The story
Ukrainian protesters screamed in the streets for the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russia leader who turned away from trade with the European Union and toward Ukraine’s former Soviet ally to the east. Rarely are protests so perfectly symbolic as an attack by a group of demonstrators on an 11-foot statue of Soviet revolutionary Vladimir Lenin—a “symbol of Ukraine’s shared history with Russia,” writes the U.K.’s The Telegraph. The demonstrators toppled the statue, decapitated its head, and handed out remnants to onlookers.

The stat
500,000: the estimated number of protesters, by some counts, who took to the streets in Kiev’s central square

The quote
“It’s not just a simple revolution. It’s a revolution of dignity.” —Oleh Tyahnybok, a leader of the opposition Svoboda party

 

What’s above the fold

The Globe and Mail	Canadian judges are refusing to force offenders to pay victim fees.
National Post	Protesters in Ukraine toppled a statue of Lenin.
Toronto Star	The Harper government‘s approach to social programs is changing Canada.
Ottawa Citizen	At least 200,000 protesters gathered in Kiev, Ukraine.
CBC News	A Calgary woman with dementia was “warehoused” in hospital.
CTV News	South Africa’s Parliament opened special session for Nelson Mandela.
National Newswatch	Conservatives in tight ridings are nervous about their re-elections.

 

What you might have missed

THE NATIONAL	Peace Valley. Landowners near Fort St. John, B.C., stand opposed to a proposed $7.9-billion hydroelectric dam and 83-kilometre reservoir that the B.C. government—which claims only 30 homeowners will be affected—says will power the equivalent of 450,000 homes.
THE GLOBAL	India. The Bharatiya Janata Party picked up momentum from the ruling Congress party in four state elections, a shift that signals the waning influence of a dynasty that’s held ruled since India gained independence. “The charisma of the Gandhi family is basically more or less gone,” said a historian.

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