Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Ukraine

Ukraine's President To Consult On Political Crisis

Rival rallies filled central Kyiv on March 31 (RFE/RL)

April 2, 2007 -- President Viktor Yushchenko is expected today to hold talks with the leaders of parliamentary factions in a bid to resolve Ukraine's political crisis.

TEXT SIZE - +

April 02, 2007

Yushchenko has said that if the negotiations fail, he will dissolve the Verkhovna Rada, leading to early elections.

Yushchenko has accused pro-Russian groups in parliament of engaging in anticonstitutional activity by inducing lawmakers from blocs that support the president to switch sides. He has demanded that this activity be halted.

SLIDE SHOW: Images from the rival rallies

Supporters of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who is seen as friendlier to Russia than Yushchenko, oppose the threat to dissolve parliament and have demanded that Yushchenko allow the current government and legislature to remain in office.

Several thousand people are demonstrating today against his threat to dissolve parliament.

Ukraine on March 31 saw rival rallies between supporters of the president and backers of the prime minister.

(AFP)

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