Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Ukraine

Crimea Elects New Prime Minister

Kyiv, 21 April 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Ukraine's autonomous republic of Crimea has a new prime minister.

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April 21, 2005

Crimea's parliament elected Anatoliy Matvienko to the post last night.

Matvienko was nominated for the position by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. Matvienko is the head of the Sobor party, which is part of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's parliamentary bloc.

His election came hours after parliament accepted the resignation of Serhiy Kunitsyn, who had been Crimea's prime minister since April 2002. Kunitsyn was also an adviser to former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma from 2001-02.

A vendor in the central Bosnian town of Zenica sells heart-shaped cushions with proclamations of love for 1 euro each.

Love It (Or Hate It), It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, the Western holiday celebrating love, has become a global phenomenon over the past two decades. The fall of communism and the emergence of the Internet have helped February 14 become something of an unofficial international day of romance. However, not all the passions the holiday stirs are related to love. While some countries have openly embraced the holiday, others are attempting to ban it or replace it with local customs. More

'Police Detain Stuffed Animals' In Minsk Toy Protest

Belarusian youth activists say police have "detained" some stuffed animals used in an antigovernment protest in Minsk, in an echo of similar recent protests in Russia. More

There are frequent reports in the Bulgarian and Ukrainian media about Romanian “pirates” robbing passing transport ships on the Danube. (file photo)

Reports Of 'Pirates Of The Danube' Get The Old Heave-Ho

An attack last month on a Ukrainian barge on the Romanian sector of the Danube River has caused a diplomatic tussle between Bucharest and Kyiv, sparking media reports of possible acts of piracy on Europe's second-largest river. But do “Danube pirates” actually exist? More