MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities are allowing the opposition to hold a massive protest against election fraud following a violent police crackdown on a series of unsanctioned demonstrations earlier this week, rally organizers said Friday.The decision to let up to 30,000 protesters rally on Saturday on a square across the river from the Kremlin appears to be an attempt to avoid the violence that occurred at demonstrations after last Sunday's parliamentary election.Election authorities on Friday officially declared the vote valid, handing the victory to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's >>>

Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) - Russian authorities are allowing the opposition to hold a massive protest against election fraud following a violent police crackdown on a series of unsanctioned demonstrations earlier this week, rally organizers said Friday. The decision to let up to 30,000 protesters rally on Saturday on a square across the river from the Kremlin appears to be an attempt to avoid the violence that occurred at demonstrations after last Sunday's parliamentary election. Election authorities on Friday officially declared the vote valid, handing the victory to Prime Minister Vladimir >>>

Click photo to enlargeMOSCOW—Russian authorities are allowing the opposition to hold a massive protest against election fraud following a violent police crackdown on a series of unsanctioned demonstrations earlier this week, rally organizers said Friday. The decision to let up to 30,000 protesters rally on Saturday on a square across the river from the Kremlin appears to be an attempt to avoid the violence that occurred at demonstrations after last Sunday's parliamentary election. Election authorities on Friday officially declared the vote valid, handing the victory to Prime Minister >>>

From China’s Weiwei to the Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda al-Mahdi, people are again busy using their naked bodies as a way to challenge authority and demand rights. Even in today’s much more sexualized world, public nudity continues to be a powerful form of protest. by: admin A member of Ukraine's provocative feminist group FEMEN By Richard HerzingerDIE WELT/Worldcrunch BERLIN - When nearly 100  supporters of dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei recently bared it all on the Internet, they joined appear a sort of global renaissance >>>

London: Women activists in Ukraine protested naked to oppose prostitution and sex tourism ahead of the country’s staging of the Euro 2012 football tournament next summer. Five of them took advantage of rising international interest in Kyiv and peeled off in the capital, waving placards bearing the words “Euro 2012 without prostitution” and “****ing Euro 2012”.The demonstrators, known as FEMEN were confronted by cops before being dragged off outside the city’s Olympic stadium.Spokeswoman Inna Shevchenko claimed that UEFA were encouraging the Ukrainian government to legalise prostitution >>>

Makes sense to everyone, right? The group, Femen ("Femen has established an international reputation for staging semi-naked protests in Ukraine and abroad."), held the naked demonstration outside Kyiv's Olympic Stadium. They claim that UEFA is attempting to legalize prostitution during the 2012 European Championship. "A Femen spokeswoman, Inna Shevchenko, said Uefa was 'trying to influence our government' to legalise prostitution during the tournament, which will take place in June and July next summer." Here's a some [sic'd] elaboration: Femen repeatedly appealed to both UEFA and Ukrainian >>>

Members of the radical feminist group, Femen, on Friday bared their breasts in Kyiv to protest sex tourism, just ahead of the draw in the city for the Euro 2012 football championships. The women were detained and taken to a police station after they lay on the pavement outside the Olimpiisky stadium with open legs and strategically placed footballs, holding up banners saying "UEFA attacked our gates,” the group said. “Femen demands UEFA starts an education campaign for fans about the unacceptability of sex >>>

Two million sex tourists a year travel to Ukraine, where the groups have just been drawn for the European football championships. In the country co-hosting Euro 2012 with Poland, HIV and sex trafficking are rife. “Pimps are counting on extra profit during Euro 2012,” says FEMEN activist Anna Gutsol. The lift in my hotel in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv only works if I activate it with my key-pass. But there are some who can get round the security. Every day I see young women in high heels helped on their way by hotel staff. “Where do you need to be, darling?” “The order is from >>>

Ahead of Friday's draw in Kyiv, Euro 2012 promises plenty of memorable matchups, as the strongest possible lineup according to the UEFA rankings have qualified to play in Poland and Ukraine. Even before the draw for 16-team tournament is held Friday, it's safe to assume that the showcase for soccer's strongest continent will live up to its tradition of delivering high-quality matches over three intense weeks. Even FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he saw too many dull group-stage games last year at the monthlong, 32-team World Cup, which gave Europe only 13 places. "It's definitely better than >>>

UEFA is trying to influence Ukrainian government to legalize prostitution, the spokesperson of women rights group Femen Inna Schevchenko said at the latest in a row of topless protests against “turning Ukraine into brothel” during the Euro 2012, which starts in June. This time, five Femen activists went bare-breasted at Kyiv's Olympic Stadium carrying banners which read “Euro 2012 without prostitution”. The protest lasted only enough for reporters to take photos and videos as the women, who adorned their underwear with miniature footballs and wore toilet paper around their shins, were >>>