The ultimate responsibility of my office is to uphold the constitution and ensure that political affairs are conducted in accordance with its principles. That has always been my overriding priority because Ukraine's acceptance as a normal European democracy depends on it.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's proclivity toward compromise has led politicians and analysts alike to dismiss him as weak. Perhaps this helped prompt him to take a firm stand in ordering the dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.

Just when the political noise had subsided over the idea of amending the Constitution to allow President Vladimir Putin to run for a third term, recently re-elected Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov has proposed that the Constitution be amended to allow the president to serve three consecutive terms of five to seven years, rather than the current two terms of four years.

Ticks become active in the spring from Western Europe to the Far East, and their bite can be fatal.

What's the danger of tick-borne encephalitis around Moscow? And elsewhere in Russia? Who needs to be vaccinated?

Molly Gwynn's it ain't. The new Belfast pub is about as far from a cutesy kit pub as you can get.

n the Russian Orthodox tradition, preparations for Easter begin long before Easter Sunday, which this year coincides with Western Easter on April 8.