Poles were left in shock and grief Saturday after President Lech Kaczynski's death in a plane crash that killed at least 95 people, including dozens of high-ranking Polish politicians and officials. READ MORE

The rapid downfall of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev came as a surprise for political analysts. Only four days previously he met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in Bishkek. Not a single analytical centre in Russia or the West predicted such a rapid turn of events. READ MORE

Ukrainian citizens face a "Visa Berlin Wall" when trying to enter the EU and the visa requirement procedures of European consulates are similar to those in communist Russia, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Kostyantyn Yeliseyev told in an interview. READ MORE

Nuclear doctrine consists of thinking the unthinkable. It involves making threats and promising retaliation that is cruel and destructive beyond imagining. But it has its purpose: to prevent war in the first place. READ MORE

Construction of Europe's largest-ever energy project, the Nord Stream gas pipeline, has started after years of intensive wrangling. But questions remain. Chief among them: Is the trans-Baltic pipeline really necessary? READ MORE

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is heading to Kazakhstan to discuss possible gas supplies to Ukraine with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev. READ MORE