The president of the National Unity Party Anatol Șalaru said that if an alliance between the Bloc ACUM and the Party of Socialists is formed and the police and other state institutions will be under the influence of Russia, they will take to the streets. He noted such a risk exists given that officials from the Russian Federation, the EU and the U.S. are expected to come to Chesnais next week. Acceding to him, these come to influence the formation of a majority between ACUM and the PSRM.

Political pundit Corneliu Ciurea said a surprise could be produced by the June 9 deadline, when Parliament can be dissolved, and a parliamentary majority could be formed. “Things start to be precipitated and the fact that we will be soon visited by a number of foreign officials shows geopolitics start to be precipitated and the foreign factor enters the Republic of Moldova and will begin to influence things,” he noted.

Poland was the first country that got rid of the communist regime. The Poles were the first who managed to bring about changes in the former socialist camp three decades ago. According to historian Octavian Ţîcu, Poland was the only state that in the interwar period secured the eastern borders of Romania, including those of Bessarabia, against Soviet aggression. “The coming of Communism was shocking for Eastern Europe and should be regarded within the power or security problem equation of Stalin. Stalin saw a response to the security dilemma of the Soviet system and the Soviet Union in the communization of Eastern Europe,” he noted in a roundtable meeting entitled “30 years of the fall of Communism. Common aspirations, parallel destinies” that was staged by the Embassy of Poland in Moldova.

Heavy rainfall last evening left a number of local roads muddied in Șoldănești town and caused further damage through the district.The roof was damaged on the community school in Poaia village. In Sămășcani village farmland was flooded, and in Șipca village a wall of a garage collapsed and a house was flooded. In Rașcov village a well got muddied, and several streets in Parcani village got covered in a half a meter thick layer of mud, said Liubovi Vidrașco, secretary of the Șoldănești Emergencies Commission.

ACUM MP Radu Marian announced a legislative proposal centering on tobacco control. “The heat-not-burn tobacco products are exempted from the regulations that apply to ordinary cigarettes and this offers greater freedom of promotion, sale and use,” stated the MP. He noted that these products are made from tobacco and contain noxious substances similar to those contained in the ordinary cigarettes, but are subject to an excise duty that is 11 times lower than in the case of ordinary cigarettes, offering thus much greater freedom of promotion, sale and use.

World No Tobacco Day is annually marked on May 31. The Ministry of Health has warned in a press release that tobacco consumption is associated with cardiovascular diseases, cancers (lung cancer in particular), cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and atherosclerosis, among others. Globally, tobacco is responsible for 8 million deaths each year. People willing to quit smoking are encouraged to call the toll-free helpline 080010001. The public is also asked to call 080012300, also toll-free, to report alleged violations of smoking bans in public places.

The European Union is offering €4.9M, including €3.75M in grants, to civil society organizations for projects that will aim to encourage and enable citizens in Moldova to participate in making decisions on matters related to socioeconomic development and public infrastructure development. The project covers the four development regions of Moldova: North, Center, South and ATU Gagauzia. A CSO will be selected in each region to implement the project, receiving a €550,000 grant. At least half of that amount will have to be allocated as sub-grants to other organizations, media institutions, journalists and civic activists to produce media content, communication and visibility.

The Republic of Moldova has 1,760 citizens who earned incomes higher than 1 million lei in 2018. The youngest millionaire is 21, while the eldest one is 90. One person gained a maximum of 83 million lei. Some 78% of the Moldovan millionaires live in Chisinau, while the rest in Bălți, Ialoveni, Strășeni and ATU Găgăuzia.

The director general of the Agency for Monument Inspection and Restoration Ion Ștefăniță said that there was total indifference to what cultural and natural heritage in Moldova and a number of sites were in a deplorable situation. After 2010, these were made a “diagnosis” and professional human resources are needed to “treat” them. The young people who study cultural heritage in Moldova should continue their professional formation in France, where there are over 20 universities that offer this possibility, and to then return home and put the accumulated knowledge into practice.

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