Today news:

* Albanianews (Albania, Italy and Kosovo)

 Interviste multiple ai membri della rete Mier

Posted: 10 Dec 2009 12:51 AM PST

L’articolo che segue è un pamphlet realizatto da Olti Buzi e da Darien Levani, con l’aiuto fondamentale di Alessia Giannoni del Cospe. E’ stato stampato e distribuito durante il secondo meeting della MIER che si è svolto a Bologna il 13-14 Novembre. Si tratta di un intervista collettiva fatta ai membri della rete MIER i quali si interrogano sul loro percorso e sul loro futuro. Per ragioni di lunghezza posttiamo solo l’introduzione di Darien Levani, mentre l’intervista completa può essere scaricata in formato Word o PDF. Buona lettura

 "Noi. Albanesi in Italia", il primo giornale italiano in lingua italiana degli anni Duemila dedicato all’Albania

Posted: 09 Dec 2009 05:19 AM PST

Come tutti sappiamo il primo periodico albanese su internet in italiano, è il quotidiano ’on line’ AlbaniaNews.it, però la storia di riviste o giornali nella mia lingua dedicate all’Albania va molto indietro nel tempo, e sicuramente ancor prima dell’invasione italiana del 1939. Durante il periodo di Unione Personale 1939-1943, ad esempio, furono pubblicate "Albania-Shqipni" il cui primo numero uscì nell’aprile 1940 e "Drini. Bollettino mensile del turismo albanese" (fondato sempre nel 1940). Io mi limiterò dalla fine della II Guerra Mondiale ad oggi, non dimenticando sicuramente il cartaceo "Bota Shqiptare" fondato nel 1999.

 Eris Nezha: "Recitare? Meglio lasciar perdere"

Posted: 09 Dec 2009 03:33 AM PST

Eris Nezha è considerato uno dei giovani talenti più promettenti del corpo di ballo del Teatro alla Scala di Milano. Diplomato nel 2002, ha già danzato Des Grieux in Manon e Solor nella Bayadère, Frédéri nell’Arlesienne di Petit e il principe in Cenerentola. Il mese scorso è arrivato per lui un nuovo debutto: il ruolo di Albrecht nella celeberrima Giselle.

- A Torino viaggio alla scoperta di culture diverse

Posted: 09 Dec 2009 02:40 AM PST

In data 13 dicembre i giovani dell’associazione multiculturale "Turin World People" di Torino, propongono un breve ma significativo viaggio alla scoperta di diverse culture. Un’occasione di conoscenza proposta da i ragazzi di diversa provenienza che allestiranno nella sala ATC (c.so Dante 14) della città di Torino una serie di banchetti su cui verranno allestite pietanze tipiche di ogni paese con l’accompagnamento di musiche folcloristiche eseguite da giovani gruppi musicali.

> For further information: www.albanianews.it

* Associazione Bulgaria-Italia (Bulgaria/Italy)

Vi segnaliamo alcune iniziative che si svolgono in questo periodo alle quali vi invitiamo a partecipare.

Si svolgerà a Venezia, i prossimi 17 e 18 dicembre, il convegno intitolato "La caduta del Muro: Venti anni dopo" organizzato dal Dipartimento di Americanistica, Iberistica e Slavistica dell’Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia. La conferenza prevede la partecipazione di importanti studiosi, esperti e protagonisti del periodo dei cambiamenti nell’Europa orientale.

Maggiori informazioni sul convegno

Inoltre anche quest’anno riproponiamo l’iniziativa "Una cartolina per..." con lo scopo di inviare delle cartoline di saluto ai bambini e ai ragazzi bulgari con i quali in questi anni siamo stati in contatto. Inoltre invieremo un contributo la realizzazione di alcuni lavori di manutenzione nell’asilo di Burgas, chi vuole può partecipare facendo un versamento con l’apposita causale.

Read

> For further information: www.bulgaria-italia.com

* Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (Bosnia and Balkans)

 Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Balkan Insight Daily No. 422, December 10 2009

 Balkan Insight n. 217

> For further information: www.birn.eu.com

* Camera di Commercio Italiana per la Romania (Romania/Italy)

Pubblichiamo in allegato il "Bollettino" CCIpR n.23, la Newsletter economica della Camera di Commercio Italiana per la Romania.

> For further information: www.cameradicommercio.ro

* Central Asian News Service (Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia)

Daily news report of 10 December

> For further information: www.ca-news.org

* Le Courrier des Balkans (France and Balkans)

Le Bulletin du Courrier des Balkans N°676

> For further information : http://balkans.courriers.info

* Ebrd (England, Eastern Europe, Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia)

Project summary documents - New PSD/s available on ebrd.com:

 Credit Line to the Deposit Protection Fund of Montenegro

 Stara Zagora Water - Consultant’s engineer, Bulgaria

 Secondary and Local Roads Project, Albania

> For further information: www.ebrd.com

* Ec Delegation BiH (Bosnia)

 10 December 2009 – Human Rights Day/10. decembar 2009. – Dan ljudskih prava

 Tempus Info Day in BiH - Tempus Informativni dan u BiH

> For further information: www.europa.ba

* Interfax (Russia and Cis)

Interfax Russia & CIS Diplomatic Panorama, December 10

> For further information: www.interfax.com

* Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Tirana (Albania/Italy)

Pubblichiamo in allegato l’invito per il Concerto del Duo Arcadia di Roma, che avrà luogo questa sera, presso l’Accademia delle Arti di Tirana, con inizio alle ore 19.

> For further information: eventi.iic.tirana@esteri.it

* Latvian Centre for Human Rights (Latvia)

Newsletter of 10 December 2009

> For further information: www.humanrights.org.lv

* Memorial (Russia and Cis)

 On-line chat with Oleg Orlov

On December 14, 2009 at 6 p.m. an on-line chat with Oleg Orlov, the head of the Board of Human Rights Center Memorial, a member of the Boards of Russian and International Memorial, will take place.

The chat will be organized by the European Parliament regarding the awarding of this year’s Sakharov prize to Oleg Orlov, Sergey Kovalev and Lyudmila Alekseeva.

The representatives of European society will ask Oleg Orlov about the work of Memorial and about the situation with human rights in Russia, as well.

The chat will be held online:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=188333252748&ref=mf.

English will be a working language.

> For further information: www.memo.ru

* Osservatorio sui Balcani e Caucaso (Italy, Balkans and Caucasus)

 Com’è profondo l’Ibar

Le amministrative in Kosovo hanno messo ancora in evidenza il diverso approccio dei serbi a nord e a sud del fiume Ibar. Tra i primi, che vivono in un sistema separato, ha vinto il boicottaggio, tra i secondi, chi ha votato vede il controllo del potere locale come una necessità vitale

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 Cambio ai vertici della Tv croata

Dopo numerosi scandali e una pessima gestione, l’organo collegiale di controllo della Tv croata ha deciso di destituire il direttore Vanja Sutlic; e cambiare così i vertici del media più importante della Croazia. Il tutto durante la campagna elettorale per le presidenziali

Read

> For further information: www.osservatoriobalcani.org

* Presidency of Russian Federation (Russia and Cis)

Daily news report of 10 December 2009

> For further information: http://president.kremlin.ru/eng

* Sarke (Georgia)

News in brief of 9 December 2009

> For further information: www.sarke.com

* Seenews (Bulgaria & Balkans)

 Daily news report of Albania (109 December 2009)

Read and click ALBANIA on menu bar

 Daily news report of Bosnia-Herzegovina (10 December 2009)

Read and click BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA on menu bar

 Daily news report of Bulgaria (10 December 2009)

Read and click BULGARIA on menu bar

 Daily news report of Croatia (10 December 2009)

Read and click CROATIA on menu bar

 Daily news report of Macedonia (10 December 2009)

Read and click MACEDONIA on menu bar

 Daily news report of Moldova (10 December 2009)

Read and click MOLDOVA on menu bar

 Daily news report of Montenegro (10 December 2009)

Read and click MONTENEGRO on menu bar

 Daily news report of Romania (10 December 2009)

Read and click ROMANIA on menu bar

 Daily news report of Serbia (10 December 2009)

Read and click SERBIA on menu bar

 Daily news report of Slovenia (10 December 2009)

Read and click SLOVENIA on menu bar

> For further information: www.seenews.com

* The Times of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia)

Free Newsletter - December 10, 2009

In this issue:

1. POINT OF VIEW: More US troops will not bring victory in Afghanistan

2. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan agree on further energy cooperation

3. President Rakhmon urges Tajik families to buy Rogun HPP shares

4.Korea, Central Asia pledge stronger ties

1. POINT OF VIEW: More US troops will not bring victory in Afghanistan New Afghan strategy needed (Central Asia, December 10, 2009-issue 594) By Giorgio Fiacconi TCA publisher

BISHKEK (TCA) — The recent announcement by US President Barack Obama that the United States will send to Afghanistan an additional 30,000 troops has probably been seen in the US with discomfort. The decision would not satisfy anybody. On one side, there are requests from the generals for more than forty thousand soldiers needed to stabilize the situation, and on the other side, demands of a large part of the public insisting on a fast withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. While Germany and France have so far refused to express their final opinion concerning additional troops, Great Britain, Italy and Georgia have given a strong support to Obama’s policy, contributing a total of 7,000 troops. What has not been sufficiently emphasized is that while the NATO partners were discussing their pledge to the Afghan war, Russia and NATO at their first Ministerial conference after August 2008 did agree on what is probably going to be a new strategy towards an extended cooperation concerning the European security and also a new approach to Afghanistan. It is not yet clear what Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had in mind but for sure Russia is today one of the main targets of the massive export of drugs from Afghanistan. To stop drugs trade, which also supports terrorism, it is important to provide NATO with a reliable cooperation that goes much farther than allowing American freights transit through Russian territory, which has already been agreed upon. We should now recall that the American policy promoted by President Obama has for the first time stopped the confrontation started by the Bush administration, and developed a new dialogue whose results are still to be seen but which may involve a new way to counter terrorism and drug trade and consequently the Afghan war. Although it is premature to guess what the Russians will ask, for sure the future decision will involve both Russia and the OSCE with the entire European security, no longer as two separate blocs but as a united entity where none of the members can add military advantages that may negatively affect the other side. There is no doubt that such a strategy will require agreement from the other side of the Atlantic, but if the war in Afghanistan has to be won, Russia is another partner that should be considered. All this is not because of the experience the Russians have in fighting a similar war, but above all because they have a keen interest in stopping terrorism and drugs coming from Afghanistan. Now we have additional troops that will be added to the already large military contingent and the Afghan political system that is unsatisfactory and accused of corruption and above all of not delivering what it was supposed to deliver to the Afghan population. All this cannot contribute to the creation of a sustainable system that will bring the American and NATO forces to victory. There is no way of winning a war through military occupation and armed operations if the people do not feel that the political system is changing for the better. In the last five years this was not the case, and today not only the Taliban but the Afghan population are looking at the foreign soldiers more as at invaders and new colonialists than as allies. No one wants to lose the war, but if the Taliban have nothing to lose and time is for sure on their side, the Americans and NATO troops run the risk of losing the war initiated by President Bush and, as things are going on, may end with a defeat under the Obama administration. Involving new troops from Europe or America will not bring any success, not because these troops are not skilled or are not in a sufficient number, but simply because the cultural gap is too big and the Afghans are tired of seeing foreign soldiers all around. It is time to consider a new strategy where the Afghans will defend Afghans, where the government delivers what the people need not with the support of the army but with honest deeds. It is time to understand that the brain of the Afghan war that supports the Taliban is not in Afghanistan but in the nearby Pakistan, and only the involvement of Central Asian and other neighbouring states is able to reduce the cultural gap and bring a real effective solution to the war. The new troops will gain time in the war that has lasted already eight years, but they will not bring any victory. The new troops may give a signal to Pakistan that America is still committed to fight the Afghan war and expects the Pakistanis will eliminate the Taliban leadership that is in Pakistan. It is from a safe place in Pakistan that the Taliban supreme command provides strategy and support to those Taliban that are fighting the Afghan war. This war affects not only the US and Europe and their allies but is also a disaster for the economic development of the entire Central Asia region. Today it is easy to predict that the Karzai government will never regain the support of the Afghan population and that the foreign soldiers will continue losing their lives while the public opinion back home will increase the pressure until troops withdrawal will finally take place and America will have another Vietnam. The time is ripe to start a dialogue with the Taliban and other Central Asia and neighbouring countries to achieve a feasible solution and to isolate the extreme fraction of the Taliban movement. If such a result is not achieved, the war may continue for many more years and the proposed new strategy for a valid and timely exit policy may be completely nullified.

2. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan agree on further energy cooperation (Kyrgyzstan, December 10, 2009-issue 594) BY MARIA LEVINA TCA CORRESPONDENT

BISHKEK (TCA) — If Uzbekistan withdraws from the Unified Energy System of Central Asia the population of southern Kyrgyzstan will face electricity shortages, analysts believe. Uzbekistan’s decision will also affect the population of northern Kyrgyzstan, which is already experiencing a deficit of electricity.

In this situation the issue of energy independence is of particular importance for Kyrgyzstan. First of all, the country needs to complete the construction of the Kambarata-2 hydroelectric power plant, which will cost 15 billion soms. So far, about 5.3 billion soms have been invested in the project.

 Transmission lines

It is also necessary to build electricity transmission lines, one of the most important of which is the Kemin-Datka transmission line. Its construction will cost $500 million. Construction of a new 500 KV feeder center (500/220 kV Kemin substation with 500 kV South-North power line) will allow transmitting electricity from Kambarata to the north of the country. To develop an electricity grid in the south and put an end to energy dependence on the neighboring states, construction of the 500/220 KV Datka sub-station is planned. At the same time, reconstruction of the 220 KV grid with the total length of 360 km is planned. Last week, the Prime Ministers of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan discussed water and energy issues between the two countries. Daniyar Usenov, who visited Astana, and Karim Masimov held bilateral talks. The sides agreed that Kazakhstan will provide an advance payment to Kyrgyzstan for the import of electricity during the winter period. The Kazakh Prime Minister Masimov noted that the agreement allows regulating water discharge from Kyrgyzstan’s Toktogul hydro power plant reservoir and safely passing the winter period by Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan also agreed to join the project to build a new transmission line in the territory of Kyrgyzstan. The new line will connect Kemin and Almaty.

 Solving water and energy issues

The two countries have also agreed on the solution of water and energy issues. Now electricity is cut off from midnight to 5 am in many districts in Kyrgyzstan. Large water discharge from Toktogul leads to flooding of southern regions of Kazakhstan and at the same time, accumulation and use of water during the growing season is also very important for Kyrgyzstan. According to Kyrgyz Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov, Kazakhstan will provide Kyrgyzstan with $5.8 million assistance so that Kyrgyzstan could buy coal for its coal-fired power plants. The two countries have also agreed that the transportation of coal through Kazakhstan will be carried out at Kazakhstan’s domestic tariffs, which is 50 percent less than usual. This coal will be used by the Bishkek thermal electric power plant, which provides heat to Bishkek residents. In the summer 2010, Kyrgyzstan plans to sell Kazakhstan 540 million kWh of electricity for $20 million. Later this month and in January 2010, Kyrgyzstan will get 50 percent of the total amount as advance payment, informed Usenov.

 Investment projects

A Kazakh investment fund will be created in Kyrgyzstan. The fund intends to invest in Kyrgyzstan’s economy about $100 million. There already are some investment projects in Kyrgyzstan funded with Kazakh money. These are projects in the processing industry and development of gold deposits. According to Usenov, this, in turn, stimulates the development of other investment projects.

3. President Rakhmon urges Tajik families to buy Rogun HPP shares (Tajikistan, December 10, 2009-issue 594) BY RAKHIM NAZAROV TCA correspondent

DUSHANBE (TCA) – The Tajik government has urged its country’s population to buy Rogun hydroelectric power plant (HPP) shares, which will be issued early in 2010.

If every Tajik family contributes 3,000 somoni (US $689.18) to the construction of the Rogun HPP, Tajikistan would have the amount necessary for the commissioning of two of the plant’s six power units, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon told the officials of the country’s northern Sogd region. The text of his speech was posted on the Tajik president’s official website last week. "Some $600 million is currently needed to launch the first phase of the Rogun HPP, and for this purpose each family in the country, except for the poor ones, should spend at least 3,000 somoni (4.353 somoni/$1) on Rogun shares, while wealthy citizens should spend larger amounts," Rakhmon said. The average salary in Tajikistan is 314 somoni. About a million of Tajiks are working migrants in Russia. Fifty three percent of Tajik citizens are poor and 17 percent are critically poor living on less than $2 a day, according to the country’s State Statistics Committee. "This facility is a national asset, its shares will not be sold or transferred to foreigners," Rakhmon said.

Rogun HPP became of strategic importance after the USSR’s collapse, when the country began to experience severe shortages of electricity. For more than ten years, this was the reason why Tajik industrial enterprises have been working with seasonal breaks. The exception is the Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO), whose output accounts for 76 percent of the country’s export. The deficit of electricity in the country in the fall-winter period is about three billion kilowatt-hours. This is why, in this period, the electricity supply to rural areas, home to 73 percent of the country’s seven-million population, is carried out restrictedly, that is seven hours a day.

According to Mukhabbat Kholnazarov, a Tajik economist, it is impossible to imagine the future development of Tajikistan’s economy without the completion of the Rogun HPP. The completion of the plant with its six power units will allow generating more than 13 billion kilowatt-hours a year, making the country energy independent, and turning it into an electricity exporter.

The construction of Rogun HPP started in 1976. Before the Soviet Union’s collapse, 40 percent of the total construction works were completed. In particular, 40 meters of the HPP’s dam was ready. However, with the Soviet Union’s collapse and the outbreak of civil war in Tajikistan, construction at the site was frozen. In 1993, as a result of a mudflow, the rock-fill dam of the hydropower plant was washed away. Due to continuous internal conflict and lack of funding, works at Rogun HPP were abandoned until 2004.

In 2004, the Russian company RUSAL signed a contract with the Tajik government on the completion of the Rogun HPP. However, in 2007 the Tajik government unilaterally annulated the agreement due to RUSAL’s failure to meet its commitments. The main reason for disagreements between the two sides was the type and the height of the HPP dam. The Russian company insisted on the construction of a 280-meter high concrete dam, while the Tajik side insisted on the parameters stipulated in the original design project — that is a 335-meter high rock-fill dam. Tajik seismologists were strongly against a concrete dam. They believed that as a result of strong earthquakes, a concrete dam might collapse, leading to great disasters, including environmental ones. As an example of solidity of the rock-fill dam, they referred to the dam of another Tajik HPP, Nurek, which is 300 meters high, and has been in operation for 37 years. During this period, the dam has survived about 6,000 earthquakes and is still safe.

In 2007, the Tajik government decided to continue the construction of Rogun HPP using internal financial resources. In 2009 more than $120 million were allocated from the state budget for implementation of the project and in 2010, a further $150 million is to be allocated. More than 700 units of construction machinery and about 6,000 workers are currently involved in construction works. According to the schedule, this month it is planned to block the Vakhsh river to build a dam. It is planned to launch the first phase of the plant with two power units in 2012.

Neighboring Uzbekistan opposes Rogun’s construction. The Uzbek government states that the HPP launch will disturb the environmental balance in Central Asia region, causing water shortages, which will damage agriculture. Tajikistan denies this, considering Uzbekistan’s objections as political pressure. Currently, the World Bank (WB) is conducting an economic and environmental expertise of Rogun HPP. Moreover, according to the project, the launch of the power plant will allow cultivating 320,000 hectares of new lands in Uzbekistan, and improving irrigation of several million hectares of the Uzbek land.

Early this year, the lower chamber of the Tajik parliament passed a law including the Rogun HPP in the list of strategic facilities not subject to privatization. According to expert estimates, about $3 billion is required to complete the plant’s construction. Pakistan, Afghanistan and the WB are also interested in the Rogun HPP project. For future export of electricity, the WB announced financial support of the KASA-1000 project, which provides for the construction of a high-voltage transmission line to supply electricity from Central Asian countries to South Asia.

Uzbekistan will insist on an international expert examination of the projects of major dams and hydropower stations in Central Asia, Uzbek Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov said on December 2, Interfax reported. "Uzbekistan will continue insisting that all projects of constructing major hydropower facilities in Central Asia would be carried out only after impartial international expert examination under U.N. auspices," he said at a meeting of the council of OSCE foreign ministers in Athens. He said that threats to environmental security are growing throughout the OSCE space. "These are not only threats related to the apparent climate change but also serious problems and possible disasters and risks of man-made disasters at major water energy plants, man-made disasters at major hydropower facilities, where in some areas it is capable of seriously shifting the environmental balance, as fragile as it already is," Norov said. He said that the public is being brainwashed and attempts are made to attract large-scale investments in the construction of two new major hydropower plants – Rogun in Tajikistan and Kambarata in Kyrgyzstan.

4. Korea, Central Asia pledge stronger ties

(Central Asia, December 10, 2009-issue 594) SEOUL (TCA) – South Korea and five Central Asian countries held a forum last week aimed at fortifying their ties in a wide array of areas stretching from the government to corporate sector and academia.

"Central Asian countries, keen on promoting modernization and industrialization, have long been interested in developing their relations with Korea," said Kim Eun-joong, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s European Affairs Bureau. "In particular, the region is seeking to share Korea’s experience as a unique nation that simultaneously fostered democracy and market economy."

The forum started with bilateral meetings between foreign minister-level officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan with their Korean counterparts. "Korea will maintain mutually cooperative relations with these five Central Asian nations to become a true partner," Shin Kak-soo, the Korean vice foreign minister, said in a keynote speech for the forum.

Korea and five Central Asian nations discussed ways of facilitating co-prosperity through the creation of a ``New Silk Road’’, First Vice Foreign Minister Shin Gak-soo said. “Both young and old generations from Korea and Central Asian countries had deep discussions on joint prosperity and I think it is a meaningful step to consolidate a partnership for the new Silk Road,” Shin told reporters. The forum offered a chance to share experience on strengthening competitiveness, achieving sustainable growth and nurturing human resources, he added.

Sessions took place at the National Museum of Korea to introduce possible cooperation projects between Korea and the participating countries, where local companies received useful information on investment opportunities.

Korea is currently the only nation in the world, except for the European Union, to hold such annual meetings with Central Asia. Korea has sought joint projects in Central Asia in order to secure stable sources of energy and natural resources. The country also hopes to convey efficient development tips in the process, such as via joint investment schemes.

(The Korea Herald, The Korea Times)

> For further information: www.timesca.com

* Vest (Slovenia)

Daily update of 10 December 2009

> For further information: www.vest.si