June 25, 2023

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 25.06.2023, 13:52

Baccalaureate. In Romania, the 12th grade graduates are starting, on Monday, the written tests of the baccalaureate exam, with the Romanian language and literature. On Tuesday, they will be sitting the mandatory examination of the profile, and on Thursday the test of choice for profile and specialization. On June 29, students who belong to national minorities will sit the test in their native language and literature. Next week, the first results of the national assessment will be announced for students who have completed the eighth grade. Due to the general strike in education, registrations for the National Assessment and Baccalaureate were extended until June 16.

SITF. Seaside Stories, directed by Radu Afrim, the winner of the UNITER award for the best show, is part of todays program of the International Theater Festival in Sibiu. In the Outdoor section, the audience will have the opportunity to watch the Pioneers Last Word, a modern show based on Hip Hop street dance culture, with a rich and energetic repertoire. Also today, the band Mahala Rai Banda will be performing on stage in the Big Square. The 30th edition of SITF started on Friday and is the biggest such event in Romania. The festival is hosting 800 events in approximately 80 locations, enjoying the participation of 5,000 artists and guests from 75 countries.

Moscow. The forces of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner began to leave their positions in Russia as ordered by their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who turned back after directly defying the authority of President Vladimir Putin, FP reports. After a day of spectacular armed rebellion, Prigozhin is to leave for Belarus, and the charges against him will be withdrawn, the Kremlin announced. FP recalls that Wagners troops were heading for the capital on Saturday, after occupying during the morning the headquarters of the Russian army in Rostov (southwest), the sensitive center of operations in Ukraine. Wagner claimed that the Russian strikes caused a very large number of casualties in his ranks and accused Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of being responsible for that. According to the Washington Post and New York Times, the American intelligence services warned the White House about the imminence of a Wagner revolt in Russia a day before it broke out. Faced with the biggest challenge since he came to power in late 1999, President Putin has tried to keep his hand strong in the face of this unprecedented rebellion, denouncing a treason and evoking the specter of a civil war.

Swimming. Romanian swimmer David Popovici won the 100 m freestyle event on Saturday at the Sette Colli Trophy competition at the Foro Italico (Rome). The double European and world champion and holder of the world record competes today in the 200 m freestyle. In the 50 m backstroke event, his compatriot, Andrei Anghel, won the bronze medal. Romania is represented at the competition by ten swimmers.

Football. Romania failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Under-21 European Football Championship, which is hosting together with Georgia, after the second defeat suffered in group B, 0-1 against Ukraine, on Saturday evening, in Bucharest. In the first game, the national team lost 2-0 against Spain. The Iberians won against Croatia and qualified further along with the Ukrainians. In the last stage, on Tuesday, Spain will face Ukraine, and Croatia take on Romania. The final tournament takes place between June 21 and July 8 and brings together 16 teams, divided into four groups. Two are hosted by Romania, in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca (north-west), and two by Georgia. In Romania, two quarter-finals and a semifinal will take place. The top three finishers qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris next year.

Weather. Romanian meteorologists have issued two codes, orange and yellow, for severe atmospheric instability, valid until Monday. In most of the country, there will be showers, electrical discharges, short-term intensification of the wind and in some areas gales and hail. In short intervals of time or through accumulation, the water quantities will be 20…25 l/m2 and even up to 30…40 l/m2. Throughout the day, in the mountains, in the center and southeast of the country, and in the evening and at night especially in the southeast, locally there will be torrential showers, electrical discharges, short-term intensification of the wind, with gusts of 65…75 km/h and in limited areas storms and hail. In short intervals of time or through accumulation, the water quantities will be 30…40 l/m2 and isolated over 50…60 l/m2. Maximum temperatures will range from 24 to 30 degrees. Weather is turning unstable in Bucharest as well, with showers, electrical discharges and short-term intensification of the wind. (MI)