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Russia accuses US?�of?�stirring election protests
A war of words has erupted between Moscow and Washington with the Russian prime minister accused the White House of encouraging protests against his government. Vladimir Putin’s opponents claim the outcome of the recent general election, which he won, was rigged, and both international observers and the US have expressed concerns about the vote. He directed his criticism at Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “She set the tone for some opposition activists, gave them a signal, they heard this signal and started active work,” he said. There’s a heavy military presence on the streets of Moscow after several days of protest in the city and elsewhere. The anti-Kremlin rallies have been among the biggest ever seen the capital. Hundreds of people have been arrested and there are new accusations of a clampdown on online media. But there have also been pro-Putin demonstrations and he remains on course to win the presidential election in March.

Marrakech Film Festival: Denmark’s ‘Out of Bounds’ wins
Danish director Frederikke Aspock is in the spotlight after her film ‘Out of Bounds’ triumphed at the eleventh annual Marrakech International Film Festival on Saturday night. Titled ‘Labrador’ in Denmark, this is Aspock’s first feature-length movie. The drama follows a young couple and the relationship between a father, his daughter and his daughter??�s boyfriend – the only three characters in the film. The couple visit the woman’s father, who lives alone with his labrador dog on the desolate Danish island of Gotland. Fifteen movies were in the in the competition under a jury headed by Serbian film-maker, Emir Kusturica. See all the winners of the international film festival in the euronews programme ‘Cinema’ from Monday.

Tributes paid to Gary Speed
?�The?�football world has been?�paying tribute to Wales national team manager Gary Speed after he was found dead at his home in Chester on Sunday. ?�The 42 year old?�took over coaching the national side in 2010 and despite the country’s failure to qualify for?�next year’s?�European Championships, Welsh FA?�chief executive Jonathan Ford believed there were signs of real improvement under?�his guidance.?�?�Speed,?�who won 85 international caps for Wales as a player, began his career with Leeds in 1988 before representing Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United. ?�An inquest into his death is due to open on Tuesday.

Former Israeli president to be jailed
Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav is due to begin a 7-year jail sentence today after being convicted on two counts of rape. 66-year old Katsav was found guilty a year ago but was allowed to live at home with his wife while he appealed the conviction. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict but he maintains that he is innocent. “Today in the state of Israel, they are executing a man, based on impressions, without testimonies from the actual events, without evidence.” He’ll serve his sentence at Maatsiyahu low-security prison and the Israeli government says he’ll be kept under the same conditions as other prisoners at the jail. Katsav is the first former Israeli head of state to be jailed.

Portugal passes austerity budget as recession deepens
Portugal’s parliament has passed the 2012 budget bill as widely expected. But the final reading was marked by the main opposition Socialist party’s abstention – a move aimed at showing political cohesion behind the bill’s sweeping austerity measures, even as it promises the deepest recession in decades. Portugal passes austerity budget as recession deepens Portugal’s parliament has passed the 2012 budget bill as widely expected. But the final reading was marked by the main opposition Socialist party’s abstention – a move aimed at showing political unity behind the bill’s sweeping austerity measures, even as it promises the deepest recession in decades. Outside parliament, there was widespread agreement too, but demonstrators felt that the poor will be hit most hard by planned cuts. Under the terms of the EU/IMF 78-billion euro bailout Portugal must drastically reduce its deficit. That means tax hikes and a suspension of holiday and end of year bonuses for civil servants, among other deeply unpopular measures. “I have two daughters, I work in public service and my husband too, and these cuts make us have less spending power,” said one protestor. “Next year it will be worse. They say there are going to be improvements, but we don’t see that, what we see is things getting worse,” added another demonstrator. However, Portugal’s centre-right coalition government insists the budget will create a basis for sustainable growth and debt reduction. It also expects the economy to start recovering late next year.

Countdown to euro crisis summit
Time is ticking as EU leaders head towards this week’s two day critical summit to save the euro. In the short term, decisions are needed over the means to increase firewall funding and the mechanisms to stop contagion. In the long term there is the German and French plan for greater fiscal integration to pull weaker countries and their wayward economies into shape. The burning question there is how inclusive will be such a treaty . The US supports the Franco-German plan saying reforms are needed for economic growth but accompanied by a greater role for the ECB. Britain has other concerns: British Prime Minister David Cameron: “ The most important British interest right now is to sort out the problem in the euro zone that is having the chilling effect on our economy that I have spoken about. Now that obviously means euro zone countries doing more together and if they choose to use the European Treaty to do that then obviously there will be British safeguards and British interests that I will insist on and I won’t sign a treaty that doesn’t have those safeguards in it.” Standard and Poor’s warning shot at the bloc by threatening to cut credit ratings of euro zone members and even that of its rescue fund could be seen more as a political move to spur the leaders into decisive action. And that’s what the markets are looking for more than anything – long awaited decisions at a summit which above all restore confidence.

Russia’s message to Putin-Medvedev
With United Russia’s support dented in the country’s parliamentary elections, questions are now being asked about whether the Putin-Medvedev partnership has been weakened. The party’s vote tally was 15 per cent down on the 2007 result – losing its two-thirds constitutional majority but still holding on to a comfortable overall majority. Putin blamed the financial crisis, but on the streets of Moscow, several people felt it was a clear message to Putin. One voter said: “Well, they need to make changes and today they say there’s economic modernisation going on in the country. The authorities need to deal with this issue more actively, then there will be better results. The people want changes for us to live better in this country.” Putin and Medvedev turned towards diversifying the Russian economy, which relies on hydrocarbons for 60 per cent of its exports, and aimed to reduce corruption, widely believed to be among the most serious problems facing the country. Yana Yakovleva, the chair at the NGO Business Solidarity, said Russia remains a risky place to do business: “Unfortunately, our entire system needs reform, needs economic reforms, but so far we don’t see any of this happening and in as much as the authorities aren’t changing, you can’t expect any new important and much needed reforms.” The 2011 World Bank report ranks Russia in 120th place out of 183 in terms of difficulties for doing business. That is way behind the former Soviet republics of Georgia, Latvia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Nikolai Petrov, analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Moscow believes the time for doing nothing has gone. “I think it’s understood that the three months standing between us and the presidential elections can’t go the same way that the last few months of the Duma campaign went – without some kind of substantial, strong and serious ideas, without mobilising the electorate,” he said. “Putin will have to set some kind of tangible programme ahead of the presidential election and not just come out with generalisations.” To get an outsider’s perspective on what it all means, Tony Halpin the Moscow correspondent of the British newspaper The Times spoke to euronews from the Russian capital. Nial O’Reilly, euronews: United Russia still have a majority in the Duma, but it’s a major setback for Putin and Medvedev, what has gone wrong for them? Tony Halpin, The Times: I think what went wrong is that the voters felt they were being taken for granted. Mr Putin and Mr Medvedev announced two months ago in September that they intended to swap jobs and a lot a Russians were I think personally offended that neither man bothered even to consult them before declaring who will be president and who will be prime minister next year euronews: So (the voters) don’t like the double-act? Will (the politicians) take on board this message from the electorate? Can we expect to see a shift in policy or even leadership style. Tony Halpin, The Times: I think it’s fair to say that Mr Putin is still the most popular politician in the country but Mr Medvedev, when he takes over prime minister, will have some work to do to convince the Duma that he has the right policies. And he will have to do more active work in presenting his policies because the Duma itself will be a chamber of much more debate and controversy that it has been before euronews: So you would see Putin as still being able to capture the presidency but you would have doubts about Medvedev being the prime minister? Tony Halpin, The Times: I think yesterday’s results were part of a pattern which do show, in my opinion, that Mr Putin is becoming increasingly unpopular with Russians and many Russians are actually quite tired of him and don’t look forward to the possibility of 12 more years of him as president. So he has a job to do I think to try to reconnect with Russians in a way that he has done in the past quite successfully. But there is a problem for him that he’s perceived now as a man that has a long track record, perhaps too long, and that Russians may be looking around for somebody new with some fresh ideas to challenge those positions and to challenge him as a leader. euronews: Well they’re now going to have to do deals with other parties in the Duma. How do you see that going? Tony Halpin, The Times: United Russia has barely felt the need even to debate most pieces of legislation in the last few years because they had a 2/3 majority, so the opinions of other parties simply didn’t count. That won’t be the case this time around. They’re going to have to argue their case rather more and I suspect that the Communists and Just (Fair) Russia party in particular would be much more vigorous in challenging and contesting their ideas and putting forward their own alternative views. So I think we can expect the Duma to be more lively than it has been in the last four years. euronews: What do we read into the surge in support for the Communists – they seem to have drawn support from different sections of Russian society this time? Tony Halpin, The Times: People looked at the list of the parties on the ballot and decided that the Communists are pretty much the only genuine party of opposition. It didn’t necessarily means that people supported the Communists or wanted somehow the Communists to come back to power, but they did want to register their opposition to United Russia and they perceived the other parties, certainly those which had a real chance of getting in the Duma as in some ways being compromised by the Kremlin, or too close in the past to the Kremlin and United Russia views. So I think the Communists were the beneficiaries of a protest vote rather than support for their particular positions.

Portugal passes austerity budget as recession deepens
Portugal’s parliament has passed the 2012 budget bill as widely expected. But the final reading was marked by the main opposition Socialist party’s abstention – a move aimed at showing political cohesion behind the bill’s sweeping austerity measures, even as it promises the deepest recession in decades. Portugal passes austerity budget as recession deepens Portugal’s parliament has passed the 2012 budget bill as widely expected. But the final reading was marked by the main opposition Socialist party’s abstention – a move aimed at showing political unity behind the bill’s sweeping austerity measures, even as it promises the deepest recession in decades. Outside parliament, there was widespread agreement too, but demonstrators felt that the poor will be hit most hard by planned cuts. Under the terms of the EU/IMF 78-billion euro bailout Portugal must drastically reduce its deficit. That means tax hikes and a suspension of holiday and end of year bonuses for civil servants, among other deeply unpopular measures. “I have two daughters, I work in public service and my husband too, and these cuts make us have less spending power,” said one protestor. “Next year it will be worse. They say there are going to be improvements, but we don’t see that, what we see is things getting worse,” added another demonstrator. However, Portugal’s centre-right coalition government insists the budget will create a basis for sustainable growth and debt reduction. It also expects the economy to start recovering late next year.

Electoral deadlock in breakaway Transdniestria
In the streets of Transdniestria there is a political vacuum. Election results have been delayed amid accusations of voting violations. Igor Smirnov had been in charge of the Russian speaking region for more than 20 years. He was seeking a fifth straight term. One of his closest rivals says problems facing the country must be addressed. “We will try to work out a clearer policy for Russia, Ukraine and European Union, in order to find the best possible way to solve all those problems which have been building for 21 years,” said Yevgeny Vasilyevich Shevchuck, presidential candidate. Unrecognised internationally, Transdniestria has been in limbo since declaring independence and breaking with the Moldovan central government after a brief war in 1992. Election results were due on Monday, the authorities have announced a two day delay while Igor Smirnov’s camp has called for the ballot to be annulled. He stood for re-election against the wishes of his one time mentor, Moscow. Analysts believe whoever wins in Tiraspol must strive for a closer relationship with Moldova. Something which is wanted in Russia. “It might be that we will assist to a kind of rapprochement between Chisinau and Tiraspol, because Russia really wants it right now in the context of its discussion with the European Union,” explained Radu Vrabie of the Association for Foreign Policy. The results are now expected on Wednesday and will be watched closely within the region. Our correspondent, Sergio Cantone said, “What’s happening seems like a regime change, with president Smirnov finally leaving power after nearly twenty years, in order to facilitate a solution to the old conflict between Moldova and Transdniestria. A regime change which the president himself sees as pushed from abroad, from the international community.”