Ukraine

Yushchenko calls for new blockade

Viktor Yushchenko, fresh from his victory in Ukraine’s disputed presidential race, called on his supporters Tuesday to blockade the Cabinet of Ministers building to prevent his opponent from having a government session.

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin favorite who has come under increasing pressure to concede defeat to Yushchenko, returned to work Tuesday.

“I ask everyone, especially the people in the tent camp, to strengthen the blockade of the government,” Yushchenko said, calling for his supporters to turn out today.

Oleksandr Ternavsky, Yanukovych’s spokesman, said the session would go ahead as planned, and called Yushchenko’s move “completely illegal.”

Under Ukrainian law, the prime minister can retain his post until replaced by the incumbent president or the president-elect.

Mexico City

Nation celebrates day of pranks

The Internet Web site of the daily newspaper Reforma carried stories Tuesday not found elsewhere in Mexico — or the world.

“Bush admits the war was a mistake,” and “Mexican President Vicente Fox demands that the Fox network stop using his last name.”

A closer look at the upper left-hand corner of the page, however, explained it all. Reforma had become reformado, or “reformed,” and the date, Dec. 28, marks the equivalent of April Fools’ Day in Latin America.

It’s called Dia de los Inocentes, or “Day of the Innocents.” The date refers to the slaughter of male infants by King Herod in his attempt to kill the Baby Jesus, as told in the Bible.

There seems to be no definitive history on how the day turned into an opportunity to make crank phone calls and tell outrageous tales. Pranks are followed by the phrase “inocente palomita, caiste,” or “innocent dove, you fell for it.”

Moscow

Former Yukos chief accuses Kremlin of theft

In his harshest criticism of the Kremlin to date, jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky accused the Russian government of stealing his Yukos oil empire and warned in a letter published Tuesday that an ongoing crackdown on post-Soviet freedoms would ruin the country.

Writing from prison, where he has been for more than 14 months, Khodorkovsky said the sale of Yukos’ main production unit into state hands this month “was the most senseless and destructive event in the economic sphere since President Vladimir Putin has taken helm.”

“Using selective justice, introducing new legal norms and applying them retroactively,” the state has undermined trust in the legal system, said Khodorkovsky, who is charged with fraud and tax evasion.

Putin has cast the 18-month crackdown on Khodorkovsky and Yukos as an effort to fight corruption and shady bookkeeping.

West Bank

Abbas campaigning receives warm reception

Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, the front-runner in upcoming presidential elections, received a loud ovation from thousands of supporters at his first public rally Tuesday, generating some excitement for the low-key politician seeking to replace the late Yasser Arafat.

The rally came as Palestinian election officials announced anti-fraud safeguards for the Jan. 9 vote, saying voters would be marked with indelible ink and ballot boxes would be sealed.

Also Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip suffered a setback when a parliamentary committee failed to approve a set of guidelines governing the evacuation. While the vote isn’t expected to disrupt the withdrawal, which is to begin in July, officials said it would complicate preparations.