Violent Police Clashes with Protesters Heighten Tensions in Yerevan

Riot police clashed late on Friday with hundreds of people near a police compound in Yerevan occupied by gunmen affiliated with an Armenian opposition group.

FYROM allows ‘limited number’ of migrants to cross border from Greece. (Assurances that the border will not be closed in the future)

FYROM*** on Friday allowed a limited number of "vulnerable" migrants to enter the country a day after sealing its border with Greece and leaving thousands of refugees stuck in no-man's land.

EU calls for independent probe of Odessa deaths

The European Union called on Saturday for an independent investigation into the deaths of at least 42 people in southern Ukraine after a riot ended with dozens of pro-Russian protesters killed in a burning building.
The street battle between supporters and opponents of Russia in the Black Sea port of Odessa that ended in the deadly blaze in a besieged trade union building was by far the worst incident in Ukraine since a February uprising that ended with a pro-Russian president fleeing the country.

As Ukraine Opposition Rallies Intensify, Lenin Statue Falls. -A group of masked youths apparently belonging to the Svoboda nationalist party used a steel cable to rip it down

KIEV, December 8 (RIA Novosti) – Several hundred thousand people gathered in the Ukrainian capital Sunday for one of the largest protest rallies in the former Soviet nation’s history, throwing down the gauntlet to a government that has resisted calls for negotiation with the opposition.

In an incident that may have spark criminal investigations and cast a shadow over the generally pacific events, however, a group of nationalists ripped down a statue of Soviet revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin.
The mass assembly in Kiev was the biggest to date since the government last month pulled out of preparations to sign landmark political and trade deals with the EU, sparking widespread indignation across Ukraine.

Ukraine protesters demand Kiev sign deal with EU.

Clashes between protesters and police erupted Sunday as tens of thousands demanded that Kiev sign a landmark trade deal with the EU next week as planned. Ukraine is widely seen to have bowed to pressure from Moscow not to sign the agreement.

 Tens of thousands of Ukrainian protesters, angered that Kiev has dropped plans to sign a landmark trade deal with the EU, clashed with police on Sunday as they tried to storm the government building in the capital.

Protesters waving EU flags tried to break through the police ranks surrounding the building, with some throwing stones and hitting officers with the signs they were carrying, as police fought back with batons and tear gas.

Egypt declares state of emergency. Announcement comes amid security crackdown on pro-Morsi protesters which left at least 295 people dead nationwide.

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A state of emergency has been declared across Egypt, according to a presidential statement announced on state television.
The state of emergency will begin at 4pm local time (14:00 GMT) and will last for a month, the statement said on Wednesday afternoon.
The exceptional measures came as "the security and order of the nation face danger due to deliberate sabotage, and attacks on public and private buildings and the loss of life by extremist groups," the presidency said.