A roundup of domestic and international news
HEAT - A wave of extreme heat is sweeping Romania. Meteorologists have issued code orange and yellow alerts against extreme heat for a number of counties in the west. Temperatures here are expected to reach and exceed 39 degrees Celsius and stand at 34-37 degrees across the territory. Starting Wednesday, meteorologists expect temperatures to drop in the north and west and to reach the normal value for this period starting Thursday. Meanwhile, rainfall will expand to a number of regions, including in the capital city Bucharest. Extreme weather phenomena have affected a number of areas in Romania, some of their effects still being felt locally.
SHARK ATTACK - The Romanian Foreign Ministry has confirmed a Romanian woman was killed in a shark attack on Sunday in Hurghada, a seacoast resort on the Red Sea in Egypt. According to the Ministry, the Romanian Embassy in Cairo is making efforts to obtain additional information regarding the woman's death. Her family in Romania has been notified and provided with all the details regarding the repatriation of her body. This is the second shark attack in the area in recent days. Another Austrian woman was killed in the same attack. The Egyptian authorities have closed down a number of beaches on the Red Sea. The Romanian Foreign Ministry recommends all Romanians in Egypt or planning to travel to this country to observe the recommendations of local authorities and choose only beach areas that are labeled safe for swimming.
WAR IN UKRAINE - The Russian army presses its attack in Eastern Ukraine, after on Sunday it conquered Lysychansk, a city of great strategic value for the Russians' occupation strategy in Donbas. The Russian forces seem to be focusing their attacks on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, two cities west of Lysychansk. President Volodymyr Zelensky has tried to downplay the Russians' announcement, saying his country will not give up an inch of its territory and that the Ukrainian armed forces will retake the areas controlled by the Russians owing to the increase in the delivery of modern weapons to Ukraine. Moscow, however, is celebrating a major victory.
ESPIONAGE - 70 Russian diplomats and their families were expelled from Bulgaria after local authorities accused them of espionage. In response, Russia announced it would close down its Embassy in Sofia, which would be the first Russian embassy closed down in an EU Member States. Bulgaria's Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov, accused Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova of supporting the no-confidence vote against him. Petkov was removed from office last week following a vote of no-confidence, and President Rumen Radev is expected to nominate him again for forming a new government, before calling snap elections. The Bulgarian Socialists, which were part of Petkov's ruling coalition, have accused the Prime Minister of single-handedly deciding to expel the Russian diplomats, a decision they see as unwarranted, announcing they would not support a second government led by the current Prime Minister.
THEATRE - The city of Bistrița in central Romania is today hosting the UNITER Awards Gala. The 30th edition of the gala rewarding the best theatre productions of 2021 will be attended by artists and professionals from the world of theatre. According to organizers, the award of excellence will be bestowed post-mortem to Ion Caramitru, the president of UNITER for 31 years. Caramitru passed away last year. In other news, the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu also came to a close yesterday night. It brought to the public 800 performances of theatre, music, dance and circus, street performances, exhibitions and conferences, involving 3,500 artists from 75 countries.
TENNIS - Romanian tennis player Simona Halep is today playing Paula Badosa of Spain in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. On April 30, Halep defeated Badosa 6-3, 6-1 in the second round at the WTA Mutua Madrid Open. Paula Badosa has never reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, although she played in the round of 16 last year. A former world no. 1, Simona Halep won the Wimbledon Grand Slam in 2019 and the French Open the previous year. (VP)
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