• Jews meet in Moldova to celebrate heritage
• US Vice President Biden arrives in Moldova to warm welcome
• Slowdown brings role reversal for Moldova

• AP Investigation: Nuclear black market seeks IS extremists
• AP Investigation: Nuclear black market seeks IS extremists
• Moldova blames Romania after anti-government riots

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Jews meet in Moldova to celebrate heritage
7 June 2012 - Some 400 Jews have gathered in the former Soviet republic of Moldova for a festival to celebrate the Jewish heritage of the former Soviet countries. Artists, scientists, and musicians from Israel, the United States, and the former Soviet republics will attend the four-day conference, which began Thursday in this country of 4.1 million with a population of 20,000 Jews. The conference is organized by Limmud FSU, a group that supports and reinforces Jewish education and identity. (more)

US Vice President Biden arrives in Moldova to warm welcome
11 March 2011 - Thousands of Moldovans lined the streets, waving Moldovan and US flags to greet Vice President Biden, who is the most senior US official to visit the nation since it proclaimed independence in August 1991 in the wake of the break-up of the Soviet Union. Biden arrived in Moldova from Russia after a two-day visit focused on efforts to 'reset' relations. (more)

Slowdown brings role reversal for Moldova
29 January 2009 - Moldova, Europe's poorest country, is basking in its new-found status as one of the world's most stable economies, even if it did take a global slump to earn it the accolade. Moldova has been ranked fifth, well ahead of economic powerhouses like Japan and the United States, in an index compiled by London-based magazine The Banker that rated countries on how well protected they are from the slowdown. The index concluded that the very reasons that have made Moldova an economic laggard -- a primitive financial system, low levels of lending, and an economy based on farming -- now make it well-placed to withstand the slump. (more)

Moldova: Resolving conflict with Transdniestria
21 April 2008 - Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and the leader of its separatist Transdniestria region, Igor Smirnov, met this month for the first time in six years to discuss prospects for resolving one of the former Soviet Union's 'frozen conflicts'. Following are a few facts about Transdniestria. (more)

Moldova President Voronin, separatist vow to solve problems
12 April 2008 - Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and the leader of the separatist Transdniestria region agreed on Friday to hold talks to 'gradually' resolve issues behind their longstanding conflict. No negotiations have taken place for two years on Moldova's 17-year-old separatist rebellion, one of several 'frozen conflicts' in ex-Soviet states. Transdniestria, a sliver of land wedged between the Dnestr River and Ukraine, proclaimed independence from Moldova in 1990 when it was still a Soviet republic. (more)

Moldova and Transnistria to resume peace talks
27 September 2005 - Moldova and Transnistria have agreed to resume negotiations on the Transnistrian conflict settlement. The talks, which are set to resume on 27-28 October in Chisinau and Tiraspol, will also discuss the involvement of the European Union and the US observers. Negotiations on settling the Transnistrian conflict were interrupted a year ago. (more)

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AP Investigation: Nuclear black market seeks IS extremists
7 October 2015 - n the backwaters of Eastern Europe, authorities working with the FBI have interrupted four attempts in the past five years by gangs with suspected Russian connections that sought to sell radioactive material to Middle Eastern extremists, The Associated Press has learned. The latest known case came in February this year, when a smuggler offered a huge cache of deadly cesium -- enough to contaminate several city blocks -- and specifically sought a buyer from the Islamic State group. Criminal organizations, some with ties to the Russian KGB's successor agency, are driving a thriving black market in nuclear materials in the tiny and impoverished Eastern European country of Moldova, investigators say. The successful busts, however, were undercut by striking shortcomings: Kingpins got away, and those arrested evaded long prison sentences, sometimes quickly returning to nuclear smuggling, AP found. (more)

AP Investigation: Nuclear black market seeks IS extremists
7 October 2015 - In the backwaters of Eastern Europe, authorities working with the FBI have interrupted four attempts in the past five years by gangs with suspected Russian connections that sought to sell radioactive material to Middle Eastern extremists, The Associated Press has learned. The latest known case came in February this year, when a smuggler offered a huge cache of deadly cesium -- enough to contaminate several city blocks -- and specifically sought a buyer from the Islamic State group. Criminal organizations, some with ties to the Russian KGB's successor agency, are driving a thriving black market in nuclear materials in the tiny and impoverished country of Moldova, investigators say. The successful busts, however, were undercut by striking shortcomings: Kingpins got away, and those arrested evaded long prison sentences, sometimes quickly returning to nuclear smuggling, AP found. (more)

Moldova blames Romania after anti-government riots
8 April 2009 - Moldova's Communist president, Vladimir Voronin, accused neighbouring Romania on Wednesday of trying to overthrow his government and ordered mass arrests of protesters in Europe's poorest state. Moldova's former Soviet master Russia backed his allegation of foreign interference, but Romania, a NATO and EU member, rejected the veteran leader's words as a 'provocation.' Western powers urged all sides to keep calm and avoid a repeat of Tuesday's post-election riots in which one person died, more than 270 people were injured, and 193 were arrested. The European Union said it was deeply concerned about escalating tensions. (more)

Peacekeepers on alert in Moldovan region
5 March 2005 - Russia has placed its troops on alert in Moldova's separatist Trans-Dniester region, a news agency reported Saturday, as tensions increased between the two countries ahead of Sunday's parliamentary elections in the former Soviet republic. (more)