Domestic Politics
Romanian liberal leader Ludovic Orban, who was ousted from his Prime Ministerial post by a no-confidence vote last week, and then designated by the President for the same position, has stated that he intends to restore his old ministers in the new cabinet. However, the Social Democrats are considering boycotting the vote for the appointment of the new government, thus blocking the process that leads to early elections. [Romania Insider]
A court in Penza, a city about 390 miles (630km) south-east of Moscow, has issued harsh sentences on seven antifascist and anarchist activists for allegedly forming an organization called Set - which translates as the Network — which according to prosecutors planned to carry out attacks inside Russia to overthrow the government. The men were also charged with an assortment of weapons and drugs charges. The case has been heavily criticized, after claims that investigators tortured the defendants to elicit confessions. [The Guardian]
International Relations
Latest research by Pew claims that Polish people are the most enthusiastic NATO members, with 82% of the people being positive about their country’s NATO membership. The least enthusiastic member country is Turkey with 21 percent support. The research also covered three non-member countries. Sweden and Ukraine positively perceived the alliance (63 and 53 percent respectively) while only 16 percent of Russians were positive about NATO. [The First News]
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Monday that he saw no preparations taking place for a promised summit between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany to discuss the long-running conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The previous summit that took place in Paris in December did not produce the sort of breakthrough some had hoped for, such as an agreement on expanding a ceasefire zone, but it did lead to a prisoner exchange deal. [Reuters]
The European Commission has approved a €53 million project for the period from 2020-2025, which is expected to stimulate investments into recharging stations for hybrid and battery electric motor vehicles in Romania. It will cover urban, suburban and rural areas and aims to develop a network of recharging stations that will cover the entire country. [European Commission]
Society
An estimated 600 neo-Nazis from across Europe gathered in Budapest on Saturday for the "Day of Honour", commemorating an attempted breakout by besieged Nazi forces in 1945. The event was met with counter-demonstrations, with anti-fascist protesters organizing two separate gatherings less than 100 meters away. [Al Jazeera]
Hungarian police said on Saturday that it has busted a network of "fake news" websites that reported alleged coronavirus-related deaths in Hungary, so far free of reported infections from the deadly virus. A man and a woman are suspected of running dozens of fake news portals and Facebook pages reporting several casualties. [Economic Times]
Environment
Storm Sabine, also known as Ciara, hit Poland on Monday with winds of up to 100 km/hour, killing two people in the southern mountain town of Bukowina Tatrzańska. [The First News]
Image Source: Euronews