Serbians voting in presidential run-offMay 20, 2012 - 18:08 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Serbians are voting on Sunday, May 20 in a tense run-off presidential election pitting pro-western reformist Boris Tadic against his conservative opponent Tomislav Nikolic, RIA Novosti reported. The first round of the election was held on May 6, with Tadic gaining a slight advantage of 10,000 votes or 0.26 percent over Nikolic. This time one of the candidates has simply to gain the majority of votes to win the election. Tadic, who has already served two terms in office, stepped down on April 6 in order to take part in the election and announced his candidacy for re-election on the same day. He has said the May 20 presidential run-off is a referendum on whether Serbia is headed to the EU membership. Tadic is unpopular with nationalists, who blame him for Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence in February 2008. Tadic has made a number of political concessions including permission for Kosovo to take part in multilateral international meetings as a separate entity. Many analysts described the move as “semi-recognition” of the region’s independence from Serbia. Top stories 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". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |