Montenegro votes on independence from union with Serbia

Clicking almost
always is good.

I think this might have something to do with the big ugly nasty controversy a few months ago [covered by A-VP] over which singing group would represent Serbia&Montenegro in the Eurovision Song Contest. It could explain the record turnout at the polls.

A bit up the Adriatic coast, Slovenia is also desperately trying to put wheels under itself and push itself West, away from the Balkans, toward the West and the EU. Nobody wants to be caught dead in the former Yugo if they can help it.

This is Vleeptron's first filch from Xinhuanet. We filch from aljazeera, we filch from swissinfo, we filch from anybody except United Press International and the Washington (DC) Times.

The Trustees of the AV-P Foundation will be meeting at Norman's Pizza & Subs in Poortown next week, and we will be discussing which newswires to filch from and which to avoid at all costs. You have a week to Leave A Comment.

During the NATO bombing of Belgrade, NATO hit the China embassy and killed a lot of Chinese diplomats. Wartime bombing is an Art, not a Science. The more you insist it's a precise Science, the harder it is to explain why you dropped a bomb on an embassy or a hospital. Programmers very much like me write the Bombing Software, and they write it very much the way I write software. The War is how you Beta Test the Software.

Everybody in Belgrade was wearing t-shirts with a big red target bullseye on them. One night a fellow on IRC Undernet typed:

{igor} must go now, bombs dropping.

==========

www.xinhuanet.com
XINHUA online

CHINA VIEW
VIEW CHINA
Sunday 21 May 2006

Breaking News

Urgent: Independence referendum ends in Montenegro
Urgent: Ruling Cyprus party wins parliamentary elections
Iran says not to suspend uranium enrichment
13 killed in bomb explosion in Baghdad restaurant
US army kills 2 al-Qaida members in south of Baghdad
High-ranking Iraqi officer survives car bombing

About China

Map
History
Constitution
CPC & Other Parties
State Organs
Local Leadership
White Papers
Statistics
Major Projects
English Websites

BizChina

- Conferences & Exhibitions
- Investment
- Bidding
- Enterprises
- Policy update
- Technological & Economic Development Zones
Online marketplace of Manufacturers & Wholesalers

News Photos Voice People BizChina Feature About us

Record turnout registered
in Montenegrin
independence referendum

www.chinaview.cn 2006-05-22 03:06:15

BELGRADE, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A record turnout was registered on Sunday in a referendum in Montenegro to decide whether the tiny Balkan republic would remain in the state union of Serbia-Montenegro or regain its independence after 88 years.

About 401,500, or 82.8 percent of registered Montenegrin voters have cast their ballots by 7 p.m. (1700 GMT), surpassing the earlier elections turnout of some 82 percent, the Podgorica-based Center for Democratic Transition said.

The non-governmental organization said that the turnout was 82.4 percent in northern Montenegro, about 84.6 percent in central parts and 79.4 in the south.

Frantisek Lipka, president of the Republic Referendum Commission in Montenegro, said earlier on Sunday that the referendum turnout could not be compared to that of elections, since this was a decision on the key issue.

The referendum, which started from 8 a.m. (0600 GMT), will be closed on 9 p.m. (1900 GMT). Unofficial and official preliminary results are expected respectively on Sunday night and on Monday morning.

Under conditions mediated by the European Union, the independence will not be valid unless the referendum passes the threshold of 55 percent of votes with a turnout of at least half of the mountainous republic's 484,718 registered voters.

Enditem

Editor: Luan Shanglin

Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved.