Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Ukraine

Kyiv: Chornobyl Shelter Repair To Cost Some $1 Billion

The Chornobyl sarcophagus

31 August 2005 -- Ukrainian officials say the repair of a decaying concrete shelter enclosing the remains of the
Chornobyl nuclear power station will cost more than $1.3 billion.

TEXT SIZE - +

August 01, 2005

A reactor explosion at the station in April 1986 caused the world's worst civilian nuclear power accident. A Soviet-
built concrete shelter enclosing the radioactive remains is now crumbling and is in need of repair.

David Zhvania, Ukraine's minister of emergency situations, said today the Ukrainian government is expecting
international construction firms to tender for a $1.3 billion contract to overhaul the containment structure.

The estimate is more than $500 million higher than previous estimates on the cost of fixing the shelter.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development -- in cooperation with the Ukrainian government -- announced a tender for a Chornobyl shelter repair project in March.

(dpa)

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