Hillary Clinton concerned about Russia's parliamentary electionsDecember 5, 2011 - 21:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the US has "serious concerns" about the conduct of Russia's parliamentary elections. "We do have serious concerns about the conduct of the elections," Clinton told a press conference, citing a preliminary report by the OSCE about alleged attempts to stuff ballot boxes and manipulate voter lists. She said she expected to be briefed after she arrives later Monday, December 5, at OSCE headquarters in Vilnius. "We are also concerned by reports that independent Russian election observers... were harassed and had cyber attacks on their websites," she said. With 96 per cent of the vote counted, the country's Central Election Commission said it had won 49.5 per cent of the vote, technically short of a simple majority but just enough to scrape a majority of seats in the Duma, the lower house of parliament. Barring the unexpected, United Russia is forecast to control 238 seats in the 450-seat Duma for the next five years, down from 315 seats previously, The telegraph reported. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |