Wall Street Journal: Ukraine opens criminal case against ex-president

Ukrainian prosecutors have opened a criminal case against former President Leonid Kuchma in connection with the murder of an investigative journalist in 2000, surprising critics who have questioned the will of the president, Viktor Yanukovych, to pursue a thorough investigation of the high-profile case. Ukraine's deputy-general prosecutor, Renat Kuzmin, Tuesday said that Mr. Kuchma, 72 years old, has been barred from leaving the country while he is under investigation for "abuse of power and giving an illegal order...which led to the murder of the journalist" Georgy Gongadze. The probe into the slaying of Mr. Gongadze, a harsh critic of Mr. Kuchma, is seen as a test for Ukraine's current leaders, many of whom first rose to prominence during the former president's rule. Mr. Yanukovych was elevated to national politics when Mr. Kuchma picked him as prime minister in 2002. Read the story here.