July 6, 2023 UPDATE

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 06.07.2023, 19:45

Bridge. Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday that the suspended bridge over the
Danube at Braila in south-eastern Romania is the biggest construction Romania
has seen in the past three decades, which proves that major infrastructure
projects can be finalised. He added that Romania has access to a significant amount
of European funds and a large part of this amount has been earmarked for the
development of transport infrastructure. The president attended the opening of the
bridge, the biggest ever built in Romania and the third biggest in Europe,
alongside prime minister Marcel Ciolacu. This is the last bridge over the
Danube before its flowing into the Black Sea and has been designed to last 120
years. 2 km in length, it will link the south-eastern counties of Braila and
Tulcea and boost the area’s economic potential. The project’s total value has
exceeded 400 million euros, 85% of which was covered by European funds.

Protest. Members
of the Solidaritatea Sanitara trade union federation on Thursday picketed
medical facilities around the country, unhappy with the health ministry’s
response to their salary demands. The next protest action planned is a rally in
Bucharest on 12th July, followed by a warning strike a week later,
while the federation’s members may go on an indefinite strike on 27th
July.

Defence. A regional centre
to train pilots flying military F16 aircraft will be set up in Romania. The
decision was made on Thursday by the Country’s Supreme Defence Council. The
centre will be the result of cooperation with allied states and the company
designing the aircraft. It will initially train Romanian pilots and later also
pilots from allied and partner states, including Ukraine. The Country’s Supreme
Defence Council also established Romania’s objectives for the upcoming NATO
summit in Vilnius next week. President Klaus Iohannis will again bring to the
fore aspects related to the security of the Black Sea region, and Romania will
continue to actively support Sweden’s accession to NATO.

Tennis. Romania’s Irina Begu
on Thursday reached the second round at Wimbledon as she defeated Canada’s
Rebecca Marino in three sets. Seeded 29, Begu will next face Russia’s Anna
Blinkova, world no. 40. Also on Thursday, Romania’s Ana Bogdan defeated Alycia
Parks of the US to reach the third round. Bogdan, who is no. 57 in the world,
will next be playing Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, world no. 60. Sorana Cîrstea
also advanced to the third round, defeating Latvia’s Jelena
Ostapenko in three sets.

Festival. The
city of Constanta, in south-eastern Romania, is hosting the fifth edition of
Neversea, the biggest Europe festival in to be held on a beach. The event is
expected to bring together music lovers from all over the world, from Britain,
Germany, the United States, Italy, Bulgaria and Israel. Over 1,000 police
forces, gendarmes, border police, anti-drug officers and 700 private security
guards are to supervise the festival. Special emphasis is to be laid on the
prevention and fighting drug consumption and trafficking. Neversea organisers
are expecting 260,000 people to attend this four-day festival on the Black Sea
coast. (CM)