| Yesterday, the last, fifth stage of early elections to the 543-seat parliament ended in India. For the first time in history, the votes of 252 million voters are counted by electronic machines. The results will be officially announced tomorrow. But there are already preliminary results that show that the ruling Hindu party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, contrary to expectations, lost, according to preliminary data, from 45 to 50 seats in parliament and can count on only 263-275 seats . To win a majority in parliament and form their own government, parties or coalitions need to have 272 seats.
The secular Indian National Congress (INC), led by Sonia Gandhi, widow of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, along with allies, on the contrary, strengthened its position and will gain 174-186 seats. So, it will be very difficult for Vajpayee to form a government this time. The PM and his BJP are actively looking for supporters to win the missing seats. The ruling coalition called early elections, hoping for good economic performance and success in improving relations with Pakistan. But the INC has consistently raised awareness of the plight of more than 300 million Indians living on a dollar a day, and won an absolute majority of parliamentary seats in the politically important state of Andhra Pradesh. The state's chief minister, Chandrababu Naidu, has already resigned as his party, part of the government coalition, suffered defeat. Valentina KULIABINA
Quarter Million Euro for Euro Minting
Newcomers joining the European Union on May 1 will not immediately switch to the single European currency, the euro. We’ll have to endure another three or four years, but for now, in each country of the dozens of newcomers, the local currency will circulate. But negotiations are already underway about where the new currency will be printed. In particular, out of ten, only five countries have their own mints, including Lithuania. According to the director of the Lithuanian Mint, Jonas Valatka, the company is ready for the introduction of the euro and intends to begin minting coins in a year. According to the tradition of the European Union, one side of the coin should be standard - common, the other - national. On this side, the Lithuanians will place the figure of a knight on horseback, characteristic of local symbolism. Lithuania is ready to accept orders from other countries. It is not yet clear whether Estonians and Latvians, who do not have their own similar production, will use its services, but about 250 thousand euros have already been invested in special equipment for the production of euros. Vladimir SKRIPOV, Vilnius
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