CIS (ex-USSR)

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Braving freezing temperatures, thousands of protesters were weighting their options amid confusion if and when the president would meet their demands for early elections, closer ties with the European Union, and more freedom in this former Soviet nation.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife YEREVAN, ARMENIA (BosNewsLife)-- Ceremonies have begun in Armenia to mark the centenary of the start of mass killings of as many as 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Several leaders remembered what Pope Francis and other officials view as the first genocide of the 20st century. There was a moment of reflection when a giant church bell reverberated over the square.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest, Hungary BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- The Hungarian government on Monday, September 3, condemned a decision by Azerbaijan to immediately pardon and release an officer convicted of murder, after he was extradited from Hungary.

Listen to this report from Stefan Bos:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BERLIN/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- After his release from a Russian jail, former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky has said he does not want to return to business or politics, but would fight for those he considers political prisoners. Wearing a sharp suit and smiling, the now 50-year-old Khodorkovsky spoke at his first news conference since his release from prison, which was held at a museum commemorating the Berlin Wall from the Cold War era.

BosNewsLifeRadioGeorgiaUpdate Listen here to BosNewsLife's news report via Vatican Radio  By BosNewsLife News Center with reporting by BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos TBILISI/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili has conceded defeat for his party in Monday's parliamentary vote. Appearing visibly upset on national television, Saakhasvili acknowledged his first major political setback since he became the country's head of state following the 2004 'Rose Revolution' protests against rigged elections.

Listen to the shorter BosNewsLife News version story via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Ukrainian Christians continued to pray around the clock in a special prayer tent at the capital Kyiv's  Independence Square where as many as 200,000 people rallied Sunday, December 15, against the government and for European Union integration.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest BUDAPEST/ASTANA (BosNewsLife)– Kazakhstan has threatened to extradite a detained Protestant house church pastor to his native Uzbekistan where he faces up to 15 years imprisonment for "illegal" religious teaching and Christian literature distribution, BosNewsLife monitored Saturday, November 24.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest BISHKEK/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- A young Kyrgyz girl is forced to work in a sewing workshop after being tortured by her parents in Kyrgyzstan because she converted to Christianity, well-informed investigators said Tuesday, December 18.

BosNewsLifeRadioJournalist Listen here to the BosNewsLife Radio News report via Vatican Radio By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International correspondent MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Tributes are paid Sunday, October 7, to Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya who was killed exactly six years ago by a still unknown gunman in an attack that critics have linked to her journalistic work.

By BosNewsLife News Center ZAPORIZHIA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- An elderly human rights activist who was forced to spend more than two weeks in a Ukrainian psychological hospital for "socially dangerous behavior" said Wednesday, August 14, she remains confined to her home amid fears of more persecution.