Election commissions in Ukraine ready for poll -- observers.

KIEV, October 31 (Itar-Tass) -- The mission of international observers
CIS-EMO believes that all the election commissions are entirely ready for
local elections in Ukraine to be held on October 31, CIS-EMO executive
director Marina Kochetkova said on Saturday.
Though meetings of some commissions were held not according to the
schedule, the mission would like to state that on the whole the
commissions are ready for the elections, she said.
A mission member, political analyst Vladimir Artemenko of Russia also
added that the mission did not find violations that could influence the
vote.
A total of 490 observers from foreign states and international
organisations and 1,917 observers from Ukrainian public organisations will
monitor the elections in Ukraine.



.Moscow, Hanoi to conclude agreement to build 1st NPP in Vietnam.


HANOI, October 31 (Itar-Tass) -- Moscow and Hanoi will conclude an
intergovernmental agreement on Sunday to build the first nuclear power
plant in Vietnam, Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said.
"An intergovernmental agreement will be signed in Hanoi on cooperation
in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Vietnam's territory," he
said.
The sides will also conclude an agreement on cooperation in the area
of nuclear security regulation for peaceful atomic energy use.
The Kremlin foresees no serious difficulties in the construction
beginning, a high-ranking source told Itar-Tass.
According to Russian specialists, the construction will take at least
three to five years.
Russia is ready to provide a loan for the construction. Such a project
prompts use of Russian financial resources. Russia is ready to consider
providing a loan on terms mutually agreed on, the Kremlin source noted.
The long-term cycle to carry out the project and the fact that it
ensures employment for many people should be taken into consideration, the
official added.
"Russia has certain advantages as compared to other countries. "We
know Vietnam's technical regulations well, and we are adapted in other
areas, for example in hydro power engineering," he noted.
Before Medvedev's visit, Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet said
in an interview to Itar-Tass that the Russian construction of the first
nuclear power plant in Vietnam would form a basis for the nuclear sector
and deepen long successful cooperation between the two countries in the
energy sector.
According to the president, the plant construction is not only a key
project in point of meeting the country's increasing needs for electric
power, but also a basis for atomic energy sector development in the
country in the future.
Aside from the assistance in the plant construction and use, Vietnam
and Russia will also cooperate in personnel training, scientific research
and use of nuclear technologies.
The plan to build a nuclear power plant of 1.920 MW capacity in the
province of Ninh Thuan was approved by Vietnamese authorities in November
2009. The construction will begin in 2014, and already by 2020 the plant
will be put into operation. Vietnam's partner in the implementation will
be the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom.
The main factor that Russia is chosen as a partner to build and use
the plant is high-degree security ensured for Russian pants and Russia's
readiness to provide assistance to Vietnam to utilise nuclear waste, local
experts note.
During the working visit to Hanoi in September, Rosatom
Director-General Sergei Kiriyenko assured the Vietnamese side that the
Russia-offered project met the present technological standards and all the
safety requirements.
-0-pan