Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Ukraine

Third Judge Sacked From Ukraine Constitutional Court

Yushchenko (left) and Yanukovych agreed on May 4 to hold an early election (ITAR-TASS)

May 10, 2007 -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has sacked another Constitutional Court judge, Volodymyr Ivashchenko.

TEXT SIZE - +

May 10, 2007

Ivashchenko is the third Constitutional Court judge to be dismissed by the president on charges of procedural and ethics violations.

MORE: Coverage in Ukrainian from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

The parliamentary majority, led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, has denounced the dismissals as unconstitutional.

After a monthlong political standoff, Yanukovych and Yushchenko reached agreement in principle on May 4 to hold early parliamentary elections, but they have not decided on a date.

However, the Constitutional Court is still officially considering, at the request of Yanukovych and his allies, the legality of Yushchenko's April 2 order to dissolve parliament and call early elections.

(Interfax, ITAR-TASS)

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