major cities to provide fresh cold water to people. Mobile ambulance and medical services have been placed on high alert and speed restrictions are in place on the national railway network as well as on the country's main roads with a view to avoiding accidents.
MARASESTI - Military and religious event continued on Sunday in Romania, to honor the WWI heroes. President Klaus Iohannis, Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu Dragnea attended the ceremony marking 100 years since the battle of Marasesti, in Vrancea County, considered the Romanian Army's most important military operation in WWI. One of the most imposing monuments in the country, the Marasesti Mausoleum was built on the field where, in the summer of 1917, the Romanian Army stood against the much better equipped German army. 480 officers and 21,000 soldiers died back then.
ANONIMUL - The 14th International Independent Film Festival 'Anonimul' starts in Sfantu Gheorghe, in the Danube Delta, on Monday. At the opening gala, the Mexican director Michel Franco, the festival's special guest this year, will be awarded the Anonimul trophy for his contribution to universal cinematography. The gala will be followed by the first screening in Romania of the film "April's Daughter", for which Michel Franco won the 'Un Certain Regard' prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. For a week, the festival will host many film screenings and music shows.
UNTOLD - Sunday was the last day of the third edition of the electronic music festival 'Untold', the largest of its kind in Romania and one of the largest in Europe. Some 200 Romanian and foreign artists performed on ten stages hosted by the city of Cluj-Napoca in north-western Romania. The main stage was dubbed 'Dragon's Nest' and was the largest ever devoted to a Romanian production: 100 m wide and 35 m tall. In a very short period of time, 'Untold' has become an international phenomenon. At the first edition, in 2015, it was designated the best festival in Europe, and in 2016 it was a genuine hit, with more than 300,000 spectators from Romania and abroad.
DRILL - The Greek training ship 'Rodos' is having a three-day stopover in the Romanian Black Sea Port of Constanta. The 230 crew members will visit the Fleet Commander's Office, the Naval Forces' Warrant Officers School, the 'Mircea cel Batran' Naval Academy and the Romanian Navy Museum. Civilians will be allowed on board the ship on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the ship is due to leave Constanta and take part in a bilateral drill in the Black Sea together with the Romanian 'Dimitrie Nicolescu' Minesweeper and 'Horia Macelariu' Corvette.
UN SANCTIONS - China and South Korea have hailed the new sanctions imposed by the UN on North Korea on Saturday. The UN Security Council endorsed unanimously a resolution that bans exports and limits foreign direct investments in North Korea, in response to last week's testing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles. The US President Donald Trump has hailed China's and Russia's support for the resolution. The tests conducted by Pyongyang have been harshly criticized at international level. Experts in the field, however, doubt the north-Korean missiles' capacity to hit the set targets.
ACCIDENT - One Romanian died and another two are reported missing following the sinking of a boat in the English Channel, near Shoreham, Great Britain. According to British authorities, on Sunday, a boat carrying 4 Romanians collided with another vessel. Following the impact, one of them died, one was hospitalized in Worthing and is now out of danger, and the other two are missing. The coast guard is making efforts to find them. The boat had left the Brighton Marina after mid-night and, according to a witness, the weather was bad. The Romanian Embassy is ready to provide support whenever necessary.
TENNIS - The Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, the second best player in the world according to the WTA classification, is second seed at the Toronto tournament, with 2.5 million dollars in prize money, which is due to start on Monday. Halep, who won the Rogers Cup title, goes straight to the second round, where she will play against the winner of the game between the American Madison Keys (no. 21 WTA) and the Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (no.30 WTA). On Saturday, another three Romanians reached the final tour of qualifications for the tournament. Irina Begu defeated the Japanese Miyu Kato, Patricia Tig eliminated the Russian Natalia Vihlianteva, and Sorana Cirstea won the game against Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada.
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