There are no statistics available for this player Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here commissioned to Scruples Research by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) aims to map viable economic activities that can benefit refugees and vulnerable host community households in the northern districts of Moldova (Ocnita It was conducted between 01 February 202 4 and 05 July 202 4 context-specific information to guide economic activities and identify key local collaboration opportunities for NRC’s livelihood programming The study’s primary goals included determining differentiated income-generating opportunities and the necessary legal and assistance requirements It also aimed to identify stakeholders who could bridge market gaps assess the feasibil-ity and economic viability of priority activities and pinpoint available jobs for the displaced population It also assesses systemic challenges and suggests mitigation measures includ-ing the impact of Moldova’s potential EU accession on relevant policies including qualitative and quantitative methods and desk review provided reliable data to inform NRC’s pro -ject design An in-depth desk review laid the groundwork for subse-quent steps Fifteen Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with community leaders and other stakeholders focused on mar -ket gaps Six Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted across Ocnita targeting specific community groups such as refugees and the Roma community along with host community members exploring income-generating activities and identifying skills gaps and support mechanisms 265 Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) surveys were completed using the Forsta system focusing on purposive sampling through the critical case sam -pling method Participants were recruited through both Scruples Research and NRC’s partners at the local level was adopted from the design phase through the inclusion of female and male refugees and host community members including persons with disabili -ties and the Roma community despite recent gross domestic product (GDP ) growth is fragile due to its dependence on remittances and energy imports from Rus-sia and Ukraine and creating logistics and transportation challenges in many sectors 2 Agriculture remains the main income resource for refugee and host community members with 67% of households relying on seasonal agriculture in Ocnita and Briceni while it is mainly throughout the year in Soroca This has impacted the financial stability of host and refugee community members engaged in agriculture with small local farmers selling to large exporters Moldova’s EU Accession and evolving export routes bring new opportunities highlighting the need for increased knowledge and EU business engagement to stabilise the local economy and create new employment opportunities food processing offers additional opportunities in the region such as the canning factory and dairy warehouse in Soroca especially during high-intensity work periods with no weekends while the low season offers a more standard work schedule but with reduced compensation sellers’ use of social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok has started to become popular Considering the reduced population due to low wages and the migration of youth abroad for better-paid opportunities the local market volume and skilled human resource capacity remain challenging Informal employment is high among refugees and Roma community members in Soroca This is is mainly due to barriers such as language skills an unfamiliarity with the legal landscape and documentation requirements Roma experience significant discrimination for market opportunities as they are often only able to secure manual labour jobs instead of those offering potential career growth Emerging sectors such as Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and financial services show significant potential for Moldova’s future They are expanding their share in the market starting from central cities such as Chisinau to the countryside Ocnita and Briceni in where this study was conducted Soroca is found to have a more diverse economic landscape with more opportunities in agriculture Ocnita’s economy has a more limited capacity and few opportunities Briceni falls in the middle in terms of the capacity of the local economy number and volume of businesses and employment opportunities The Government of Moldova (GoM) offers several programs and opportunities for entrepreneurs to expand their market share including business support initiatives for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and underrepresented investors offering subsidising interest rates on bank loans and extending repayment periods and training programs on entrepreneurship business set up and acceleration processes limited financial capacity and a lack of foreign investments prevents the GoM from achieving its full potential by expanding these services across the country EUROPA PENTRU TINE!Află despre beneficiile și oportunitățile oferite Republicii Moldova de Uniunea Europeană Chișinău - Prime Minister Dorin Recean has met representatives of the public authorities and deconcentrated services from the northern Soroca district The sides discussed projects carried out locally the turning to account of the pre-accession funds on behalf of EU for implementing other new ones and aspects on which the authorities’ activity should focus „I urge you to use the entire spectrum of instruments in order to enhance the administrative capacity which will provide the citizens with qualitative services The current important stage is the accessing of the pre-accession funds,’’ Dorin Recean told the mayors To enhance the capacities of absorption of development funds available in the process of advancement in the European integration the PM emphasized such instruments as the voluntary amalgamation the inter-community associations of development The development of the local authorities’ capacities to write projects is essential too „We must speed up the cooperation between settlements Soroca has a privileged position for two reasons: very nice places where tourist routes can be developed and the quality of the Chisinau-Soroca road which favours the district,’’ the prime minister noted The main projects which have been already implemented or are under implementation which improved the living of over 6,000 local residents deal with the construction of water supply systems public buildings were renovated and endowed Other significant investments are used for the rehabilitation of local roads about 30 km of local roads are under repair in the district The prime minister highlighted also the importance of backing the business environment so that jobs are created and the entrepreneurs’ capacity to invest in social projects grows so as to have our own possibilities to carry out projects for people,’’ Dorin Recean said there are lack of authorized waste dumps in rural settlements and the instable work of the ferryboats used while crossing the border with Ukraine the need of supply with water remains topical and the European Village programme comes up with solution to this end the technical documentation for the construction of the water-purifying station from the Soroca municipality and of the functional systems of collecting residual waters is at the stage of preparation 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. July 17 - Increasing mobility through efficient sustainable and safe transportation systems is one of the objectives of the National Development Strategy European Moldova 2030 modernization and extension of public roads often go beyond the boundaries of state-owned land they will be declared of public utility in order to speed up the works modernization and extension of national public roads will be declared of public utility of national interest: M3 Chisinau-Comrat-Giurgiulești- Romanian border (bypasses of Vucănești and Cimislia) R14 R6-Codrul Nou-Soroca-Unguri-Ukrainian border (Soroca-Arionești) R34 Hincesti- Leova-Cahul-Giurgiulești (Cantemir-Cahul) M5 Ukrainian border-Criva-Balti-Chișinău-Tiraspol-Ukrainian border (Criva-Balti) R7 R14 - Drochia - Costești - Romanian border and R14 3 Access road to Cosăuți - Yampil bridge with border crossing point and related infrastructure Government will take the necessary measures for the expropriation of real estate located on the site of the works of public utility of national interest in order to ensure the construction of these roads on schedule The payment of compensation for expropriation and the expenses for cadastral works and evaluation of real estate will be paid from the Road Fund president of the Moscow Jewish Religious Community (MERO) and academician of the Russian Academy of Medicine Sciences He was assisted by members of the Moldova Jewish community descendants of Jews shot in Moldova during World War II activists of the Russian Jewish Congress (REC) and other officials from Israel and Moldova Grigory Roytberg (credit: Gurevich communications)Prior to the event called the massacre “a personal tragedy” because his family members were also victims of the shootings the idea of installing the memorial originated from his father and the implementation of the project was repeatedly postponed due to difficulties with financing and the COVID-19 pandemic.“We must not forget about these terrible events,” Roytberg said adding that “we should not forget that if they happened it means that their repetition is still possible.” The organizers of the opening ceremony emphasize that the symbolic significance of the memorial correlates with a well-known expression from Jewish scriptures “Any person who has left prematurely is as if [they are] a torn page of the Torah,” one of the organizers said.“The people who died there could have given offspring: children kind and honest people who would have lived on the land of Moldova but they were simply crossed off the list of the living.”“The place of torment and death of six thousand Jews killed by the Nazis in 1941.” You don't have permissions to access this page Chișinău  - Prime Minister Dorin Recean today had a meeting with business people from the northern districts of Soroca The discussions with the entrepreneurs took place at the Soroca-based Business Incubator and regarded subjects on the measures undertaken by the authorities to help the entrepreneurs access to financing and the main obstacles faced in their work The prime minister stressed that the European integration process would come up with concrete benefits for the business environment and it is necessary to enhance the products’ competitiveness in order to turn to account the European market the PM suggested that the entrepreneurs benefit from the 373 governmental programme on investments’ stimulation Start for Youth: a sustainable business at home the Instrument of Digitalization of the Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises as well as the programme on the promotion of economic agents at fairs and exhibitions A special place on the economic map of the Soroca district is occupied by rural businesses from the tourism industry The prime minister noted that the development of this type of business was favoured by the multitude of tourist objects from the region as well as the inclusion of the Soroca district in cross-border tourist routes You don't have permissions to access this page, 147.45.197.102. More than 70 years after the end of World War II the former Soviet country Moldova is planning to build a new monument to Roma victims of the Holocaust — thanks to a good Samaritan who has already constructed five monuments to Jewish Holocaust victims told PRI he’s now collecting donations for a memorial for the Roma Also called Romany or Gypsies (which many consider an offensive label) the minority group was targeted for extermination by the Nazis But while there are many monuments to Jewish Holocaust victims Roma memorials started being built only recently Germany erected one just five years ago and Ukraine unveiled one last year there’s no standing monument to the Roma victims of the Holocaust “I know that the number of Roma Holocaust victims is small compared to Jews but we must still build a monument,” said Zagorcea a district council member in the town of Edinets who is neither Jewish nor Roma “It should be made so that people know about the Holocaust.” Duminica explains that often the Roma did not keep documents and officials did not count them well either an official may have recorded the head of the household as deported to a camp while not mentioning the rest of the family Women were often kidnapped by Romanian soldiers and sold to the German army to be raped — and no one saw them alive after that very little is known about what happened to the Roma during the Holocaust in Moldova While Jewish organizations have interviewed thousands of Jewish survivors Roma victims’ memories of the atrocities are rarely recorded I can’t promise that we’ll be able to find a survivor [with their memory intact] What we can find now is people with fragmentary memories of childhood.” What scholars do know is that Romanian fascists who sided with Adolf Hitler and occupied Moldova during the war treated the Moldovan Roma differently from Jews While they deported the Jews right away in the summer of 1941 the Roma were allowed to stay put until 1942 The authorities expelled nomadic families and those considered unproductive those who were destitute and even fortune-tellers Duminica said there were no mass executions of Roma in Moldova the Roma were able to strike a deal with Romanian officials the Roma baron saved his community from deportation using his negotiation skills But the communities in the towns of Edinets Lured by fascist propaganda to the so-called work camps with parents trying to save their children by feeding them dead family members ‘I wish we were executed like the Jews,’” Duminica said The only difference between the fate of the Jews and the Roma in the Romanian concentration camps was that the bodies of the Roma were not burned because a priest once came and told the fascists that since the Roma are Christians Moldova’s new Roma monument will be the country’s second attempt to honor the memory of the Roma during the Holocaust a monument was built in the capital Chisinau but it has been completely destroyed by vandals Nobody can answer these questions,” Duminica said “It’s very politicized because there are people who don’t want to remember the Holocaust and praise the actions of [Ion] Antonescu,” he added which is estimated at between 12,271 and 250,000 people Sometimes negative feelings erupt into violence the residents of the Tirnova village wanted to throw all of their Roma neighbors out of the village “Most people still think the Roma are lazy that they are parasites who should be sent somewhere and isolated,” Duminica said “It’s the same as it was between the two wars that led to the Holocaust.” What he said he fears the most is that the Roma could be deported again “I don’t know what will happen if an order is made to deport the Roma somewhere again I’m afraid that society will accept it,” he said Some like Zagorcea want to raise awareness of the group and their historical suffering The former politician envisions a structure that’s 65 feet long and 6 1/2 feet tall with columns and a roof resembling an ancient Greek temple He also wants it to include an engraved illustration of a Roma concentration camp and inscriptions in Romanian the Roma baron of Moldova who is regarded as the most respected Roma leader in the former Soviet Union said that a monument to the Roma victims of the Holocaust is a step in the right direction — but more needs to be done “The monument for Holocaust victims — we definitely need it We are also planning that monument in Ukraine in Domanevka,” he said referring to a project in southern Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region Cerari said funds donated by the European Council for the Roma people recently disappeared and he alleged that government officials pocketed it where Roma make up about 3 percent of the population Zagorcea said his biggest challenge will be getting the City Hall to give him a permit to put the monument in the center of town He already has friends who will donate the stone and let him use a crane I’ll put the monument while they’re sleeping at night — and let them try to take it down,” he said “I'll mobilize the entire community.” delivered to your inbox every weekday morning Thanks to our sponsor PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402 Moser and the cyclists at the race organised by the embassy of the United States – the country which reconstructed the highway Sarateni-Soroca We agreed with the national team to train during winter in order to repeat such races on other roads and also organise international races till next spring we had occasion to see not only how good the road is We should create the needed infrastructure for cycling A good road means a sound lifestyle as well,” Prime Minister Iurie Leanca Ambassador William Moser said: “It was superb This road proves that our nations can do nice things together I want to say that this road is meant also for trainings for professional cyclists.” One hundred cyclists participated in the race in all All participants received gifts from organisers each and the first six are cyclists from the categories of cadets A truck loaded with Moldovan apples meant for export was moving nearby the cyclists And this given that the good quality of the road helps maintain the quality of the carried fruits and vegetables The Sarateni-Soroca highway was reconstructed from the U.S Government’s funds within the Compact programme street lighting and well-arranged stations Ambassador to Moldova William Moser said he had been very pleased to show to everyone that quality roads could be built in Moldova as well The project on restoration of the Sarateni-Soroca road Government via the Millennium Challenges Corporation included repair and construction of 14 bridges rainwater collection channels and bus stations road indicators and reflective objects on dangerous sections “A modern road offers to people not just comfort but also opportunity to move faster and cheaper an incentive to remain in the native village and start a business All these actions and foreign support our country benefits from have one purpose – worthy and prosperous future of Moldova and its citizens This is the future Moldova we are set to edify together,” Leanca concluded construction and surveillance companies employed under contract 1,277 people The project amounted to 100 million dollars Moldova benefitted from projects worth 262 million dollars within the Compact Programme in all The works on restoration of the Sarateni-Soroca highway started in autumn 2012 and were carried out by a consortium of Turkish companies ONUR and SUMMA and Strabag Austrian company The road reconstruction was carried out in accordance with the international standards ● 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 Six municipalities from Moldova during 2021-2027 will be turned into developed regional centres in Moldova the government approved a national programme on development of cities poles of the municipalities Cahul The programme’s goal is to create in Moldova a network of attractive cities poles of regional growth for residents This fact will generate the enhancement of the labour force employment and will stimulate the development of rural zones in the neighbourhood of these cities The programme provides for implementation of a portfolio of projects which reflect the individual priorities specific for each city They will be determined based on the assessment of the needs for strengthening the potential of cities poles of regional growth The projects will aim at rehabilitating the roads’ infrastructure developing the infrastructure of public spaces As much as 822 million lei will be allocated from the state budget or 30 per cent from the programme’s cost of which 816 million lei will be distributed for implementing priority projects in the beneficiary cities and 6 million lei – for activities of monitoring and consolidation of local public authorities’ capacities The programme includes a framework action plan based on which the beneficiary cities are to work out an operational plan on the programme’s implementation at the level of each city pole of growth the cabinet today approved a draft law on local actions groups The initiative is aimed at creating the legal framework for the creation and functioning of Local Action Groups as legal entity The project provides for the creation of the LEADER State Programme financed from public sources worth up to 5 per cent of the National Fund for Development of Agriculture and Rural Environment the Local Action Groups are not registered as legal entities over the lack of regulation of this special form of organization within the national legal framework