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Is Moldova heading for an early election?

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The pro-Russian winner of Moldova’s presidential election says he will push for early parliamentary elections next year. Igor Dodon won ...

The pro-Russian winner of Moldova’s presidential election says he will push for early parliamentary elections next year. Igor Dodon won Sunday’s election after campaigning for the scrapping of a trade deal the former Soviet state signed with Brussels in 2014. Dodon told Russian state television: Voters had “united and voted for friendship with Russia, for neutrality” “A very serious combat is ahead but we are ready for this combat,” referring to the next election Has he called for a snap election before? Yes. However, his call for one so soon after his victory suggests he and the government could be at loggerheads from the start of the presidency. Why has he said this? The aim is to force out a government that favours closer ties with the EU. What would this mean for Moldova? More instability, so it is said. A one billion US dollar graft scandal in 2014 badly damaged trust in the pro-EU leaders. It resulted in the prime minister being jailed. The impoverished country has had four premiers since then. What do Moldovans think? Dodon’s win prompted more than 2,000 pro-European Moldovans to protest against alleged electoral violations. Waving Moldovan flags and a giant Romanian tricolour, they chanted “We still have a chance” and “Dodon to the trash!”. Thousands have gathered in #Chișinău to protest Dodon’s win. Looks peaceful so far. #election #moldova LIVE VIDEO: https://t.co/xDkVDtklk2 pic.twitter.com/s6nQrJAoZL— Moldova.org (@moldovaorg) November 14, 2016 What do the election observers say? The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) says key procedures were followed and its overall assessment is positive. However, it said reports that some voters were unable to vote because of a lack of ballots were “regrettable”. Dodon’s opponent in the race, Maia Sandu, has yet to accept the preliminary results. She says she is compiling a list of all the violations an would present it to the Central Election Commission for review. Moldova’s EU path “cannot be reversed” On Sunday, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said the government and new president would need to work together. However, he added that Moldova’s path towards greater EU integration “cannot be reversed”. Reversing the Russian restrictions” Russia imposed trade restrictions on Moldovan exports after it signed the political and trade agreement with the EU in 2014. Dodon’s Socialist party wants to scrap that agreement in favour of joining a Eurasian economic union dominated by Russia. The policy is backed by many Moldovans who suffered financially from the goods embargo and a broader economic downturn. Less

Evacuations underway in New Zealand’s quake hit areas

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Emergency rescue teams in New Zealand have begun evacuating scores of trapped tourists and residents from Kaikoura, the town hardest hit by ...

Italy threatens to block EU budget talks

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EU budget renegotiations underway Italy wants increases in funding Deadline is midnight on Thursday What is happening? EU governm...

EU budget renegotiations underway Italy wants increases in funding Deadline is midnight on Thursday What is happening? EU governments and institutions are set for intense budget negotiations ahead of a Thursday deadline. The European Commission proposed in September that a mid-term review of the current budget should boost spending by 13 billion euros in 2017’2020. Funds will be reallocated from other areas. However Italy, which holds a constitutional referendum on December 4th, says it is not satisfied with the plan. Negotiations on #EUbudget 2017 continue today. We need to stand together to face the challenges ahead pic.twitter.com/527LjF20Tl— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgievaEU) November 10, 2016 What has Rome said? Italy wants more funding to be allocated. “Italy opposes the review of this multi-year budget,” said Italy’s Europe Minister, Sandro Gozi. “We think we still need a proposal which gives us many more guarantees on a real increase in resources for our nation.” Gozi said the Italian government considers the failure to guarantee funding increases for the country’s priorities unacceptable. Speaking on the fringes of a meeting in Brussels, Gozi listed these as migration, security, youth unemployment and research programmes. “I am thinking of immigration, I am thinking about security, I am thinking about European resources for the young.” Gozi said Italy was “very tired of European ambiguities, very tired of European contradictions,” and of “a Europe that says certain things but does not do them.” “We are convinced that if Europe does not change, then we are at the beginning of the disintegration of Europe,” Gozi added. #Italie a bloqué la révision du #BudgetUE2014-20 annoncé sandrogozi matteorenzi est passé aux actes https://t.co/HUZCxtrukS— Christian Spillmann (@CSpillmann) November 15, 2016 The budget The EU operates on the basis of seven-year budgets to finance various projects important for the 28-nation bloc. The current budget, which ends in 2020, is worth 1.04% of the EU’s gross national income (GNI). The EU agreed to review its spending priorities by the end of 2016 to reflect economic trends and whatever challenges may arise. The deadline The November 17th deadline for a deal between the Commission, EU governments and the EU parliament stems from a 21-day legal conciliation period that started in October. If there was no deal by midnight on Thursday. the Commission will have to make a new proposal to be negotiated by mid-December. This is this year’s final plenary sitting of the European Parliament. At the first meeting of the Conciliation Committee with the important task to decide on the #EUBudget 2017 pic.twitter.com/RA3kuNRnF1— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgievaEU) November 8, 2016 Renzi In October, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi warned Italy may block the EU budget if it does not get help dealing with the migrant emergency. “We give 20 billion to Europe and the EU gives us back 12, but if Hungary or Slovakia preach to us about migrants and don’t give us a hand and when want our money, we will say ‘there is no way, absolutely’,” Renzi said at the time. Italy, seven others under EU budget hammerhttps://t.co/MQJclDf8om pic.twitter.com/45qgdPpGkt— POLITICO Europe (@POLITICOEurope) November 15, 2016 Less

Trump endorses Farage for UK ambassador to US, saying he would do ‘‘a great job’‘

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In what is being seen as an unprecedented move, Donald Trump has suggested Nigel Farage should become Britain’s next ambassador to the US....

Austrialian students recreate Martin Shkreli price-hike drug

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The man who became a global figure of greed after hiking the price of a life-saving drug by 5000 percent in the US, may have just met his ma...

The man who became a global figure of greed after hiking the price of a life-saving drug by 5000 percent in the US, may have just met his match. Last year, US entrepreneur Martin Shkreli bought Turing Pharmaceuticals and almost immediately increased the price of the medicine Daraprim in the US from $13.50 to $750 dollars. Now a group of school students in Australia has replicated a key-ingredient in the medicine for just $2. Daraprim is an anti-parasitic drug used to treat malaria and HIV patients. One of the student’s taking part in the experiments, Brandon Lee said: “It was a lot of trial and error, the process. We had to repeat a lot of the reactions and try different reaction conditions in order to see which materials in which things would react to make the Daraprim. But, yeah, it was a rollercoaster of emotions sometimes. I think because we are high school students we are able to relate to a larger audience, able to relate to the general public and show that even ordinary high school students like us, are able to make this drug for a pretty low price.” The World Health Organization lists Darprim as an essential medicine. In most countries it retails for around $1.50. In a bid to show the drug’s inflated cost in the US, the school students were guided in their experiments by researchers at Sydney university. “We are ‘Open Source Malaria’ and we are trying to find new medicines for this terrible disease that kill around 2,000 people every day, many of them children. So, what we are doing is that we’re taking starting points from the big pharmaceutical companies and improving those, to be drug candidates,” Associate Professor Matthew Todd said. The move Shkreli last year sparked international outrage and was condemned by US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. In a series of tweets the so called ‘Bad Boy’ of big pharma initially mocked the students for their replication of the drug, but was later more gracious, congratulating them in a short YouTube clip. Less

North Korea faces fresh sanctions over its atomic ambitions

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Japan and South Korea have agreed to impose new unilateral sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. It ...

Time calls Donald Trump ‘President of the Divided States of America’

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Time Magazine has named US President-elect Donald Trump as its Person of the Year. It cited as reasons the businessman’s victory in the ...

European Film Awards to honour best in cinema

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The final countdown is on to Saturday’s European Film Awards, hosted this time in the Polish city of Wroclaw, the European Capital of Cult...

‘Toni Erdmann’ sweeps board at European Film Awards

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A German-Austrian comedy drama has swept the board at this year’s European Film Awards. “Toni Erdmann” – based around a father-dau...

Gentiloni unveils Italy’s new government

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Italy’s newly-apppointed prime minister has unveiled his government. Paolo Gentiloni has kept almost all the outgoing ministers in place...

Italy’s newly-apppointed prime minister has unveiled his government. Paolo Gentiloni has kept almost all the outgoing ministers in place in a sign of continuity commentators say is aimed at reassuring the financial markets. However, a small centre-right party that had supported previous premier Matteo Renzi said it might not back the new government. This would raise doubts over whether Gentiloni will have the numbers in parliament to form a majority. Italy’s weak economy and struggling banking system will top new prime minister Gentiloni’s to-do list https://t.co/KQAsTGSU5g pic.twitter.com/ifU4hMezap— Bloomberg (@business) December 11, 2016 A quick turnaround In a rapid transfer of power from Renzi, Gentiloni took just a day to put his team of ministers together. Renzi quit last week after losing a referendum on December the 4th. The appointments Among those confirmed in their post is Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan. He is overseeing Treasury efforts to prevent Italy’s third-largest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, from collapsing under the weight of bad loans. Gentiloni was foreign minister in the last administration and has passed the job over to Angelino Alfano, previously interior minister. Many other key ministers, including those overseeing defence, industry, health and justice, remain unchanged. The centre-left Democratic Party (PD) has maintained the lion’s share of positions. Read the full list here (in Italian) Swearing-in The new cabinet is due to be sworn in later in the day. This will open the way for fresh confidence votes in both houses of parliament this week. Electoral law reform One of Gentiloni’s main tasks will be to draw up a new electoral law. If this reform is completed quickly, it could open the way to an election in the first half of 2017, a year ahead of schedule. Italy has different electoral laws for its two chambers and the president has said they need to be harmonised to try to make sure a solid government can emerge from the next ballot. The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement is pushing for a rapid reform and a vote as soon as possible. Renzi also wants an early election. Commentators say he is hoping to steam-roller critics within his own PD and present himself as the party’s prime ministerial candidate. Italy’s weak economy and struggling banking system will top new prime minister Gentiloni’s to-do list https://t.co/KQAsTGSU5g pic.twitter.com/ifU4hMezap— Bloomberg (@business) December 11, 2016 What they are saying All Views Lilia Rotoloni from the Italian Language Service at Euronews says the goal of the new government is to continue with Matteo Renzi’s policies even though he is longer in power. “The aim is to guarantee stability, especially internationally and regarding Italy’s banking system. Operationally, the main aim is to approve a new election law that will lead to fresh elections.” “The real change will come with the new electoral legislation and the next election, if the government manages to withstand attacks from the opposition, who are strong and determined to topple the administration.” What they are saying “The next election, presumably in June, will be held with a proportional voting system,” – Matteo Renzi said in an interview with Quotidiano.net. Less

Russia-Turkish talks on Aleppo more effective than ‘fruitless’ US talks, says Lavrov

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The Russian foreign minister says Moscow has high hopes for ongoing talks with Ankara. Sergey Lavrov says they could be more effective than ...

Inside Aleppo – One photographer tells of the horror of the fall of the city

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To gain more insight on the humanitarian situation on the ground in the city of Aleppo euronews contacted Salah al-Alashqar, a freelance pho...

To gain more insight on the humanitarian situation on the ground in the city of Aleppo euronews contacted Salah al-Alashqar, a freelance photographer. He is now in the neighborhood of Seif al-Dawla, one eastern district shelled by Syrian regular forces. Salah al-Alashqar: “The situation in Aleppo is so bad and getting worse. The longer time passes, the more the suffering of civilians in besieged areas increases. The siege has been going on for 115 days so far in the areas still controlled by the Syrian armed opposition. As a result of the entry of regime forces into the city and taking over control of a large section of the neighborhoods that were controlled by the opposition forces, there are many, many people crammed into a small area of about five neighborhoods. The buildings and houses can no longer accommodate all the residents here. Now there are many families living in shops and streets, wherever they can. The weather is very cold now and rain is falling in addition to the shellfire which is almost constant over our heads You can hear the noise of the fighting as I speak. The wounded can’t get appropriate treatment due to all the hospitals being bombed. Only one medical point where only first aid is available is operational. The seriously injured have nowhere to go, and these victims could join the fatalities list at any moment”. Daleen Hassan : “How many trapped people , fighters and civilians do you think there are?” Salah al Alashkar : “Well, according to Aleppo city council there are an estimated 75,000 people. I estimate around 15% of them are fighters”. Daleen Hassan : “In the evacuation process, will there be any guarantees given by the regime to ensure those people who were staying in opposition areas will not be persecuted?” Salah al Alashkar : “Well, I think that maybe there is a part of the agreement has not been announced yet. We cannot get out of the besieged areas with no guarantees, all the active medical staff and organizations working in Aleppo really need guarantees because most of them are wanted by the Syrian regime. So far, we don’t have any confirmed information on who will be the guarantors. There are several leaks saying that there could be a Turkish organization to oversee the evacuation. There are other leaks that say that the UN could control this process, also there is some information saying Russian troops will oversee the road between Aleppo and its surrounding countryside”. Daleen Hassan : “What do you expect in the coming days?” Salah al Alashkar: “To be honest with you and, without any exaggeration, women are afraid of the possible entry of the army and militias, they are afraid of gang rape, which has happened in some neighborhoods. Senior citizens fears being killed and younger men also fear arrest or execution”. Less

Seven candidates selected to run for French left presidential bid

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January’s French primaries for the left wing will see seven candidates battle it out to win the nomination for the 2017 presidential elect...

Hollywood actress Zsa Zsa Gabor dies aged 99

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The Hollywood actress Zsa Zsa Gabor has died aged 99. Know for her beauty, glamour and her husbands – she was married nine times – the...

Russian ambassador to Turkey flown home after airport ceremony

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Russia’s late ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, left the home he enjoyed so much prematurely, and in a coffin, not the ending to his po...

Range Rover X-mas gift for our son!

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"It's so nice to know their are still amazing people in this world. Santa was bringing a Range Rover for our son for Christmas but his moth...

Saudi Arabian Police Officer Shoots Terrorists

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The terrorists had and explosive belts. They rushed to the police car to steal it and then bomb themselves!! The one who was wearing black w...

“ America is a better, stronger place “ says Obama in farewell speech

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Outgoing US President Barack Obama used his last address to the nation to decry discrimination, attack the current wave of negativism in soc...

Oxfam: ‘eight men own as much wealth as poorest half of world’s population’

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“The global economy is broken,” Oxfam says in a new report which finds eight billionaires own as much wealth as the poorest half of the ...

“The global economy is broken,” Oxfam says in a new report which finds eight billionaires own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population. The charity has urged the all-male group to “play their part” in bridging a gap it describes as “obscene.” !function(e,t,n,s){var i=“InfogramEmbeds”,o=e.getElementsByTagName(t),d=o0,a=/^http:/.test(e.location)?“http:”:“https:”;if(/^//.test(s)&&(s=a+s),window[i]&&window[i].initialized)window[i].process&&window[i].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n))}(document,“script”,“infogram-async”,”//e.infogr.am/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js”); Among other things, Oxfam calls for a crackdown on tax dodging, a living wage for all employees, and asks the rich not to use their economic wealth in return for political favours. “We’ve seen countries in the last ten years that have bucked the trend and that are going in the other direction, and are reducing the gap between rich and poor. One thing they do is they get the rich to pay their tax. We’ve got a situation where billionaires are paying (proportionally) less tax often than their cleaner or their secretary. That’s crazy. We’re seeing wealth channelled upwards,” said Oxfam Policy Advisor, Max Lawson. The wealth of the super rich has reportedly surged by around 11 percent per year since 2009 while new data from India and China have indicated that the poorest half of humanity own even less than previously estimated. The Oxfam report is not without its critics who say that the figures are reliable but the analysis of them is not. The head of research at the Adam Smith Institute, Ben Southwood, said the wealth of the world’s rich does not matter compared to the welfare of the world’s poor, which is improving year on year. He added: “Each year we are misled by Oxfam’s wealth statistics. The data is fine – it comes from Credit Suisse – but the interpretation is not.” Mark Littlewood, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said Oxfam should focus on ways to boost growth, he said: “As an “anti-poverty“charity, Oxfam seems to be strangely preoccupied with the rich”. Several billionaires have already said that they will donate vast sums of money to charitable causes. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged to give away 99% of their wealth within their lifetime. That equates to approximately 42 billion euros. This month former American billionaire Chuck Feeney signed over his last philanthropic check, having donated almost his entire fortune. Although some billionaires choose to donate substantial amounts of money in this way, Max Lawson says this does not resolve the fundamental problem of wealth inequality. “If billionaires choose to give their money away then that is a good thing. But inequality matters and you cannot have a system where billionaires are systematically paying lower rates of tax than their secretary or cleaner,” Lawson added. The world’s eight richest billionaires 1. Bill Gates (US): co-founder of Microsoft (net worth $75bn) 2. Amancio Ortega (Spain): founder of Zara owner Inditex (net worth $67bn) 3. Warren Buffett (US): largest shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway (net worth $60.8bn) 4. Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico): owner of Grupo Carso (net worth $50bn) 5. Jeff Bezos (US): founder and chief executive of Amazon (net worth $45.2bn) 6. Mark Zuckerberg (US): co-founder and chief executive of Facebook (net worth $44.6bn) 7. Larry Ellison (US): co-founder and chief executive of Oracle (net worth $43.6bn) 8. Michael Bloomberg (US): owner of Bloomberg LP (net worth $40bn) Source: Forbes billionaires’ list, March 2016 The report comes as influential figures and many of the world’s wealthiest gather in Davos, Switzerland, for this year’s World Economic Forum. While wealth of world’s billionaires skyrockets, 1 in 10 people survive on less than $2/day https://t.co/gfpjDxRXzA Time to #EvenItUp #wef17 pic.twitter.com/hBegRmkXkm— Oxfam International (@Oxfam) January 16, 2017 Less

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