[JURIST] Still wracked by an electoral crisis, the Ukrainian parliament Friday passed a resolution calling on outgoing President Leonid Kuchma to withdraw Ukraine's 1600-strong contingent of troops from Iraq. The resolution was supported by both pro-government and pro-opposition deputies. Under domestic political pressure other East European states have recently indicated a similar intent to withdraw forces from the US-led coalition; Hungary will pull out its troops by the end of the year while, Poland and the Czech Republic have said they will bring home their forces next year. UPI has more. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense maintains a special website on its Iraq operations (in Ukrainian).

8:01 AM ET – In a late development in the electoral crisis, the Ukrainian Supreme Court, with final arguments completed, has now retired to consider its much-anticipated ruling in the election fraud case. AP has more.