WAR IN UKRAINE – The Russian Federation Council on Tuesday ratified the
\nannexation of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and
\nKherson. On Monday, the Russian State Duma had also ratified the annexation of
\nthese Russian-held Ukrainian territories.
\nOnce the documents have been ratified by the Federation Council,
\nVladimir Putin can promulgate the federal law. The Kremlin leader signed last
\nFriday the annexation documents. The four regions recently hosted referendums
\nthat were not recognized by the international community. Russia is the only country
\nto have recognized the independence of these so-called republics on the
\nterritory of Ukraine and subsequently accepted their requests to join the
\nRussian Federation. Western governments and Kyiv say the referendums were in
\nbreach of international law, were held in coercive circumstances and lacked
\nrepresentation. <\/p>\n
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REFUGEES – The Border Police General Inspectorate announced that
\nsome 75 thousand people entered Romania on Monday, of whom some 8,100 were
\nUkrainian nationals, accounting for an 8% drop compared to the previous day.
\nStarting February 10, 2022, some 2.5 million refugees entered Romania, most of
\nwhom were in route to Western countries.<\/p>\n
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ENERGY – The International Energy Agency has warned that Europe
\nmight see increased trouble regarding its gas deliveries. According to its Gas
\nMarket Report targeting the fourth quarter of 2022, the IEA says that EU Member
\nStates will have to reduce their gas consumption this upcoming winter in case
\nMoscow completely cuts off deliveries. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the significant
\ndrop in natural gas supplies to Europe are significantly impacting household users,
\nbusinesses and economies themselves, not just in Europe, but also in emerging
\nand developing markets as well. To keep gas supplies at an appropriate level
\nahead of the heating season, the IEA recommends a reduction of 9% up to 13%
\ncompared to the five year average. Romania has reached 87% natural gas storage
\ncapacity and can also provide assistance to the Republic of Moldova, authorities
\nsay. <\/p>\n
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EDUCATION – Romania’s Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciuc\u0103, expressed his support of
\nthe new Education Minister, Ligia Deca, and her efforts to further the Educated Romania presidency-endorsed project, which aims
\nto submit new education laws to Parliament by the end of the month. A former
\npresidential adviser, Ligia Deca was sworn in on Monday, replacing outgoing
\nEducation Minister Sorin C\u00eempeanu, who stepped down last week in the wake of a plagiarism scandal.
\nDeca was the nomination of the National Liberal Party. <\/p>\n
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DIICOT – Prosecutors with the Directorate Investigating
\nOrganized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) have indicted four people, Romanian and
\nforeign nationals, as part of an espionage inquiry targeting the Serbian
\ncompany NIS Petrol, a subsidiary of the Russian energy giant Gazprom.
\nProsecutors have ordered searches in Bucharest and Timi\u0219oara, both at the company’s headquarters, as well as at the
\nhomes of a number of employees, confiscating documents and data storage
\nhardware. The four are accused of having traded classified information and of
\nfacilitating the unauthorized transfer of data concerning Romania’s mineral
\nreserves, DIICOT prosecutors say. In 2009, Gazprom bought the majority package
\nat NIS based on an agreement signed by Belgrade and Moscow. <\/p>\n
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MOLDOVA – Chi\u0219in\u0103u has accused Russian propaganda of spreading fake news about a general
\nmobilization soon to be ordered in the Republic of Moldova. Moldova’s Defense Minister stated in a press release that
\nmobilization can only be ordered in states of emergency or war, none of which apply
\nto present-day Moldova. Defense officials have also urged the population to
\nconsult only reliable sources following the circulation of this rumor over a
\ntelecom network. <\/p>\n
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NOBEL – The Nobel Prize in Physics was bestowed to Alain Aspect
\n(France), John F. Clauser (USA) and Anton Zeillinger (Austria) for their revolutionary
\nexperiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell
\ninequalities and pioneering quantum information science. Their findings have
\nlaid the foundation for a new era of quantum technology. (VP)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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