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SWISS EXPERTS IDENTIFY UKRAINIAN JOURNALIST GONGADZE'S BODY. According to the results of an examination conducted by Swiss forensic experts, a body found in the woods near Kyiv in November 2000 is that of Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, Ukrainian media reported on 11 March, quoting Deputy Prosecutor-General Viktor Shokin. "I believe it would be unjust to deny that the body belongs to Heorhiy Gongadze from this moment on," Reporters Without Borders Secretary-General Robert Menard told journalists in Kyiv the same day. A representative of Reporters Without Borders participated in the examination. Lesya Gongadze, the mother of the former Internet journalist, said she is ready to bury the remains of her son, Interfax reported. Meanwhile, Shokin said investigators in the Gongadze case are weighing various possible scenarios of the journalist's death, including his murder by law enforcement officers. JM
UKRAINE EVACUATES CITIZENS FROM IRAQ. Ukraine's charge d'affaires in Iraq, Valentyn Novikov, left Baghdad and arrived in Ukraine on 11 March, Interfax reported, quoting Foreign Ministry spokesman Markiyan Lubkivskyy. Lubkivskyy said Novikov confirmed that all the 230 Ukrainian citizens who were registered with the Ukrainian consulate have been evacuated from Iraq. Meanwhile, Nataliya Vitrenko, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, is paying a visit to Iraq together with three colleagues, according to the party's press service. They are expected to return later this week. JM
FRANCE SAID TO BE INTERESTED IN GAS CONSORTIUM IN UKRAINE. French Ambassador to Ukraine Philippe de Suremain told Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych on 11 March that France is ready to take part in a planned international gas-transport consortium that is now being considered by Ukraine, Russia, and Germany, Ukrainian media reported. The ambassador said France's interest in the project is explained by the fact that gas supplies to EU member countries, including France, depend to a large degree on Ukrainian pipelines. He added that France's largest gas company, Gaz de France, might take part in the consortium. JM