Eugen Tomiuc is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
Thousands of laboratories across the world are scrambling to destroy samples of a flu virus that killed up to 4 million people in the 1950s. A U.S.-based private organization sent out samples of the H2N2 virus to more than 4,000 laboratories beginning last autumn. Experts say the danger is minimal that the virus may be released into the general population, but recommend quick measures to contain the risk..
Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin (file photo) Over the past year, Moldova's Communists have kept their hold on power even as they shift focus away from Moscow and toward Brussels. That U-turn is seen as a sign that Moldova has grown weary of Moscow's still-unfulfilled promises of closer economic integration. The continued impasse over the breakaway Transdniester region has also been a source of discontent. But is Moldova truly committed to its new pro-Western stance? Analysts say it will take more than rhetoric for Moldova to prove it is ready to integrate with Europe.
Prague, 19 February 2005 -- Romanian President Traian Basescu, in a wide-ranging interview with RFE/RL, has called for his country's participation in negotiations to settle Moldova's dispute with separatists in Transdniester and for the creation of a regional task force to monitor criminal activities in the Black Sea basin. Basescu also spoke about relations with Russia and Moldova as well as outstanding issues with Ukraine. The president reiterated his determination to fight widespread corruption in Romania and called for the total opening of Romania's dreaded Securitate files -- an issue that still divides Romanian society 15 years after the fall of communism.
Prague, 8 February 2005 -- In a wide-ranging interview, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin talked to RFE/RL today about the current status of the Transdniester dispute; the influence of Ukraine's Orange Revolution on Moldova's foreign policy; relations with Russia; and the upcoming Moldovan general election.
One of Ceausescu's hunting stands (photo credit: AVES) Authorities are investigating reports that a group of high-profile politicians and businessmen killed almost 200 wild boar during a recent hunting excursion in northwestern Romania. Reports said the hunting party included former Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, as well as a number of Western executives. Environmentalists called the hunt a "massacre" and demanded an investigation. Hunting was long the pastime of the communist elite in Romania and other Eastern European countries. The country's "new rich" are now accused of trying to emulate the traditions of their communist forebears.
Scientists and politicians are calling for the creation of a global network of experts to help save tens of thousands of endangered animals and plants from extinction. Their appeal, launched during a conference that is under way in Paris, aims to give the planet's looming extinction crisis the same prominence as global warming. The conference on biodiversity, sponsored jointly by France and UNESCO, is seeking to help reduce the alarming rate of extinction of living species and their ecosystems. The meeting is gathering more than 1,200 experts and policymakers and is expected to endorse a set of proposals when it wraps up at end of the week. But environmental groups are criticizing what they say is a lack of immediate action on the side of governments and international organizations.
Plans are gaining momentum for a global early warning system to avert another tragedy on the scale of the Asian tsunami disaster. The issue is under discussion at a meeting of the world's small islands in the Mauritius Islands. UNESCO, the UN education and scientific agency, will take the lead in coordinating the effort. UNESCO helped set up an early warning system in the Pacific in 1968. The agency says it is ready to put its experience and expertise to work for a global system.
A powerful aftershock today hindered aid efforts for the tsunami-hit Indonesian island of Sumatra, adding to difficulties the relief operations already face. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan toured the Maldives on the final leg of a three-nation trip to acknowledge firsthand the damage caused by the 26 December tsunami. The visit comes amid mounting concern over the slow pace of relief efforts for the tsunami survivors.
President-elect Basescu (file photo) Romanian President-elect Traian Basescu has outlined his foreign policy goals following his upset victory in a runoff election on 12 December. Basescu strongly endorsed Romania's partnership with the United States and Britain. He also said he wants stronger ties with Moldova and increased regional cooperation, including with Ukraine, Russia, and the Caucasus. Basescu said his top priority remains Romania's membership in the European Union. But he has stirred controversy by suggesting that he might call for reopening EU entry negotiations on some issues.
President-elect Basescu Romanian opposition candidate Traian Basescu today claimed victory in the country's presidential election, after nearly complete results gave him an unassailable lead. He defeated the center-left prime minister, Adrian Nastase, in a close runoff and will replace outgoing president Ion Iliescu.
U.S. President George W. Bush today nominated Condoleezza Rice as his next secretary of state. Rice, Bush's national security adviser for the past four years, is set to replace Colin Powell, who has stepped down along with six other cabinet members. Should the Senate confirm Rice's appointment -- as appears likely -- she would become the first African American woman to hold the top cabinet post and only the second woman to do so other than Madeleine Albright.
Hundreds of thousands of Moldovans have left their country over the past decade in search of better lives. Some have headed West, while others have chosen to seek their fortunes in Russia. Some have succeeded in their new lives abroad, while others, mostly young women, have fallen prey to human traffickers. Officially, Moldova is one of Europe's poorest countries, with an average monthly salary of less than $100. But according to estimates, Moldovans living abroad send home between $500 million-$1 billion annually -- up to twice the country's 2004 budget. RFE/RL looks into the causes of Moldova's mass migration and at its long-term effects on the country's future.
President Putin (file photo) Russian President Vladimir Putin began a three-day visit to China today. Putin's talks with Chinese leaders are likely to focus on economic issues, such as competing proposals by China and Japan for a Siberian oil pipeline, and on better cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
Looking back at better days Moldova is one of Europe's poorest states, despite its rich farmland and renowned vineyards that during communism earned the country the status of the breadbasket of the former Soviet Union. Lack of reforms, political turmoil, and dependence on Russian energy imports have brought Moldova's once prosperous agriculture-based economy to its knees and forced its mostly rural population into deep poverty and mass migration.
Tens of thousands of Moldovan women are estimated to have fallen victim to human trafficking. Most victims come from rural areas, where economic hardships and ignorance turn young girls into easy prey for traffickers. RFE/RL spoke with nongovernmental organizations and government officials about measures in place to help those who have fallen victim to such trafficking, and to curb future abuses.
The "Shadow Wolves" is the name of a group of U.S. Customs officers who are helping in the fight against illegal migration and drug trafficking. They are Native American trackers, experts in using footprints, broken branches, and other clues to follow the trails of human beings and other animals across difficult terrain. RFE/RL tracked down several members of the Shadow Wolves in one unexpected location -- Moldova -- where they were helping to train local border guards.
Vladimir Voronin with Russian President Vladimir Putin (file photo) Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin has called for an international peacekeeping force to replace the Russian peacekeepers in Transdniester. In an interview with RFE/RL, Voronin accused the Russian peacekeepers of siding with the separatists in their long-running dispute with Moldova. Voronin also admitted that Moldova's relations with Russia, Ukraine, and the Commonwealth of Independent States have cooled.
Over the past decade, Moldova has earned the unwanted reputation as the economic basket case of Europe, with nearly three-quarters of the country's 4 million people living in poverty. Hundreds of thousands of Moldovans have fled a country once celebrated for its delicious wines in hopes of finding a better life abroad. Those who remain are left to eke out a living in often derelict, semi-deserted villages. Yet RFE/RL correspondent Eugen Tomiuc, traveling in rural Moldova, has found a remarkable family who prove that hard work and devotion can still reap a handsome return -- even in the poorest country in Europe.
A new United Nations report says that global efforts to reduce poverty by providing reproductive health care and improving women's rights have made partial progress over the past decade. But the report, issued today by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), cautions that lack of funding and insufficient education are hindering further progress on achieving goals by an official target date of 2015.
Moldovan officials and an international media watchdog group are calling for the release of a Moldovan television journalist who was beaten and then detained by Transdniestrian separatists. Cameraman Dinu Mija was attacked yesterday while trying to film the seizure of a railway station by separatists. He was later sentenced to 15 days in prison. Transdniestrian separatists also briefly detained a BBC crew last week. The attacks on journalists come amid heightened tensions between Moldova and its breakaway region.
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