Dora Vulcan is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL's Romanian Service. She has been working as a journalist since 1992 for such outlets as the BBC, Reporter Global, and the Mediafax news agency.
At least 100,000 Romanian teachers and tens of thousands of support staff this week launched a strike that is upending millions of lives, endangering final exams, and delaying a government reshuffle. It could also have a domino effect, encouraging workers in other beleaguered sectors to do the same.
Last week, Romania launched a new member of the government, an "honorary adviser" run on AI. Named Ion, the digital adviser will monitor social networks to inform the government "of Romanians' proposals and wishes." It's already the butt of jokes and has been accused of stealing an image.
As the latest heat wave bore down on a heavily wooded expanse of the Danube Delta, caretakers of Romania's oldest nature reserve appeared oblivious to the danger to thousands of the continent's last wild horses, whose watering holes had dried up weeks ago.
