Orthodox Christians who observe the old-style church calendar on Wednesday begin the Fast for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, also named the Saint Mary's Fast. It should be held until August 28, when the Assumption of the Virgin is celebrated. Petru Storoja, priest of Saint Nicolae church in Chisinau, says that the fast is very strict, like the Lent before Easter. Fish is allowed only on August 19, when the Transfiguration of Jesus is celebrated. Otherwise, no meat, dairy, eggs are consumed.
The Inquiry Commission investigating the bank fraud established that, after the Government approved state guarantees on 9.5 billion lei bail-out loans issued by the National Bank of Moldova, the three banks operated without a special state management and withdrew huge amounts of money from the banking system. Based on its conclusions, the Commission requested the prosecution of Iurie Leancă, Dorin Drăguțanu, Andrian Candu and Anatol Arapu for negligence in office.
The wine production and grape growing sector cannot be neglected, because, thanks to exports, it brings the most currency into Moldova, yet each producer must have its own export strategy, said Minister of Agriculture Georgeta Mincu at a meeting with winemakers and grape producers. The representatives of the sector said that it is important for the government's action plan to include a development plan for the wine industry as well. Winemakers asked the ministry of health to remove wine from the food category and switch it to the alcoholic products category. Additionally, the winemakers highlighted that the lack of a free trade agreement with China makes the Chinese market unwelcoming for Moldovan wine producers. Speaking about the 100 million lei worth of damages to the grape cultivation sector due to poor weather conditions, Minister Mincu said: "We don't know yet how to proceed. Do we cover the damages of those affected or do we identify funds worth 100 million lei in order to subsidize a wine distillation solution?”.
The National Council of the Socialist Party will assemble next Wednesday, August 21. The party’s participation in the general local elections of 20 October 2019 and the draft agreement to be signed with ACUM Bloc shall be discussed at the meeting. Vlad Batrîncea, PSRM executive secretary, said that most likely the draft agreement between the PSRM and ACUM would be submitted at the Council meeting, and by the end of the week, the agreement could be signed by political leaders.
Last year, Moldova’s exports stagnated at the level of $ 2750 million, with a growth of 0%, observes economist Veaceslav Ioniță of the IDIS Viitorul think-tank. There are two solutions, in his opinion. First, grain exports should be unblocked and de-monopolized. A second necessary step is the consolidation of Free Economic Zones (ZEL) for bringing foreign investments into the industry. “In eight years, investments in the industry through the Free Zones amounted to 280 million USD, over 18 thousand jobs were created. Now, ZELs account for 11% of the total Moldovan exports”, said the economist.
The law prohibiting the use and marketing of plastic bags has not established yet when contraventional fines for those who violate the legal provisions will enter into force. Asked about the government's August 1 notice regarding the law, according to which the fines will enter into force gradually, the bill’s initiator MP Dumitru Alaiba said that it is not yet established whether or not the MPs will accept the proposal of the Ministry of Economy.
On Monday evening, 170 students from Moldova who won different national olympiads went to Sulina summer camp in Romania. According to Daniel Ioniță, Romanian ambassador to Moldova, this year the Ministry for Romanians Abroad (MRP) in Bucharest added two new camps for the olympiad-winning students from Moldova. "The camps in Hunedoara County and Gorj County have been added to the traditional ones from Oglinzi, Neamț County and Sulina", Daniel Ioniță stated.
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