An emergency meeting in December brought in a number of changes, including reduced opening hours, but the situation is still critical.

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Though it's rare and some spikes are bigger and longer-lasting than others, knowing how to take advantage of the special situation is critical.

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The village mayor, Ivan Antoniv, a retired physics professor, says the situation is hard but not critical.

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"The situation is critical now, " warned Kiet recently.

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The White House believes accelerating the political transition is critical to improving what the CIA says could become a fast deteriorating security situation.

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"The ICRC considers the situation in the capital is near critical, with hardly any movement on the streets, " Wimhurst added.

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The situation is said to be most critical in the state of Amazonas, where a quarter of all pupils are affected.

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That persuaded French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, in an apparent reference to Ms Merkel, to say that "the situation in Europe is sufficiently critical not to give in to simplistic talk".

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Maintaining situation awareness is critical to aviation safety, especially if there's a problem with the tracking technology.

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