Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Belarus

Ukraine Talks Of ‘Massive’ Number Of Bird-Flu Deaths

Members of the Ukrainian Emergency Situations Ministry culling poultry, 4 December (epa)

7 December 2005 – Latest reports on the spread of avian flu in Ukraine suggest a “massive” number of deaths in six villages on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, a spokesman for Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry said on 7 December.

TEXT SIZE - +

December 07, 2005

He declined to specify a number. Tests are underway to determine the exact cause of death.

The six villages are in the northeast of Crimea, in the same region as five towns that had previously reported the death of some 2,500 poultry from avian flu.

Kyiv declared a state of emergency on 3 December in an effort to contain the spread of the infection.

The birds are thought to have contracted the virus from wild birds using the nearly Sivash saltwater lake as a stopover or wintering site.

It is not known yet if the virus in Ukraine is the H5N1 strain responsible for the death of at least 68 people in Asia since 2003.

(AFP/Reuters)

RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, And Moldova Report

SUBSCRIBE For weekly news and analysis on Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova by e-mail, subscribe to "RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine, And Moldova Report."

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