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Croatia celebrates construction of Peljesac Bridge.

Adam Layaan Kurik Riza

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The final piece of steel box girder for the Peljesac Bridge in southern Croatia was elevated and welded with the main structure on late Wednesday night.

The 2.4-km cable-stayed bridge over the Mali Ston Bay of the Adriatic Sea connects Croatian mainland and the Peljesac Peninsula of its southernmost Dubrovnik-Neretva County, bypassing a short strip of Bosnian and Herzegovina’s territory.

The bridge will be giving Croatia its long-awaited territorial continuity and traffic convenience. It will be open to traffic next year when all access roads and relevant constructions are finished.

A Chinese consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) won the bid to build the first phase of the Peljesac Bridge and its access roads in 2018, with a promise to finish the job in 36 months.

“The CRBC performed a marvelous job. We are now witnessing a physical linkage of the bridge three months ahead of the planned deadline despite the COVID-19 and the difficulties in the transport from China to Croatia. I think it is a fantastic achievement,” Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told Xinhua at the construction site on the Peljesac Peninsula ahead of a ceremony marking the connection shortly after midnight on Thursday.

“Politically it is great, economically it is fantastic … but also it brings together three actors: Croatia, European Union and China,” Plenkovic commented on the EU-funded project.

“Tonight, we have achieved a goal that solves a 300-year-old problem. It is a fascinating strategic achievement of the Croatian people and state and a picture of modern sovereignty that defines how to achieve strategic national interests and what has been the goal of the Croatian people and state for years,” the prime minister said in his speech during the ceremony.

Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic and several ministers, as well as many former and incumbent officials had also joined the ceremony. Hundreds of guests, members from the media, and representatives from the contractor and its subcontractors were also at the scene, a rare occurrence in this part of Croatia.

Some local residents came near the bridge in their small boats to witness and celebrate the historic moment. Fireworks sponsored by the Chinese contractor highlighted the end of the ceremony at around 1:00 a.m. (GMT 0000) on Thursday, followed by another firework show by exhilarated people of the village of Komarna on the mainland-side of the bay.

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Russia says NATO preparing for potential conflict in Eastern Europe, Black Sea

FI

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NATO’s activities in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region are focused on preparing its allies for a potential confrontation with Russia, said the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, citing militarization activities in the region.

The Romanian authorities have previously announced their readiness to invest 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) into modernizing the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Constanta County. The base is set to expand into a military town capable of accommodating the families of 10,000 military personnel, with plans to create urban infrastructure, said the ministry.

Construction has begun in the southern part of the future military town, where access roads and a robust power grid are currently being built. The modernization of the air base could make it the largest North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) base in Europe by 2040. The U.S. military has been using this base since 1999, it said.

“The expansion of the Romanian air base is yet another proof that the North Atlantic bloc continues its unrestrained militarization of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry added that “the forced enhancement of coalition capabilities is also taking place in Poland and the Baltics.”

“Such activity by NATO members is provocative, exacerbates military tension along our borders and creates additional security threats to Russia. All this is aimed at preparing the bloc’s allies for a potential collision with our country,” the ministry said.

“We will monitor the developments in Romania, assess the emerging risks and take them into account during military planning,” the ministry added.

Source(s): CGTN

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Usable reserve will exceed USD 100 million by the end of this month: MMA

FI

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Immigration Controller Mohamed Shamman, on Thursday, revealed over 900 undocumented immigrants have been deported as part of efforts to decrease the number of foreigners living in the Maldives unlawfully.

Speaking at a joint press conference held by Local Governance Ministry, Home Ministry, Maldives Immigration and Department of National Registration on Thursday – Shamman said two to three major operations are conducted every week to identify undocumented immigrants.

“We are removing them based on the capacity available at the detention centre. After their removal – the deportation of such individuals from the Maldives is proceeding at a fast pace,” he said.

Speaking further, Shamman underscored that there is a large number of foreigners involved in black market sale of US dollars in the Maldives – which he detailed is carried out near ATMs and through Viber groups.

Seven foreigners unlawfully selling US dollars in the black market were detained on March 15th in an operation carried out by Immigration’s Risk Intelligence and Legal Affairs and Enforcement and Compliance Division.

Shamman noted that some of these detainees have been deported already. Underscoring that some of the detainees lacked the necessary documentation – he said the documents have been requested from the embassy.

“As soon as the documents are received, they will be deported,” he added.

Source(s): sun.mv

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Over 900 undocumented immigrants deported: Immigration Controller

FI

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Immigration Controller Mohamed Shamman, on Thursday, revealed over 900 undocumented immigrants have been deported as part of efforts to decrease the number of foreigners living in the Maldives unlawfully.

Speaking at a joint press conference held by Local Governance Ministry, Home Ministry, Maldives Immigration and Department of National Registration on Thursday – Shamman said two to three major operations are conducted every week to identify undocumented immigrants.

“We are removing them based on the capacity available at the detention centre. After their removal – the deportation of such individuals from the Maldives is proceeding at a fast pace,” he said.

Speaking further, Shamman underscored that there is a large number of foreigners involved in black market sale of US dollars in the Maldives – which he detailed is carried out near ATMs and through Viber groups.

Seven foreigners unlawfully selling US dollars in the black market were detained on March 15th in an operation carried out by Immigration’s Risk Intelligence and Legal Affairs and Enforcement and Compliance Division.

Shamman noted that some of these detainees have been deported already. Underscoring that some of the detainees lacked the necessary documentation – he said the documents have been requested from the embassy.

“As soon as the documents are received, they will be deported,” he added.

Source(s): sun.mv

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