Medvedev to meet outgoing Moldovan president.

SOCHI, August 21 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will
meet his outgoing Moldovan counterpart Vladimir Voronin in his Black Sea
spa residence in Sochi on Friday, a week before the first session of the
newly elected Moldovan parliament, in which Voronin-led Russia-leaning
Communists lost a majority to pro-European opposition.
The Moldovan foreign ministry said the two leaders will discuss
Dniester settlement, bilateral relations and interaction in the framework
of the CIS where Moldova currently holds rotating presidency.
They will also discuss bilateral trade and "diversification of trade
turnover, encouragement of regional ties, and a possibility to provide new
quality to the relations through implementation of investment projects."
Before the visit Voronin expressed hope bilateral relations would
continue to develop.
On Thursday the opposition alliance of four political parties offered
the Communists to begin consultations on Friday on the new president. The
Alliance for European Integration, which unites the Liberal,
Liberal-Democratic, Democratic, and Our Moldova Alliance parties, has 53
seats in 101-seat parliament, but needs 61 votes to elect the president.
"We propose to begin talks with the Communists on the election of the
new president at the level of top party representatives in parliament,"
Our Moldova Alliance leader Serafim Urechean said.
On Wednesday Voronin said the Communists were ready for talks in order
to avoid a repetition of the previous situation when parliament failed to
elect new president and was dissolved.
Also on Friday the Central Election Commission of Moldova will issue
credentials to elected parliament members. Liberal-Democratic Party leader
Vladimir Filat said the Alliance will name its candidates for the posts of
the president, prime minister and parliament speaker after that.
He said the Alliance does not plan to share top state posts with the
Communists, however the latter said they have "a moral right" for at least
one top position and threatened to go into "tough opposition" otherwise.
If Moldovan parliament fails to elect president at two attempts, it
will be dissolved again.

.Moscow, Singapore prepare Medvedev's visit.

MOSCOW, August 21 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian and Singaporean diplomats
discussed on Thursday preparations for an official visit of Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev to Singapore in November, the Russian foreign
ministry said.
"A fruitful exchange of opinions has taken place on actual issues of
bilateral relations," the ministry said commenting on a meeting of Deputy
Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin and Second Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore Bilahari Kausikan.
"The parties positively assessed the current state of
Russian-Singaporean cooperation and stated the presence of a considerable
potential to mount cooperation, in particular, in trade, economic and
investment spheres," the ministry said, adding the parties also confirmed
"mutual interest in expanding contacts in the spheres of culture and
education, sport and tourism, and air transportation."
Specific attention was paid to preparations of the official visit to
Singapore by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev scheduled in November,
according to the ministry, which said Russia and Singapore have close
approaches to basic issues of modern foreign policy and processes in Asia
and the Pacific Rim.

.Timoshenko says Ukraine feeds the world.

LVOV, August 21 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia
Timoshenko said on Thursday Ukraine has become the third biggest grain
exporter in the world due to a record high harvest last year.
"I am proud that Ukraine feeds the whole world," she said in Lvov,
western Ukraine.
The prime minister said last year Ukraine harvested 58 million tons of
grain, while previous figures did not exceed 26 million tons.
Timoshenko said agriculture was the only national industry that "did
not lose positive dynamic in crisis conditions and increased production"
and that "Ukraine can annually harvest 80-90 million tons of grain
provided state support and modern technologies".
She praised the International Monetary Fund saying "it would be much
more difficult for Ukraine" without its assistance. Timoshenko said IMF
loans "were the first real anti-crisis program in Ukraine, which yields
result."

.Ukraine to overrun veto on election, Euro-2012 bills.

KIEV, August 21 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukrainian lawmakers interrupted their
holidays for a new standoff with President Viktor Yushchenko over election
rules and financing of Euro-2012 preparations.
Supreme Rada will meet on Friday to overrun the presidential veto on
two lawbills that amend campaigning rules and provide for the financing of
the European Football Cup in 2012.
The veto will most likely be overrun, as the Bloc of (Prime Minister)
Yulia Timoshenko and the opposition Party of Regions are set to push the
lawbills through.
The lawbill on the presidential election reduces the campaigning
period from 120 to 90 days and raises the participation fee for
presidential hopefuls from 500 thousand to 2.5 million hrivnas (63
thousand to 315 thousand dollars) in order to bar the so-called "technical
candidates" who participate only with the aim of denying votes to that or
another most likely winner. It also cancels absentee ballots, which some
people managed to cast several times at the previous election.
As for Euro-2012, the lawbills envisaged the National Bank would
appropriate 9.8 billion hrivnas (1.3 billion dollars) to finance
corresponding projects. However Yushchenko vetoed the bill, as he fears
the money may be misused to finance election campaigns.
Anatoly Kinakh from the Party of Regions believes parliament will
overrun the veto as well.
"Euro-2012 preparations are in a critical state, therefore the
presidential position is against the state," he said.

.Man survives Kamchatka bear attack.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKI, August 21 (Itar-Tass) -- A Kamchatka bear
attacked and badly injured a 23-year old man on the peninsula.
Local police press service said on Friday the incident took place on
the Kol River in Sobolevsky district on Thursday and the man was
hospitalized "with numerous bites on the back and legs, broken hip bones
and dislocations."
It is the second registered attack of a Kamchatka bear on people this
summer.
In early August a bear killed a woman on a stadium in the settlement
of Palana.
Besides, bears often approach tourist camps and residential
settlements. Hunters had to kill five beasts that posed a danger for
locals.
Kamchatka wildlife protection agency said bears may be attracted by
food refuse.
Kamchatka bears weigh up to 700 kilograms and are three meters long.
The claws are up to four inches (100 mm) in length. Over 16 thousand bears
are registered on Kamchatka.
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