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Fears are growing that Transnistria, a Russian-supporting region of Moldova, will be the next flashpoint of the war in Ukraine.
Moldova, like Ukraine, is a former Soviet Union satellite with a breakaway Russia-allied region in its east.
In Ukraine, that breakaway region is at the centre of Russian battle plans after years of Moscow-allied rebels fighting. In Moldova, it is friends with Russia along part of the border with Ukraine.
What is Transnistria?
It is a region that broke away from Moldova as the USSR collapsed into separate states after the Cold War.
Transnistria used to be part of a Russian-speaking area of Ukraine, while the rest of Moldova has Romanian heritage. Ethnic Russians and Ukrainians outnumber ethnic Moldovans.
Its statehood is not internationally recognised, but Russia has been its prime supporter.
It has a population of about 469,000 people.
Where is it?
It is a sliver of land of about 4,100 square kilometres between the Dniester River and the Ukraine border. Moldova is 33,800 km2.
How did it come about?
Transnistria declared independence from West-leaning Moldova in 1990. After a short war in 1992, which killed hundreds of people, a ceasefire was signed.
During the war, the Russian army, which still has forces in Transnistria, backed the rebels in a way similar to Russia’s presence in eastern Ukraine.
A referendum in 2006, that was not internationally recognised, found 97.1 per cent of voters wanted to join Russia.
Who controls it?
The territory has seen de facto independence since 1992, but that is not internationally recognised.
Its government and economy are heavily dependent on subsidies from Russia, which keeps an influential role.
Russia also has a military presence and peacekeeping mission in the territory.
There is little in the way of political competition or independent media.
What has happened?
The Moscow-backed Transnistria interior ministry said on Wednesday that shots were fired at a village housing a Russian arms depot after drones flew from Ukraine.
Kolbasna, about 2km from the Ukrainian border, houses a stockpile of 20,000 tonnes of munitions dating back to the Soviet era, which are guarded by Russian troops.
There have also been reports of explosions after what the administration called “terrorist attacks” .
Ukraine has raised concerns that the land could be used by Russian forces in a way similar to how it has used Belarus during the Ukraine war.
New UK refugee system
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- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Sallah Eddine Dekhissi (MAR); Round-1 TKO
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As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
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Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
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Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
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