UKRAINE:

The country may suffer from corruption, extortion, fraudand chicanery, but libel is under control. With former primeminister and potential presidential candidate Pavlo Lazarenkofighting money-laundering charges brought against him inSwitzerland, the government is closing down his media outlets.The state brought libel charges against a pro-Lazarenko newspaperin Dniepropetrovsk, Lazarenko’s political base, and the localprint shop says it will no longer print the paper. The governmentclosed Lazarenko’s main outlet, the mass circulation “PravdaUkrainy,” a year ago, and later arrested the editor in chief oncharges of rape. That paper will now be allowed to re-open, witha new editor, a new editorial outlook and a print run cut fromhalf a million to 40,000.