Russian nuclear chief executives, suppliers to meet in Moscow.

MOSCOW, December 7 (Itar-Tass) -- The 2nd nuclear industry suppliers
forum ATOMEX-2009 will open at the World Trade Center here on Monday. The
two-day forum aims "to attract new suppliers to the procurement system of
the state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom and familiarize all equipment
suppliers with the common procurement system adopted in the agencies and
organizations of the nuclear industry," the Atomexpo press service told
Itar-Tass.

The chief executives of the management companies of the nuclear
industry, officials of nuclear engineering companies, operating and
maintenance services of nuclear power plants will participate in the
forum. Along with the nuclear companies, more than 180 nuclear industry
suppliers will participate in the forum and the exhibition.
Rosatom Director General Sergei Kiriyenko will deliver a speech at the
forum's plenary meeting titled "Nuclear Power: Procurement Policy."
The forum program also includes section meetings and round table
meetings, particularly on the topics "Engineering and project management
at NPP construction" and "Long-lead equipment."
According to experts, the forum is directly connected with a reform in
the procurement system of the Rosatom corporation, all enterprises and
organizations of the nuclear industry. They noted that under the uniform
industry procurement standard the Russian nuclear industry is planning to
ensure the effective use of investment resources by Rosatom and by all
nuclear industry enterprises in building and operating nuclear facilities.
Rosatom was among the first Russian state corporation to take a serious
step to make the procurement system transparent.
An exhibition will also open within the framework of the forum on
Monday.

.Moldova parliament to make last attempt to elect president in 2009.

CHISINAU, December 7 (Itar-Tass) -- The Moldovan parliament will make
the last attempt to elect president in 2009. If this attempt is abortive,
under the Constitution, the parliament will be dissolved and new early
parliamentary elections will be held next year.
The leader of the Democratic Party Marian Lupu, who was nominated by
the ruling coalition Alliance for European Integration, remains the only
presidential candidate as on November 10, when the first abortive attempt
to elect president was made.
Sixty-one votes are required for the election of president. The ruling
coalition, which united the factions of the Liberal Party, the Liberal
Democratic Party, Democratic Party and the Our Moldova Bloc, controls 53
from 101 mandates. Other 48 mandates belong to the opposition Party of
Communists, which blocks the voting. The Friday negotiations between the
authorities and the opposition on Lupu's candidacy were futile. The
Communists stated that they adhere to the previous position - vote against
the only presidential candidate in order to provoke the dissolution of the
parliament and early parliamentary elections, at which they are planning
to take revanche for the defeat in July 2009. However, the Communist
leader and the former president, Vladimir Voronin, specified that the
final decision on the presidential elections will be taken at a meeting of
the party's leadership just several hours before the voting in the
parliament.
The coalition leaders hope that Lupu, who has been a member of the
Party of Communists, will manage to talk some former party colleagues to
support his candidacy, and in case of failure they have prepared a backup
variant. Acting president and parliament speaker Mihai Ghimpu established
a commission seeking to introduce amendments in the Constitution that will
permit to elect the president by a simple majority at the legislative
assembly or in a national ballot.
According to experts, the political crisis lasting in Moldova for
eight months is growing into a full-scale socio-economic crisis. In April
2009 the opposition discontent with the victory of the Communists at the
parliamentary elections triggered actions of protest that turned into the
looting of the parliament building and the presidential residence. The
confrontation resulted in three abortive attempts to elect president in
the parliament this year. Neither repeated elections nor changes in the
political alignment could help it. If earlier the Communists voted for a
presidential candidate, and the Liberal opposition boycotted the voting,
so, after the July early parliamentary elections the roles changed, but
the result remained the same.
-0-baz