Romanian PM accused of plagiarism by Nature

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BUCHAREST — A scientific journal says that Romania’s new prime minister has copied large swathes of his doctoral thesis without proper attribution.

Nature said in a press release Monday that it has seen documents that indicate that more than half of the 432-page thesis of Prime Minister Victor Ponta on the International Criminal Court was plagiarized from a work of two Romanian law scholars.

The state news agency, Agerpres, says Ponta denies the allegation and is offering to submit his work to “any kind of test.” Ponta accused President Traian Basescu, a bitter political rival, of orchestrating the attack.

Ponta became prime minister on May 7 after the previous government was ousted after losing a confidence vote. Two of his appointments for education minister stepped down after they were accused of plagiarism.