Page 2 - Oil Software News Today

A longtime host for Bulgarian National Radio on December 16 accused the national broadcaster of preventing the airing of a previously recorded interview with the Russian ambassador to that country amid escalating tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the dismantling of a towering Red Army monument in Sofia.

Hungary on December 16 threatened to veto Bulgaria’s entry into the passport-free Schengen zone unless it abolishes the transit fee for Russian gas.

U.S.-Russian author Masha Gessen received the Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought in the German city of Bremen on December 16, a day later than scheduled due to criticism of Gessen's remarks on the Gaza conflict.

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has defended a decision to hold a closed trial of dozens of politicians, journalists, and activists charged in connection with objections to a Kyrgyz-Uzbek border demarcation deal.

The Indian Navy on December 16 said it is shadowing a Bulgarian-managed bulk carrier that was boarded by unknown attackers -- likely Somali pirates -- in the Arabian Sea.

Ukraine, with the help of Qatar, has been able to gain the return of three more children who had been abducted and taken into Russian hands, according to Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office.

Vladimir Putin will run for president again as an independent candidate with a wide support base but not on a party ticket, Russian news agencies reported on December 16, citing his supporters.

Artificial rain was used for the first time in Pakistan on December 16 in a bid to combat hazardous levels of smog in the megacity of Lahore, the government said.

Accidents, stoppages, and technical difficulties at power stations across Kazakhstan have left hundreds of thousands of residents without continuous access to heating and electricity, after a cold snap hit the country in the past week. Accidents at the power stations in Kentau, Ridder and Ekibastuz, gas pipeline networks in Aktau, Stepnogorsk, Kostanai, and Zhambyl. The freezing of the Ural River also caused disruptions in the supply of water to the city of Atyrau.

The Netherlands has agreed to Bulgaria joining Europe's passport-free Schengen zone, the Dutch Justice Ministry said on December 15, ending its long-held opposition to the move.