Free Republic

A 28-year-old Russian female, who visited Dubai on a tourist visa, and a 30-year-old male citizen of Lebanon, a salesman in a local store, were put on trial for drinking juice in a public place in the daytime during Muslim fasting. The police caught the two people red-handed at a gas station in Dubai, Emirat.ru reports with reference to Gulf News. In accordance with the Federal Penal Code of the United Arab Emirates, a public intake of food and beverages during daytime hours of the month of Ramadan is forbidden by Article 313. The article stipulates the punishment in the...

New Study Strengthens Association Of Prostate Cancer With Exposure To Agent Orange ScienceDaily (May 16, 2008) — As men age, their risk of developing prostate cancer increases. Aging Vietnam veterans are giving researchers new opportunities to solidify the connection between in-country exposure to Agent Orange and subsequent prostate cancer development. In a study presented during the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in Orlando, researchers presented data from a large study of veterans enrolled in the Northern California VA System, examining prostate cancer incidence and disease characteristics in those exposed to Agent Orange compared to those who...

THE Grand Master of the Scottish Orange Order yesterday revealed he had rewritten much of the organisation's founding document in a bid to tone down its anti-Catholic sentiments. Ian Wilson says he is staging a campaign to improve the order's public image. He says while the society is proud of its Protestant base, he does not want it to be seen as anti-Catholic. And he has revealed he is seeking approval of the order's members to allow them to attend Catholic funeral Masses. Mr Wilson said: "I have no issues with the Orange Order's Protestant credentials, but what has to...

KIEV — Thousands of opponents of Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych blocked the entrances to the Constitutional Court on Wednesday, forcing riot police to intervene to allow judges in for the second day of hearings into the legality of a presidential decree dissolving the parliament. The session began more than one hour late after helmeted police linked arms and formed a corridor to usher judges through a scrum of flag-waving demonstrators, which included rival lawmakers pushing and shoving each other outside the court’s black metal gates. The hearing began with 16 of the 18 judges in place, said chief judge...

KIEV (Reuters) - Riot police pushed aside protesters massed outside a Ukrainian courthouse on Wednesday, allowing judges inside to assess whether embattled President Viktor Yushchenko acted legally in ordering a snap election. About 4,000 protesters backing Yushchenko's call for an early election -- but opposing the Constitutional Court's examination of the presidential decree -- had been waving flags outside the building from early morning. The sitting got under way after about an hour's delay, with 15 of the 18 judges present. Yushchenko, long at odds with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich over Ukraine's future direction, has dissolved the chamber and ordered...

Victor Yushchenko has met with leaders of Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies and military units, according to the President`s press-office. Prosecutor General Oleksandr Medvedko, Defense Minister Anatoly Hrytsenko, Interior Minister Mykhailo Korniyenko (acting), Security Service Chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko (acting), Border Service Chief Mykola Lytvyn, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Kyrychenko, Interior Forces Commander Oleksandr Kikhtenko, Intelligence Service Chief Oleksandr Halaka, External Intelligence Service Chief Mykola Malomuzh, and State Guard Chief Petro Plyuta were present at the meeting, as well as Secretariat Chief of Staff Viktor Baloha, Security Council Secretary Vitaly Haiduk, Head of the Secretariat Law...

MOSCOW — The scenes from Kiev and Bishkek are unsettlingly familiar: thousands of demonstrators crowding the central squares of the capitals of Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, waving banners and shouting demands. Less than three years ago, similar protests helped propel reformist politicians into both countries' presidencies, raising hopes that democratic movements across the former Soviet Union would triumph over regimes marked by corruption, stagnation and manipulated elections. The future, briefly, seemed as bright as the cheery names the demonstrators adopted — Ukraine's Orange Revolution, Kyrgyzstan's Tulip Revolution. But within a few months both countries were mired in political crises that seemed...

What has gone wrong with Ukraine’s Orange Revolution? The best answer is that it never went right. The latest crisis merely brings to a head the tension between two halves of a country so deeply divided it barely looks like one nation. President Yushchenko was too convenient a hero for Europe and the US after the 2004 revolution, when he wrested power from his rival Viktor Yanukovich, as hundreds of thousands rallied in freezing temperatures in Independence Square to protest against rigged elections. Pockmarked, from dioxin poisoning before the election, a crime that has never been solved, Yushchenko seemed the...

KIEV, April 3 (Itar-Tass) - Ukraine is getting immersed in a deep political crisis with unpredictable consequences. The parliamentary majority has given a hostile reception to the presidential decree on the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) and does not intend to obey it. The confrontation between political forces will inevitably spill out into to the streets. The opposition leaders have already called for a new Maidan (permanent rally) in downtown Kiev. Yuri Lutsenko, leader of the People's Self-Defence movement, has stated that a platform for speakers will be set up in Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosty) on Tuesday and rallies...

Ukraine is facing its second general election in less than two years after President Viktor Yushchenko last night dissolved parliament, citing "unconstitutional" behaviour by the Moscow-friendly government of Viktor Yanukovich, prime minister. In a move aimed at ending months of political gridlock caused by a stand-off with his long-standing rival Mr Yanukovich, the president said in a television address that it was his "duty" to call fresh elections, accusing the government of the "the politics of intrigue and fraud". The poll will take place on May 27, he said. Mr Yushchenko urged Ukrainians to remain calm saying "the situation is...

Two structures in Anaheim Hills are ablaze as about 500 firefighters are battling a 300-acre brush fire, and scores of homes in that area and Orange Park Acres are being evacuated...

Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. (YRC)—the seventh-largest tire manufacturer in the world—has developed a process that combines citrus oil with natural rubber to form a new compound it calls Super Nanopower Rubber (SNR). The major component of citrus oil is d-limonene. The process reduces the use of petroleum products in tires by 80% and is part of YRC’s global EcoMotion environmental program. The first SNR product is the Decibel Super E-Spec, an all-new consumer passenger tire. The fuel-saving E-Spec tire features an air permeation suppression film, a polymer lining designed to reduce air leakage from the tire, therby helping to maintain...

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasiuk resigned on Tuesday, in another political defeat for the country's pro-Europe President Viktor Yushchenko. The announcement ended a two-month-old court battle between Yushchenko and the pro-Russia wing of the country's political elite, who wanted the pro-Europe Tarasiuk out of the job. A constitutional dispute between Yushchenko and the Ukrainian parliament the Verhovna Rada had left Tarasiuk in political limbo, with other senior members of the government making foreign agreements own their own, and guards locking Tarasiuk out of cabinet meetings. When Tarasiuk refused to give in, parliament severed funding for the Foreign Ministry - a...

Ukraine's foreign minister has accused the Cabinet of cutting off funds to his ministry, leaving it unable to pay its employees or contribute dues to international organizations. The cutoff is the latest attempt by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych to oust Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk, a presidential appointee. The battle is part of the ongoing political struggle between pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko and the more Russian-leaning Yanukovych. The constitution leaves the precise division of powers unclear, prompting a fight for authority that is largely being won by Yanukovych. Parliament last month dismissed Tarasyuk after Yanukovych said he could not work with...

You can also see the above video here: Included: Teen from the band gives Homily at Catholic Mass This video of several Masses on different occasions includes Bishop Tod Brown altering the words of the Mass, a lay youth minister giving a reflection as part of the homily, a strange reflection on beauty by a visiting priest, parishioners entering the sanctuary around the altar during the Liturgy of the Eucharist (and remaining in a standing position throughout the consecration), the routine alteration of the words of the Agnus Dei through song, Bishop Brown in the sanctuary with a costumed...

KIEV, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin assured his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yushchenko here on Friday that Russia would be Ukraine's reliable energy supplier, presenting a welcome break from the strained relationship between the two countries in the recent past Russia's President Vladimir Putin (front) and Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko toast with champagne after signing documents in Kiev Dec. 22, 2006.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)After talks with Yushchenko, Putin told a joint news conference that Russia and Ukraine will build their relations on the basis of pragmatism, equal rights, good neighborly ties and friendship. Putin's Friday visit to Kiev is his...

KIEV -- No orange banners hang from the street lamps; no stage is being erected on Kiev's Independence Square; no festivities are planned. Quietly is how Ukraine plans to commemorate what has become for many a bittersweet occasion: the second anniversary Wednesday of the Orange Revolution. Ukraine's topsy-turvy politics have made any official celebration of the mass protests awkward. Viktor Yanukovych, whose fraud-tarnished presidential victory sparked the uprising, is back in his old job as prime minister. And the Orange Revolution team is again in the opposition. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's popularity is so low that a recent opinion poll...

KIEV, October 14 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukrainian Communist Party leader Pyotr Simonenko said his party would block a draft law giving former members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) the status of 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War if President Viktor Yushchenko signed it. “The presidential decree will have no force if the Supreme Rada has not passed relevant laws,” Simonenko said on Saturday at a rally of protest against a nationalist march in the centre of Kiev on the occasion of the 64th anniversary of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. “We will find supporters in the parliament, sons and grandsons of the generation...

Tensions [...] are soaring again with last week's sensational allegations of a Moscow-backed coup d'état planned to overthrow President Mikhael Saakashvili. Georgian security forces last week rounded up about 30 opposition leaders and charged 14 of them with treason in a purported plan to stage disturbances in Tbilisi, leading to an opposition seizure of power. Most of those arrested were officials of the pro-Moscow Justice Party, [...] Others were activists of the opposition Conservative Monarchists and of the Anti-Soros Movement, a coalition of groups that accuses billionaire George Soros of "interfering" in Georgian politics by funding pro-Western nongovernmental organizations and...

MOSCOW. (Vyacheslav Igrunov for RIA Novosti) - The political crisis in Ukraine has been resolved, but uncertainty persists. The new government is still suffering from the painful compromise that brought about its establishment. On the one hand, most key posts in the government have been given to people free of ideological intoxication and capable of constructive, pragmatic actions. They know why gas should be stored in underground depots in summer, why international commitments should be honored, and why their country should not clash with those on whom its development depends. They are First Deputy Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and Naftogaz...

JOIN THE BILBRAY BRIGADE! Join one of the most high profile congressional races in the country today! U.S. Congressman Brian Bilbray’s Campaign is looking for individuals interested in working on one of the most talked about races in the nation. Full-time, part-time and internship positions available in all facets of a comprehensive grassroots campaign are currently available. • Unbelievable opportunity to break into politics. • Great way to develop vital job skills • Excellent opportunity to network • Ideal for individuals who are willing to work hard to start or advance their career in politics. Duties would include daily direct...

European Union called Victor Yanukovych to continue the reforms, started by his predecessors. Click to see TV clip: http://www-download.1tv.ru/video/2006_08/0608062103.asf

MOSCOW – President Viktor Yushchenko reached across the Orange Revolution's barricades Thursday and nominated his arch rival to lead Ukraine's government out of nearly five months of political paralysis. The deal, reached as a constitutional deadline that expired Wednesday night, creates a "grand coalition" between the pro-Western Mr. Yushchenko's Our Ukraine movement and Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions, which favors closer ties with Russia. Ukraine's parliament, the Supreme Rada, is expected to elect Mr. Yanukovych as prime minister on Friday. Critics suggest the accord has betrayed the Orange Revolution and played into Moscow's hands. Some, including Yushchenko's former ally Yulia...

One of the most surprising aspects of the Viktor Yushchenko administration has been its unwillingness, or disinterest, in public relations and public opinion, whether in Ukraine or abroad. The Yushchenko administration and Our Ukraine ignored public opinion in Ukraine among Orange Revolution supporters, and that of the USA and the West in general, which called for a revived Orange coalition following the March elections. A coalition was only put together on the eve of the June deadline but it immediately collapsed and led to the current political crisis. In ignoring domestic and foreign public opinion and advice, the Yushchenko administration...

KIEV, Ukraine — After four months of wrangling, Ukraine's pro-Western president faced a midnight deadline Wednesday to decide whether to accept his chief political rival as the country's next prime minister. President Viktor Yushchenko can also dissolve parliament and call new elections, but doing so would prolong the political turmoil that has seized this ex-Soviet republic since March's indecisive parliamentary election. A return to power for Viktor Yanukovych, a former prime minister, would complete a startling comeback. His attempt to win the presidency in the 2004 election was marred by fraud and triggered the mass protests known as the Orange...

KIEV, Ukraine - Marathon talks to end Ukraine's political paralysis broke off early Saturday without an agreement between President Viktor Yushchenko and the pro-Russian parliamentary majority that has nominated his former Orange Revolution rival as prime minister. Yushchenko spent more than 10 hours negotiating with Victor Yanukovych, whose fraud-marred run for the presidency in 2004 sparked the Orange Revolution protests that swept Yushchenko to power, and the country's new parliament speaker, Oleksandr Moroz. Yanukovych's nomination as premier earlier this month was an embarrassing setback for Yushchenko, whose popular support has suffered amid infighting and allegations of corruption and incompetence against...

KIEV, Ukraine, July 14 — Ukraine’s political landscape shifted radically on Friday when President Viktor A. Yushchenko’s pro-Western party, Our Ukraine, said that under certain conditions it would join a coalition with its archrival, the pro-Russian Party of the Regions led by Viktor F. Yanukovich. Our Ukraine is insisting that a new government exclude the Communists, who were part of an earlier coalition proposal. Another contentious issue is control over who would become the next prime minister. [...] The Socialist Party, which opposes economic reforms and Ukraine’s joining NATO, would also join the proposed coalition. The Socialists’ participation in a...

MOSCOW – Orange is out, at least for the moment, as Ukraine's political roller coaster seems set to reject at least some results of 2004's pro-democracy revolt and vault Moscow-leaning politician Viktor Yanukovich back into the country's driver's seat. After a week of wild surprises in the 450-seat Supreme Rada, Mr. Yanukovich's Party of Regions announced Tuesday that it had formed a new "anticrisis coalition," holding a slender 12-seat majority, with the Communists and the formerly Orange-allied Socialists. Oleksandr Moroz, the Socialist leader, announced that he had forwarded Yanukovich's name to President Viktor Yushchenko as the new coalition's choice for...

AL ASAD, Iraq (July 10, 2006) -- Hollowell, a band from Orange County, Calif., entertained a crowd of service members at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation building here June 29. According to Jared Daniels, bassist for Hollowell, the band decided to come out to Iraq to show their support for the men and women fighting for our country. "The is the best way we can think of to say thank you to all of the troops," said Daniels, a native of Orange County, Calif. "We need to show our support for everything the men and women over here are doing....

KIEV, July 7 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's Socialist Party blames President Viktor Yushchenko for a virtual collapse of a coalition majority formed in the country's parliament in June, a party member said Friday. Ivan Boky said, "The president ruined the coalition by nominating Petro Poroshenko for the post of [Supreme Rada] speaker." The coalition of Western-leaning forces broke up when the Party of Regions, holding 186 seats in the Rada, and the Socialist and Communist parties with 33 and 21 seats respectively joined forces late Thursday to elect Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz as speaker. The three parties are currently holding...

Pro-Russian parties form new governing coalition in Ukraine by Yana Dlugy KIEV (AFP) - Ukraine's pro-Russian parties formed a new governing coalition in a stunning move that promises to slow the pro-Western course taken by the ex-Soviet nation after the "orange revolution." In front of reporters in parliament, the Regions Party and the Communists signed a coalition agreement with the Socialists, who in a surprise move had defected from the pro-Western "orange" camp the previous day. The coalition said it was open to other parties. "We're not closing the doors," said Viktor Yanukovych, the leader of Regions. "They are open...

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) - Turkmenistan on Friday said its natural gas contract with Ukraine for 2006 was invalid, as it continues to pressure Ukraine to pay about 50 percent more than what it currently pays for Turkmen gas. [...] Turkmenistan's gas supplies have taken on even greater importance for Ukraine after a bitter dispute in January with Russia over gas prices, but Kiev has repeatedly stalled on agreements to pay off debts, and Turkmen officials have repeatedly criticized Kiev. [...] "Turkmenistan proposed Ukraine sign a contract on gas deliveries to Ukraine for the fourth quarter at a price of US$100...

[Babel Fish Translation, use your wit :)] A coup of the secret services Everyone remembers the stormy enthusiasm of the orange revolution on the Meidan of Kiew, which help the separatism to the victory. The heroes of this national Ukrainian rising of the people, at her point president Viktor Juschenko, lost since then their prestige. Its party "Nascha Ukraina" came with the recent parliamentary election on miserable 13 per cent - and in the Donezk basin the Ukrainian nationalism played never a large role. Above all it was in the meantime confirmed that enduring the "revolutionary measures" was financed...

Kiev 17:45 Neftegaz Ukrainy admits the possibility of unauthorized tapping of gas pipelines if its underground gas reserves run out this winter, as stated in the company's letter to the Ukrainian PM Yury Yekhanurov of June 8, 2006. "Under such conditions Ukraine will be forced to tap off gas which is supposed to be transported further, thereby giving Russia grounds for accusing Ukraine of theft and presenting the country as an unreliable partner in the eyes of the European community," the document reads. The company explained that if the planned volume of gas was not injected into the underground gas...

United Ukraine parties to form new gov't By NATASHA LISOVA, Associated Press Writer Thu Jun 22, 8:04 AM ET KIEV, Ukraine - Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced in parliament Thursday that she and other allies from Ukraine's Orange Revolution had reunited into as a majority coalition and would start forming a government. "Today we start our struggle so that our country can be democratic," Tymoshenko said. "We were given a second chance, and ... if we don't use this second chance, then the Ukrainian people will say it serves us right." The coalition of pro-Western reformers who aim to...

KIEV -- President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine announced Thursday that it was in talks with the pro-Russian Party of the Regions to create a governing coalition amid a continuing struggle to form a new government 11 weeks after parliamentary elections. Party of the Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych predicted that a coalition would be formed by Tuesday. "We held the first preliminary consultations with the Party of the Regions," Our Ukraine's Roman Zvarych said in parliament. "But we propose holding multilateral negotiations as well as bilateral [talks] with any political force to find a way out." Ukraine's government has been paralyzed...

In city of Dnepropetrovsk the Communist deputies and deputies from the Party of Regions [Yanukovych] were not admitted to the session of provincial council. Entrance for the elected officials was blocked by the dense cordon of soldiers from Special Forces. In order to enter the chamber, parliamentarians broke the side doors and after the battle they got into their work seats. Party of Regions requested the Attorney General of the Ukraine to open criminal case against the responsible.

The conflict has little to do with Russia’s neo-imperialism, but a lot to do with Western reluctance to foot the bill of Soviet de-colonisation. • The “genuine democracies” created in the former Soviet Union in the wake of the so-called “colour revolutions” are failing to deliver political stability and economic prosperity. Insofar as they have failed to reduce dependence on subsidised Russian gas, they are also implicitly failing to deliver real independence. • Ukraine’s demands for continued supplies of cheap Russian/CIS gas in effect mean that Kiev is promoting the preservation of Soviet economic structures. Thus, it is implicitly promoting...

An "orange coalition" is still the most likely outcome of a Ukrainian election won by the revolution's opponent, says Taras Kuzio. ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY: By Taras Kuzio Open Democracy, London, UK, Tuesday, March 28, 2006 Ukraine held its fourth parliamentary elections on 26 March in an atmosphere totally different to earlier elections. President Viktor Yushchenko can be credited with ensuring that it has been Ukraine's first free and fair poll since the country became an independent state in January 1992. The democratic breakthrough initiated by the orange revolution of November 2004-January 2005 has been consolidated. This is in stark contrast...

Ignore the broad smiles, firm handshakes, cheerful backslapping and toasts raised to "everlasting friendship" between well-dressed, smiling Russians, intense Germans, glib Americans and deceptive Brits. The Second Cold War has already begun. If forced to be perfectly frank, every diplomat, spy or banker from Boston to Baku would acknowledge this. Anyone who reads the press or watches television must have noticed by now that the most dynamic, aggressive and self-assured force in the world today is Russia. Daily reports in the media announce that Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom is buying a pipeline network here or a European gas company...

Are those 1200 calorie survival bars I see advertised actually edible? Do they really last 5-7 years? I've always (always here means for about 2 years) made sure I had enough food stockpiled in my house for a couple of weeks and water for two or three. My mom, however, decided that not only should I do that, I should have a portable 72 hour kit too. She made one for all her kids. They're big orange backpacks that contain just about everything a person would need to survive for three days. I actually think its kind of cool, and...

[...] The constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the authorities restrict this right in practice. Although Article 16 of the 1996 amended constitution that resulted from the illegal referendum reaffirms the equality of religions and denominations before the law, it also contains restrictive language that stipulated that cooperation between the state and religious organizations "is regulated with regard for their influence on the formation of spiritual, cultural, and country traditions of the Belarusian people." [...] In March 2004 the government began forcing state employees (some 80% of Belarusian workers) to sign short-term work contracts. Although contracts may be concluded...

CHERNOVTSY, Ukraine -- Thousands of Ukrainians with Russian last names may not recognize their names on voters' rolls when they try to vote in parliamentary elections Sunday. Their names have been translated into Ukrainian. Central Elections Commission officials are urging regional officials to recheck the rolls, and lawmakers have taken steps to allow voters to challenge the spelling of their names in court. But opposition politicians are warning that many voters in the country's east and south could end up disenfranchised. Taras Chernovil, the deputy campaign chief of the pro-Moscow Party of the Regions and a leading candidate, accused local...

Florida Capital: TallahasseeState abbreviation/Postal code: Fla./FLGovernor: Jeb Bush, R (to Jan. 2007)Lieut. Governor: Toni Jennings, R (to Jan. 2007)Senators: Mel Martinez, R (to Jan. 2011); Bill Nelson, D (to Jan. 2007)U.S. Representatives: 25Historical biographies of Congressional membersSecy. of State: Glenda Hood, R (to Jan. 2007)Atty. General: Charlie Crist, R (to Jan. 2007)Chief Financial Officer: Tom Gallagher, R (to Jan. 2007)Organized as territory: March 30, 1821Entered Union (rank): March 3, 1845 (27)Present constitution adopted: 1969Motto: In God we trust (1868)State symbols: flower orange blossom (1909) bird mockingbird (1927) song “Suwannee River� (1935) Nickname: Sunshine State (1970)Origin of name: From the...

Ellis Hunt's family has made a living growing citrus since the 1920s, when his grandfather went into the business with two brothers. The industry is all they know. Today, the third-generation farmer wonders how long he can maintain his company's share of Florida's $9 billion industry after one of the worst growing seasons in recent memory. "My personal goal is to have our 100th year anniversary in 2022, so I guess I've got to make it 16 more years," Hunt said. "We're trying to stay in the business unless we're forced out." Four hurricanes that struck or brushed Florida in...

Some Conspiracies are Real Today, 13 February 2006, is the 318th anniversary of the so-called "Glorious Revolution" -- the coup d'etat that deposed the rightful King of England, HM James II Stuart, and imposed the rule of the Dutch prince William of Orange and his wife Mary upon the United Kingdom. This was not the result of some minor dynastic quibble. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that James II was the rightful king. His deposition was instead the result of a genuine conspiracy between a group of traitors to overthrow the native-born Catholic King of England and award...

This fall, Turkmenistan is preparing to raise the price of its exported natural gas by one and a half times - to $100 per thousand cubic meters. This was declared on Friday by the president of Turkmenistan, Sapamurat Niyazov, according to a report by Reuters. "Europe has problems now. The prices of the energy sources are rising. We will also gradually raise our prices," said Niyazov during a news program on the government television station. "We have been selling for 44 dollars, now we are selling for 65, but from the ninth or tenth month of this year will we...

KIEV - The last time The Times saw Viktor Yanukovych, the burly former convict and then Prime Minister of Ukraine looked like a broken man. His victory in a presidential election had just been overturned after a fortnight of massive protests centred on Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. Viktor Yushchenko, who led the Orange Revolution and went on to win the election re-run, was being hailed around the world as a democratic hero who had wrenched the country of 47 million people out of Russia’s stifling embrace. Mr Yanukovych was vilified as a Kremlin stooge. Just over a year later, however,...

MURRIETA ---- Councilman Doug McAllister is proposing that Murrieta become one of the first cities in California to have its Police Department enforce federal immigration laws. McAllister is asking the council to allow Murrieta police to have the authority to be able to question suspects about their residency once they are detained or arrested. He's not getting much support from the rest of the council, though. The program is already being used in a few states and being pursued in Costa Mesa, which would be the first city in California to have an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...