Moldova students smash parliament

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   Students in Moldova have attacked the country's parliament in protest at the governing Communist Party, which won the general election on Sunday.
   
   Witnesses say crowds poured into the building through smashed ground-floor windows. They hurled furniture out and set it alight.
   
   More than 30 people, including both protesters and police officers, were injured, the head doctor at a hospital in Chisinau told the AFP news agency.
   
   A truce may now have been agreed.
   
   Tear gas and jets of water were blasted at protesters by security forces defending the parliament building.
   
   The Communists won 50% of votes in the election declared "fair" by observers.
   
   They were followed by the centre-right opposition Liberal Party with almost 13% of the votes, and the Liberal Democratic Party with 12%.
   
   It is still not clear whether the Communists will win the 61 seats in the 101-seat parliament that they need to elect a new president unopposed.
   
   President Vladimir Voronin is expected to step down on Tuesday after two terms in office.
   
   He is barred by the constitution from running for a third, although he has indicated he wants to remain involved in the affairs of state.
   
   Parliament will begin the process of electing his successor on Wednesday. If no president is chosen before 8 June, another parliamentary election must be held.
   
   The pro-Western centre-right opposition parties have said they will not join a coalition with the communists, who favour strong links with both Russia and the European Union.
   
   Breakaway region
   
   Mr Voronin's successor will lead the poorest country in Europe, where the average wage is just under $250 (£168) a month, and will inherit an unresolved conflict over the breakaway region of Trans-Dniester.
   
   Correspondents say the dispute is reminiscent of the situation in South Ossetia before last summer's war between Georgia and Russia.
   
   The region has run its own affairs, with Moscow's support, since the end of hostilities in a brief war in 1992.
   
   Mr Voronin resumed direct talks with Trans-Dniester last year.

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