This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The menu uses seasonal ingredients and is mostly vegetarian Six months before the war in Ukraine began restaurateur and chef Laurence Faber and his partner a small village on the Ukrainian/Moldovan border The trip not only changed their lives but it also changed the food scene in Knoxville Faber’s great-grandparents came from Otaci They fled their shtetl because of the many pogroms there in the 1920s Faber and Williams traveled to Eastern Europe to learn about the food of Faber’s ancestors Great-grandmother Phyllis Faber’s Ukrainian-Jewish specialties– mini-knishes eggplant salad and chicken soup— were the stuff of family legend But her recipes had never been written down – or After eight years cooking and baking at the world-renowned Blackberry Farm resort near Knoxville Faber started a babka business with Williams and then the two opened a pop-up in town called Hi Baby that explored  Israeli and Palestinian food and the influence they had on each other he was drawn to the food of his father’s family The Nosher celebrates the traditions and recipes that have brought Jews together for centuries Donate today to keep The Nosher's stories and recipes accessible to all “I had been cooking food from all over the Middle East “I was trying to figure out a food that was more personal to who I was I wanted something that I could dive into so I could learn more about myself and my family.” The results of that self-exploration are now available for all to experience with Faber and Williams’ latest Knoxville pop-up The menu includes classic foods from Ukraine — like borsch and eggplant salad — subtly flavored with locally foraged herbs and flowers And while you might not expect a restaurant featuring bialys “that our community would accept anything new as long as it tasted good and was served with hospitality.” “We have surpassed what we ever thought we would do in sales,” said Faber Because “deli” is part of the restaurant’s name many visitors to Potchke are initially disappointed “that we don’t serve pastrami,” said Faber In contrast to most other Jewish delis that serve mile-high cured meat sandwiches there is no other meat or poultry dish regularly on the menu The blintzes Potchke serves are not your bubbe’s blintz The Yiddish word “potchke” means to fuss with or to mess around both of which are apt descriptions for Faber’s food style his potato blintzes are filled with scrambled eggs caramelized onions and a Georgian spice called khmeli suneli The blintzes are topped with avocado labneh and Calabrian chili oil The consistently most popular menu item is a lox bialy— salmon from Acme smokehouse in New York paired with Potchke’s house-made “everything” bialy with crushed garlic and dill and covered with a salad of watermelon radishes raw onion and tomato and piquillo pepper relish they traveled through the Carpathian mountains along with a guide twelve Ukrainian chefs and other chefs from around the world berries and herbs and made dishes based on those ingredients which had had a large Jewish population before World War II “the best gefilte fish I had ever had in my life” He had several “Aha!” moments during his trip to the Old Country “The biggest misconception about Jewish food in general is that it is meat-heavy,” said Faber “But nobody’s great-grandmother in Ukraine ate giant pastrami sandwiches.” Ukrainian food is about “being resourceful with things that are precious like meat and foraged mushrooms.” Stuffed cabbage is one way to stretch your meat and utilize produce the plan was for Potchke Deli to be a one-year placeholder for another restaurant that Faber and Williams have in the works their new eatery is heavily influenced by what the couple learned during their heritage trip The cuisine of this yet-to-be-named restaurant will be “pinpointed on Ukrainian and Moldovan Jewish recipes,” said Faber there is Potchke with its creative and ever-changing menu where diners can get a fresh take on babka served with little garlic rolls called pampushki a Ukrainian poppy seed cake (pletinka zmakom) was on the menu This week foraged ramps will be mixed into the cream cheese or pickled as a side dish with the white fish melt All of which can be washed down with seltzer flavored with local mountain mint Faber hopes they can keep Potchke open indefinitely All it comes down to is if they can properly staff two restaurants at once “Potchke is really fussy and it takes a certain person to garnish a bialy with as many things as we do So we’re always looking for the special kind of people that take pride in unnecessary fussiness.”  By submitting I agree to the privacy policy Jewish Food History From a black market dealings to religious pilgrimages Jewish Breakfast Recipes fun takes prove cottage cheese is anything but old-school Global Jewish Food packed with cheese and naturally hametz-free I left my husband behind’: the people forced to flee Putin's war in Ukraine - video This article is more than 3 years oldOtaci is a Moldovan border town on the opposite side of the Dniester River lies the Ukrainian city of Mohyliv-Podilskyi As refugees spill over the bridge that links the two local people are rallying together to provide them with warm food internet and free onward travel in cars and taxis Since Putin's invasion of Ukraine started on 24 February more than 1 million people have fled across the closest borders The conflict could result in the 'largest refugee crisis this century' with up to 4 million people fleeing the country in the coming weeks and months more than 98,000 refugees have entered Moldova “Diversity should be valued as an important asset and strength of the Republic of Moldova,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues at the end of her first official visit to the country where numerous minority groups with multi-layered ethnic religious and linguistic identities peacefully coexist she urged measures to minimize the politicization of the use of languages which often leads to polarization and might threaten peaceful coexistence if not resolved The expert encouraged the Government to guarantee quality education in both mother tongue and the State language (Moldovan/Romanian) calling for the introduction of multilingual education methodologies and multilingual classrooms the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia Izsák-Ndiaye commended the creation of a working group of members of the Moldovan Parliament and the Gagauzian Peoples' Assembly to discuss matters of common concerns The expert also visited Roma communities in different localities social and political marginalization of Roma as well as instances of discrimination and xenophobia against Roma communities were reported by Roma representatives,” she said drop-out rates among Roma students are significantly high and Roma representatives expressed their concern that Roma are largely absent from decision-making processes and in public life both at local and national levels,” she added Ms. Izsák-Ndiaye will present a final mission report and recommendations to the Human Rights Council (HRC) in March 2017 Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based HRC to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff You don't have permissions to access this page Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time From every side of the gigantic Parramatta Metro construction site on the edge of the block designated for the rail in 2019 reversing trucks and crashing jackhammers greet thousands of commuters leaving the train station The construction site for Parramatta station.Credit: Wolter Peeters And on Church Street, slightly north, the noise has only been compounded by construction of the yet-to-be-operational light rail the lack of parking and the temporary fencing that pops up – not to mention the pandemic – has made the past few years brutal for local businesses But getting the shops and cafes through it was hope: hope that when it would be completed locals would return en masse and business would come back even stronger Those hopes were dashed on Tuesday as news spread about Chris Minns’ two-day refusal to confirm the Metro West would be completed owner and barista at hole-in-a-wall Cafe Thirty3 on Church Street says business has dropped dramatically since construction began Cafe Thirty3 owner and barista Ali Otaci says news of the Metro project’s future makes him feel anxious.Credit: Kate Geraghty “Last year we were doing 20 kilos a week of coffee When asked how he felt knowing the project’s future was uncertain The only reason I hadn’t sold this store before was because I was waiting for the metro doors to open on the corner.” But this is not how I wanted it to happen.” It’s not how the government wanted it to happen Former Parramatta Eels player Peter Wynn says the Metro will eventually have a positive impact on the city.Credit: Kate Geraghty Minns said the Metro West Project is being reviewed because its cost had escalated to $25 billion and the state faced $180 billion in debt The Metro West line is predicted to transport 40,000 people per hour and take people to the Sydney CBD in just 20 minutes The government predicts 420,000 people will move into the areas along the line by 2036 The most recent government update on the Parramatta site’s progress shows archeological work as well as the removal of concrete with jackhammers and the construction of a water treatment plant owner of nearby Peter Wynn’s Score for the last 35 years says construction has continued to hurt business “It’s disappointing that there is a hiccup here,” he said But he has hope the project will eventually be completed and bring more people to his store “We want Parramatta to be as accessible as it can for locals and tourists That has a good spinoff for all local businesses,” he said “As soon as the light rail gets up and running I guess that’ll compensate for the Metro construction.” The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here the noise has only been compounded by construction of the the lack of parking and the temporary fencing that pops up \\u2013 not to mention the pandemic \\u2013 has made the past few years brutal for local businesses Those hopes were dashed on Tuesday as news spread about \\u201CLast year we were doing 20 kilos a week of coffee Now we\\u2019re doing about six,\\u201D he said \\u201CIt\\u2019s more than halved.\\u201D When asked how he felt knowing the project\\u2019s future was uncertain The only reason I hadn\\u2019t sold this store before was because I was waiting for the metro doors to open on the corner.\\u201D But this is not how I wanted it to happen.\\u201D It\\u2019s not how the government wanted it to happen The on the Parramatta site\\u2019s progress shows archeological work owner of nearby Peter Wynn\\u2019s Score for the last 35 years \\u201CIt\\u2019s disappointing that there is a hiccup here,\\u201D he said \\u201CWe want Parramatta to be as accessible as it can for locals and tourists That has a good spinoff for all local businesses,\\u201D he said \\u201CAs soon as the light rail gets up and running I guess that\\u2019ll compensate for the Metro construction.\\u201D The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day\\u2019s most important and interesting stories A new bridge is set to be built on the Ukrainian-Moldovan state border near the settlements of Yampil (Ukraine) and Cosăuți (Moldova), as Ukraine's Government portal states the bridge will have a total length of over 1.400 meters (4.593 feet) It will include two lanes with sidewalks on both sides The Yampil Bridge is set to replace a ferry crossing at the border point of Yampil-Cosăuți which has been non-operational for several years and no longer meets the demands of time or the actual needs of the residents in both states The new bridge will also help to alleviate the pressure on the Mohyliv-Podilskyi - Otaci international checkpoint which currently handles almost all traffic between Ukraine and Moldova "The bridge will become a key link in the transport corridor between Kyiv and Chișinău It will also provide Ukrainian exporters with the shortest route from the center of Ukraine to central and south-eastern Europe Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities Territories and Infrastructure Development Ukraine and Moldova signed an agreement on the operation of railway transport aiming to simplify control procedures for the rail transit of goods It was also agreed to introduce non-stop transit through the territory of Ukraine between the Frikatsey-Etulia and Reni-Giurgiuleşti checkpoints in order to increase the volume of cargo transported by rail freight transport was launched on the restored Berezyne-Basarabeasca (Moldova) railway line tinted off-road vehicle drove into the small town of Otaci It was heading towards the border checkpoint From that site – if you walk along the Friendship Bridge – you’ll find yourself in the Ukrainian border checkpoint and from there you can reach the city of Mogylev-Podolsk They were linked with Ukrainian security services but the border police wouldn’t know that yet Media reports would say later that the two men had connections with the kidnapping of a former Ukrainian judge who had been hiding in Moldova from Kiev’s justice for years The ex-magistrate disappeared in Chisinau in the afternoon of 3 April The man had been hiding in Moldova for years fleeing from Ukraine over corruption allegations He hoped to get political asylum in the neighboring republic and avoid extradition to his homeland He had battled in Moldovan courts during the last years to prevent his extradition Moldovan Interior Minister Pavel Voicu said that after abduction the former magistrates may have been smuggled out of the country Journalists from the investigative outlet RISE Moldova and their colleagues at Слiдство.инфо unearthed important details of this mysterious incident they learned that the people suspected of the judge’s abduction may be connected to Ukrainian intelligence and law enforcement agencies we found traces of a secret special operation since some of the persons who appear in our investigation could have used fake IDs to cross the border at least two men confirmed they had visited Moldova during those days The likely location where Mykola Chaus is believed to be kidnapped from media in Moldova and Ukraine reported that Chisinau declined Chaus’ application for political asylum for good and that he was due to get an extradition ticket to Kiev We can’t rule out that the dissemination of fake news on this topic was a preparatory stage for a special operation we want to share with our readers right now the Moldovan interior minister announced that the fugitive judge was probably taken to Ukraine Moldovan police officials assure that one of the abductors has been held and that they identified in part the persons and vehicles involved in the crime Moldovan media claimed that the Ukrainian Embassy to Moldova had offered a car for this operation but Ukrainian diplomats denied this allegation and assured the Moldovan side of no involvement whatsoever We have identified independently the main motor vehicle with embassy plate numbers studying records from video cameras in Otaci where a journalist from RISE Moldova was on 7 April Having collected records from various cameras in Otaci and Chisinau RISE Moldova have found a few more vehicles that might have been used by abductors We also obtained copies of passports on the names of all ten men RISE Moldova sources in Moldovan police say that investigators were looking for evidence or their participation in the kidnapping of the Ukrainian magistrate A part of these IDs were published in the press but we decide to check and compare everything in detail Men resembling Kovalenko and Stavitsky/Kutsenko (left to right) walk towards the Ukrainian border station It’s hard to find anything about Yuri Kovalenko in open sources Journalists were only able to find a mobile phone number he’s used From this piece they could move on to solve the puzzle: they found Mr His Facebook profile page contains pictures of the man jumping with a parachute; they were posted in 2012 One particular picture features a military helicopter Therefore our journalists are tempted to believe that Mr Kovalenko is familiar with warfare/defense Слiдствo.Инфо received from their own sources copies of documents that contain classified aspects of Yuri Kovalenko’s biography Those documents allowed us to reach the conclusion with a very high degree of probability that the face in the passport printscreen and the Ukrainian national Yuri Kovalenko belong to each other The 34-year-old man is a graduate from a military training academy in Odessa From his personal data files we learned that as of 2015 Kovalenko lived at a Kiev military base coded A2659 that base hosts the “Yevgeny Bereznyak” Military-Diplomatic Academy which trains among other professional intelligence officers “I believe that being armed with the skills you have acquired at the Academy you’ll continue contributing your experience for the development of Ukrainian intelligence,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Andrey Taran addressed the school’s graduates in 2020 Yuri Kovalenko registered his place of residence at 33 Electrikov Street which is on the Ribalsky Peninsula in the capital This is the official address of the Defense Ministry’s Principal Intelligence Directorate We got in touch with Yuri Kovalenko on 7 April He declined to comment on his connection with the intelligence community I can’t tell you anything in connection with your topic,” Mr The records in possession of RISE Moldova also show that Mr Kovalenko had a companion during his trip to Moldova The man who crossed the border from Ukraine into Moldova together with Yuri Kovalenko is Eduard Stavitsky the latter received his passport one month before the Moldovan journey After extensive searches we found no person with the same personal data as in the passport on the name of Mr we found a Kiev resident in social media who looks very much like Mr the man identified as Eduard Stavitsky and the man who owns the Kut Andrey page are strikingly resembling We also found a picture of his in Telegram demonstrate his connections with the intelligence agency In the 2000s he officially resided in Kiev at 6 Vozdukhoflotsky Prospekt This is the address of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and a military base From the same files we learned that in 2009 Andrey Kutsenko enrolled in the military and served at the same base on the Ribalsky Peninsula – it’s where the Defense Ministry’s Principal Intelligence Directorate operates The above-mentioned Yuri Kovalenko formally lived there too Andrey Kutsenko denied that he was working for the military intelligence and when reporters asked more specific questions he hand up the phone His name is Alexander Kostenyuk given that he is a former police officer and regularly published his declarations of revenues in the past years The picture of him that we have left us convinced that it’s his face in the passport copy Kostenyuk had worked in the national police force of Lvyv Region in western Ukraine; he held a leading rank in the homicide unit We learned from judiciary records that Kostenyuk was under suspicion of being part of a police gang that used to extort civilians out money and valuables his subordinates handcuffed a man to a metal bar and robbed him at gunpoint out of 4,000 dollars and one kilogram of amber The suspects were finally put under charges – and the case is still scrutinized in a court of law – while Mr whose job was to keep an eye on his men – was fired from the police force Alexander Kostenyuk later got back his job after a legal battle against the police department He now runs a detective business in Ukraine In a conversation with a reporter from Слiдство.Инфо Kostenyuk turns down allegations of his involvement in the abduction of Mykola Chaus but gave no clear answer whether he visited Moldova lately The ex-cop assured that he knew neither Kovalenko nor Stavitsky/Kutsenko Having studied all ten passports of Ukrainians who are being checked for participation in Chaus’ abduction Слiдство.Инфо found out that most of them lived in Lvyv Region One is an employee of a private security firm Another one – Oleg Stadnik – had been sentenced conditionally to three years in prison for thefts of oil from oil pipes during several years In a conversation with a Слiдство.Инфо reporter Mikhail Buleha confirmed that he stayed in Moldova for “a couple of days,” a holiday alone but he would not remember the name of the hotel Moldova is a wine country,” Buleha explained Buleha tried to convince Слiдство.Инфо that he never met the other characters in this case – say Kovalenko or Stavitsky/Kutsenko The truth is Mikhail Buleha exited from Moldova via the same checkpoint there’s a clear trail of Ukrainian special services and former military or police operatives in the Chaus kidnapping story They all arrived in Moldova almost at the same time and left the country almost simultaneously; and they all were in Moldova exactly at the time Chaus disappeared Folosim cookie-uri pentru a-ți oferi cea mai bună experiență pe site-ul nostru web Poți afla mai multe despre cookie-urile pe care le folosim sau să le dezactivezi în setări Acest site folosește cookie-uri pentru a-ți putea oferi cea mai bună experiență în utilizare Informațiile cookie sunt stocate în navigatorul tău și au rolul de a te recunoaște când te întorci pe site-ul nostru și de a ajuta echipa noastră să înțeleagă care sunt secțiunile site-ului pe care le găsești mai interesante și mai utile Cookie-urile strict necesar trebuie să fie activate tot timpul astfel îți putem salva preferințele pentru setările cookie-urilor Aceasta înseamnă că de fiecare dată când vizitezi acest site va trebui să activezi sau să dezactivezi cookie-urile din nou Acest site folosește Google Analytics pentru a colecta informație anonimă precum numărul de vizitatori ai site-ului și cele mai populare pagini Menținerea activă a acestui cookie ne ajută să ne îmbunătățim site-ul Te rog activează mai întâi cookie-urile strict necesare ca să-ți putem salva preferințele EUROPA PENTRU TINE!Află despre beneficiile și oportunitățile oferite Republicii Moldova de Uniunea Europeană The persons which have been left homeless as a result of the collapse of the block – of – flats in Otaci city Ocnita district will receive the necessary financial resources to cover their damages and have a living place as soon as possible and Minister of Economy and Infrastructure have announced today that they paid a working visit to Otaci city The Prime Minister has said that the Government is searching solutions in the interest of 36 families which have no roof overhead it will be assessed the damage of the collapsed block – of – flats and it will be allocated the needed financial resources we must first make the expertise of the building," said Premier Maia Sandu the specialists from the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (IGSU) and other specialised subdivisions within the Ministry of Interior Affairs (MAI) have started the necessary work immediately after the incident while the demolition works will be started on 26 June "I promise you that in 10 days the damaged block will be demolished Then we shall make the expertise of the adjacent one The assessment will be made for each family by market prices and we have proposed to be 03 representatives of the tenants in the committee of evaluators," said Mihail Harabagiu has assured that he will make every effort to help the families that have suffered "I assure you that MEI is on your side and we shall do everything in our power to help you overcome this moment," said Minister Branzan About 100 persons which have participated in the discussion expressed their gratitude to the ones involved in solving the incident They hope that soon they will have places to stay and recover their damages Prime Minister Maia Sandu has reiterated that the Government will provide all the support to families in difficulty and find the best solutions it was damaged a 09 – floor block – of – flats in Otaci city The persons were evacuated before the incident occurred All materials featured on this site are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) Technical-technological administration: Information Technology and Cyber Security Service. the bridge over the Dniester River near Unguri and Bronnita localities on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border will be opened under test for international traffic traffic of means of transport for passengers and goods with a maximum authorized weight of up to 3.5 tons The opening of traffic through Unguri customs post will allow the dispersion of the increased flows in Otaci Customs the circulation through Otaci customs post is complicated by the rehabilitation works on the territory of Moghiliov-Podolsk customs post in Ukraine Prime Minister Pavel Filip and his Ukrainian counterpart agreed on opening traffic of cars under test regime on the bridge over the Dniester River near Unguri and Bronnita ● The Dniester river is very polluted and presents a danger to human health; it contains drugs ● The Ukrainian and Moldovan authorities do not constantly check the water quality of the river ● The Wastewater Treatment Plant of Apa-Canal Chisinau is the largest pollution source of the Dniester on the territory of the Republic of Moldova ● Corruption and defective management significantly affect the quality of river water in both countries has already been staying for three hours on a small island and on the right - the territory of Moldova The Dniester River basin covers over 70,000 square kilometres being the main source of drinking water in Moldova. Moldova belongs to the category of countries with insufficient drinking water and with a high risk of impact from climate change.  I look in his net and see a few fishes with the length of a palm.  steals all the fish." The inhabitants of Mohyliv-Podilskyi are convinced that the water of the river is clean because they no longer have industrial enterprises Almost all the factories were closed 20-30 years ago Only rusty pipes that come out on the river bank and enter the water are reminders of their existence people argue that the Dniester water is clean "I have also implemented a project for the concrete plant products neighbourhood We need a collection channel there because everything flows in the Dniester would be the "Tezeu-Lux" enterprise located upstream and specialized in acquiring quartz sand and manufacturing of pavement materials "Tezeu-Lux washes their sand in the Dniester River This is why the river becomes muddy and the fish disappears The entire Moldovan shore is white because of this factory” The registry of the Ministry of Agriculture Regional Development and Environment regarding wastewater treatment plants shows that "Tezeu-Lux" SA is the only building on the Moldovan bank of the Dniester River that has an "efficient" wastewater treatment plant The six lakes are full of fish and crabs” says the general manager of the company The businessman rejects Mayor Traghira's accusations that the company would cause environmental damage it would also have killed everything else!” we noticed that the penultimate basin has a pipe through which the wastewater is discharged - directly and constantly - into the Dniester The head of the Chisinau Environmental Agency Laboratory and that "the river has its purification process" it must be reported by someone,” Dumitru Osipov head of the Information Synthesis Section of the Environmental Protection Inspectorate of Moldova said things are not quite so good in the opinion of independent international experts the employees of the Slovak Environmental Institute collected 13 samples to analyze the content of pesticides and industrial chemicals in the Dniester water the experts found that the norms were exceeded 8-12 times One of the most polluted places is the Mohyliv-Podilskyi area !function(e,i,n,s){var t="InfogramEmbeds",d=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement("script");o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src="https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js",d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,"infogram-async"); reads the results of the study hastily and concludes irritably: "This is not serious!" And when the reporter reads the text about the situation of water in the Dniester in Mohyliv-Podilskyi "The authors of this screening are businessmen I have an official certificate that the water is clean The Sanitary-Epidemiological Station works ECOLOGICAL TIME BOMB: HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF TONS OF TOXIC SOIL the OSCE auditor in the fields of ecology and consultancy studied the state of 25 grounds for toxic waste storage in the Dniester basin A quantity of 165 million tons of radioactive and toxic industrial waste is now stored in these territories the expert observed that in many cases the dangerous substances penetrate the expert calls for problem companies such as „Neftehimik Prikarpatia” „Stebnitskoe GHP” „Polimineral” The authorities' indifference to the water quality in the Dniester is illustrated by the scandalous case of contaminated soil evacuation from a field near the city of Kalu the State Ecological Inspection reported that about 33.5 thousand tons of earth containing 35% of Hexachlorobenzene were collected and transported from the Kallus polygon and the Dombrovsk quarry 992 million hryvnias [37.9 million euros] were spent on greening this territory But neither the financial inspection of Ukraine nor Interpol were able to confirm that about 97% of this amount - 962 million hryvnia - was spent by the Israeli company SI Group Consort to the transport this waste to Poland and the United Kingdom Although according to the documents the company that carried out the work had to leave an environmentally-friendly territory now the field looks like a horror movie scene with acid lakes and barrels where toxic chemicals were kept left exposed under the open skies are not disgusted to gather mushrooms in the nearby forest The laboratory for product quality and safety in Kyiv analyzed samples from the soil of the polygon and found that the Hexachlorobenzene content exceeded the permitted norms 1,856 times in one sample Now this poison risks reaching the waters of the Limnitsa river Although the employees of the Moldovan Environmental Protection Inspectorate say that they are constantly trying to prevent leakage in Kallus director of the "Iagorlic" State Nature Reserve in Dubasari a massive perishing of fish on the Middle Dniester has been attested Fish health is an indicator of water quality this phenomenon can only be explained by the discharge of polluted water upstream "A worrying feature of this cataclysm is the expansion of the species of fish that perish Besides the mature carp and phytophagous specimens dead specimens of old age (10–15 kilograms) and young age (2–5 kilograms) were found of which a significant number were of the Common roach and brim variety." "The dead fish bodies are covered with a thick necrosis may be observed on the liver and kidneys In some specimens complete necrosis and destruction of the kidney and liver tissues were found” mentions the investigations published by Sharanapanovskaya bodies of birds and animals have been found with pieces of the muscular tissue from the decomposing fish" the study published by the director of the "Iagorlic" Reserve mentions specifying that most of the dead fish were brought to shore between the villages of Cot and Bursuc The water quality in the river is monitored by the State Agency of Aquatic Resources of Ukraine the Dniester water must also be monitored by the ecologists of the regional state administrations We have found that the reports on water quality are published fragmentarily or are completely missing on the official websites of the ecological inspections and of all the regional administrations the regional office of the Aquatic Resources Agency in the Ternopil region of Ukraine does not have information on the quality of the Dniester water which covers 262 kilometres on the territory of this administrative unit millions of cubic meters of water reach the water directly from sewage systems a fact recognized in the reports of the former Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of this country Most sewage treatment plants in Ukraine are in a sad state their equipment is outdated both morally and physically a city with a well-known spa resort in Ukraine Although I was told by the Lviv Regional Council that the station is working we were convinced that the situation is the opposite we found the same situation as in Morshyn - rust everywhere broken pipes and murky waters flowing into the Dniester The Dniester River basin occupies more than half of the territory of the Lviv region only six wastewater treatment plants need to be built and another 13 rebuilt in this region On the official website of the former Ministry of Ecology of Ukraine there is no information on the treatment plants on the Dniester for the year 2018 a sewerage network totalling 29,000 kilometres in length with only 818,000 people out of a total of about 3.5 million having access to centralized sewerage services in 2017 The total volume of wastewater collected in 2017 in Moldova amounted to 70.1 million cubic meters of which 54.6 per cent would represent wastewater collected from the population the responsible institutions - the Environmental Agency and the Environmental Protection Inspectorate - have given us different figures.  After checking the stations in the 11 districts on the Moldovan bank of the Dniester whereas we became convinced that it did not work The most serious problem in this regard is in the city of Soroca about 50 kilometres downstream from Mohyliv-Podilskyi and Otaci Water quality is deficient here both upstream and downstream on the Dniester only iron is present in greater proportions” head of the Laboratory for water quality of the Moldova Environmental Agency.  When it comes to water quality according to the microbiological parameters measured in the 2018 report "Along with the flow of the Dniester in Moldova the pollution is increasing," said an official of the Laboratory who wished to remain anonymous These statements by the Environmental Agency's Reference Laboratory employee ruin the role of victim in which Moldova has been posing for many years The report assigned the degree of "very polluted" to these extremely dangerous bacteria in the Soroca area answer to the question whether it is not dangerous to eat fish caught next to the wastewater exhaust pipe into the Dniester near the town of Soroca The cleaning of the domestic water in Soroca is done solely with chlorine All these problems began in Soroca in 1996 when the wastewater treatment plant in Tsekinovka which was also providing service to the town on the Moldovan side of the river Although Moldova and Ukraine are now independent states the non-functioning sewage treatment plant in Tsekinovka continues to be managed by the Moldovan side. Specifically by the "Apa-Canal Soroca" Joint Stock Company (JSC) of which the majority shareholder is the Soroca District Council The biggest problem is that this derelict plant is a real ecological bomb for the whole region says that because of the wastewater discharged into the Dniester "Our village is a victim of this treatment plant," says woman borishly characterizing the discussions on this subject as "empty talks" seven liquefied chlorine tanks for wastewater treatment lay in waste No one knows how much chlorine there is in the containers "because of the lack of a scale to weigh them" Irina Rachkovskaya characterized the situation as "very unfortunate" "The worst thing is that we have no right to evacuate the chlorine there "A special corridor must be opened to transport them to Moldova the population must flee the area quickly [in the event of an accident]” an official of the Inspectorate for Environmental Protection of Moldova warns.  there are problems not only in the north but also upstream of the Dniester River Gura Bicului is the most polluted point in Moldova according to the results of the screening carried out by the Environmental Institute of Slovakia while the highest number of chemical compounds being detected is 71 expressed himself more strongly about the quality of the Bic water: "If you put your hand in the water you should go to the dermatologist immediately!” The Bic River passes through the largest city in Moldova Chisinau (with a population of about 700,000) The greatest pollution level is recorded at the Tracom JSC the EXDRUPO municipal enterprise and the water treatment plant of the Apa-Canal Chisinau JSC Chisinau was covered by an infectious smell After investigations conducted on August 29 it was found that the Water-Sewage Treatment Station in Chisinau produced an unauthorized leakage of raw sewage in the total volume of 129.340 cubic meters into the Bic river which amounts to a one-day quantity of treated water This leak caused damage of about 40 million lei (2 million euros) in one day Asked to collaborate with the authorized institutions Apa-Canal Chisinau JSC provided a list of companies that spilt residual waters with residual values of quality indicators exceeded tenfold and more in the water sewage system.  „Uzina de Tractoare TRACOM” LLC „Pascofis” LLC as the note from Apa-Canal Chisinau JSC mentions "Many businesses do not provide pre-treatment of wastewater but they do state that they have concluded contracts with Apa-Canal JSC Apa-Canal JSC must purify wastewater and render them purified in the natural receptor" Lilian Munteanu the head of the Chisinau Inspectorate for the Protection of environment says „A legal procedure would be for Apa-Canal JSC to terminate the contract with company X inform us that excesses have been recorded by certain companies which would oblige them to pay supplementary fees" Munteanu added stressing that the Moldovan legislative framework does not allow environmentalists to carry out unannounced checks and neither does the laboratory the companies in Chisinau prefer to pay Apa-Canal Chisinau JSC surcharges for the polluted water rather than installing pre-treatment plants on their facilities this inevitably leads to the faulty operation of the treatment plant in Chisinau the Apa-Canal Chisinau treatment plant is in the process of modernization and is working at low capacity the plant has never worked at 100% capacity The Apa-Canal Chisinau JSC administration refused the dialogue with the reporters Those in the management of the company blame the increased concentrations of pollutants in the water flow upstream of the station "The wastewater flow upstream of the treatment plant is much higher than the flow of the river Bic which is 0.2 cubic meters per second [200 buckets of water!]  The volume of wastewater from the water treatment station The persons responsible for water quality and environmental protection in Moldova believe that we should not panic This fact is also confirmed by the results of analyses carried out by the Moldova Environmental Agency Reference Laboratory "11 districts of Moldova are bordering the Dniester we do not have industrial enterprises producing toxic waste or chemical content" argues that the water in the Dniester is of relatively good quality invoking the results of the analyzes carried out "The Dniester is more polluted in the north - near Naslavcea without taking note of the results of the analysis made by the Environmental Institute of Slovakia After obtaining the results of the Chisinau Environmental Agency Reference Laboratory we sent them to an independent expert from Moldova and another one from Transnistria executive director of the "Eco-Tiras" International Environmental Association of the Dniester River Keepers considers that the reference Laboratory analyzes "do not reflect the reality" He explains this situation through the fact that the employees of the Chisinau Laboratory collect water samples two to three times a month while pollution occurs in 24-48 hours." Bacteriological data show that the water is highly polluted and presents a danger to human health," the ecologist noted stressing that the main source of pollution is the insufficient sewerage network coverage who requested anonymity for fear of not being sanctioned by his Tiraspol bosses explained the “exaggerated” results of the Chisinau Laboratory through the fact that the samples are collected during the working days and "The shoreline of the aquatic basins is the area of the most active natural self-purification processes thus showing these results that are quite good" the source quoted believes that it is "embarrassing" to have such a small list of parameters which make it possible to determine above all the communal pollutants "Any other source of pollution that causes the death of fish zooplankton remains practically outside the analysis." head of Aquatic Resources Administration in Dessau I inquired with the State Agency for Aquatic Resources of Ukraine for a list of companies that pollute the Dniester I received a list of 13 state and private companies. In 2018 all these companies spilt 10 000 000 cubic meters of wastewater into the Dniester alone The largest polluter is the "Infoskvodokanal" Odessa company This company provides the city of Odessa and localities surrounding it on a range of 100 kilometres with water We were surprised by the fact that having two treatment plants "Infoksvodokanal" pollutes the Dniester "I promise that we will provide detailed answers to all the questions" the press secretary of the company Analyzing the list of companies offered by the Aquatic Resources Agency of Ukraine I noticed that the activity of some was either suspended or terminated We wrote to the authorities of the Lviv region where there are construction material companies But here the information provided by the profile agency has not been confirmed either the regional administrations of the Ukraine State Ecological Inspectorate offer their lists of companies that discharge wastewater Ukrainian ecological inspectors do not mention any company indicated by the Ukrainian Water Resources Agency the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Odessa region found that in 2017 over 29,000,000 cubic feet of unclean water reached the Dniester This volume is more than three times the figures indicated in its report by the Ukraine State Agency of Water Resources talking about the discharges from all (!) Regions taken together the Ukrainian law is very gentle to those who violate the law in force. This situation is confirmed by concrete figures those who polluted the Dniester caused losses of 4 million hryvnias fines for violating the law worth 57,000 hryvnias [almost 2,200 euros] Despite this clear evidence of massive pollution and imminent danger authorities are only limited to taking more money from polluters and putting them in their pockets Invoking the Law on public water supply and sewerage service submits tax invoices for payment with the application of additional fees for the companies that throw unclean water into the sewerage This action is "perfectly legal" only that the Inspection for the protection of the environment Chisinau must be notified something that the Apa-Canal Chisinau administration has not done so far The heads of Apa-Canal Chisinau preferred to "solve the problem internally" to apply surcharges to the economic agents without informing the Chisinau Inspectorate for the protection of the environment "I have not received any notification so far," Lilian Munteanu head of the Chisinau Environmental Protection Inspectorate "And even if Apa-Canal receives such additional payments it does not perform its duty and discharges these polluted waters in the Bic a service for which it also receives money." many companies do not pre-purify wastewater Overpayment invoices are "thrifty" and are meant to force economic agents to set up their pre-treatment plants former secretary of state Iuliana Cantaragiu told us pointing out that the list of such companies is very large We asked SA Apa-Canal to tell us what the value of overpaid invoices received for 2019 is similar problems may also be encountered up north The lack of a functional wastewater treatment plant in Soroca is the result of more than two decades of local political struggles but especially of the corruption perpetuated throughout this period The fault is divided between the management of the Municipal Council and the City Hall The company that manages the running water network of the city and its surroundings - “Apa Canal Soroca” JSC - is embroiled in debts and is a sinecure for those who got their hands on the local power and then exploit it in their interest  “Apa Canal Soroca” JSC started having problems in 2007 when it took two half-million euro loans to modernize a series of water extraction wells in Egoreni village the Communist Government of that time decided that the "Apa-Canal Company" would no longer extract its water from the Egoreni wells in which it invested “The debts remained the burden of the Apa-Canal Soroca JSC an expert in the management of the company and the old station in Tsekinovka got increasingly decrepit Other issues of a criminal nature are looming around the station Following years of signed denunciation statements Soroca prosecutors recently launched four criminal cases against the former administration of the company.  Law enforcement is currently investigating the fictitious employment of persons close to former management operatives as shown by the prosecutor's answer The accusation was also confirmed by the current management of the company a woman working in a hairdressing salon was shown in the documents as being employed as a guard in Tsekinovka while having never crossed the Moldovan-Ukrainian border," Mihai Ojog the current director of the Apa-Canal Soroca Company prosecutors are investigating the purchase of high-end mobile phones for some employees as well as the measurement of accounting records regarding several purchases of building materials prosecutors are investigating the involvement of a court executor in perpetuating the crisis at Apa-Canal Soroca JSC A criminal investigation was launched against judicial executor Anastasie Repesco “on the illegal application of the seizures of the bank accounts of "Apa Canal Company" to repay the credits granted by the EBRD" the same answer of the Soroca Prosecutor's Office shows The current management of the company is also of the opinion that the legal executor "is milking" the institution through a series of interpretations of the law Repesco is mandated by the state-owned enterprise "Aqua Nord" to recover an enormous debt of 24 million lei which “Apa-Canal Soroca" JSC has accumulated since 2007 for its water supplies distributed in Soroca's local network.  About 13 million euros of this debt has been accumulated in the last three years by the former management "Executor Repesco Anastasie manages all the accounts of the company Instead of collaborating with its administration on payment management the Apa-Canal JSC has been acquiring water from Aqua Nord and delivering it to consumers the full payment has never been made,” Mihai Ojog says The management of Apa-Canal Soroca accuses the executor of tendentiously managing company accounts if there were current amounts of 700,000 lei he would take them out of the historical debt he added a penalty and stuck us deeper in the swamp.” "The executor received a fee of 1.4 million [about 70,000 euros] lei from us Igor Focșa member of the Apa-Canal Soroca Company management structure said Anastasie Repesco told us that he does nothing but apply the judgments of debt collection to Aqua Nord "I got this present on my hands (Apa-Canal Soroca - n.r.) He also said that his commission amounts to 10% of the amounts recovered "The executor doesn't earn that much All of the controls from the Prosecutor's Office did not find anything wrong with my procedures" The article was prepared as part of the investigative reporting grant funded by the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) within the Project “Giving Voice Driving Change - from the Borderland to the Steppes.” The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting GEORGIA: puppeteers and сlowns controlled by the Kremlin From the "success story" of the Eastern Partnership Georgia, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus has significantly regressed over the last decade sliding towards authoritarianism under Russia’s strong influence while the press and civil society are rapidly losing freedoms Russia's influence and interference in Georgia are not new but long-standing and two important regions—South Ossetia and Abkhazia—occupied Disadvantaged geographically and politically due to its vast border with Russia and its distance from the European Union ECOCIDE in Ukraine - 3: Time bomb for Moldova ECOCIDE: Animals and birds of Europe - targeted by Russian war criminals War in Ukraine - an environmental time bomb One is directed against the Ukrainian people Every day there are new sad reports about how the Russian military is destroying the Ukrainian environment with highly toxic weapons In some cities that were bombed more intensely air and soil toxicity reached critical levels The deep and long-term consequences of the war on the quality of air soil and water in Ukraine are no longer questioned Since the beginning of Russian aggression in Ukraine environmentalists and activists tracking the impact of Meta and mega-propagandistic games on Facebook hundreds of thousands of people from the Republic of Moldova are assaulted by messages promoted with money these messages represent direct calls for protests or actions of blame against the pro-Western government or President Maia Sandu Some posts are only removed after the American company Meta so the information manages to reach a lot of people the loophole through which agents of destabilization successfully slip is a technical one namely - problems in moderating content in languages other May 15 - Oscar Restaurant: It was at this upscale restaurant that former Minister of the Interior and activist Maxim Moroșan chose to celebrate Family Day with whom he carries out what he calls charitable actions there are distinct indications that campaigns under the guise of "universal good" carry a strong ideological undertone.​ They range from promoting the "Saint George" ribbon to derogatory messages directed at those advocating for closer ties with the European Union The "Brainwashing" of Gagauzia: Who Is Protecting Russian Propaganda Channels In the Gagauz Autonomous Region of the Republic of Moldova cable television operators rebroadcast Russian TV stations without hindrance These stations broadcast political programs and aggressive propaganda news despite the prohibition of programs that incite hatred The Commission for Exceptional Situations made the initial decision to prohibit these programs in March 2022 and later a law was passed by the Parliament in June of the previous year Both the TV distributors and the officials of the autonomy defy national regulations they invoke local "specificity." Meanwhile the residents of UTA Gagauz Yeri are daily the residents of the Gagauz Autonomy find it difficult to recognize that the aggressor is the Russian Federation itself despite being clearly against any aggression  The "Russian world" has and continues to have a strong influence in the region and most opinion and political leaders do not hide their "dangerous connections" with the Kremlin administration Russia appears as a guarantor of social good and a secure future in the rhetoric of the aspirants to the bashkan's chair "Matryoshkas" of Russian propaganda in the Republic of Moldova: puppets and puppeteers More than one billion Russian rubles are spent annually by the Russian Federation solely from official sources for the activities of the "Russkii mir" Foundation This foundation serves as a command and control center for a network of subsidiary organizations worldwide Figures dedicated to Russian propaganda and high-ranking officials who have previously acted as active agents of Russian interests in Moldovan space are listed as founders of the non-profit organization The foundation receives support from the federal budget and secret donations The "Russian world" mimics cultural dialogue through science and culture centers in THE "NINE LIVES" OF TV CHANNELS OF SHOR AND PSRM PARTIES Three of the six TV channels whose licenses were suspended by the Commission for Emergency Situations (CSE) for airing incorrect information about national events and the war in Ukraine along with their teams and editorial policy for which they were charged Patrons generously opened their accounts and heavily funded the promotion of the new locations and identities closed by the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) Information warfare in Moldova: agents and modus operandi Nobody’s Romani: Life Stories from a World of Cross-Border Begging Four employees of the State Enterprise Posta Moldovei died in January 2018 in a terrible road accident in Rascani district The severe accident left four grieving families and a fatherless child under three the work accident reached the court and it was found the employer’s fault the families of the four victims are still waiting for the state to pay them the necessary compensation The case of the Post of Moldova is one of the few that FRONTLINE DOCTORS: Who defends their rights Moldova/Transnistria: Pandemic brinkmanship brings strife to ‘Security Zone’ The war after the war: Georgia and Moldova Georgia and Moldova both have in common hospitality good wine and deep wounds in the history of the last quarter century of their countries self-proclaimed entities appeared: Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia and Transnistria in Moldova All 3 separatist regions continue to be backed illegally by the Russian Federation A team of journalists from Georgia and Moldova tried to find Favouring Russian televisions at the expense of Romanian ones has negatively influenced the domestic politics and the democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova over the years From the 90s to the present the Moldovan authorities have shown a total openness towards the Moscow press accepting it as a dominant investor on the Moldovan media market thus keeping the population under the influence of policies promoted by the Russian Federation promotes a hostile rhetoric towards the European Union and NATO and a truncated vision of the internal and foreign events Video // Illegal business with weddings and christening parties at the museum complex Old Orhei Kindergartens in a web of extortions and corruption How Ukrainians "force” the door to West by faking Moldovan passports The economic crisis in Moldova and Ukraine on one hand and the salaries offered by the European market on the other hand are the main reasons for which people go abroad.  The gate was opened to the west for Moldovans who regained Romanian citizenship and then benefited from a liberalized visa regime Ukrainians use different schemes to obtain Moldovan passports that would help them to reach the EU Some of them resort to falsification of documents from archives to certify the bessarabian origin of the applicants “Hooliganism” – the cudgel in prosecutors’ hands or how to prove you haven’t been “extremely naughty” The stories from www.anticoruptie.md may be used in the limit of up to 1,000 characters Web pages must indicate the source and link directly to the article Radio and TV stations must indicate the source Publishing full version of stories is allowed based on a prior agreement with the Center for Investigative Journalism Articles published on www.anticoruptie.md are protected by the Law on copyright and related rights of Republic of Moldova