Europe

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife ISTANBUL, TURKEY (BosNewsLife)-- A widow asked for prayers and rights activists expressed concern Saturday, May 8, after a Turkish court released suspects accused of torturing and murdering three Christian missionaries in 2007.

Listen to this BosNewsLife via Vatican Radio:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)--Russian President Vladimir Putin has received parliamentary approval for military action in neighboring Ukraine, where thousands of Russian forces have landed on the Crimean Peninsula. It comes amid tensions elsewhere including in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv where dozens were injured when a pro-Russian protest turned violent, with demonstrators trying to storm the local government building.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine's parliament has elected Oleksander Turchinov as the country's interim president. Sunday's move came after legislators voted to oust President Viktor Yanukovich following clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in which at least 82 people died.

Listen to the BosNewsLife News story via Vatican Radio:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)--Ukraine's parliament has voted to oust President Viktor Yanukovych after the leader said he would not step down and described events in Kiev as a coup. Legislators also agreed to release opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich on Thursday, february 21, called for a national unity government and early presidential elections, after violence between anti-government protesters and police killed as many as 100 people.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- The influential Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) says it has removed prayers for the government from its liturgy, after as many as 100 people died when a truce broke down between security forces and anti-government protesters.Thursday's clashes came while European Union ministers attempted to talk with the embattled president Viktor Yanukovich.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with additional reporting by Charles Collins and Christopher Wells, Vatican Radio KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, whose denomination has been threatened with closure by authorities, appealed for peace Wednesday, February 19, after at least 25 people died and over 240 others were injured in the worst violence in Ukraine's post-independence history.

By BosNewsLife News Center ASTANA/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- An evangelical pastor who was detained and tortured in a Kazakhstan prison following a controversial trial has been conditionally released, rights activists told BosNewsLife Tuesday, February 18.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Uncertainty remained Sunday, February 16, over the future of one of Hungary's main evangelical denominations after it lost its church status and the government rejected an expert opinion about its "religious legitimacy."

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Russian President Vladimir Putin says he would welcome closer economic ties between the European Union and Ukraine, in what appears a departure from his previous stance.