Here’s the MSNBC link he mentions: http://msnvideo.msn.com/?videoid=49eaf3a1-ae73-44f8-9b69-96d67eade61b&src=v5:share:sharepermalink:&from=sharepermalink
Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts
Monday, March 10, 2014
Cigar-Shaped UFO Over Korosten, Ukraine On March 6, 2014
Here’s the MSNBC link he mentions: http://msnvideo.msn.com/?videoid=49eaf3a1-ae73-44f8-9b69-96d67eade61b&src=v5:share:sharepermalink:&from=sharepermalink
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Clashes in Kiev after new protest law signed
A line of scorched buses and trucks mark the boundary between protestors and police as unrest continues in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. So far, over two hundred demonstrators, journalists, and police have been injured and/or hospitalized.
The situation began in November as Ukranian President Yanukovych made the decision to freeze ties with the European Union and seek a large bailout from Russia. This decision generated mostly peaceful protests, which increased in size and intensity after police used violence to disperse demonstrators on two occasions.
Anger grew substantially as President Yanukovych enacted measures on Thursday which included:
• A ban on the unauthorized installation of tents, stages or amplifiers in public places
• The provision to arrest protestors wearing masks or helmets
• A ban on protests involving more than five vehicles in convoy
• Hefty fines or jail for breeches of law
On Tuesday, the UN’s High Commisioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, called the situation in the Ukraine “very worrying” and said the government should suspend the laws.
"I call on the authorities to suspend application of the laws to allow time for a thorough review of their content which must be in full compliance with international human rights standards, in particular Ukraine's obligations under the treaties it has ratified," she said in a statement.
The White House blamed the increased tensions on Ukraine’s government for failing to acknowledge its people’s legitimate grievances and threatened sanctions if the use of violence continues. (1)
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Ukraine's government:
"has moved to weaken the foundations of Ukraine's democracy by criminalizing peaceful protest and stripping civil society and political opponents of key democratic protections under the law."(1)
She called on Ukraine to repeal recent laws limiting protests, remove riot police from downtown Kiev and start talking to the opposition.(1)
"The U.S. will continue to consider additional steps -- including sanctions -- in response to the use of violence," Hayden said in a statement. (1)
According to a the ACLU and the New York Times, demonstrators are now receiving text messages saying “Dear User, you have now been registered as a riot attendant.” A scare tactic the government is trying to use to quell protests.
The device used in Kiev is most likely what's known as an 'IMSI catcher', which tricks cell phones into thinking it is a cell phone tower. Any phone within a certain distance of the device will therefore send identifying information to it, allowing the operator to automatically compile a list of every person nearby with a cell phone.(2)
The intimidating surveillance tactic appears not to have succeeded in Kiev, however. Hours after the government sent the mass text message, "the riot police pushed past barricades of burned buses on Hrushevskoho Street near Parliament but were nonetheless met by a crowd of protesters in ski masks and helmets carrying sticks and ready to fight."(2)
“I can understand why people behaved this way and I can’t call them provocateurs,” Kateryna Kruk, a 22-year-old activist who has been one of the key voices of the movement on Twitter, wrote in The Guardian. “It is sad and wrong that they have expressed their feelings this way, but when there is no leader in the crowd to control people, they start to act as the street teaches them.”(3)
For now, Ukrainians will have to stay angry and, unless things change, get angrier still. And until that happens, they will have to find other outlets for their anger — at Yanukovych, at the police, at the opposition, at Western inaction, at other Ukrainians, at everything. Sunday’s burnt-out police buses may only be the beginning.(3)
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Entire Ukraine Government Resigns
Dec 3rd, 2012
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the entire government resigned today in a surprise move after controversial elections as the economy teeters on the brink of recession.
The presidency said President Viktor Yanukovych had accepted Mr Azarov's request to give up his post and become an MP, a move expected to be repeated by several cabinet ministers.
OSCE observers slammed the polls as a setback for Ukraine, marred by the absence of Ms Tymoshenko who is serving a seven-year sentence on abuse of power charges she says were trumped up by Mr Yanukovych.
But economists also fear the country is entering troubled times and could be on the brink of a new recession that would see it seek billions of dollars in disbursements from an IMF standby package.
Ukraine's economy contracted by 1.2 percent in the third quarter of this year, and several banks fear the country is heading for zero growth in 2012, not to mention a sharp devaluation of the local currency.
"This (the resignation) is linked to a number of economic challenges which Ukraine has fallen into thanks to this president and this government," said opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
A Russian-speaking bureaucrat mocked by many in Ukraine for his dry and humourless image, Mr Azarov took office in 2010 shortly after Mr Yanukovych defeated Ms Tymoshenko in a fiercely-contested presidential election.
Mr Azarov has always been seen as a close ally of Mr Yanukovych, but some analysts believe his power base has been undermined by the recent rise of a "Family" of close acquaintances of the president into top positions.
Possible successors to Mr Azarov could include First Deputy Prime Minister Valery Khoroshkovsky and National Bank chief Sergiy Arbuzov, analysts said.
mr Arbuzov, 36, is seen as a key member of the "Family" of Yanukovych allies.
His meteoric rise to one of the most important economic jobs in the country has raised eyebrows in Ukraine. He is a confidant of Mr Yanukovych's increasingly powerful son Olexander, who is regarded as the Family kingpin.
"It is possible that this radical resignation makes sense; it is better to dissolve the government and appoint another one," said Kostyantyn Bondarenko, head of the Ukrainian Politics Institute.
He said that resignation made sense for Mr Azarov, who was approaching the pension age of 65 and would have had to work on replacing a string of ministers had he stayed in power.
Mr Yanukovych has been criticised for concentrating ever more power around himself and allies since defeating the leaders of the pro-Western Orange Revolution in the 2010 polls.
Other candidates for prime minister could include national security chief Andriy Kluyev and deputy presidential chief of staff Iryna Akimova.
Ukrainian parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said that a decision on the composition of the new government could be taken on December 13 or 14 after the new parliament convenes.
The ministers will remain in their posts until a new government is formed, the presidency said.
It also noted that under Ukrainian law, whenever the prime minister resigns the entire government must do so.
The presidency explained the mass resignation by saying that Mr Azarov had decided to take up a parliamentary seat rather than staying on as prime minister.
Under Ukrainian law, deputies have to cease their former work in order to take up their seats in parliament.
Along with Mr Azarov, a number of other ministers were elected to parliament including Deputy Prime Minister Sergiy Tigipko and Economy Minister Petro Poroshenko.
Source: AFP
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the entire government resigned today in a surprise move after controversial elections as the economy teeters on the brink of recession.
 |
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, right, in Parliament in March Photo: GETTY |
The presidency said President Viktor Yanukovych had accepted Mr Azarov's request to give up his post and become an MP, a move expected to be repeated by several cabinet ministers.
It remained unclear who would fill the powerful post of premier, with some analysts speculating it could go to a member of the elite close to Mr Yanukovych known as the "Family".
"President Viktor Yanukovych accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, satisfying the demand of the latter," the statement added. The move came as a new parliament prepares to meet after October 28 legislative elections which raised new concerns about democratic standards under Mr Yanukovych.
The ruling Regions Party appears to have retained control of the Verkhovna Rada with the help of independents despite a strong challenge from the opposition parties of boxer Vitali Klitschko and imprisoned ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko.
The ruling Regions Party appears to have retained control of the Verkhovna Rada with the help of independents despite a strong challenge from the opposition parties of boxer Vitali Klitschko and imprisoned ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko.
OSCE observers slammed the polls as a setback for Ukraine, marred by the absence of Ms Tymoshenko who is serving a seven-year sentence on abuse of power charges she says were trumped up by Mr Yanukovych.
But economists also fear the country is entering troubled times and could be on the brink of a new recession that would see it seek billions of dollars in disbursements from an IMF standby package.
Ukraine's economy contracted by 1.2 percent in the third quarter of this year, and several banks fear the country is heading for zero growth in 2012, not to mention a sharp devaluation of the local currency.
"This (the resignation) is linked to a number of economic challenges which Ukraine has fallen into thanks to this president and this government," said opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
A Russian-speaking bureaucrat mocked by many in Ukraine for his dry and humourless image, Mr Azarov took office in 2010 shortly after Mr Yanukovych defeated Ms Tymoshenko in a fiercely-contested presidential election.
Mr Azarov has always been seen as a close ally of Mr Yanukovych, but some analysts believe his power base has been undermined by the recent rise of a "Family" of close acquaintances of the president into top positions.
Possible successors to Mr Azarov could include First Deputy Prime Minister Valery Khoroshkovsky and National Bank chief Sergiy Arbuzov, analysts said.
mr Arbuzov, 36, is seen as a key member of the "Family" of Yanukovych allies.
His meteoric rise to one of the most important economic jobs in the country has raised eyebrows in Ukraine. He is a confidant of Mr Yanukovych's increasingly powerful son Olexander, who is regarded as the Family kingpin.
"It is possible that this radical resignation makes sense; it is better to dissolve the government and appoint another one," said Kostyantyn Bondarenko, head of the Ukrainian Politics Institute.
He said that resignation made sense for Mr Azarov, who was approaching the pension age of 65 and would have had to work on replacing a string of ministers had he stayed in power.
Mr Yanukovych has been criticised for concentrating ever more power around himself and allies since defeating the leaders of the pro-Western Orange Revolution in the 2010 polls.
Other candidates for prime minister could include national security chief Andriy Kluyev and deputy presidential chief of staff Iryna Akimova.
Ukrainian parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said that a decision on the composition of the new government could be taken on December 13 or 14 after the new parliament convenes.
The ministers will remain in their posts until a new government is formed, the presidency said.
It also noted that under Ukrainian law, whenever the prime minister resigns the entire government must do so.
The presidency explained the mass resignation by saying that Mr Azarov had decided to take up a parliamentary seat rather than staying on as prime minister.
Under Ukrainian law, deputies have to cease their former work in order to take up their seats in parliament.
Along with Mr Azarov, a number of other ministers were elected to parliament including Deputy Prime Minister Sergiy Tigipko and Economy Minister Petro Poroshenko.
Source: AFP
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