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Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, is the location for this euronews interview. This impoverished former Soviet republic wedged between Romania and Ukraine has been in political turmoil since legislative elections last April which opposition parties claimed were rigged. The ruling Communist Party ignored their complaints, but will have to hold fresh elections later this summer after failing to gain the necessary majority in parliament for their preferred candidate for the presidency. International observers are split over whether the election was fair, but thousands of mainly young Moldovans took to the streets in April in the belief that it was rigged with the names of hundreds of thousands of dead people still on the electoral rolls. An initially peaceful demonstration organised by NGO activists to protest about how the election was conducted later turned violent. Hundreds were arrested. Moldovan journalist and civil rights activist Natalia Morari was one of the main organisers of the peaceful protests. Morari, who was previously banned from Russia for her critical reporting on alleged corruption there, has now been charged by the Moldovan authorities with inciting "mass disorder".

Europe's citizens have made their choice; the next European Parliament is in place. But who will lead the Commission? Jose Manuel Barroso appears likely to stay on as President, but not if the left have their way. The debate is hotting up. Hear both sides from writers with opposing points of view.

Up 800 illegal immigrants are occupying an old courthouse in central Athens, transforming it into an enormous squat. Living conditions are appalling. It is under the spotlight as EU leaders prepare to discuss the crisis illegal immigration is creating in Malta, Cyprus and Greece.

June the twenty first is World Refugee Day. A day to focus on hundreds of thousands across the world who have no place to call home. Some refugees are ignored by everyone and those unfortunates include the Bhutanese in camps in southern Nepal. Thousands of families the world has forgotten.

Young European dropouts are paying a high price for school failures with the economy in recession. Many feel pushed aside by education systems, and for more and more young people, untrained means unemployed. Offered a second chance, those who can are taking it.

Meeting in Estonia, the European People's Party and European Democrats plan strategy for the EU Parliament elections in June. The British Conservatives intend to form a new group.

The renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava has been speaking to euronews.

His designs - which take their inspiration from nature - provoke strong reactions; they are either loved or loathed.

Calatrava, who considers himself to be above all an artist, says an architect is also a philanthropist.

In the past cities were designed to last, today they provide an insight into the soul of the lost civilisations that built them.

ESAC, the European Space Astronomy Centre, could describe some of their work as "putting the universe into our computers". Based near Madrid in Spain, ESAC is an important part of the European Space Agency (ESA).

Scientists are gathering data on the characteristics of the universe - its age, its contents, how it evolved, its geometry. Once the data is gathered, then it has to be processed and archived. The information is invaluable to the international scientific community ...

Austrian voters want the next European Parliament to fight against genetically modified crops. Only about 20% of Austrians plan to cast European ballots, yet they want their national GMO ban left alone. EU authorisations continue to sew doubt.

He is not the first writer to live far from his homeland, but Nedim Gürsel, one of Turkey's greatest authors, likes to think of himself as a bridge, not only between two nations, but between the west and the east.

He fled his country during the military coup of 1980, and is now a naturalised Frenchman living in Paris where he heads research at the CNRS, and holds conferences on Europe. His latest was at Paris's Science-Politics grande ecole.

Encouraging alternatives to leaving home. Mali and Europe join hands to manage migration from one of the world's poorest countries.

For a long time, many imagined conditions on Venus to be similar to Earth.

But space probes have since discovered a burning hell instead of a tropical paradise on the planet's surface.

The first European mission to Venus, our closest neighbour, helps explain some of the reasons for this hostile environment.

Nijemgen, The Netherlands, a woman arrives for a breast cancer screening. An appointment she wouldn't want to miss. Every year in The Netherlands women aged between fifty and seventy five undergo a test for breast cancer. Basic mammograms are at the heart of early breast cancer detection. But in The Netherlands today digital mammograms are replacing the traditional techniques.

It was 1979 when the first elections for a European Parliament were held. Then, just nine countries chose their MEPs. The turnout: 62 %.

The seventh European elections are due to go-ahead in early June. Surveys forecast the lowest turnout in the history of the EU, at around 40 %.

How can we explain the public's lack of interest?

The EU is looking for ways to make immigration an opportunity for all parties, both in the countries of origin and countries of destination. Focus on Ukraine and Moldova.

Actress, singer, director, polyvalent and multicultural, Maria de Medeiros was born in Lisbon, grew up in Vienna and has lived in Paris for the last 20 years. So she is in every sense a genuine citizen of Europe.

Less than one in four young voters are expected to turn out and cast their ballot in the European elections in June.

But ironically polls show it's young voters who have the most trust in Europe.

So what can be done to motivate them?

Euronews talks to political activitsts and campaign managers to find out - this week, in Parlamento.

In most European countries, women are a minority in the political elite: in the Italian parliament women only have one seat in five, below the already low European average.

In Europe the average is just one in four, and very few ever get ministries. In this week's Parlamento we take a closer look at Italy, and examine the prospects for change there and elsewhere in Europe on the eve of the European elections.

Eurosceptic Denmark and Iceland might see the recession as leading to an economic shotgun wedding but it just seems to have reinforced British eurosceptics' stiff upper lip.

Above the arctic circle, satellites observe the snow and ice to protect animals such as reindeer -In what is being called "science to serve the citizen" -Europe is backing a series of programmes covering all aspects of life impacting on the individual.

So this chemical is safe is it? Thanks to EU law, industry has to prove it. REACH legislation says the producers or importers must furnish safety studies for what they put on the market.

programme. Those discussions with the UN Security Council and Germany, the so-called six-party talks, come amid more conciliatory language emanating from Washington. euronews asked Mottaki for the Iranian point of view.

Scientists researching a parasitic tropical disease have discovered that the condition might have some unexpected benefits. Bilharzia afflicts thousands of people every year in the tropics. But European and African researchers have also found the worm that causes it could hold the key to treating allergies.

Europe is up against it with the global financial and economic crisis, but will big nations like France and Germany ride to the rescue of Austrian banks, and convince their voters those who took risks should be bailed out, or Hungarian property owners need help? Elvire Fabry is director of the Europe-International section at Paris's Political Innovation Foundation, studying the European mindset. Allan Janik is both Austrian and American and is a philosophy professor in Innsbruck. He wants to see a new "philosophy of European construction". euronews brought them face-to-face for this Agora to ask them if this crisis could tear Europe apart, or make it stronger.

Meeting in Estonia, the European People's Party and European Democrats plan strategy for the EU Parliament elections in June. The British Conservatives intend to form a new group.

In the midst of a global economic crisis, where does a leading carmaker choose to build a new model? Spain!

As France prepares to rejoin Nato's military command, euronewsmet French Defence Minister Hervé Morin, to find out how he sees relations developing between France and Nato, what he thinks the future of the European Defence Policy is, and to get his thoughts on tackling pirates off Somalia.

The International Space University is based in Strasbourg, France. Fifty students from all corners of the world are preparing for their future careers in Space Science. They are studying a wide range of subjects. ISU Strasbourg, a university which stands out for its originality.

Europe's gambling capital lies in Slovenia, just over the border from Italy. Five years after Ljubljana joined the EU, Nova Gorica, the town built behind the Iron Curtain after the Second World War, is now booming. Determined not to forget its past, it is also looking towards the future. We visit Europe's Las Vegas in Reporters.

There is more than a whiff of turmoil among the European Socialists in the countdown to June's elections. Opinion polls suggest that they will be playing second fiddle to the Conservatives, unable to iron out a host of differences among themselves, which include finding a candidate to stand against Jose Manuel Barroso for Commission President.

Africa is the continent hit hardest by the AIDS virus. Prevention efforts are bearing fruit, but it is not enough, experts say. Often pushed aside, people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable. In Kenya, associations of carers seek to protect those at risk.

From infants to industry, in Sweden they want the European Parliament elections to centre on sustainable development and innovation. Hoping to make economic crisis management and environmental responsibility work together.

The mysteries of the Sun are slowly being unravelled as scientists pioneer new techniques to look inside our star. European researchers are using sound waves on the solar surface to understand the rhythms and cycles within.

Graham Watson, British head of the third-largest group in the European Parliament is not only leading the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe towards the EU elections. Determined to broaden public debate about where Europe is going, he wants to become president of the whole assembly.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was a fierce opponent of Saddam Hussien who returned after the dictator fell to become the number two in the body that purged Baath party members from the state apparatus. He also waged war on terrorist networks within the country, bacoming prime minister in two thousand and six. A member of the Islamist Shi'ite Dawa party since the 1960's, euronews met him in Baghdad to talk about his new domestic and international political strategies.

EU-US relations are in the spotlight this week with the American leadership in Europe for a series of meetings at the highest level. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the driving force behind a conference in the Netherlands to boost support for the new White House strategy on Afghanistan.

It came on the eve of the crucial G20 summit to start fixing the global financial crisis, and before celebrations to mark NATO's 60th anniversary.

Clinton spoke to euronews in the Hague.

Abdullah Gul is the President of the Republic of Turkey and one of the most important political figures emerging from Turkey's pro Western AKP party - he's also a devout Muslim.

He's a former foreign minister.

As President his role is not simply a titular one.

He deals with international policy - especially when it comes to defending his country's interests in Europe and its relationship with the Middle East

How well do we really know our Solar System? While we may be starting to unravel the secrets of Earth and its closest neighbours Mars and Venus, the 'gas giants,' like Jupiter and Saturn, that are much further afield remain shrouded in mystery. This edition of Space looks at the story of the forgotten planets.

The Greens see the European elections as a golden opportunity for ecological transformation. They are convinced that their innovation platform will deliver Europe from its economic and social crisis. Will it net them votes in countries with a minimal showing so far?

Workers are moving around Europe's single market with increasing un-ease, in the global economic downturn. Romanians seeking a better life in western Europe wonder whether to stay or return.

In a few days the Arab summit will be held in Doha, and the campaign for Lebanon's parliamentary election, on the 7th of June begins. It will be a decisive vote in Lebanese history, caught as the country is in a vortex of regional and international variables. euronews met Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Beirut to talk about several issues,such as European-Lebanese relations, and the International Tribunal in charge of investigating the assassination of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

In June, Lebanon holds its first parliamentary elections since the withdrawal of Syrian troops in 2005.

The poll will be fiercely contested and in the run up to the election euronews is talking to various of the country's political heavyweights.

Michel Aoun is the head of the Free Patriotic Movement and leads the main Christian parliamentary group in the current parliament.

From the pine trees in southern Europe to the spruce forests near the Arctic Circle, about 25 million cubic meters of wood are wasted every year in Europe. But now researchers are looking at new ways of making each felled tree traceable. One method uses tags containing a Radio Frequency Identification transponder. Another method uses special ink...

In the French Alps, multinational forces are training for a mission in Afghanistan. The European Defence Agency is running the exercise, not NATO. What is the difference?

A look at how, 60 years after the alliance was created, the dynamics of NATO and European defence is changing.

Reforming and upgrading technical and vocational training is a major challenge for Middle Eastern & Mediterranean nations, where education often means university or nothing, and women hardly get a look in.

The European Training Foundation is helping Jordan change all that. Sawa finds out how.

Anticapitalists who put people first, the United European Left group in the European Parliament has long sought to mobilise public opinion on social themes. Milan’s activists are employing traditional symbols to campaign for this June’s European elections.

It is not just banks and business being hit by the world financial crisis. Towns and cities in Europe are seeing their budgets strangled as tax revenues tumble. Once one of the richest places, Wuppertal in Germany is now on its uppers, hoping to benefit from Berlin's multi-billion-euro recession rescue package..

Croatia's Prime Minister Ivo Sanader is preparing to take his country on two historic leaps forward: joining NATO next month...and becoming the 28th member of the European Union. But not everyone in the Balkans is happy, especially Slovenia. The two neighbours are in a border dispute. They both claim Piran Bay on the Adriatic Coast. And the row also involves other boundary claims left unresolved since the break up of Yugoslavia in 1991.

In the beginning there was gunpowder then came hydrogen and liquid oxygen used to propel objects through space. Today many more propellants are available to engineers to power long journeys into space.

Just where is the boundary between Croatia and Slovenia? The question has been a divisive one for the two countries for years. With Croatia negotiating EU membership, the dispute has become a European issue. Reporter goes to the heart of the problem in the Bay of Piran..

It's a country that lies in a conflict zone and that is of great geostrategic importance to Europe. But what does Azerbaijan expect from the EU? Will the countries of the Caucasus and the European Union really be able to forge closer ties? Parlamento takes a look.

In charge of the G8 presidency, Italy has helped oversee a renewed Afghanistan strategy as well as spearheading attempts to engage Iran, despite its nuclear ambitions.

On a European level, Italy has also been working on better relations with Romania to ease tensions over immigration.

Euronews spoke to Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

Gender equality in Europe is still a distant goal, but the pay-off is undeniable, in economic terms as well as human.

Sweden and Spain are among the countries setting good examples.

How would you vote, who with and for what political programme?

To build up critical mass for the European elections, an unprecedented Internet site goes online at the end of April.

EU PROFILER sets out to connect voters of all ages, so they can see who shares their views.

With International Women's Day just around the corner, euronews travelled to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to see what reforms are being put in place to support women's rights.

Elie Barnavi is an Israeli historian and political scientist based in Brussels. He is the former Israeli ambassader to Paris and the author of several books.

With the Israeli election hours away Barnavi, a former member of Peace Now, shines a light on the current political situation inside Israel… where he believes that only the United States can save Israel from what he feels is the mediocrity of Israel’s political classes.

There are signs Belarus is opening up. But the opposition advises caution, suggesting President Lukashenko just needs Europe to help Belarus weather the global economic storm.

Every year, there are approximately 500 million cases of malaria around the world. The disease kills one child every minute in Sub- Saharan Africa. African and European researchers are working together, to find new ways to fight severe malaria in young children.

http://www.edctp.org

http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/delta

Muslims treated brutally under Myanmar’s military dictatorship for years are still fleeing to Bangladesh. Life as unrecognised refugees is hard enough. For the physically disabled it is even harder.

Roberto Saviano's controversial book "Gomorra" exposed the dealings of the Casalesi family, part of Naples' all-powerful Camorra crime ring. In retaliation, clan bosses put out a contract on his head. He now lives under police protection. Some say Saviano brought this on himself. Last year his book was made into a movie, with Saviano helping to write the script. He spoke to euronews in Barcelona, under tight security.

They call him Europe's last dictator. With Europe's increasing dependency on Russian energy forcing a thaw in relations with transit nation Belarus, euronews travelled to Minsk to speak to its president, Alexander Lukashenko. One of the last post-Soviet leaders, Lukashenko has been at the head of Belarus for nearly 15 years. He talks to euronews about the global financial crisis, trade with his European and Russian neighbours, gas transit and democracy.

In 2006 the first gas crisis between Russia and Ukraine seemed to have ended with a lasting solution. But three years later the crisis resurfaced. What lessons have the participants learned from the confrontation? What guarantees are there that it won't happen again? Having previously interviewed Ukraine's president, euronews spoke to Russian energy giant Gazprom's Deputy Chairman and exports Director-General Alexander Medvedev

In the aftermath of the war in Gaza, and as Israel prepares to vote in a general election, euronews met two Israeli commentators in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Their distinctly different viewpoints on the impact of Operation Cast Lead, the response of Israeli society, and the role of the international community shared one thing - a sense of disquiet.

Slovakia was one of the countries hardest hit by Russia and Ukriane's recent gas dispute. Figures show its economy suffered losses amounting to more than a billion euros. A look at the impact of the crisis on one of Europe's newest members. This week on Parlamento.

Promoting intercultural dialogue, a high-level European Parliament visit to four Persian Gulf states. A look at attitudes, influences and potential for understanding.

The lack of safe drinkable water remains a pressing issue across the globe. In Central America, a group of Italian NGOs have organised a water fact finding mission in an attempt to understand how the scarcity of this precious resource affects the region. Euronews travelled with them to see what they found.

The Czech Republic assumes the EU Presidency at a time of deep internal division in the bloc between pro-integration Europeans and eurosceptics. Will they resolve their differences and ratify the Treaty of Lisbon? What effect will eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus have on EU affairs?

Walls and watchtowers have long been used to ensure the safety of citizens sheltering under their protection. The guardians of the 21st century are no less vigilant than their ancestors. But their means of keeping watch have changed somewhat. Today the military and civilian space agencies are joining forces more often on dual missions in the name of safety and security.