A topless woman activist caused a furore on Thursday as she reached the red carpet of a high-society ball in Vienna.&nbsp;

The woman burst onto the red carpet of the Opera Ball -- being telecasted live on television -- to protest the attendance of the Ukrainian President&nbsp;Petro Poroshenko at the event.&nbsp;

She reached the ball topless with only the words &quot;Poroshenko get the fuk out&quot; written on her torso.

She was seen shouting the slogans and protesting vehemently even as she was dragged away by&nbsp;several Austrian policemen.&nbsp;

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was one of several thousand guests at the Opera Ball.&nbsp;Some of the other high dignitaries who attended the ball were: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, President Alexander Van der Bellen,&nbsp;Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, activist and former model Waris Dirie and American actress Melanie Griffith. Griffith was the guest of construction magnate and Opera Ball stalwart Richard Lugner. The 85-year-old Lugner is known for his wide network of friends. Some of his previous celebrity invitees have included Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian.

Like every year,&nbsp; the Vienna State Opera opened with a dance by 150 &quot;debutants&quot;, the women in snow-white gowns and the men in white tie and tails. Making it an inclusive event, the organisers this year also gave their go-ahead to include&nbsp;performances of opera arias and ballet, with the participation of a couple with Down&#39;s Syndrome.

&nbsp;

She was protesting against the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's attendance at Opera Ball

A topless woman activist caused a furore on Thursday as she reached the red carpet of a high-society ball in Vienna. The woman burst onto the red carpet of the Opera Ball -- being telecasted live on television -- to protest the attendance of the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at the event. She reached the ball topless with only the words "Poroshenko get the fuk out" written on her torso. She was seen shouting the slogans and protesting vehemently even as she was dragged away by several Austrian policemen. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was one of several thousand guests at the Opera Ball. Some of the other high dignitaries who attended the ball were: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, President Alexander Van der Bellen, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, activist and former model Waris Dirie and American actress Melanie Griffith. Griffith was the guest of construction magnate and Opera Ball stalwart Richard Lugner. The 85-year-old Lugner is known for his wide network of friends. Some of his previous celebrity invitees have included Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. Like every year, the Vienna State Opera opened with a dance by 150 "debutants", the women in snow-white gowns and the men in white tie and tails. Making it an inclusive event, the organisers this year also gave their go-ahead to include performances of opera arias and ballet, with the participation of a couple with Down's Syndrome.

Topless woman protests at high society Vienna ball

Ukraine&#39;s Elina Svitolina laid down her marker as a serious contender for the Australia Open when she demolished Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1 in the Brisbane International final on Saturday.

Svitolina won five titles on the WTA tour last year, more than any other woman.

She ended the year ranked sixth in the world, but will climb two places when the new rankings are released on Monday and will go into the year&#39;s first Grand Slam as the fourth seed.

Svitolina said she had worked hard in the offseason to improve her game and that work was now paying off.

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A special moment: Evonne Goolagong Cawley presents <a href="https://twitter.com/ElinaSvitolina?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ElinaSvitolina</a> with the Evonne Goolagong Cawley trophy ??<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BrisbaneTENnis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BrisbaneTENnis</a> <a href="https://t.co/YLix8Mypoc">pic.twitter.com/YLix8Mypoc</a>
&mdash; #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneTennis/status/949588016896462849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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&quot;I&#39;ve started to play more consistently and there are lots of things that changed,&quot; she said.

&quot;I&#39;m stronger physically. I have a different look at my game.&quot;

The 23-year-old had a tough path to the decider, having to overcome top-10 players Johanna Konta and Karolina Pliskova and former world number six Carla Suarez Navarro along the way.

&quot;I didn&#39;t have any expectations for this week -- I was just trying to take it one match at a time,&quot; she said.

&quot;The first match was quite tough against Suarez Navarro. And I had a very tough draw.

&quot;It was very important to use what I was working on during the offseason, and it was working.&nbsp;

&quot;I was playing better and better and my serve worked really good during this week.&quot;

Svitolina was far too strong for Sasnovich, who struggled to cope both with the Ukrainian&#39;s serve and her relentless barrage of groundstrokes from the back of the court.

Sasnovich was playing in her first final on the WTA tour and her nerves showed in the early stages as Svitolina broke her early and raced away to a 3-1 lead.

The Belarusian steadied the ship but she was always under pressure and serving at 2-5, she cracked.

Svitolina pounced, breaking her again and wrapping up the set in 31 minutes.

Sasnovich was also playing her eighth match in nine days and her movement around the court appeared slightly slower than in her previous outings.

Svitolina was even more dominant in the second set, racing to a 5-0 lead before Sasnovich even got on the board.

However, it was a minor reprieve as Svitolina held serve to love to claim her 10th title in just 65 minutes.

Sasnovich refused to blame her busy schedule for her performance.

&quot;I don&#39;t know why it&#39;s like this, why I played so bad,&quot; she said.

&quot;I don&#39;t know, to be honest. Sometimes it happens. I played some good matches and this one was bad.&quot;

But the Belarusian, who will rise 35 places in the world ranking to 53rd, said her efforts in making the final had made her reevaluate her goals for Melbourne.

&quot;I have time to prepare for Australia Open,&quot; she said.

&quot;I hope to be ready mentally, physically, to be good there.&quot;

&nbsp;

Svitolina crushes Aliaksandra Sasnovich in Brisbane final in straight sets 6-2, 6-1

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina laid down her marker as a serious contender for the Australia Open when she demolished Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-1 in the Brisbane International final on Saturday. Svitolina won five titles on the WTA tour last year, more than any other woman. She ended the year ranked sixth in the world, but will climb two places when the new rankings are released on Monday and will go into the year's first Grand Slam as the fourth seed. Svitolina said she had worked hard in the offseason to improve her game and that work was now paying off. A special moment: Evonne Goolagong Cawley presents @ElinaSvitolina with the Evonne Goolagong Cawley trophy ??#BrisbaneTENnis pic.twitter.com/YLix8Mypoc — #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) January 6, 2018 × "I've started to play more consistently and there are lots of things that changed," she said. "I'm stronger physically. I have a different look at my game." The 23-year-old had a tough path to the decider, having to overcome top-10 players Johanna Konta and Karolina Pliskova and former world number six Carla Suarez Navarro along the way. "I didn't have any expectations for this week -- I was just trying to take it one match at a time," she said. "The first match was quite tough against Suarez Navarro. And I had a very tough draw. "It was very important to use what I was working on during the offseason, and it was working. "I was playing better and better and my serve worked really good during this week." Svitolina was far too strong for Sasnovich, who struggled to cope both with the Ukrainian's serve and her relentless barrage of groundstrokes from the back of the court. Sasnovich was playing in her first final on the WTA tour and her nerves showed in the early stages as Svitolina broke her early and raced away to a 3-1 lead. The Belarusian steadied the ship but she was always under pressure and serving at 2-5, she cracked. Svitolina pounced, breaking her again and wrapping up the set in 31 minutes. Sasnovich was also playing her eighth match in nine days and her movement around the court appeared slightly slower than in her previous outings. Svitolina was even more dominant in the second set, racing to a 5-0 lead before Sasnovich even got on the board. However, it was a minor reprieve as Svitolina held serve to love to claim her 10th title in just 65 minutes. Sasnovich refused to blame her busy schedule for her performance. "I don't know why it's like this, why I played so bad," she said. "I don't know, to be honest. Sometimes it happens. I played some good matches and this one was bad." But the Belarusian, who will rise 35 places in the world ranking to 53rd, said her efforts in making the final had made her reevaluate her goals for Melbourne. "I have time to prepare for Australia Open," she said. "I hope to be ready mentally, physically, to be good there."

Tennis: Elina Svitolina clinches Brisbane title

United Nations Security Council ministers will meet on Dec. 15 to discuss North Korea&#39;s nuclear and missiles programs and the body will also meet separately this month to discuss human rights abuses in the North Asian country, an annual meeting that its ally China has tried to prevent for the past three years.

Japan&#39;s UN&nbsp;Ambassador Koro Bessho, president of the 15-member council for December, said several ministers were confirmed to attend the Dec. 15 meeting. He also said the meeting on human rights in North Korea could be held on Dec. 11.

China has unsuccessfully tried to stop three previous human rights meetings by calling a procedural vote. A minimum of nine votes are needed to win such a vote and China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France cannot wield their vetoes.

This year&#39;s meeting has the backing of nine members - the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay.

Last year, the United States angered North Korea by blacklisting its leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses.

A landmark 2014 UN&nbsp;report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chiefs - and possibly Kim himself - should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities.

Michael Kirby, chairman of the UN&nbsp;Commission of Inquiry that drew up the report, said at the time that the crimes the team had catalogued were reminiscent of those committed by the Nazis during World War Two. &quot;Some of them are strikingly similar,&quot; he told Reuters.

North Korea has repeatedly rejected accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation. Pyongyang has been under UN&nbsp;sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missiles and nuclear programs.

&quot;Despite persistent sanctions and pressure by the US&nbsp;and other hostile forces, my government concentrates all its efforts on improving people&#39;s livelihood and providing them with a better future,&quot; the North Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Nov. 14.

United Nations Security Council ministers will meet on Dec. 15 to discuss North Korea's nuclear and missiles programs and the body will also meet separately this month to discuss human rights abuses in the North Asian country, an annual meeting that its ally China has tried to prevent for the past three years

United Nations Security Council ministers will meet on Dec. 15 to discuss North Korea's nuclear and missiles programs and the body will also meet separately this month to discuss human rights abuses in the North Asian country, an annual meeting that its ally China has tried to prevent for the past three years. Japan's UN Ambassador Koro Bessho, president of the 15-member council for December, said several ministers were confirmed to attend the Dec. 15 meeting. He also said the meeting on human rights in North Korea could be held on Dec. 11. China has unsuccessfully tried to stop three previous human rights meetings by calling a procedural vote. A minimum of nine votes are needed to win such a vote and China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France cannot wield their vetoes. This year's meeting has the backing of nine members - the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine and Uruguay. Last year, the United States angered North Korea by blacklisting its leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses. A landmark 2014 UN report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chiefs - and possibly Kim himself - should face justice for overseeing a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities. Michael Kirby, chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry that drew up the report, said at the time that the crimes the team had catalogued were reminiscent of those committed by the Nazis during World War Two. "Some of them are strikingly similar," he told Reuters. North Korea has repeatedly rejected accusations of human rights abuses and blames sanctions for a dire humanitarian situation. Pyongyang has been under UN sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missiles and nuclear programs. "Despite persistent sanctions and pressure by the US and other hostile forces, my government concentrates all its efforts on improving people's livelihood and providing them with a better future," the North Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Nov. 14.

UN council to meet in December on North Korea rights abuses, nuclear programme

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a reported plan by Ukraine to cut all diplomatic ties with Russia would further deepen a crisis between the two countries and end up hurting the interests of both Ukrainians and Russians.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking on a conference call with reporters, was responding to a report in Russia&rsquo;s Kommersant newspaper which said that the Ukrainian parliament was expected to vote to cut all diplomatic ties on Nov. 16.

Ties between Moscow and Kiev have been in crisis since Russia annexed Ukraine&rsquo;s Crimea region in 2014 and a pro-Russian separatist uprising broke out in eastern Ukraine that same year.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a reported plan by Ukraine to cut all diplomatic ties with Russia would further deepen a crisis between the two countries and end up hurting the interests of both Ukrainians and Russians.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a reported plan by Ukraine to cut all diplomatic ties with Russia would further deepen a crisis between the two countries and end up hurting the interests of both Ukrainians and Russians. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking on a conference call with reporters, was responding to a report in Russia’s Kommersant newspaper which said that the Ukrainian parliament was expected to vote to cut all diplomatic ties on Nov. 16. Ties between Moscow and Kiev have been in crisis since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 and a pro-Russian separatist uprising broke out in eastern Ukraine that same year.

Mutual damage if Ukraine cuts diplomatic ties: Russia

Ukraine denied on Monday that it had ever supplied defence technology to North Korea, responding to an article in the New York Times that said North Korea may have purchased rocket engines from Ukrainian factory&nbsp;Yuzhmash.

Concern that North Korea is close to achieving its goal of putting the mainland United States within the range of a nuclear weapon has raised global tensions in recent weeks. The United States is a key backer of Ukraine.

The secretary of the Ukrainian Security and Defence Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, said Ukraine &quot;has never supplied rocket engines or any kind of missile technology to North Korea.&quot;

State-owned Yuzhmash said it had not produced military-grade ballistic missiles since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

&quot;In the years of independence, Yuzhmash has not produced, and is not producing, missiles and military missile systems,&quot; it said in a statement published on their company&#39;s website.

President Donald Trump warned at the weekend that the US&nbsp;military was &quot;locked and loaded&quot; if North Korea acted unwisely after threatening last week to land missiles near the US&nbsp;Pacific territory of Guam.

North Korean officials, in turn, have accused the US&nbsp;leader of driving the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war.

On Sunday, the head of the US&nbsp;Central Intelligence Agency said he would not be surprised if North Korea tested another missile after it conducted two tests in July.

State-owned Yuzhmash said it had not produced military-grade ballistic missiles since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991

Ukraine denied on Monday that it had ever supplied defence technology to North Korea, responding to an article in the New York Times that said North Korea may have purchased rocket engines from Ukrainian factory Yuzhmash. Concern that North Korea is close to achieving its goal of putting the mainland United States within the range of a nuclear weapon has raised global tensions in recent weeks. The United States is a key backer of Ukraine. The secretary of the Ukrainian Security and Defence Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, said Ukraine "has never supplied rocket engines or any kind of missile technology to North Korea." State-owned Yuzhmash said it had not produced military-grade ballistic missiles since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. "In the years of independence, Yuzhmash has not produced, and is not producing, missiles and military missile systems," it said in a statement published on their company's website. President Donald Trump warned at the weekend that the US military was "locked and loaded" if North Korea acted unwisely after threatening last week to land missiles near the US Pacific territory of Guam. North Korean officials, in turn, have accused the US leader of driving the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war. On Sunday, the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency said he would not be surprised if North Korea tested another missile after it conducted two tests in July.

Ukraine denies selling missile technology to North Korea

US President Donald Trump resumed his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions Tuesday, calling his onetime ally &quot;VERY weak&quot; in pursuing intelligence leaks and for failing to go after former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her email.

Trump&#39;s latest Twitter salvo followed a report in the Washington Post that the president and his advisers have discussed replacing Sessions, one of the Republican billionaire&#39;s earliest supporters.

&quot;Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails &amp;DNC server) &amp; Intel leakers!&quot; Trump tweeted.

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails &amp; DNC server) &amp; Intel leakers!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/889790429398528000">July 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Trump has openly criticised Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing a federal probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to meddle in the 2016 US presidential elections.

Sessions has said he has no plans to resign.

With pressure mounting from the investigation led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, Trump has sought to revive an election year controversy over Clinton&#39;s use of a private server to send email while secretary of state.

The White House also alleged last week that the Democrats colluded with Ukraine during the 2016 campaign, adding another twist to the president&#39;s counter-offensive.&nbsp;

&quot;Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - &#39;quietly working to boost Clinton.&#39; So where is the investigation A.G.,&quot; Trump said in another early morning tweet Tuesday.

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Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - &quot;quietly working to boost Clinton.&quot; So where is the investigation A.G. <a href="https://twitter.com/seanhannity">@seanhannity</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/889788202172780544">July 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&#39;Beleaguered&#39;

US presidents normally go to great pains to avoid being seen as influencing ongoing or possible investigations, making Trump&#39;s attacks on Sessions all the more extraordinary.

On Monday, Trump took to Twitter to declare his top law enforcement official &quot;beleaguered&quot; as he wondered out loud why Sessions was not investigating Clinton.

&quot;So why aren&#39;t the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes &amp; Russia relations?&quot; Trump asked.

Trump has expressed increasing anger with Sessions as his Justice Department&#39;s investigations into possible Trump-Russia collusion has quickened.

Last week, he publicly upbraided Sessions for stepping back from issues related to the probe.

Sessions recused himself because of his role on Trump&#39;s campaign and because he failed to tell the Senate during his confirmation hearings about contacts he had with the Russian ambassador in Washington.

Trump said he would never have hired Sessions had he known he would recuse himself.

&quot;I think is very unfair to the president,&quot; Trump told The New York Times last week. &quot;It&#39;s extremely unfair, and that&#39;s a mild word, to the president.&quot;&nbsp;

Widening probe

Trump&#39;s eldest son, son-in-law and top aides have become entangled in the widening investigation led by Mueller.

Jared Kushner, the president&#39;s son-in-law and a top White House official, was questioned Monday by a Senate panel about contacts with then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, a Russian financier and a Russian lawyer who offered dirt on Clinton.

Kushner made a statement denying collusion after testifying behind closed doors, insisting the string of undisclosed meetings with Russian officials were &quot;proper.&quot;

&quot;Jared Kushner did very well yesterday in proving he did not collude with the Russians. Witch Hunt. Next up, 11 year old Barron Trump!&quot; Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

In May, Trump fired FBI director James Comey over the bureau&#39;s investigation into Russia.

That led to Mueller&#39;s appointment as a special prosecutor.

The Post report said Trump associates see getting rid of Sessions as part of a potential strategy to fire Mueller and end the Russia investigation.&nbsp;

The website Axios reported that Trump was considering replacing Sessions with another early supporter, Rudy Giuliani, a former New York mayor.

But Giuliani dismissed the report and said Sessions was right to have recused himself from the Russia probe, CNN reported.

Sessions &quot;made the right decision under the rules of the Justice Department,&quot; CNN quoted Giuliani as saying as he arrived at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.&nbsp;

US presidents normally go to great pains to avoid being seen as influencing ongoing or possible investigations, making Trump's attacks on Sessions all the more extraordinary

US President Donald Trump resumed his attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions Tuesday, calling his onetime ally "VERY weak" in pursuing intelligence leaks and for failing to go after former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her email. Trump's latest Twitter salvo followed a report in the Washington Post that the president and his advisers have discussed replacing Sessions, one of the Republican billionaire's earliest supporters. "Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails &DNC server) & Intel leakers!" Trump tweeted. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails & DNC server) & Intel leakers! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017 × Trump has openly criticised Sessions for recusing himself from overseeing a federal probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to meddle in the 2016 US presidential elections. Sessions has said he has no plans to resign. With pressure mounting from the investigation led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, Trump has sought to revive an election year controversy over Clinton's use of a private server to send email while secretary of state. The White House also alleged last week that the Democrats colluded with Ukraine during the 2016 campaign, adding another twist to the president's counter-offensive. "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - 'quietly working to boost Clinton.' So where is the investigation A.G.," Trump said in another early morning tweet Tuesday. Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - "quietly working to boost Clinton." So where is the investigation A.G. @seanhannity — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2017 × 'Beleaguered' US presidents normally go to great pains to avoid being seen as influencing ongoing or possible investigations, making Trump's attacks on Sessions all the more extraordinary. On Monday, Trump took to Twitter to declare his top law enforcement official "beleaguered" as he wondered out loud why Sessions was not investigating Clinton. "So why aren't the Committees and investigators, and of course our beleaguered A.G., looking into Crooked Hillarys crimes & Russia relations?" Trump asked. Trump has expressed increasing anger with Sessions as his Justice Department's investigations into possible Trump-Russia collusion has quickened. Last week, he publicly upbraided Sessions for stepping back from issues related to the probe. Sessions recused himself because of his role on Trump's campaign and because he failed to tell the Senate during his confirmation hearings about contacts he had with the Russian ambassador in Washington. Trump said he would never have hired Sessions had he known he would recuse himself. "I think is very unfair to the president," Trump told The New York Times last week. "It's extremely unfair, and that's a mild word, to the president." Widening probe Trump's eldest son, son-in-law and top aides have become entangled in the widening investigation led by Mueller. Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and a top White House official, was questioned Monday by a Senate panel about contacts with then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, a Russian financier and a Russian lawyer who offered dirt on Clinton. Kushner made a statement denying collusion after testifying behind closed doors, insisting the string of undisclosed meetings with Russian officials were "proper." "Jared Kushner did very well yesterday in proving he did not collude with the Russians. Witch Hunt. Next up, 11 year old Barron Trump!" Trump tweeted on Tuesday. In May, Trump fired FBI director James Comey over the bureau's investigation into Russia. That led to Mueller's appointment as a special prosecutor. The Post report said Trump associates see getting rid of Sessions as part of a potential strategy to fire Mueller and end the Russia investigation. The website Axios reported that Trump was considering replacing Sessions with another early supporter, Rudy Giuliani, a former New York mayor. But Giuliani dismissed the report and said Sessions was right to have recused himself from the Russia probe, CNN reported. Sessions "made the right decision under the rules of the Justice Department," CNN quoted Giuliani as saying as he arrived at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Trump slams Jeff Sessions, questions Ukraine's role in US elections

The White House on Monday alleged that Democrats colluded with Ukraine during the 2016 election, turning the tables on its accusers amid an all-engulfing scandal over Trump&#39;s contacts with Russia.

White House spokesperson Sean Spicer repeated allegations that a Democratic operative had met with Ukrainian embassy officials during the campaign.

Spicer referred to several recent reports by conservative media outlets, alleging the Democratic operative sought dirt on then Trump campaign director Paul Manafort.

The allegations first came to light in a Politico story in January.

&quot;Obviously, there&#39;s been a lot more interest in recent days with respect to what the DNC (Democratic National Convention) did in coordination with the Ukrainian government to try to collude,&quot; Spicer said.

The White House spokesperson&nbsp;alleged that the Democratic National Committee collusion took place to &quot;achieve a goal of having someone removed, which ultimately did happen.&quot;

Manafort left his post in August 2016, as Trump&#39;s general election prospects looked dim and details of his own business dealings with pro-Kremlin leaders in Ukraine emerged.

Spicer was asked by a pro-Trump media representative whether the issue was raised when Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko visited the White House in June.

Spicer said he did not know, but claimed that &quot;the DNC&#39;s collusion with the Ukrainian government has definitely gotten a lot more attention since that meeting.&quot;

Adrienne Watson of the DNC accused the White House of deflecting.

&quot;The White House has been pushing this narrative to distract from the Trump campaign&#39;s willingness to work with a hostile foreign government to interfere in our election. No one is buying it.&quot;

The comments come as the White House reeled from Donald Trump Jr&#39;s confession that he and two other Trump senior aides knowingly met Kremlin-connected operatives to get incriminating information on rival presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

That admission, after months of denials, has prompted some Republicans to openly criticise the White House and venture that Donald Trump Jr may have broken the law.

US intelligence agencies believe that President Vladimir Putin ordered a vast influence operation to tilt the 2016 election in Trump&#39;s favor.

Trump himself has responded by describing his son&#39;s meeting as business as usual.

&quot;Most politicians would have gone to a meeting like the one Don jr attended in order to get info on an opponent. That&#39;s politics!&quot; he tweeted on Monday.

Spicer seemed to contradict his boss, by saying the meeting was actually about adoption.

In a statement, the Ukrainian embassy in Washington denied allegations it had &quot;colluded&quot; with Democrats against the Trump campaign.

The embassy &quot;neither coordinated with the DNC on opposition research nor taken any actions to undermine campaign efforts,&quot; the statement read.

&quot;While some politicians who are not part of the Ukrainian government might have taken sides or made comments during last year&#39;s election, the Embassy and the government of Ukraine did not.&quot;

&quot;We highly appreciate US administration support to Ukraine and the progress achieved in recent months in our bilateral relations.&quot;

White House spokesperson Sean Spicer repeated allegations that a Democratic operative had met with Ukrainian embassy officials during the 2016 campaign

The White House on Monday alleged that Democrats colluded with Ukraine during the 2016 election, turning the tables on its accusers amid an all-engulfing scandal over Trump's contacts with Russia. White House spokesperson Sean Spicer repeated allegations that a Democratic operative had met with Ukrainian embassy officials during the campaign. Spicer referred to several recent reports by conservative media outlets, alleging the Democratic operative sought dirt on then Trump campaign director Paul Manafort. The allegations first came to light in a Politico story in January. "Obviously, there's been a lot more interest in recent days with respect to what the DNC (Democratic National Convention) did in coordination with the Ukrainian government to try to collude," Spicer said. The White House spokesperson alleged that the Democratic National Committee collusion took place to "achieve a goal of having someone removed, which ultimately did happen." Manafort left his post in August 2016, as Trump's general election prospects looked dim and details of his own business dealings with pro-Kremlin leaders in Ukraine emerged. Spicer was asked by a pro-Trump media representative whether the issue was raised when Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko visited the White House in June. Spicer said he did not know, but claimed that "the DNC's collusion with the Ukrainian government has definitely gotten a lot more attention since that meeting." Adrienne Watson of the DNC accused the White House of deflecting. "The White House has been pushing this narrative to distract from the Trump campaign's willingness to work with a hostile foreign government to interfere in our election. No one is buying it." The comments come as the White House reeled from Donald Trump Jr's confession that he and two other Trump senior aides knowingly met Kremlin-connected operatives to get incriminating information on rival presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. That admission, after months of denials, has prompted some Republicans to openly criticise the White House and venture that Donald Trump Jr may have broken the law. US intelligence agencies believe that President Vladimir Putin ordered a vast influence operation to tilt the 2016 election in Trump's favor. Trump himself has responded by describing his son's meeting as business as usual. "Most politicians would have gone to a meeting like the one Don jr attended in order to get info on an opponent. That's politics!" he tweeted on Monday. Spicer seemed to contradict his boss, by saying the meeting was actually about adoption. In a statement, the Ukrainian embassy in Washington denied allegations it had "colluded" with Democrats against the Trump campaign. The embassy "neither coordinated with the DNC on opposition research nor taken any actions to undermine campaign efforts," the statement read. "While some politicians who are not part of the Ukrainian government might have taken sides or made comments during last year's election, the Embassy and the government of Ukraine did not." "We highly appreciate US administration support to Ukraine and the progress achieved in recent months in our bilateral relations."

White House accuses Democrats, Ukraine of 'collusion' during presidential elections

Three years after Flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over war-torn Ukraine, more than 2,000 relatives gather Monday to unveil a &quot;living memorial&quot; to their loved ones.

A total of 298 trees have been planted in the shape of a green ribbon, one for each of the victims who died on board the Malaysia Airlines flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will join the government and international officials at a solemn ceremony to dedicate the memorial in the park of Vijfhuizen, close to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam where the flight took off from on July 17, 2014.

The names of all the 298 passengers and crew killed in the disaster will be read out by their families, and 17 local children will lay flowers.

While most of the victims were Dutch, there were 17 nationalities on board including Australians, Britons, Malaysians and Indonesians.

&quot;A tree symbolises &#39;hope&#39; and &#39;future&#39; in many cultures,&quot; the victims families association said in a statement.

&quot;We not only want to honour the MH17 victims, but also want to create a place where everyone can keep their memories of the 298 passengers alive.&quot;

Funded by donations, the project was designed by artist Ronald A&nbsp;Westerhuis and landscape architect Robbert de Koning after it was chosen out of three proposals by relatives in late 2015.

&nbsp;

&#39;Never forget&#39;

As the third anniversary of the tragedy dawns, no suspects have been arrested although it was announced this month that any trials will be held in The Netherlands.

About 100 people are wanted in connection with the disaster, after Dutch-led investigators concluded the plane was shot down by a Russian-made BUK missile transported from Russia into areas held by pro-Russian rebels.

The trees in the memorial will be surrounded by sunflowers, which bloom in July, and will &quot;radiate a golden glow&quot; over the trees, the foundation said.

The flowers also represent &quot;the sunflower fields in eastern Ukraine where some parts of the plane wreckage were found&quot;.

Each of the trees bears the name of one of the victims. And at the heart of the forest of 11 different tree varieties is a steel memorial shaped like an eye, turned upwards looking at the skies.

One apple tree has been dedicated to 16-year-old Gary, from Rotterdam, whose body has still not yet been identified.

&quot;It&#39;s nice to think that he has a tree, since we have not received his body. We don&#39;t want Gary to be forgotten. We don&#39;t want any of the 298 victims to be forgotten,&quot; his father Jan Slok, told the daily AD newspaper.

The 16-metre-long steel eyebrow above the eye represents &quot;the burden of the loss,&quot; the Trouw daily said, adding with time it will rust, a symbol of the slow passage of pain. The victims&#39; names are also engraved in the pupil of the eye.

&quot;If you look inside, you can see both yourself and the name of your loved one,&quot; Westerhuis told Trouw.

Relatives of the victims planted 298 trees in the shape of a green ribbon, one for each victim who died on board the Malaysia Airlines flight

Three years after Flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over war-torn Ukraine, more than 2,000 relatives gather Monday to unveil a "living memorial" to their loved ones. A total of 298 trees have been planted in the shape of a green ribbon, one for each of the victims who died on board the Malaysia Airlines flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will join the government and international officials at a solemn ceremony to dedicate the memorial in the park of Vijfhuizen, close to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam where the flight took off from on July 17, 2014. The names of all the 298 passengers and crew killed in the disaster will be read out by their families, and 17 local children will lay flowers. While most of the victims were Dutch, there were 17 nationalities on board including Australians, Britons, Malaysians and Indonesians. "A tree symbolises 'hope' and 'future' in many cultures," the victims families association said in a statement. "We not only want to honour the MH17 victims, but also want to create a place where everyone can keep their memories of the 298 passengers alive." Funded by donations, the project was designed by artist Ronald A Westerhuis and landscape architect Robbert de Koning after it was chosen out of three proposals by relatives in late 2015. 'Never forget' As the third anniversary of the tragedy dawns, no suspects have been arrested although it was announced this month that any trials will be held in The Netherlands. About 100 people are wanted in connection with the disaster, after Dutch-led investigators concluded the plane was shot down by a Russian-made BUK missile transported from Russia into areas held by pro-Russian rebels. The trees in the memorial will be surrounded by sunflowers, which bloom in July, and will "radiate a golden glow" over the trees, the foundation said. The flowers also represent "the sunflower fields in eastern Ukraine where some parts of the plane wreckage were found". Each of the trees bears the name of one of the victims. And at the heart of the forest of 11 different tree varieties is a steel memorial shaped like an eye, turned upwards looking at the skies. One apple tree has been dedicated to 16-year-old Gary, from Rotterdam, whose body has still not yet been identified. "It's nice to think that he has a tree, since we have not received his body. We don't want Gary to be forgotten. We don't want any of the 298 victims to be forgotten," his father Jan Slok, told the daily AD newspaper. The 16-metre-long steel eyebrow above the eye represents "the burden of the loss," the Trouw daily said, adding with time it will rust, a symbol of the slow passage of pain. The victims' names are also engraved in the pupil of the eye. "If you look inside, you can see both yourself and the name of your loved one," Westerhuis told Trouw.

On third MH17 anniversary, families to unveil 'living memorial'

The primary target of a crippling computer virus that spread from Ukraine across the world this week is highly likely to have been that country&#39;s computer infrastructure, according to a top Ukrainian police official.

Cyber security firms are trying to piece together who was behind the computer worm, dubbed NotPetya by some experts, which has paralysed thousands of machines worldwide, shutting down ports, factories, and offices as it spread through internal organisational networks to an estimated 60 countries.

Ukrainian politicians blamed Russia, but a Kremlin spokesman dismissed &quot;unfounded blanket accusations&quot;. Kiev has accused Moscow of two previous cyber strikes on the Ukrainian power grid and other attacks since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

A growing consensus among security researchers, armed with technical evidence, suggests the main purpose of the attack was to install new malware on computers at government and commercial organisations in Ukraine. Rather than extortion, the goal may be to plant the seeds of future sabotage, experts said.

International firms appear to have been hit through their operations in the country.

Slovakian security software firm ESET released statistics showing 75 percent of the infections detected among its global customer base were in Ukraine, and that all of the top 10 countries hit were located in central, eastern or southern Europe.

Arne Schoenbohm, president of BSI, Germany&#39;s Federal cyber security agency, told that most of the damage from the attack had hit Ukraine, and Russia to a lesser extent, with only a few dozen German firms affected.

&quot;In all of the known cases, the companies were first infected through a Ukrainian subsidiary,&quot; the German official said.

SMOKESCREEN

Ukraine&#39;s cyber police said that it had received 1,500 requests for help from individuals and companies in connection with the virus.

The malicious code in the new virus encrypted data on computers and demanded victims pay a $300 ransom, similar to the extortion tactic used in a global WannaCry ransomware attack in May.

A top Ukrainian police official told that the extortion demands were likely a smokescreen, echoing working hypotheses from top cyber security firms, who consider NotPetya a &quot;wiper&quot;, or tool for destroying data and wiping hard disks clean, that is disguised as ransomware.

&quot;Since the virus was modified to encrypt all data and make decryption impossible, the likelihood of it being done to install new malware is high,&quot; the official, who declined to be identified said.

Information Systems Security Partners (ISSP), a Kiev-based cyber research firm that has investigated previous cyber attacks against Ukraine, is pursuing the same line of inquiry.

ISSP said that given that few people actually paid the $300 demanded for removing the virus, money was unlikely to be the primary object of the attack.

&quot;It&#39;s highly likely that during this attack new attacks were set up,&quot; said ISSP chairman Oleg Derevianko. &quot;At almost all organisations whose network domains were infected, not all computers went offline,&quot; he said by phone. &quot;Why didn&#39;t they all go offline? We are trying to understand what they might have left on those machines that weren&#39;t hit.&quot;

Ukraine&#39;s National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said the virus was first and foremost spread through an update issued by an accounting service and business management software. &quot;Also involved was the hosting service of an internet provider, which the SBU (Ukraine&#39;s state security service) has already questioned about cooperation with Russian intelligence agencies,&quot; he said.

DESTRUCTIVE INTENT

Technical experts familiar with the recent history of the cyber escalation between Russia and Ukraine, say these latest attacks are part of the wider political and military conflict, although no &quot;smoking gun&quot; has been found to identify the culprits.

John Hultquist, a cyber intelligence analyst with FireEye, said the failed ransomware attack disguises an as yet unseen destructive motive. &quot;If it were an attack masquerading as crime, that would not be unprecedented at all,&quot; Hultquist said.

Some cyber security researchers have said the fact that the Kremlin&#39;s two flagship energy companies are victims of the attack could suggest Moscow was not behind it.

Russian oil major Rosneft was one of the first companies to reveal it had been compromised by the virus and sources told computers at state gas giant Gazprom had also been infected.

For technical reasons, NotPetya appears to be more targeted than last month&#39;s global ransomware attack, known as WannaCry. When first infected by WannaCry, computers scanned the internet globally for other vulnerable machines.

By contrast, NotPetya does not randomly scan the Internet to find new computers to infect. It only spreads itself inside organizational networks, taking advantage of a variety of legitimate network administration tools.

This makes it far harder for anti-virus software or network security technicians to detect. It also gives it the capacity to infect other Windows computers, even those with the latest security patches, several security firms warned.

&quot;Petya is proving to be more sophisticated than WannaCry in terms of scope, ability to be neutralized, and apparently, the motivation behind its launch,&quot; corporate security consulting firm Kroll has advised its clients.

So far, NotPetya appears only to have been distributed inside Ukraine via a handful of so-called &quot;watering hole attacks&quot; - by piggy-backing on the software updating feature of a popular national tax accounting program known as MEDoc.

Kaspersky, a global cyber security firm based in Russia, also said they found a second distribution point on a local news site in the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, which infected visitors who clicked on the site with the ransomware-like attack.

&quot;Our analysis indicates the main purpose of the attack was not financial gain, but widespread destruction,&quot; said Costin Raiu, Kaspersky&rsquo;s global head of research. &quot;NotPetya ..combined elements of a targeted watering hole attack we&rsquo;ve traditionally seen used by nation states with traditional software exploitation to devastate a specific user base,&quot; Lesley Carhart, a Chicago-based security researcher, wrote in a blog widely shared online by top security experts.

Cyber security firms are trying to piece together who was behind the computer worm, which has paralysed thousands of machines worldwide

The primary target of a crippling computer virus that spread from Ukraine across the world this week is highly likely to have been that country's computer infrastructure, according to a top Ukrainian police official. Cyber security firms are trying to piece together who was behind the computer worm, dubbed NotPetya by some experts, which has paralysed thousands of machines worldwide, shutting down ports, factories, and offices as it spread through internal organisational networks to an estimated 60 countries. Ukrainian politicians blamed Russia, but a Kremlin spokesman dismissed "unfounded blanket accusations". Kiev has accused Moscow of two previous cyber strikes on the Ukrainian power grid and other attacks since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. A growing consensus among security researchers, armed with technical evidence, suggests the main purpose of the attack was to install new malware on computers at government and commercial organisations in Ukraine. Rather than extortion, the goal may be to plant the seeds of future sabotage, experts said. International firms appear to have been hit through their operations in the country. Slovakian security software firm ESET released statistics showing 75 percent of the infections detected among its global customer base were in Ukraine, and that all of the top 10 countries hit were located in central, eastern or southern Europe. Arne Schoenbohm, president of BSI, Germany's Federal cyber security agency, told that most of the damage from the attack had hit Ukraine, and Russia to a lesser extent, with only a few dozen German firms affected. "In all of the known cases, the companies were first infected through a Ukrainian subsidiary," the German official said. SMOKESCREEN Ukraine's cyber police said that it had received 1,500 requests for help from individuals and companies in connection with the virus. The malicious code in the new virus encrypted data on computers and demanded victims pay a $300 ransom, similar to the extortion tactic used in a global WannaCry ransomware attack in May. A top Ukrainian police official told that the extortion demands were likely a smokescreen, echoing working hypotheses from top cyber security firms, who consider NotPetya a "wiper", or tool for destroying data and wiping hard disks clean, that is disguised as ransomware. "Since the virus was modified to encrypt all data and make decryption impossible, the likelihood of it being done to install new malware is high," the official, who declined to be identified said. Information Systems Security Partners (ISSP), a Kiev-based cyber research firm that has investigated previous cyber attacks against Ukraine, is pursuing the same line of inquiry. ISSP said that given that few people actually paid the $300 demanded for removing the virus, money was unlikely to be the primary object of the attack. "It's highly likely that during this attack new attacks were set up," said ISSP chairman Oleg Derevianko. "At almost all organisations whose network domains were infected, not all computers went offline," he said by phone. "Why didn't they all go offline? We are trying to understand what they might have left on those machines that weren't hit." Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said the virus was first and foremost spread through an update issued by an accounting service and business management software. "Also involved was the hosting service of an internet provider, which the SBU (Ukraine's state security service) has already questioned about cooperation with Russian intelligence agencies," he said. DESTRUCTIVE INTENT Technical experts familiar with the recent history of the cyber escalation between Russia and Ukraine, say these latest attacks are part of the wider political and military conflict, although no "smoking gun" has been found to identify the culprits. John Hultquist, a cyber intelligence analyst with FireEye, said the failed ransomware attack disguises an as yet unseen destructive motive. "If it were an attack masquerading as crime, that would not be unprecedented at all," Hultquist said. Some cyber security researchers have said the fact that the Kremlin's two flagship energy companies are victims of the attack could suggest Moscow was not behind it. Russian oil major Rosneft was one of the first companies to reveal it had been compromised by the virus and sources told computers at state gas giant Gazprom had also been infected. For technical reasons, NotPetya appears to be more targeted than last month's global ransomware attack, known as WannaCry. When first infected by WannaCry, computers scanned the internet globally for other vulnerable machines. By contrast, NotPetya does not randomly scan the Internet to find new computers to infect. It only spreads itself inside organizational networks, taking advantage of a variety of legitimate network administration tools. This makes it far harder for anti-virus software or network security technicians to detect. It also gives it the capacity to infect other Windows computers, even those with the latest security patches, several security firms warned. "Petya is proving to be more sophisticated than WannaCry in terms of scope, ability to be neutralized, and apparently, the motivation behind its launch," corporate security consulting firm Kroll has advised its clients. So far, NotPetya appears only to have been distributed inside Ukraine via a handful of so-called "watering hole attacks" - by piggy-backing on the software updating feature of a popular national tax accounting program known as MEDoc. Kaspersky, a global cyber security firm based in Russia, also said they found a second distribution point on a local news site in the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, which infected visitors who clicked on the site with the ransomware-like attack. "Our analysis indicates the main purpose of the attack was not financial gain, but widespread destruction," said Costin Raiu, Kaspersky’s global head of research. "NotPetya ..combined elements of a targeted watering hole attack we’ve traditionally seen used by nation states with traditional software exploitation to devastate a specific user base," Lesley Carhart, a Chicago-based security researcher, wrote in a blog widely shared online by top security experts.

Global cyber attack likely cover for malware installation in Ukraine: Police official

India&#39;s SREI Infrastructure Finance hopes to sign a $500 million joint venture this week with Russian state lender Vnesheconombank, or&nbsp;VEB, to finance exports of equipment to India, managing director Hemant Kanoria said on Thursday.

Kanoria was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the St Petersburg economic forum where Russian and foreign businessmen gather every year in June.

&quot;We are looking at a joint venture with VEB which will be trying to support equipment exports from Russia into India. This would be heavy equipment going into the mining, construction and other industry in India,&quot; Kanoria said, adding that the machinery could be leased or purchased in India.

&quot;We are looking at half a billion dollars to do a memorandum of understanding with them.&quot; Asked if the venture could be announced at the St Petersburg forum, Kanoria said: &quot;Yes&quot;.

He said SREI had also mooted creating a joint infrastructure fund together with the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) but progress had been slow so far.

SREI&#39;s projects in Russia have stalled since Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow after its 2014 annexation of Ukraine&#39;s Crimea region, forcing partners in its Russian venture to pull back. These include the European Bank for Reconstruction (EBRD) and Development and Germany&#39;s DEG.

In early December 2016 Sergey Gorkov, the head of VEB, secretly met with US President Donald Trump&#39;s son in law&nbsp;Jared Kushner, who is also now a senior white house adviser. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jared-kushner-now-a-focus-in-russia-investigation/2017/05/25/f078db74-40c7-11e7-8c25-44d09ff5a4a8_story.html?utm_term=.5ba3b2057406" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported that the federal investigation into Trump&#39;s Russia probe is looking at&nbsp;Kushner, because of &quot;the extent and nature of his interactions&quot; with the ambassador and Gorkov.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending this year&#39;s St Petersburg forum and also holding a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

The Indian company's projects in Russia have stalled since Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow for annexing Crimea

India's SREI Infrastructure Finance hopes to sign a $500 million joint venture this week with Russian state lender Vnesheconombank, or VEB, to finance exports of equipment to India, managing director Hemant Kanoria said on Thursday. Kanoria was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the St Petersburg economic forum where Russian and foreign businessmen gather every year in June. "We are looking at a joint venture with VEB which will be trying to support equipment exports from Russia into India. This would be heavy equipment going into the mining, construction and other industry in India," Kanoria said, adding that the machinery could be leased or purchased in India. "We are looking at half a billion dollars to do a memorandum of understanding with them." Asked if the venture could be announced at the St Petersburg forum, Kanoria said: "Yes". He said SREI had also mooted creating a joint infrastructure fund together with the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) but progress had been slow so far. SREI's projects in Russia have stalled since Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow after its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, forcing partners in its Russian venture to pull back. These include the European Bank for Reconstruction (EBRD) and Development and Germany's DEG. In early December 2016 Sergey Gorkov, the head of VEB, secretly met with US President Donald Trump's son in law Jared Kushner, who is also now a senior white house adviser. The Washington Post reported that the federal investigation into Trump's Russia probe is looking at Kushner, because of "the extent and nature of his interactions" with the ambassador and Gorkov. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending this year's St Petersburg forum and also holding a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

SREI says to ink $500 million venture with Russia's state lender VEB

Ukraine&#39;s State Security Service (SBU) raided the Kiev and Odessa offices of Russia&#39;s top search site Yandex, accusing the company of illegally collecting Ukrainian users&#39; data and sending it to Russian security agencies.

Ukraine imposed sanctions on Yandex and several other Russian Internet firms this month and blocked access to their websites, saying it wanted to guard against cyber threats.

&quot;There are representatives of Ukraine&#39;s Security Service in our offices in Kiev and Odessa,&quot; Yandex said in a statement, saying its lawyers were willing to help with any investigation.

SBU spokeswoman Olena Gitlyanska said on Facebook &quot;investigative actions&quot; were being carried out in connection with a criminal investigation into suspected treason but gave no further details.

A Reuters witness at Yandex&#39;s Kiev office saw plain-clothes investigators sticking yellow labels onto a number of computers that appeared to have been seized.

Later, the SBU said in a statement that information had been passed to Russia for use in reconnaissance and acts of sabotage that undermined the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Yandex has previously said it operates fully in accordance with Ukrainian law. It does not expect sanctions to have a materially negative impact on its business.

More than 450 Russian firms have been blacklisted by Kiev since Moscow&#39;s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ensuing pro-Russian separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.

Before sanctions were imposed, Yandex employed 320 people in Ukraine and had about 11 million Ukrainian users.

(Reuters)

Ukraine imposed sanctions on Yandex and other Russian Internet firms this month and blocked access to their websites to guard against cyber threats

Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) raided the Kiev and Odessa offices of Russia's top search site Yandex, accusing the company of illegally collecting Ukrainian users' data and sending it to Russian security agencies. Ukraine imposed sanctions on Yandex and several other Russian Internet firms this month and blocked access to their websites, saying it wanted to guard against cyber threats. "There are representatives of Ukraine's Security Service in our offices in Kiev and Odessa," Yandex said in a statement, saying its lawyers were willing to help with any investigation. SBU spokeswoman Olena Gitlyanska said on Facebook "investigative actions" were being carried out in connection with a criminal investigation into suspected treason but gave no further details. A Reuters witness at Yandex's Kiev office saw plain-clothes investigators sticking yellow labels onto a number of computers that appeared to have been seized. Later, the SBU said in a statement that information had been passed to Russia for use in reconnaissance and acts of sabotage that undermined the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Yandex has previously said it operates fully in accordance with Ukrainian law. It does not expect sanctions to have a materially negative impact on its business. More than 450 Russian firms have been blacklisted by Kiev since Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ensuing pro-Russian separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine. Before sanctions were imposed, Yandex employed 320 people in Ukraine and had about 11 million Ukrainian users. (Reuters)

Investigators search Ukrainian offices of Russia's Yandex

Ukraine is still suffering from the trauma of the world&#39;s worst civil nuclear accident at Chernobyl but has nonetheless turned the hazardous fuel into the backbone of its energy portfolio.

The crisis-torn country now uses atomic power for more than half of its electricity needs as it struggles through a coal shortage sparked by a three-year war against Russian- backed insurgents in the separatist east.

And that figure shot up to nearly three-quarters of all power consumed during natural gas price disputes with its eastern arch foe and energy superpower Russia from 2014 to 2016.

Ukraine Wednesday marked 31 years since the disaster in which thousands died with the country extending the lifespan of its communist-era nuclear reactors and turning atomic power into a workhorse that will be around for generations to come.

The Chernobyl plant&#39;s fourth reactor in the north of former Soviet Ukraine exploded in 1986 after a safety test went horribly wrong at 1.23 am on April 26.

Some Ukrainians remain worried that a similar catastrophe could hit their country again.

&quot;The main risk in using nuclear energy in Ukraine is associated with reactors that have exhausted their lifespans,&quot; says Iryna Golovko of the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine&#39;s energy projects department.

&quot;Today six of Ukraine&#39;s 15 operating reactors have surpassed their designed service lives,&quot; she told AFP. &quot;And by 2020, there will be 12 of them.&quot;

Ukraine enjoys abundant coal reserves that happen to lie mostly in regions controlled by Russian insurgents.

Kiev spent nearly three years in the uncomfortable position of fighting the rebels while enriching them by buying their anthracite coal to keep its thermal power plants pumping.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko bowed to public pressure and banned all trade with the separatist east on March 15.

Energy Minister Igor Nasalyk said shortly after Poroshenko&#39;s decision that nuclear power&#39;s share of total electricity production had jumped to 62 from around 55 percent.

It had stood at 46 percent before Ukraine was riven by war and economic crises in 2013.

The government has since allowed regional power companies to impose blackouts in case of weather-related surges in demand.

Ukraine is also negotiating a coal purchase agreement with the United States that Kiev hopes could fulfil two-thirds of its annual needs.

But energy analyst Viktor Logatskiy of the Razumkov Centre research institute still thinks that the service lives of all 15 of Ukraine&#39;s existing reactors will be extended by 2030 as a long-term power source backup.&nbsp;

(AFP)

The crisis-torn country now uses atomic power for more than half of its electricity needs as it struggles through a coal shortage

Ukraine is still suffering from the trauma of the world's worst civil nuclear accident at Chernobyl but has nonetheless turned the hazardous fuel into the backbone of its energy portfolio. The crisis-torn country now uses atomic power for more than half of its electricity needs as it struggles through a coal shortage sparked by a three-year war against Russian- backed insurgents in the separatist east. And that figure shot up to nearly three-quarters of all power consumed during natural gas price disputes with its eastern arch foe and energy superpower Russia from 2014 to 2016. Ukraine Wednesday marked 31 years since the disaster in which thousands died with the country extending the lifespan of its communist-era nuclear reactors and turning atomic power into a workhorse that will be around for generations to come. The Chernobyl plant's fourth reactor in the north of former Soviet Ukraine exploded in 1986 after a safety test went horribly wrong at 1.23 am on April 26. Some Ukrainians remain worried that a similar catastrophe could hit their country again. "The main risk in using nuclear energy in Ukraine is associated with reactors that have exhausted their lifespans," says Iryna Golovko of the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine's energy projects department. "Today six of Ukraine's 15 operating reactors have surpassed their designed service lives," she told AFP. "And by 2020, there will be 12 of them." Ukraine enjoys abundant coal reserves that happen to lie mostly in regions controlled by Russian insurgents. Kiev spent nearly three years in the uncomfortable position of fighting the rebels while enriching them by buying their anthracite coal to keep its thermal power plants pumping. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko bowed to public pressure and banned all trade with the separatist east on March 15. Energy Minister Igor Nasalyk said shortly after Poroshenko's decision that nuclear power's share of total electricity production had jumped to 62 from around 55 percent. It had stood at 46 percent before Ukraine was riven by war and economic crises in 2013. The government has since allowed regional power companies to impose blackouts in case of weather-related surges in demand. Ukraine is also negotiating a coal purchase agreement with the United States that Kiev hopes could fulfil two-thirds of its annual needs. But energy analyst Viktor Logatskiy of the Razumkov Centre research institute still thinks that the service lives of all 15 of Ukraine's existing reactors will be extended by 2030 as a long-term power source backup. (AFP)

Coal shortage forces Ukraine to turn to nuclear power despite Chernobyl trauma

Ukraine said Thursday that a fire raging at a munitions depot in the country&#39;s east, which the military blamed on an &quot;act of sabotage&quot;, could continue for up to a week.

&quot;We can evaluate everything as the intensity of the fire decreases,&quot; Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said in televised comments. &quot;This can take up to one week.&quot;

Groysman said 550 emergency workers, medics and police officers had been dispatched to the scene to keep the fire from spreading to nearby populated areas.

However the fire&#39;s reach was still expanding, with the emergency workers unable to contain it.

Earlier in the day the crackling sound of detonations thought to be exploding munitions could be heard from some 20 kilometres (12 miles) away.

The fire broke out overnight in the town of Balakliya at a depot where missiles and munitions were kept, causing them to detonate.

Ukraine&#39;s Chief Military Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios said in a statement that the blaze had been caused &quot;as a result of an act of sabotage.&quot;

Ukraine&#39;s SBU security service said it had opened an investigation into a suspected act of &quot;diversion&quot;, while military prosecutors said they had launched a criminal case into possible &quot;negligence&quot; by servicemen.

Matios said witnesses had heard a sound resembling a drone in flight before the blasts began in Balakliya, which is located some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the pro-Russian insurgent stronghold of Donetsk.

Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak said authorities were considering the theory that &quot;explosive devices dropped from an unmanned aerial vehicle&quot; could have caused the fire, Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.&nbsp;

As of Thursday afternoon 20,000 people living within a 10-kilometre radius of the depot had been evacuated, presidential spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko wrote on Facebook.

He added that there appeared to be no casualties in the explosions.

A 54-year-old woman sustained shrapnel wounds and was transported to a local hospital, the regional police force said in a statement.&nbsp;

Cloud of smoke 
 
Authorities had cut off road access to Balakliya, but locals in Yakovenkove, a village five kilometres north of the town, told an AFP reporter that shrapnel had flown all the way to their homes.

Photographs from the scene published by the emergencies ministry showed thick smoke billowing from the depot, forming a large cloud over Soviet-era apartment buildings.&nbsp;

President Petro Poroshenko has ordered increased security controls at Ukraine&#39;s military facilities, Tsegolko said.&nbsp;

The Ukrainian military has been fighting pro-Russian separatists in the country&#39;s east since April 2014 in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people.&nbsp;

The depot in Balakliya housed munitions and arms used by Ukrainian troops fighting the insurgents, according to Ukrainian television.

At least two civilians were killed and eight people injured in a similar incident in October 2015 in the government-held city of Svatove, some 60 kilometres outside rebel-held territory.&nbsp;

Soviet-era military warehouses usually contain large amounts of old weapons and ammunition that sometimes are stored in poor conditions.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

The crackling sound of detonations thought to be exploding munitions could be heard from some 20 kms away

Ukraine said Thursday that a fire raging at a munitions depot in the country's east, which the military blamed on an "act of sabotage", could continue for up to a week. "We can evaluate everything as the intensity of the fire decreases," Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said in televised comments. "This can take up to one week." Groysman said 550 emergency workers, medics and police officers had been dispatched to the scene to keep the fire from spreading to nearby populated areas. However the fire's reach was still expanding, with the emergency workers unable to contain it. Earlier in the day the crackling sound of detonations thought to be exploding munitions could be heard from some 20 kilometres (12 miles) away. The fire broke out overnight in the town of Balakliya at a depot where missiles and munitions were kept, causing them to detonate. Ukraine's Chief Military Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios said in a statement that the blaze had been caused "as a result of an act of sabotage." Ukraine's SBU security service said it had opened an investigation into a suspected act of "diversion", while military prosecutors said they had launched a criminal case into possible "negligence" by servicemen. Matios said witnesses had heard a sound resembling a drone in flight before the blasts began in Balakliya, which is located some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the pro-Russian insurgent stronghold of Donetsk. Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak said authorities were considering the theory that "explosive devices dropped from an unmanned aerial vehicle" could have caused the fire, Interfax Ukraine news agency reported. As of Thursday afternoon 20,000 people living within a 10-kilometre radius of the depot had been evacuated, presidential spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko wrote on Facebook. He added that there appeared to be no casualties in the explosions. A 54-year-old woman sustained shrapnel wounds and was transported to a local hospital, the regional police force said in a statement. Cloud of smoke Authorities had cut off road access to Balakliya, but locals in Yakovenkove, a village five kilometres north of the town, told an AFP reporter that shrapnel had flown all the way to their homes. Photographs from the scene published by the emergencies ministry showed thick smoke billowing from the depot, forming a large cloud over Soviet-era apartment buildings. President Petro Poroshenko has ordered increased security controls at Ukraine's military facilities, Tsegolko said. The Ukrainian military has been fighting pro-Russian separatists in the country's east since April 2014 in a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people. The depot in Balakliya housed munitions and arms used by Ukrainian troops fighting the insurgents, according to Ukrainian television. At least two civilians were killed and eight people injured in a similar incident in October 2015 in the government-held city of Svatove, some 60 kilometres outside rebel-held territory. Soviet-era military warehouses usually contain large amounts of old weapons and ammunition that sometimes are stored in poor conditions. (AFP)

Ukraine struggles to contain arms depot fire, blames 'sabotage'

A truce between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine will come into force Monday, Moscow and Kiev said, though some separatists were already labelling it unfeasible.

Saturday&#39;s announcement comes after nearly 30 people lost their lives as violence flared again earlier this month in a conflict that has left more than 10,000 people dead since April 2014.

In another sign that tensions are far from easing up, Moscow signed a decree Saturday recognising passports issued by rebel authorities in Ukraine&#39;s separatist regions, triggering a protest from Kiev which called it a &quot;provocation&quot;.

The new ceasefire deal was announced after the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France met on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, with Russia&#39;s Sergei Lavrov calling it a &quot;positive&quot; development.

But the warring sides had already agreed on Wednesday that they would withdraw heavy weapons from the frontline by next Monday in line with a tattered peace plan, and Lavrov warned that there had been no &quot;major progress&quot; in Munich.

Ukraine&#39;s foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin confirmed the deal, warning that the ceasefire must turn into more than a &quot;political slogan&quot; in practical terms.

&quot;This has to be the real situation,&nbsp;and if that&#39;s not the case, we will have to have fresh negotiations,&quot; he told Ukrainian reporters in Munich.

Pro-Russian separatists on the ground declined to confirm they were planning to respect the new ceasefire, with some saying it was unfeasible for it to come into force as early as Monday.

&quot;There has been artillery fire all day,&quot; said Eduard Basurin, a senior official in the self-declared Donetsk People&#39;s Republic.

&quot;What truce are they talking about? I don&#39;t see the point in declaring a truce.&quot;

He added that &quot;for the moment on the Ukrainian side, we see no withdrawal&quot; of heavy weapons as detailed under the latest plan.

Several ceasefires have already faltered in a bid to end Europe&#39;s only armed conflict, thanks to regular flare-ups in fighting between the pro-Russian rebels,&nbsp;whom Moscow has furiously denied giving financial and military support, despite Western allegations,&nbsp;and Ukrainian troops.

The most recent violence earlier this month saw some 30 soldiers and civilians killed in the flashpoint town of Avdiivka.

&quot;Sometimes we must admit that there is a lack of willingness on the ground,&quot; French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Saturday.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin raised Kiev&#39;s ire again by signing a decree recognising passports issued by the self-declared Lugansk People&#39;s Republic and the Donetsk People&#39;s Republic.

&quot;Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons who live there&quot; will now be able &quot;to enter Russia and exit Russia without a visa,&quot; the decree said.

Moscow described the move as &quot;temporary&quot; until a &quot;political solution&quot; is found to bring peace to the region.

But Ukraine&#39;s President Petro Poroshenko blasted the decree as &quot;fresh proof of the Russian occupation and violations by Russia of international law&quot;, adding it was &quot;highly symbolic&quot; that it was published while he was meeting in Munich with US vice-president Mike Pence, who informed him of the move.

Ganna Gopko, head of the foreign affairs committee of the Ukrainian parliament, told AFP: &quot;It&#39;s a deliberate provocation by Putin.&quot;

(AFP)

&nbsp;

Ukraine's foreign minister?confirmed the deal, warning that the ceasefire must turn into more than a 'political slogan'?in practical terms

A truce between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine will come into force Monday, Moscow and Kiev said, though some separatists were already labelling it unfeasible. Saturday's announcement comes after nearly 30 people lost their lives as violence flared again earlier this month in a conflict that has left more than 10,000 people dead since April 2014. In another sign that tensions are far from easing up, Moscow signed a decree Saturday recognising passports issued by rebel authorities in Ukraine's separatist regions, triggering a protest from Kiev which called it a "provocation". The new ceasefire deal was announced after the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France met on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, with Russia's Sergei Lavrov calling it a "positive" development. But the warring sides had already agreed on Wednesday that they would withdraw heavy weapons from the frontline by next Monday in line with a tattered peace plan, and Lavrov warned that there had been no "major progress" in Munich. Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin confirmed the deal, warning that the ceasefire must turn into more than a "political slogan" in practical terms. "This has to be the real situation, and if that's not the case, we will have to have fresh negotiations," he told Ukrainian reporters in Munich. Pro-Russian separatists on the ground declined to confirm they were planning to respect the new ceasefire, with some saying it was unfeasible for it to come into force as early as Monday. "There has been artillery fire all day," said Eduard Basurin, a senior official in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic. "What truce are they talking about? I don't see the point in declaring a truce." He added that "for the moment on the Ukrainian side, we see no withdrawal" of heavy weapons as detailed under the latest plan. Several ceasefires have already faltered in a bid to end Europe's only armed conflict, thanks to regular flare-ups in fighting between the pro-Russian rebels, whom Moscow has furiously denied giving financial and military support, despite Western allegations, and Ukrainian troops. The most recent violence earlier this month saw some 30 soldiers and civilians killed in the flashpoint town of Avdiivka. "Sometimes we must admit that there is a lack of willingness on the ground," French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Saturday. In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin raised Kiev's ire again by signing a decree recognising passports issued by the self-declared Lugansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic. "Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons who live there" will now be able "to enter Russia and exit Russia without a visa," the decree said. Moscow described the move as "temporary" until a "political solution" is found to bring peace to the region. But Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko blasted the decree as "fresh proof of the Russian occupation and violations by Russia of international law", adding it was "highly symbolic" that it was published while he was meeting in Munich with US vice-president Mike Pence, who informed him of the move. Ganna Gopko, head of the foreign affairs committee of the Ukrainian parliament, told AFP: "It's a deliberate provocation by Putin." (AFP)

New Ukraine ceasefire deal due to come into force on Monday

Two years have passed since the signing of a deal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine but the bloody conflict has rumbled on, at the cost of another 5,000 lives.

The Minsk II accord saw Kremlin-backed rebels agree with Kiev and Moscow on a halt to the fighting and outlined a complex roadmap for securing peace.

It was hammered out by the presidents of Ukraine and Russia with the help of their French and German counterparts and signed on February 11 two years ago.

The deal was inked during a period of intense combat and rising fears of an open war between the two neighbours. Kiev was accusing the Kremlin of covertly sending in thousands of troops -- putting huge pressure on Moscow&#39;s ties with the West.

What Minsk II did was rein in worries of a broader war. But it never eliminated the violence and deep mistrust blocking progress toward a political solution.&nbsp;

Today&#39;s death toll stands at more than 10,000 and swathes of Ukraine&#39;s coal-and-steel-producing east are still controlled by the self-proclaimed &quot;people&#39;s republics&quot; of Lugansk and Donetsk.&nbsp;

And damaging Western sanctions against Moscow remain in place.

So where did Minsk II go wrong?&nbsp;

&quot;It is everyone&#39;s fault and there is no political will,&quot; one Western diplomat in Kiev told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The West is convinced that Russia sparked the conflict and is continuing to stoke it.

But it also believes Kiev must now share the burden over its refusal to handsome autonomy to the rebel fiefdoms in line with the terms of the deal.&nbsp;

13-point plan

Minsk II followed on from the collapse of a September 2014 agreement that triggered some of the heaviest fighting of the entire war.

The deal emerged from 18 hours of talks between Russia&#39;s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine&#39;s Petro Poroshenko. Their French and German counterparts acted as mediators between the two sworn foes.

But the real meat of Minsk II was a separate 13-point plan that called for an &quot;immediate and comprehensive ceasefire&quot; and the quick withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front.

It granted Kiev control over all of its border with Russia on condition that Ukraine change its constitution to grant the separatist regions near Russia &quot;special status&quot; and &quot;interim local self-government&quot; by the end of 2015.

But none of these conditions was met and the agreements have been repeatedly extended as international powers cling on to them as the only hope of ending the 33-month war.

One key factor is the refusal of the dominant nationalist and populist forces in Ukraine&#39;s parliament to grant extra powers to the rebels for fear they would hand the regions over to Russia.

The insurgents themselves have never held OSCE-monitored elections under Ukrainian law, &nbsp;as stipulated in the deal, and instead pushed ahead with their own local council votes that infuriated Kiev.

And the Russian-Ukrainian border remains open wide enough for the Kremlin to send in tanks and other weapons to assist the separatists.

Frozen conflict

The deal has succeeded in limiting the scope of clashes to specific hotspots. Flare-ups like this month&#39;s battle in Avdiivka that killed dozens are increasingly rare.

What Ukraine fears most is that the war will turn into a &quot;frozen conflict&quot;, like the situation in two Georgian regions seized by Russia and declared independent in 2008.&nbsp;

Georgia still considers them its own territory and had previously vowed to win them back through a new military offensive.&nbsp;

Kiev is also concerned that Western sanctions may be eased with the arrival of Donald Trump.

The new White House chief has taken a more conciliatory tone toward Moscow and Ukraine fears that this may result in US concessions over its future.

It is also frustrated that Western powers, fearful of inciting Putin, have refused to provide Ukrainian troops with the modern weaponry that could make Moscow&#39;s intervention more costly.

The past two years have seen every truce collapse and have left Poroshenko at a loss about what to do.

For now, all eyes are on Washington.

&quot;I think that inside the US administration, they are still looking for their Russian strategy,&quot; German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on February 4.

&quot;We all hope that (possible deals) between Russia and the US will not be made at the expense of Ukraine or Europe, and will lead to a detente between both global powers,&quot; he said.

(AFP)

The past two years have seen every truce collapse and have left Poroshenko at a loss about what to do

Two years have passed since the signing of a deal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine but the bloody conflict has rumbled on, at the cost of another 5,000 lives. The Minsk II accord saw Kremlin-backed rebels agree with Kiev and Moscow on a halt to the fighting and outlined a complex roadmap for securing peace. It was hammered out by the presidents of Ukraine and Russia with the help of their French and German counterparts and signed on February 11 two years ago. The deal was inked during a period of intense combat and rising fears of an open war between the two neighbours. Kiev was accusing the Kremlin of covertly sending in thousands of troops -- putting huge pressure on Moscow's ties with the West. What Minsk II did was rein in worries of a broader war. But it never eliminated the violence and deep mistrust blocking progress toward a political solution. Today's death toll stands at more than 10,000 and swathes of Ukraine's coal-and-steel-producing east are still controlled by the self-proclaimed "people's republics" of Lugansk and Donetsk. And damaging Western sanctions against Moscow remain in place. So where did Minsk II go wrong? "It is everyone's fault and there is no political will," one Western diplomat in Kiev told AFP on condition of anonymity. The West is convinced that Russia sparked the conflict and is continuing to stoke it. But it also believes Kiev must now share the burden over its refusal to handsome autonomy to the rebel fiefdoms in line with the terms of the deal. 13-point plan Minsk II followed on from the collapse of a September 2014 agreement that triggered some of the heaviest fighting of the entire war. The deal emerged from 18 hours of talks between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko. Their French and German counterparts acted as mediators between the two sworn foes. But the real meat of Minsk II was a separate 13-point plan that called for an "immediate and comprehensive ceasefire" and the quick withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front. It granted Kiev control over all of its border with Russia on condition that Ukraine change its constitution to grant the separatist regions near Russia "special status" and "interim local self-government" by the end of 2015. But none of these conditions was met and the agreements have been repeatedly extended as international powers cling on to them as the only hope of ending the 33-month war. One key factor is the refusal of the dominant nationalist and populist forces in Ukraine's parliament to grant extra powers to the rebels for fear they would hand the regions over to Russia. The insurgents themselves have never held OSCE-monitored elections under Ukrainian law, as stipulated in the deal, and instead pushed ahead with their own local council votes that infuriated Kiev. And the Russian-Ukrainian border remains open wide enough for the Kremlin to send in tanks and other weapons to assist the separatists. Frozen conflict The deal has succeeded in limiting the scope of clashes to specific hotspots. Flare-ups like this month's battle in Avdiivka that killed dozens are increasingly rare. What Ukraine fears most is that the war will turn into a "frozen conflict", like the situation in two Georgian regions seized by Russia and declared independent in 2008. Georgia still considers them its own territory and had previously vowed to win them back through a new military offensive. Kiev is also concerned that Western sanctions may be eased with the arrival of Donald Trump. The new White House chief has taken a more conciliatory tone toward Moscow and Ukraine fears that this may result in US concessions over its future. It is also frustrated that Western powers, fearful of inciting Putin, have refused to provide Ukrainian troops with the modern weaponry that could make Moscow's intervention more costly. The past two years have seen every truce collapse and have left Poroshenko at a loss about what to do. For now, all eyes are on Washington. "I think that inside the US administration, they are still looking for their Russian strategy," German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on February 4. "We all hope that (possible deals) between Russia and the US will not be made at the expense of Ukraine or Europe, and will lead to a detente between both global powers," he said. (AFP)

Two years on since peace deal, war simmers in Ukraine

Opener Lokesh Rahul hit a career-best 199 to power India&#39;s strong reply as England bowlers struggled on day three of the fifth and final Test in Chennai on Sunday.

India were 391 for four at stumps with Karun Nair (71) and Murali Vijay (17) at the crease. The hosts still trail by 86 runs in response to England`s 477.

Rahul shared a 161-run fourth-wicket partnership with Nair before missing out on what could have been his maiden double century.

Rahul, who recorded his fourth Test century, was the ninth batsman in the world to get out on 199 after falling to leg-spinner Adil Rashid in the final moments of the day.

The 24-year-old batsman chased Rashid&#39;s widish delivery on the off-side to give away a catch to point as he crumpled into a heap with hands on head.

Earlier Rahul had surpassed his previous best of 158 as he entertained a raucous Sunday crowd with a couple of reverse sweeps.

He struck 16 fours and 3 sixes during his marathon knock, prompting England skipper Alastair Cook to rotate his bowling options.

The tourists took the second new ball in the 85th over of the innings but Rahul and Nair made sure that India continued to mount the runs.

Nair recorded his maiden Test fifty in just his third match to play the perfect sheet anchor role as Rahul piloted the Indian innings till his departure.

England pacemen worked hard on a batting-friendly MA Chidambaram pitch to claim two crucial wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara (16) and skipper Virat Kohli (15) in the afternoon session.

It was the first time in the series that Kohli, who leads the batting chart with 655 runs, had been out for less than 40. He chipped a drive to extra cover off Stuart Broad.

Overnight batsmen Parthiv Patel and Rahul made England`s bowlers toil earlier in the day with a 152-run opening stand, before Moeen Ali&#39;s off-spin prised out Patel -- the only wicket of the morning session.

It was India&#39;s first century opening partnership in 32 innings even though wicketkeeper Patel was filling in for regular opener Vijay, who got treated for a bruised shoulder before coming into bat.

Patel (71) was undone when he played against the spin of a flighted and sharply turning delivery from Ali to spoon a simple catch to Jos Buttler at cover.

India hold an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series.

(AFP)

Unlike Trump, the Republican senator was angry Russia interfered with the US election. 'When you attack a country, it's an act of war'

Opener Lokesh Rahul hit a career-best 199 to power India's strong reply as England bowlers struggled on day three of the fifth and final Test in Chennai on Sunday. India were 391 for four at stumps with Karun Nair (71) and Murali Vijay (17) at the crease. The hosts still trail by 86 runs in response to England`s 477. Rahul shared a 161-run fourth-wicket partnership with Nair before missing out on what could have been his maiden double century. Rahul, who recorded his fourth Test century, was the ninth batsman in the world to get out on 199 after falling to leg-spinner Adil Rashid in the final moments of the day. The 24-year-old batsman chased Rashid's widish delivery on the off-side to give away a catch to point as he crumpled into a heap with hands on head. Earlier Rahul had surpassed his previous best of 158 as he entertained a raucous Sunday crowd with a couple of reverse sweeps. He struck 16 fours and 3 sixes during his marathon knock, prompting England skipper Alastair Cook to rotate his bowling options. The tourists took the second new ball in the 85th over of the innings but Rahul and Nair made sure that India continued to mount the runs. Nair recorded his maiden Test fifty in just his third match to play the perfect sheet anchor role as Rahul piloted the Indian innings till his departure. England pacemen worked hard on a batting-friendly MA Chidambaram pitch to claim two crucial wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara (16) and skipper Virat Kohli (15) in the afternoon session. It was the first time in the series that Kohli, who leads the batting chart with 655 runs, had been out for less than 40. He chipped a drive to extra cover off Stuart Broad. Overnight batsmen Parthiv Patel and Rahul made England`s bowlers toil earlier in the day with a 152-run opening stand, before Moeen Ali's off-spin prised out Patel -- the only wicket of the morning session. It was India's first century opening partnership in 32 innings even though wicketkeeper Patel was filling in for regular opener Vijay, who got treated for a bruised shoulder before coming into bat. Patel (71) was undone when he played against the spin of a flighted and sharply turning delivery from Ali to spoon a simple catch to Jos Buttler at cover. India hold an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-Test series. (AFP)

Senator McCain meets Ukraine president, says Russia must 'pay the price' for cyber attacks

Ukraine was on Tuesday due to unveil the world&#39;s largest moveable metal structure over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant&#39;s doomed fourth reactor to ensure the safety of future generations across Europe.

The giant arch&#39;s height of 108 metres (355 feet) makes it taller than New York&#39;s Statue of Liberty while its weight of 36,000 tons is three times heavier that the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The 1.5-billion-euro ($1.6-billion) structure has been edged into place over an existing crumbling dome that the Soviets built in haste when disaster struck three decades ago on April 26.

Radioactive fallout from the site of the world&#39;s worst civil nuclear accident spread across three-quarters of Europe and promoted a global rethink about the safety of atomic fuel.

Work on the previous dome began after a 10-day fire caused by the explosion was contained but as radiation still spewed.

&quot;It was done through the super-human efforts of thousands of ordinary people,&quot; the Chernobyl museum&#39;s deputy chief Anna Korolevska told AFP.

&quot;What kind of protective gear could they have possibly had? They worked in regular construction clothes.&quot;

About 30 cleanup workers known as liquidators were killed on site or died from overwhelming radiation poisoning in the following weeks.&nbsp;

The toll from the accident caused by errors during an experimental safety check remains under dispute because the Soviet authorities did their best to cover up the tragedy.

A United Nations estimate in 2005 said around 4,000 people had either been killed or were left dying from cancer and other related disease.

But the Greenpeace environmental protection group believes the figure may be closer to 100,000.

Authorities maintain a 30-kilometre-wide (19-mile-wide) exclusion zone around the plant in which only a few dozen elderly people live.

Concerns over the safety of the disintegrating concrete shelter -- built by 90,000 people in just 206 days -- prompted the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to spearhead a 2.1-billion-euro ($2.2-billion) project to install a new safety dome.

The numerous problems with the Soviet-era solution included the fact that it only had a 30-year lifespan.

Yet its deterioration began much sooner than that.

&quot;Radioactive dust inside the structure is being blown out through the cracks,&quot; Sergiy Paskevych of Ukraine&#39;s Institute of Nuclear Power Plant Safety Problems told AFP.

Paskevych added that the existing structure could &nbsp;also crumble under extreme weather.

The new arch should be able to withstand tremors of 6.0 magnitude -- a strength rarely seen in eastern Europe -- and tornados that strike the region only once every million years.

Chernobyl&#39;s dangers are real but Kiev complains Europe&#39;s help took a long time coming.

The EBRD found 40 state sponsors to fund a competition in 2007 to choose who should build the massive moveable dome.

A French consortium of two companies known as Novarka finished the designs in 2010 and began construction two years later.

The shelter was edged towards the fourth reactor in just under three weeks of delicate work this month that was interrupted by inclement weather and other potential dangers.

It will later be fitted with radiation control equipment as well as air vents and fire protective measures.

That equipment inside the arch is due to start working by the end of 2017.

&quot;And only then will we begin to disassemble the old, unstable structure,&quot; the head of Ukraine&#39;s State Nuclear Regulation Inspections agency Sergiy Bozhko told AFP.

But he said no timeframe had yet been set for the truly hazardous work of removing all the remaining nuclear fuel from inside the plant or taking apart the old dome.

Novarka believes that its arch will keep the continent safe from nuclear fallout for the next 100 years.

(AFP)

The new arch, the old one is crumbling, will be taller than the Statue of Liberty

Ukraine was on Tuesday due to unveil the world's largest moveable metal structure over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's doomed fourth reactor to ensure the safety of future generations across Europe. The giant arch's height of 108 metres (355 feet) makes it taller than New York's Statue of Liberty while its weight of 36,000 tons is three times heavier that the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The 1.5-billion-euro ($1.6-billion) structure has been edged into place over an existing crumbling dome that the Soviets built in haste when disaster struck three decades ago on April 26. Radioactive fallout from the site of the world's worst civil nuclear accident spread across three-quarters of Europe and promoted a global rethink about the safety of atomic fuel. Work on the previous dome began after a 10-day fire caused by the explosion was contained but as radiation still spewed. "It was done through the super-human efforts of thousands of ordinary people," the Chernobyl museum's deputy chief Anna Korolevska told AFP. "What kind of protective gear could they have possibly had? They worked in regular construction clothes." About 30 cleanup workers known as liquidators were killed on site or died from overwhelming radiation poisoning in the following weeks. The toll from the accident caused by errors during an experimental safety check remains under dispute because the Soviet authorities did their best to cover up the tragedy. A United Nations estimate in 2005 said around 4,000 people had either been killed or were left dying from cancer and other related disease. But the Greenpeace environmental protection group believes the figure may be closer to 100,000. Authorities maintain a 30-kilometre-wide (19-mile-wide) exclusion zone around the plant in which only a few dozen elderly people live. Concerns over the safety of the disintegrating concrete shelter -- built by 90,000 people in just 206 days -- prompted the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to spearhead a 2.1-billion-euro ($2.2-billion) project to install a new safety dome. The numerous problems with the Soviet-era solution included the fact that it only had a 30-year lifespan. Yet its deterioration began much sooner than that. "Radioactive dust inside the structure is being blown out through the cracks," Sergiy Paskevych of Ukraine's Institute of Nuclear Power Plant Safety Problems told AFP. Paskevych added that the existing structure could also crumble under extreme weather. The new arch should be able to withstand tremors of 6.0 magnitude -- a strength rarely seen in eastern Europe -- and tornados that strike the region only once every million years. Chernobyl's dangers are real but Kiev complains Europe's help took a long time coming. The EBRD found 40 state sponsors to fund a competition in 2007 to choose who should build the massive moveable dome. A French consortium of two companies known as Novarka finished the designs in 2010 and began construction two years later. The shelter was edged towards the fourth reactor in just under three weeks of delicate work this month that was interrupted by inclement weather and other potential dangers. It will later be fitted with radiation control equipment as well as air vents and fire protective measures. That equipment inside the arch is due to start working by the end of 2017. "And only then will we begin to disassemble the old, unstable structure," the head of Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulation Inspections agency Sergiy Bozhko told AFP. But he said no timeframe had yet been set for the truly hazardous work of removing all the remaining nuclear fuel from inside the plant or taking apart the old dome. Novarka believes that its arch will keep the continent safe from nuclear fallout for the next 100 years. (AFP)

Ukraine to unveil giant new safety dome over Chernobyl

US state department spokesman, John Kirby, on Friday said the&nbsp;United States &quot;does not recognise the legitimacy&quot; of Russian Parliamentary elections in Crimea.&nbsp; 
 
While addressing his daily conference, Kirby said: &quot;The United States does not recognise the legitimacy, and will not recognise the outcome of the Russian Duma elections planned for Russian-occupied Crimea on September 18th.&quot; 
 
He maintained that US position concerning Crimea was clear, it is a part of Ukraine and &quot;Crimea-related sanctions against Russia will remain until Russia returns control of Crimea to Ukraine.&quot; 
 
Kirby also expressed concern over human rights violations taking place, &quot;including the status of the ethnic Tatar community and widespread reports of missing persons and human rights abuses.&quot; 
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<h5>Despite Ukraine&#39;s opposition, Russia is holding the elections in Crimea, where for the first time in two-and-a-half years, local residents are getting ready to cast their votes on Sunday.</h5>
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Ukraine reacts 
 
Ukraine&#39;s foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin reiterated that the elections in Crimea were &quot;absolutely unacceptable.&quot; 
 
&quot;These elections are completely illegitimate. They are illegitimate in the political sense but they are also illegitimate in the purely legal sense and actually it&#39;s the Russian side now (that) opened up a kind of Pandora box because for me it puts a question mark on the whole issue of democratic legitimacy for the Russian Parliament,&quot; Reuters quoted him as saying.&nbsp; 
 
Despite Ukraine&#39;s opposition, Russia is holding the elections in Crimea, where for the first time in two-and-a-half years, local residents are getting ready to cast their votes on Sunday, according to media reports.&nbsp; 
 
Ukraine, along with Western countries has accused Russia of providing military support to Eastern Ukrainian insurgency after Russia annexed Crimea.&nbsp; 
 
However, Russia denied the charges and said it played no direct role in the conflict.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
 
&nbsp;

He maintained that US position concerning Crimea was clear that it is a part of Ukraine

US state department spokesman, John Kirby, on Friday said the United States "does not recognise the legitimacy" of Russian Parliamentary elections in Crimea. While addressing his daily conference, Kirby said: "The United States does not recognise the legitimacy, and will not recognise the outcome of the Russian Duma elections planned for Russian-occupied Crimea on September 18th." He maintained that US position concerning Crimea was clear, it is a part of Ukraine and "Crimea-related sanctions against Russia will remain until Russia returns control of Crimea to Ukraine." Kirby also expressed concern over human rights violations taking place, "including the status of the ethnic Tatar community and widespread reports of missing persons and human rights abuses." Despite Ukraine's opposition, Russia is holding the elections in Crimea, where for the first time in two-and-a-half years, local residents are getting ready to cast their votes on Sunday. Ukraine reacts Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin reiterated that the elections in Crimea were "absolutely unacceptable." "These elections are completely illegitimate. They are illegitimate in the political sense but they are also illegitimate in the purely legal sense and actually it's the Russian side now (that) opened up a kind of Pandora box because for me it puts a question mark on the whole issue of democratic legitimacy for the Russian Parliament," Reuters quoted him as saying. Despite Ukraine's opposition, Russia is holding the elections in Crimea, where for the first time in two-and-a-half years, local residents are getting ready to cast their votes on Sunday, according to media reports. Ukraine, along with Western countries has accused Russia of providing military support to Eastern Ukrainian insurgency after Russia annexed Crimea. However, Russia denied the charges and said it played no direct role in the conflict. (WION with inputs from agencies)

US: Will not recognise legitimacy of Russian polls in Crimea

Russian President Vladimir Putin today arrived in annexed Crimea, Russian news agencies reported, days after he accused Kiev of attempting an armed incursion into the peninsula. 
 
Putin is to chair a meeting of his powerful security council in Crimea and visit a youth forum on his fifth visit to the strategic Black Sea peninsula since annexing it from Ukraine in March 2014. 
 
The visit comes after Putin last week lashed out at Kiev over an incident on the frontier between Crimea and Ukraine, accusing it of &quot;practising terror&quot; and sending a group of saboteurs into Crimea ahead of the elections. 
 
Two Russian officers were killed in the incident, in which Ukraine denied any involvement. 
 
Ukraine&#39;s President Petro Poroshnko on Thursday said he considered the likelihood of an escalation &quot;high&quot; and could not rule out a &quot;full-scale Russian invasion along all fronts&quot;. 
 
Kiev said Thursday heavy rebel shelling killed three soldiers in its east, where the government has been battling pro-Russian separatists since 2014.&nbsp;Western leaders expressed alarm at the possibility of any escalation. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The visit comes after Putin last week lashed out at Kiev, and accused it of 'practising terror'

Russian President Vladimir Putin today arrived in annexed Crimea, Russian news agencies reported, days after he accused Kiev of attempting an armed incursion into the peninsula. Putin is to chair a meeting of his powerful security council in Crimea and visit a youth forum on his fifth visit to the strategic Black Sea peninsula since annexing it from Ukraine in March 2014. The visit comes after Putin last week lashed out at Kiev over an incident on the frontier between Crimea and Ukraine, accusing it of "practising terror" and sending a group of saboteurs into Crimea ahead of the elections. Two Russian officers were killed in the incident, in which Ukraine denied any involvement. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshnko on Thursday said he considered the likelihood of an escalation "high" and could not rule out a "full-scale Russian invasion along all fronts". Kiev said Thursday heavy rebel shelling killed three soldiers in its east, where the government has been battling pro-Russian separatists since 2014. Western leaders expressed alarm at the possibility of any escalation. (AFP)

Putin arrives in Crimea after Ukraine incursion claims

Russia&#39;s accusation of Ukraine plotting terror attacks in Crimea was &quot;absolutely ridiculous&quot;, said permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko at the UN Headquarters on Wednesday. 
 
&quot;Today President Putin has made a statement in which he accused Ukraine of making provocations along the border with Crimea and turning to terror instead of seeking the peaceful solutions to the conflict, which sounds absolutely ridiculous,&quot; said Yelchenko. 
 
Ukraine condemns any form of terrorism, and will not resort to military means on the issue of Crimea, Yelchenko stressed. 
 
&quot;As you will know, first to the act was the minister of defense of Ukraine, which very clearly stated that there was absolutely no military activity along the border with Crimea&nbsp;and that Ukraine never sought to solve any issues with Russia by military means. Instead, this was called as a fake provocation by the Russian Federation,&quot; he said. 
 
Ukraine may submit the issue of east Ukraine for discussion at the United Nations Security Council based on the development of the situation, Yelchenko added. 
 
&quot;We still hope that it will not bring the conflict to another level. But it seems that it is quite possible, unfortunately,&quot; he said. 
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would take additional measures to ensure safety in Crimea after it has succeeded in preventing a series of terrorist attacks on the peninsula. He accused the Kiev authorities of turning to &quot;terror&quot; instead of solving problems through negotiations while calling for attention from Western countries. 
 
Earlier in the day, the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) said that Russia has prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Crimea planned by the Ukraine military intelligence service. 
 
An Ukrainian military intelligence officer and a group of Russian and Ukrainian citizens who were suspected to be Ukrainian military intelligence agents and assisted in preparing for terrorist acts were detained and interrogated, the FSB said in a statement. 
 
The claims made by the FSB were immediately rejected by the Ukrainian side. 
 
The autonomous republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were absorbed into Russia in March 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Kiev. 
 
(Reuters)

Will not use military means on Crimea issue, says Yelchenko, permanent representative of Ukraine to UN

Russia's accusation of Ukraine plotting terror attacks in Crimea was "absolutely ridiculous", said permanent representative of Ukraine to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko at the UN Headquarters on Wednesday. "Today President Putin has made a statement in which he accused Ukraine of making provocations along the border with Crimea and turning to terror instead of seeking the peaceful solutions to the conflict, which sounds absolutely ridiculous," said Yelchenko. Ukraine condemns any form of terrorism, and will not resort to military means on the issue of Crimea, Yelchenko stressed. "As you will know, first to the act was the minister of defense of Ukraine, which very clearly stated that there was absolutely no military activity along the border with Crimea and that Ukraine never sought to solve any issues with Russia by military means. Instead, this was called as a fake provocation by the Russian Federation," he said. Ukraine may submit the issue of east Ukraine for discussion at the United Nations Security Council based on the development of the situation, Yelchenko added. "We still hope that it will not bring the conflict to another level. But it seems that it is quite possible, unfortunately," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would take additional measures to ensure safety in Crimea after it has succeeded in preventing a series of terrorist attacks on the peninsula. He accused the Kiev authorities of turning to "terror" instead of solving problems through negotiations while calling for attention from Western countries. Earlier in the day, the Russian Federal Security Bureau (FSB) said that Russia has prevented a series of terrorist attacks in Crimea planned by the Ukraine military intelligence service. An Ukrainian military intelligence officer and a group of Russian and Ukrainian citizens who were suspected to be Ukrainian military intelligence agents and assisted in preparing for terrorist acts were detained and interrogated, the FSB said in a statement. The claims made by the FSB were immediately rejected by the Ukrainian side. The autonomous republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were absorbed into Russia in March 2014 following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Kiev. (Reuters)

Ukraine rubbishes Russian accusations of resorting to terror

Russia&#39;s Federal Security Service said on Wednesday it had thwarted two armed Ukrainian attempts to get saboteurs into Crimea and dismantled a Ukrainian spy network inside the annexed peninsula. 
 
The FSB accused Ukrainian special forces of planning to carry out terrorist attacks inside Crimea targeting critical infrastructure and said an FSB employee and a Russian soldier had been killed in clashes with Ukrainian forces. 
 
&quot;The aim of this subversive activity and terrorist acts was to destabilise the socio-political situation in the region ahead of preparations and the holding of elections,&quot; the FSB said in a statement. 
 
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 in an operation that triggered U.S. and European Union sanctions. Ukraine says it wants the strategically-important peninsula back; Moscow says the matter is settled and closed forever. 
 
The FSB said it had tackled one group of saboteurs in an operation that spanned Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday morning and that an FSB employee had been killed while trying to detain them. 
 
It said it had found 20 homemade explosive devices, ammunition, mines, grenades and specialised weapons it said were commonly used by Ukrainian special forces. 
 
It said it had detained a Ukrainian spy network in the process, detaining citizens of both Ukraine and Russia. 
 
In the early hours of Monday, it said Ukraine had attempted to infiltrate two groups of saboteurs into Crimea by force, but that the FSB and other agencies had repelled the attempts. 
 
It said one Russian soldier had been killed in what it called a &quot;massive fire fight&quot; when Ukrainian forces with the support of armoured vehicles had tried and failed to break into Crimea. 
 
Security had been beefed up in areas popular with tourists, at key infrastructure, and along the border between Crimea and rump Ukraine, the FSB said.&nbsp; 
 
Ukraine issues denial, says &#39;this is fake information&#39; 
 
A spokesman for Ukrainian defence intelligence denied Russia&#39;s accusation today that special forces had attempted an armed incursion into&nbsp;Crimean territory.

&quot;This is fake information,&quot; a spokesman told Reuters.

Russia&#39;s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had thwarted Ukraine&#39;s planned incursion that was supposed to target critical infrastructure. The FSB said that a Russian soldier and an FSB employee had been killed in the clashes.

The FSB said the attempted incursions had taken place over the weekend.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

Moscow accused Ukrainian special forces of planning to carry out terrorist attacks inside Crimea targeting critical infrastructure

Russia's Federal Security Service said on Wednesday it had thwarted two armed Ukrainian attempts to get saboteurs into Crimea and dismantled a Ukrainian spy network inside the annexed peninsula. The FSB accused Ukrainian special forces of planning to carry out terrorist attacks inside Crimea targeting critical infrastructure and said an FSB employee and a Russian soldier had been killed in clashes with Ukrainian forces. "The aim of this subversive activity and terrorist acts was to destabilise the socio-political situation in the region ahead of preparations and the holding of elections," the FSB said in a statement. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 in an operation that triggered U.S. and European Union sanctions. Ukraine says it wants the strategically-important peninsula back; Moscow says the matter is settled and closed forever. The FSB said it had tackled one group of saboteurs in an operation that spanned Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday morning and that an FSB employee had been killed while trying to detain them. It said it had found 20 homemade explosive devices, ammunition, mines, grenades and specialised weapons it said were commonly used by Ukrainian special forces. It said it had detained a Ukrainian spy network in the process, detaining citizens of both Ukraine and Russia. In the early hours of Monday, it said Ukraine had attempted to infiltrate two groups of saboteurs into Crimea by force, but that the FSB and other agencies had repelled the attempts. It said one Russian soldier had been killed in what it called a "massive fire fight" when Ukrainian forces with the support of armoured vehicles had tried and failed to break into Crimea. Security had been beefed up in areas popular with tourists, at key infrastructure, and along the border between Crimea and rump Ukraine, the FSB said. Ukraine issues denial, says 'this is fake information' A spokesman for Ukrainian defence intelligence denied Russia's accusation today that special forces had attempted an armed incursion into Crimean territory. "This is fake information," a spokesman told Reuters. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had thwarted Ukraine's planned incursion that was supposed to target critical infrastructure. The FSB said that a Russian soldier and an FSB employee had been killed in the clashes. The FSB said the attempted incursions had taken place over the weekend. (Reuters)

Russia accuses Ukraine of armed Crimea incursion, says two killed

The leader of a self-proclaimed separatist republic in eastern Ukraine was injured in a suspected car bombing today, local media reported. 
 
Igor Plotnitsky, the head of the Lugansk People&#39;s Republic, &quot;was wounded this morning as a result of a powerful explosion that occurred near his car,&quot; the official pro-Russian rebels news agency said. 
 
Plotnitsky, 52, was being treated at a local hospital along with several other people who suffered injuries in the blast in the city of Lugansk, the report said.&nbsp; 
 
The rebels news agency claimed the explosion was an &quot;attempt on the life&quot; of their leader. 
 
A senior rebel official later told Russia&#39;s Interfax news agency that the explosion was a &quot;a terrorist act&quot; but did not go as far as to point the finger of blame at any individual or group.&nbsp; 
 
Plotnitsky did not sustain any life-threatening injuries in the blast and his condition remains stable, the rebel official said. 
 
Ukrainian authorities have already dismissed claims that they could have been behind the blast. 
 
&quot;The Ukrainian side is not involved in this assassination attempt,&quot; Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told journalists, adding that the explosion was likely linked to an internal power struggle among rebel leaders. 
 
Plotnitsky, the former commander of a pro-Russian rebel group, was elected in November 2014 to head the Lugansk region in polls denounced by Kiev as a breach of a ceasefire agreement.&nbsp; 
 
Lugansk is the smaller of two breakaway pro-Russian provinces that have been fighting Ukrainian government forces for more than two years. 
 
A suspected car bombing in the Lugansk region in December killed pro-Russian leader Pavel Dremov in what rebels said was a &quot;terrorist act organised by the Ukranian security forces.&quot; 
 
In May 2015 Lugansk rebel commander Alexei Mozgovoi was killed in an attack against his vehicle. 
 
More than 9,500 people have been killed since Ukraine&#39;s mostly Russian-speaking eastern industrial regions revolted against Kiev`s pro-Western government in April 2014.&nbsp; 
 
Kiev and the West have accused Russia of supporting rebels and deploying troops across the border, claims that Moscow denies. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Igor Plotnitsky did not sustain any life-threatening injuries in the blast and his condition remains stable, the rebel official said

The leader of a self-proclaimed separatist republic in eastern Ukraine was injured in a suspected car bombing today, local media reported. Igor Plotnitsky, the head of the Lugansk People's Republic, "was wounded this morning as a result of a powerful explosion that occurred near his car," the official pro-Russian rebels news agency said. Plotnitsky, 52, was being treated at a local hospital along with several other people who suffered injuries in the blast in the city of Lugansk, the report said. The rebels news agency claimed the explosion was an "attempt on the life" of their leader. A senior rebel official later told Russia's Interfax news agency that the explosion was a "a terrorist act" but did not go as far as to point the finger of blame at any individual or group. Plotnitsky did not sustain any life-threatening injuries in the blast and his condition remains stable, the rebel official said. Ukrainian authorities have already dismissed claims that they could have been behind the blast. "The Ukrainian side is not involved in this assassination attempt," Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told journalists, adding that the explosion was likely linked to an internal power struggle among rebel leaders. Plotnitsky, the former commander of a pro-Russian rebel group, was elected in November 2014 to head the Lugansk region in polls denounced by Kiev as a breach of a ceasefire agreement. Lugansk is the smaller of two breakaway pro-Russian provinces that have been fighting Ukrainian government forces for more than two years. A suspected car bombing in the Lugansk region in December killed pro-Russian leader Pavel Dremov in what rebels said was a "terrorist act organised by the Ukranian security forces." In May 2015 Lugansk rebel commander Alexei Mozgovoi was killed in an attack against his vehicle. More than 9,500 people have been killed since Ukraine's mostly Russian-speaking eastern industrial regions revolted against Kiev`s pro-Western government in April 2014. Kiev and the West have accused Russia of supporting rebels and deploying troops across the border, claims that Moscow denies. (AFP)

Ukraine rebel leader injured in car blast: Reports

Ukraine coach Mykhailo Fomenko says he will quit after his team&#39;s last group game against Poland at Euro 2016 on Tuesday. 
 
Ukraine have no chance of reaching the knockout stages after defeats to Germany and Northern Ireland in Group C. 
 
&ldquo;What sense does it make to continue after failing with the task that was set for the tournament?&rdquo; Fomenko told Ukraine&#39;s national TV channel &ldquo;Football&rdquo;. 
 
&ldquo;I did not feel the united team that clinched the spot at the Euros finals. I paid attention to this during warm-up games against Cyprus and Wales. Everyone saw what was going on at the end of the Ukrainian championship. This situation affected the team&rsquo;s psychology.&rdquo; 
 
Ukraine&#39;s preparations for the tournament suffered a setback after an unseemly row between two of their high-profile players. Shakhtar midfielder Taras Stepanenko and Dynamo Kiev&#39;s Andriy Yarmolenko were involved in a spat during a league game. 
 
&quot;I would like peace and friendship to prevail inside our team,&quot; Fomenko said. &quot;As a man, I am used to being responsible for my actions. I admit my fault. I did it all wrong in that situation.&quot; 
 
Former striker and assistant coach Andriy Shevchenko has been rumoured to be a possible successor. 
 
&ldquo;Why not? He has experience in football, finished coaching courses and has got his PRO-diploma,&quot; Fomenko said. &quot;God bless him to be as good a coach as he was a player.&rdquo; 
 
(Reuters)

Assistant coach, Andriy Shevchenko, has been rumoured to be a possible successor

Ukraine coach Mykhailo Fomenko says he will quit after his team's last group game against Poland at Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Ukraine have no chance of reaching the knockout stages after defeats to Germany and Northern Ireland in Group C. “What sense does it make to continue after failing with the task that was set for the tournament?” Fomenko told Ukraine's national TV channel “Football”. “I did not feel the united team that clinched the spot at the Euros finals. I paid attention to this during warm-up games against Cyprus and Wales. Everyone saw what was going on at the end of the Ukrainian championship. This situation affected the team’s psychology.” Ukraine's preparations for the tournament suffered a setback after an unseemly row between two of their high-profile players. Shakhtar midfielder Taras Stepanenko and Dynamo Kiev's Andriy Yarmolenko were involved in a spat during a league game. "I would like peace and friendship to prevail inside our team," Fomenko said. "As a man, I am used to being responsible for my actions. I admit my fault. I did it all wrong in that situation." Former striker and assistant coach Andriy Shevchenko has been rumoured to be a possible successor. “Why not? He has experience in football, finished coaching courses and has got his PRO-diploma," Fomenko said. "God bless him to be as good a coach as he was a player.” (Reuters)

Ukraine coach Fomenko to quit

Germany&#39;s defence will be put to the test in their opening Euro 2016 group match against Ukraine in Lille on Sunday with major questions still to be answered about the world champions&#39; new-look rearguard. 
 
Coach Joachim Loew&#39;s team will be without key central defender Mats Hummels, still recovering from a muscle injury, as they kick off their Group C campaign. 
 
Hummels&#39; replacement Antonio Ruediger was ruled out with torn cruciate knee ligaments this week. 
 
Holding midfielder and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, still working on his comeback from injury, is also absent, further complicating Loew&#39;s defensive conundrum. 
 
Benedikt Hoewedes and Jerome Boateng are the two likely central defenders, but both had a long injury break late in the season and are in desperate need of match practice. 
 
Jonathan Tah, the 20-year-old who was only called up this week following Ruediger&#39;s injury, is expected to be on the bench. 
 
Toni Kroos, who will shoulder the biggest responsibility of connecting Germany&#39;s defensive and attacking game, is brimming with confidence following his Champions League win with Real Madrid. 
 
Assistant coach Thomas Schneider sounded confident on Friday that the team would quickly find their cohesion at the back. 
 
&quot;In the last few matches we thought a lot about our defensive operation and we came up with a few things, including for defensive set pieces,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;We have worked on that in training and everyone knows their job&quot;. 
 
Ukraine, while outsiders, are certain to test the Germans&#39; new-look defence with quick wingers Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka capable of inflicting severe damage. 
 
It will be up to Loew&#39;s full backs to neutralise that threat but they must also break down a steely Ukraine defence. 
 
The Germans, eyeing their fourth Euro triumph but first since 1996, have never lost an opening match at the European Championship, and are aware a slip-up could prove costly. 
 
&quot;The first game is extremely important and it will determine our run in this tournament,&quot; attacking midfielder Julian Draxler said. 
 
Ukraine managed to keep six clean sheets in 10 qualifiers with coach Mykhailo Fomenko having taken over after the co-hosts&#39; disappointing Euro 2012 campaign. 
 
They then came out on top against Slovenia in a playoff last year, with the 67-year-old having moulded them into an efficient unit.

Joachim Loew's men are without key central defender Mats Hummels

Germany's defence will be put to the test in their opening Euro 2016 group match against Ukraine in Lille on Sunday with major questions still to be answered about the world champions' new-look rearguard. Coach Joachim Loew's team will be without key central defender Mats Hummels, still recovering from a muscle injury, as they kick off their Group C campaign. Hummels' replacement Antonio Ruediger was ruled out with torn cruciate knee ligaments this week. Holding midfielder and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, still working on his comeback from injury, is also absent, further complicating Loew's defensive conundrum. Benedikt Hoewedes and Jerome Boateng are the two likely central defenders, but both had a long injury break late in the season and are in desperate need of match practice. Jonathan Tah, the 20-year-old who was only called up this week following Ruediger's injury, is expected to be on the bench. Toni Kroos, who will shoulder the biggest responsibility of connecting Germany's defensive and attacking game, is brimming with confidence following his Champions League win with Real Madrid. Assistant coach Thomas Schneider sounded confident on Friday that the team would quickly find their cohesion at the back. "In the last few matches we thought a lot about our defensive operation and we came up with a few things, including for defensive set pieces," he said. "We have worked on that in training and everyone knows their job". Ukraine, while outsiders, are certain to test the Germans' new-look defence with quick wingers Andriy Yarmolenko and Yevhen Konoplyanka capable of inflicting severe damage. It will be up to Loew's full backs to neutralise that threat but they must also break down a steely Ukraine defence. The Germans, eyeing their fourth Euro triumph but first since 1996, have never lost an opening match at the European Championship, and are aware a slip-up could prove costly. "The first game is extremely important and it will determine our run in this tournament," attacking midfielder Julian Draxler said. Ukraine managed to keep six clean sheets in 10 qualifiers with coach Mykhailo Fomenko having taken over after the co-hosts' disappointing Euro 2012 campaign. They then came out on top against Slovenia in a playoff last year, with the 67-year-old having moulded them into an efficient unit.

Ukraine speed to test new-look Germany defence

The yellow M-shaped logo, long noisy queues, children with balloons in their hands: at first glance it seems McDonald&#39;s has reopened its doors in separatist hub Lugansk in Eastern Ukraine. 
 
But in fact this is only a replica after the building where the US fast food chain once had its restaurant was taken over by rebels and now local entrepreneurs have opened their own cafe, with just a few tweaks. 
 
Its facade has been modified and now reads &quot;Burger&quot;, the name of the new restaurant, and it is decked out with a flag of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People&#39;s Republic. 
 
Inside hungry diners cannot tuck into the world-famous &quot;Big Mac&quot;, but they can enjoy a very similar &quot;Big Mag&quot; burger. 
 
&quot;That&#39;s how it goes here: department stores and cafes are taken over by the authorities, they only change the name slightly,&quot; said 18-year-old student Nikita, who refused to give his surname due to security fears, enjoying a meal with four friends. 
 
&quot;They can&#39;t invent anything new.&quot; 
 
Nikita and his classmates have been visiting the &quot;Burger&quot; restaurant regularly since it was reopened two months ago. 
 
The students say they used to come to the McDonald&#39;s before the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists tore through this industrial region, claiming some 9,500 live since April 2014. 
 
But they complain about the significantly increased prices in the place since it reopened under the new management. 
 
&quot;Now we can afford only two portions of French fries. It has become too expensive here, although initially this place was designed for students,&quot; Nikita laments adding that a serving of fries costs some 90 rubles (about one euro). 
 
The US firm, which in 2014 closed all its restaurants in the rebel-controlled areas, said in a statement that they &quot;have nothing to do with business activities in the premises of McDonald&#39;s&quot; in the rebel strongholds of Lugansk and Donetsk. 
 
The company has complained to the Ukrainian government about the &quot;illegal seizure of the premises&quot; in the conflict zone. 
 
But local customers say they find the food being served now similar enough to original. 
 
Dan Bertsch, an American from Virginia in his fifties who arrived in Lugansk three years before the start of the conflict to marry a local woman, is among them. 
 
&quot;In America I do not eat a lot in McDonald&#39;s but in Lugansk I think it is nourishing to have a hamburger,&quot; said Bertsch, who wore a t-shirt with the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 
 
&quot;We don&#39;t have a lot of food choices in Lugansk because of war.&quot; 
 
Anti-US rhetoric 
 
The manager of &quot;Burger&quot;, 25-year-old Sergei, who gave only his first name, said the higher prices are down to difficulties in getting food delivered to the conflict-wracked region, but he insisted quality has gone up. 
 
&quot;Although there are similarities in our ingredients, we are not McDonald&#39;s,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;There is a difference in the quality of ingredients, ours are better. We bring them frozen from Finland via Russia.&quot; 
 
In Donetsk, another rebel stronghold in eastern Ukraine, two other former McDonald&#39;s opened their doors under the named &quot;DonMak&quot; in early July. 
 
Similar to the one in Lugansk, they are located in the former premises of the US chain and offer the same kind of products. 
 
Their opening was a sensation in the de facto capital of the pro-Russian separatists, despite the rebel leadership frequently slamming the United States as an enemy as it emphasises cultural ties with Russia. 
 
Within a few days people were already lining up in queues for over an hour outside the fast-food restaurant in anticipation of their Coke, burger or fries. 
 
Housewife Elena waited 40 minutes in the crowded establishment to place an order for her son. 
 
&quot;Before they opened this place, I always wondered where to go with my child. Now we can celebrate his birthday here,&quot; the 24-year-old said. 
 
The fact the restaurant had opened even though rebels denounce any presence of Western influence in the area under their control does not seem to bother the young woman. 
 
&quot;It might be worth opening something Russian-style,&quot; she laughed, as she waited for her burger. 
 
(AFP)

The new restaurant called 'Burger' has come in place of the original McDonald's after it was taken over by rebels

The yellow M-shaped logo, long noisy queues, children with balloons in their hands: at first glance it seems McDonald's has reopened its doors in separatist hub Lugansk in Eastern Ukraine. But in fact this is only a replica after the building where the US fast food chain once had its restaurant was taken over by rebels and now local entrepreneurs have opened their own cafe, with just a few tweaks. Its facade has been modified and now reads "Burger", the name of the new restaurant, and it is decked out with a flag of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic. Inside hungry diners cannot tuck into the world-famous "Big Mac", but they can enjoy a very similar "Big Mag" burger. "That's how it goes here: department stores and cafes are taken over by the authorities, they only change the name slightly," said 18-year-old student Nikita, who refused to give his surname due to security fears, enjoying a meal with four friends. "They can't invent anything new." Nikita and his classmates have been visiting the "Burger" restaurant regularly since it was reopened two months ago. The students say they used to come to the McDonald's before the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists tore through this industrial region, claiming some 9,500 live since April 2014. But they complain about the significantly increased prices in the place since it reopened under the new management. "Now we can afford only two portions of French fries. It has become too expensive here, although initially this place was designed for students," Nikita laments adding that a serving of fries costs some 90 rubles (about one euro). The US firm, which in 2014 closed all its restaurants in the rebel-controlled areas, said in a statement that they "have nothing to do with business activities in the premises of McDonald's" in the rebel strongholds of Lugansk and Donetsk. The company has complained to the Ukrainian government about the "illegal seizure of the premises" in the conflict zone. But local customers say they find the food being served now similar enough to original. Dan Bertsch, an American from Virginia in his fifties who arrived in Lugansk three years before the start of the conflict to marry a local woman, is among them. "In America I do not eat a lot in McDonald's but in Lugansk I think it is nourishing to have a hamburger," said Bertsch, who wore a t-shirt with the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We don't have a lot of food choices in Lugansk because of war." Anti-US rhetoric The manager of "Burger", 25-year-old Sergei, who gave only his first name, said the higher prices are down to difficulties in getting food delivered to the conflict-wracked region, but he insisted quality has gone up. "Although there are similarities in our ingredients, we are not McDonald's," he said. "There is a difference in the quality of ingredients, ours are better. We bring them frozen from Finland via Russia." In Donetsk, another rebel stronghold in eastern Ukraine, two other former McDonald's opened their doors under the named "DonMak" in early July. Similar to the one in Lugansk, they are located in the former premises of the US chain and offer the same kind of products. Their opening was a sensation in the de facto capital of the pro-Russian separatists, despite the rebel leadership frequently slamming the United States as an enemy as it emphasises cultural ties with Russia. Within a few days people were already lining up in queues for over an hour outside the fast-food restaurant in anticipation of their Coke, burger or fries. Housewife Elena waited 40 minutes in the crowded establishment to place an order for her son. "Before they opened this place, I always wondered where to go with my child. Now we can celebrate his birthday here," the 24-year-old said. The fact the restaurant had opened even though rebels denounce any presence of Western influence in the area under their control does not seem to bother the young woman. "It might be worth opening something Russian-style," she laughed, as she waited for her burger. (AFP)

Ersatz McDonald's becomes hit in rebel East Ukraine

Some 2.5 million people are still becoming infected with HIV every year even as drugs have slashed the death rate and virus-carriers live longer than ever, a global AIDS study said today. 
 
New infections have plateaued for the past 10 years after a steep dip from the peak rate of 3.3 million in 1997, said the authors of a comprehensive analysis in The Lancet HIV journal. 
 
It was published to coincide with the International AIDS conference underway in Durban, South Africa to assess progress in stemming an outbreak that has killed more than 30 million people since the 1980s. 
 
The report paints &quot;a worrying picture of slow progress in reducing new HIV infections,&quot; according to lead author Haidong Wang from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, Seattle. 
 
This could be worsened by &quot;stagnating&quot; funding for HIV/AIDS programmes and medicines. 
 
&quot;Therefore, a massive scale-up of efforts from governments and international agencies will be required to meet the estimated $36 billion (33 billion euros) needed every year to realise the goal of ending AIDS by 2030,&quot; IHME director Christopher Murray said in a statement. 
 
Over the past 15 years, countries have contributed $110 billion in &quot;development assistance&quot; for HIV/AIDS programmes. 
 
Today, there are some 38.8 million people living with the AIDS-causing virus, a steady increase from 28 million in 2000 thanks to the advent in 1996 of life-prolonging antiretroviral therapy (ART). 
 
Annual AIDS deaths have declined from a peak of 1.8 million in 2005 to 1.2 million in 2015. 
 
There is no AIDS cure or vaccine. 
 
ART cocktails suppress the virus, enabling people to live long lives, though the drugs are expensive and can have side effects. 
 
 
Dramatic change required 
 
Use of antiretrovirals, for long the preserve of the rich, grew from 6.4 percent of infected men in 2005 to 38.6 percent ten years later, and from 3.3 percent to 42.4 percent for women over the same period, the study found. 
 
Another factor that has helped cut the death rate was education and medicines to prevent infected women passing the virus onto their unborn children, said the report. 
 
The study saw researchers collate HIV data recorded from 1980 to 2015 for 195 countries. 
 
In spite of advances, most countries are still far from achieving the UNAIDS goal of ensuring that by 2020, 90 percent of infected people will know their status, and 90 percent of those will receive ART. 
 
In 2015, 41 percent of HIV-infected people received ART, said the report. 
 
The picture varied vastly between countries and regions. 
 
In 2015, 1.8 million new HIV infections, some 75 percent, were in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by 212,500 (8.5 percent) in south Asia. 
 
&quot;The highest rates of infection were in southern Africa, with more than one percent of the population per year becoming infected in Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland,&quot; said the report. 
 
In Europe, the highest rate of new infections was in Russia (57,340) and Ukraine (13,490). 
 
&quot;Global efforts have had less impact on the incidence of new infections than on HIV mortality,&quot; concluded the report. 
 
&quot;Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 will require a dramatic change in how HIV prevention is pursued.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

New infections have plateaued for the past 10 years after a steep dip from the peak rate of 3.3 million in 1997

Some 2.5 million people are still becoming infected with HIV every year even as drugs have slashed the death rate and virus-carriers live longer than ever, a global AIDS study said today. New infections have plateaued for the past 10 years after a steep dip from the peak rate of 3.3 million in 1997, said the authors of a comprehensive analysis in The Lancet HIV journal. It was published to coincide with the International AIDS conference underway in Durban, South Africa to assess progress in stemming an outbreak that has killed more than 30 million people since the 1980s. The report paints "a worrying picture of slow progress in reducing new HIV infections," according to lead author Haidong Wang from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, Seattle. This could be worsened by "stagnating" funding for HIV/AIDS programmes and medicines. "Therefore, a massive scale-up of efforts from governments and international agencies will be required to meet the estimated $36 billion (33 billion euros) needed every year to realise the goal of ending AIDS by 2030," IHME director Christopher Murray said in a statement. Over the past 15 years, countries have contributed $110 billion in "development assistance" for HIV/AIDS programmes. Today, there are some 38.8 million people living with the AIDS-causing virus, a steady increase from 28 million in 2000 thanks to the advent in 1996 of life-prolonging antiretroviral therapy (ART). Annual AIDS deaths have declined from a peak of 1.8 million in 2005 to 1.2 million in 2015. There is no AIDS cure or vaccine. ART cocktails suppress the virus, enabling people to live long lives, though the drugs are expensive and can have side effects. Dramatic change required Use of antiretrovirals, for long the preserve of the rich, grew from 6.4 percent of infected men in 2005 to 38.6 percent ten years later, and from 3.3 percent to 42.4 percent for women over the same period, the study found. Another factor that has helped cut the death rate was education and medicines to prevent infected women passing the virus onto their unborn children, said the report. The study saw researchers collate HIV data recorded from 1980 to 2015 for 195 countries. In spite of advances, most countries are still far from achieving the UNAIDS goal of ensuring that by 2020, 90 percent of infected people will know their status, and 90 percent of those will receive ART. In 2015, 41 percent of HIV-infected people received ART, said the report. The picture varied vastly between countries and regions. In 2015, 1.8 million new HIV infections, some 75 percent, were in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by 212,500 (8.5 percent) in south Asia. "The highest rates of infection were in southern Africa, with more than one percent of the population per year becoming infected in Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland," said the report. In Europe, the highest rate of new infections was in Russia (57,340) and Ukraine (13,490). "Global efforts have had less impact on the incidence of new infections than on HIV mortality," concluded the report. "Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 will require a dramatic change in how HIV prevention is pursued." (AFP)

2.5 million people suffer from HIV every year

As football fans prepare for the climax of the Euro 2016 tournament in France, battle-hardened Ukrainian troops are playing their own tournament against locals near the front in the war-scarred east. 
 
&quot;After completing your watch at the front with a machinegun in your hands, standing knee-deep in mud in the trenches, you think about only about getting some sleep, not training,&quot; shared 37-year-old Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Demchenko, as exploding shells reverberated around him. 
 
But in spite of their exhausting missions, many of the fighters arrive to play straight from the battlefield. 
 
Some still had mud on their boots as they prepared to take to the slippery pitch in the government-held town of Kurakhove, a community of 20,000 mostly blue-collar workers about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the front. 
 
The area around Kurakhove, just west of the pro-Russian rebels&#39; de facto capital Donetsk, has seen some of the conflict&#39;s bloodiest battles. 
 
The competition is intended to relieve tension and bring a sense of normality to the frontline of the 26-month war that has claimed nearly 9,500 lives. 
 
The teams facing the soldiers are made up of local athletes who support the pro-EU revolution that shattered Ukraine`s ties with Russia and set it on a collision course with its eastern neighbour in February 2014. 
 
&quot;Our tactical level of play is much poorer than that of the professional athletes. But our motivation is higher,&quot; Demchenko said with a smile.Members of Ukraine`s 10th assault brigade have had no access to television or radio since being dispatched to the area, a couldron of violence that several ceasefires have failed to quench. 
 
But despite their isolation, the soldiers are keenly aware of developments in France, and their own team&#39;s humiliation. 
 
&#39;And football distracts us from the war&#39; 
 
Ukraine had the dubious honour of being the first to be knocked out after losing all their matches without scoring a goal. 
 
Many of the forces have switched their allegiance to Iceland, the minnows that shocked the world by beating England and getting to the quarterfinals before being drubbed by the hosts Sunday. 
 
&quot;They are close to us in spirit,&quot; Demchenko said. &quot;You can see that the Icelandic footballers are real fighters.&quot;A number of players on one of the teams of local civilians admitted they are actually rooting for the soldiers in the tournament that has been timed to coincide with Euro 2016. 
 
Dressed in a green kit, Kurakhove team member Grygoriy, 27, said that winning is not important. 
 
&quot;Everyone feels the impact of this war, and with us being so close to the front, we feel it especially hard,&quot; Grygoriy said as a steady drizzle mixed with the sweat on his face. 
 
&quot;And football distracts us from the war.&quot; 
 
A soldier dressed in a traditional Ukrainian broidered shirt who identifies himself by the `nom de guerre` Uragan (Hurricane) agreed. 
 
&quot;Victory is not important here,&quot; he said. &quot;The locals just have to have a chance to get their minds off the war and the horrible conditions in which they live in.&quot; 
 
The contest of 17 teams ultimately ended with victory for one of the local sides, which received strong support from Lyubov, a pensioner who lives in an apartment block overlooking the school yard in which games are played. 
 
Standing on the balcony, Lyubov said: &quot;It is much better to kick around a ball than to fight.&quot; 
 
&quot;I wish there were more matches like this.&quot; 
 
Ukranian fighter Demchenko said he would even be prepared to play pro-Russian insurgents from nearby Donetsk, raising the prospect of an encounter reminiscent of when English troops downed their weapons to play football with German soldiers in the trenches during World War I. 
 
&quot;Why not? They are guys just like us,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;A match like that would be a much better way to resolve this conflict.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

The competition with locals is intended to bring a sense of normality to the frontline of the 26-month war that claimed nearly 9,500 lives

As football fans prepare for the climax of the Euro 2016 tournament in France, battle-hardened Ukrainian troops are playing their own tournament against locals near the front in the war-scarred east. "After completing your watch at the front with a machinegun in your hands, standing knee-deep in mud in the trenches, you think about only about getting some sleep, not training," shared 37-year-old Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Demchenko, as exploding shells reverberated around him. But in spite of their exhausting missions, many of the fighters arrive to play straight from the battlefield. Some still had mud on their boots as they prepared to take to the slippery pitch in the government-held town of Kurakhove, a community of 20,000 mostly blue-collar workers about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the front. The area around Kurakhove, just west of the pro-Russian rebels' de facto capital Donetsk, has seen some of the conflict's bloodiest battles. The competition is intended to relieve tension and bring a sense of normality to the frontline of the 26-month war that has claimed nearly 9,500 lives. The teams facing the soldiers are made up of local athletes who support the pro-EU revolution that shattered Ukraine`s ties with Russia and set it on a collision course with its eastern neighbour in February 2014. "Our tactical level of play is much poorer than that of the professional athletes. But our motivation is higher," Demchenko said with a smile.Members of Ukraine`s 10th assault brigade have had no access to television or radio since being dispatched to the area, a couldron of violence that several ceasefires have failed to quench. But despite their isolation, the soldiers are keenly aware of developments in France, and their own team's humiliation. 'And football distracts us from the war' Ukraine had the dubious honour of being the first to be knocked out after losing all their matches without scoring a goal. Many of the forces have switched their allegiance to Iceland, the minnows that shocked the world by beating England and getting to the quarterfinals before being drubbed by the hosts Sunday. "They are close to us in spirit," Demchenko said. "You can see that the Icelandic footballers are real fighters."A number of players on one of the teams of local civilians admitted they are actually rooting for the soldiers in the tournament that has been timed to coincide with Euro 2016. Dressed in a green kit, Kurakhove team member Grygoriy, 27, said that winning is not important. "Everyone feels the impact of this war, and with us being so close to the front, we feel it especially hard," Grygoriy said as a steady drizzle mixed with the sweat on his face. "And football distracts us from the war." A soldier dressed in a traditional Ukrainian broidered shirt who identifies himself by the `nom de guerre` Uragan (Hurricane) agreed. "Victory is not important here," he said. "The locals just have to have a chance to get their minds off the war and the horrible conditions in which they live in." The contest of 17 teams ultimately ended with victory for one of the local sides, which received strong support from Lyubov, a pensioner who lives in an apartment block overlooking the school yard in which games are played. Standing on the balcony, Lyubov said: "It is much better to kick around a ball than to fight." "I wish there were more matches like this." Ukranian fighter Demchenko said he would even be prepared to play pro-Russian insurgents from nearby Donetsk, raising the prospect of an encounter reminiscent of when English troops downed their weapons to play football with German soldiers in the trenches during World War I. "Why not? They are guys just like us," he said. "A match like that would be a much better way to resolve this conflict." (AFP)

Soaking in Euro fever, Ukraine soldiers stage own frontline tournament

CHANGE PICTURE! IF THIS STORY IS VERIFIED, GET APPROPRIATE PIC,&nbsp;THEN PUBLISH 
 
According to reports in the Sri Lankan press, the&nbsp;Sri Lankan government has received the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to enter into a treaty with Ukraine to extradite criminals hiding in the Eastern European country.

President Maithripala Sirisena in his capacity as the Minister of Defense has presented the proposal to the cabinet for approval.

The ColomboPage News Desk reports that&nbsp;the Sri Lankan Co-Cabinet spokesman, Minister Gayantha Karunathilake, said the agreement &quot;will provide the opportunity to request the authorities in Ukraine to receive criminals who have engaged in illegal activities in this country and sought protection in Ukraine&quot;.

The treaty comes as&nbsp;the Sri Lankan government is attempting to arrest a fugitive envoy currently believed to be in Ukraine.

The government has sought arrest and deportation of Sri Lanka&#39;s former Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, who is a nephew of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, over several allegations including that the envoy supplied weapons to a terrorist group in Ukraine and is connected to the death of an embassy employee.

Comes as South Asian country's former Russian ambassador is wanted for abetting a Ukrainian terror group

CHANGE PICTURE! IF THIS STORY IS VERIFIED, GET APPROPRIATE PIC, THEN PUBLISH According to reports in the Sri Lankan press, the Sri Lankan government has received the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to enter into a treaty with Ukraine to extradite criminals hiding in the Eastern European country. President Maithripala Sirisena in his capacity as the Minister of Defense has presented the proposal to the cabinet for approval. The ColomboPage News Desk reports that the Sri Lankan Co-Cabinet spokesman, Minister Gayantha Karunathilake, said the agreement "will provide the opportunity to request the authorities in Ukraine to receive criminals who have engaged in illegal activities in this country and sought protection in Ukraine". The treaty comes as the Sri Lankan government is attempting to arrest a fugitive envoy currently believed to be in Ukraine. The government has sought arrest and deportation of Sri Lanka's former Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, who is a nephew of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, over several allegations including that the envoy supplied weapons to a terrorist group in Ukraine and is connected to the death of an embassy employee.

Sri Lanka enters treaty with Ukraine to extradite criminals hiding in the Eastern European country

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