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How The Berlin Wall Came To Be Built

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 08 November 2014 | 18.46

By Patrick Major, Professor of Modern History, Reading University

The Berlin Wall was the Cold War made concrete.

It went up during one of its frostiest flashpoints; it came down as the eastern bloc unravelled, closely followed by the Soviet Union itself two years later.

It was built right on the East-West fault-line created by World War Two. (The bunker garden where Hitler was cremated in 1945 became part of no-man's land.) Berlin had always been a Cold War anomaly, located 100 miles behind the Iron Curtain.

Its three internationally-agreed western sectors, belonging to America, Britain and France, became a refuge for millions of East Germans fleeing in the 1950s.

The decision to build the wall in August 1961 was a communist act of desperation to prevent itself from bleeding dry.

Literally overnight, the Berlin border was closed, and gradually reinforced with breeze blocks and barbed wire.

Video: Gorbachev's Interpreter On Wall

Soon, the first fatal shooting had occurred, when a young man was machine-gunned swimming a canal by the Reichstag - 135 other victims followed over the next 28 years.

"The West is doing NOTHING!" ran Bildzeitung's headline.

Although western leaders condemned the "Wall of Shame", they did not act. There were good reasons. The wall was founded on nuclear stalemate.

In October 1961, the Soviets detonated a 50-megaton Tsar Bomba which mushroomed more than 50 kilometres high (31 miles).

The message was not lost on US President John Kennedy who may not have liked the wall, but thought it "a hell of a lot better than a war".

Video: Sound And Vision: Berlin Wall Fall

This stark reality forced a rethink among some western leaders.

Willy Brandt, social democratic mayor of West Berlin in '61, later Federal chancellor, was the architect of détente - or Ostpolitik - in the late 1960s.

Now the West de facto recognised the German Democratic Republic; in 1973 both Germanys joined the United Nations.

Ironically, it was this international "bringing in from the cold" that undermined the wall in the 1980s.

The date of 9 November, 1989, when thousands thronged the checkpoints and the wall "fell", seemed like another overnight sensation.

Video: Sky Reports The Fall Of Berlin Wall

But there was a long fuse.

East Germany was trapped between Gorbachev's glasnost in the East and the West German Wirtschaftswunder in the West. In return for aid, both demanded human rights reforms which fuelled the mass demonstrations in the hot autumn of 1989.

Nor should we forget that the fall of the wall was a symptom, not a cause, of the collapse of communism. If the writing was on the wall, it was in Polish and spelled "Solidarity", the path-breaking anti-communist movement under Lech Walesa, or in Hungary, where the first McDonald's behind the Iron Curtain had opened in 1988.

The fall of the wall completely altered the geo-political landscape. Even doubters such as Mrs Thatcher could not oppose German reunification in 1990.

By 1994, Russia had left eastern Germany, and NATO was soon on her doorstep. The West had to come to terms with the realities of freedom of movement which for so long had been largely Cold War rhetoric. And the world had learnt about revolution by "people power".

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  1. Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

    West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

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Young Woman's Berlin Wall Diary Revealed

Young Woman's Berlin Wall Diary Revealed

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Video: Remembered: The Day The Wall Fell

Anke Domscheit Berg saw a world of opportunity open when the Berlin Wall fell. In these extracts from her diary 25 years ago, when she was 21, she describes the emotional celebrations that took place across the city.

9 November, 1989

Hours ago, the news came in - the border of the German Democratic Republic has been opened.

Unbelievable. Every hour, 3,500 people are leaving the country. The Democratic Awakening (a political group formed in October 1989) stood in front of the crossing point and tried to persuade people to stay. To so many people, everything is falling apart. There are resignations all the time; everything has been turned upside down.

To America in the summer? Can I pay for the ticket? Visiting France? The Mediterranean Sea, Holland, Tunisia, Luanda? How can I have a holiday, where can I find the money? I am longing for everywhere, only to return.

Anke.

13 November, 1989

My friend walks into the bathroom and beams. He asks: "What do you think about our victory?"

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  1. Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

    West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

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Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side

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Families and friends, once neighbours, wave across to each other over the wall

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Young Woman's Berlin Wall Diary Revealed

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Video: Remembered: The Day The Wall Fell

Anke Domscheit Berg saw a world of opportunity open when the Berlin Wall fell. In these extracts from her diary 25 years ago, when she was 21, she describes the emotional celebrations that took place across the city.

9 November, 1989

Hours ago, the news came in - the border of the German Democratic Republic has been opened.

Unbelievable. Every hour, 3,500 people are leaving the country. The Democratic Awakening (a political group formed in October 1989) stood in front of the crossing point and tried to persuade people to stay. To so many people, everything is falling apart. There are resignations all the time; everything has been turned upside down.

To America in the summer? Can I pay for the ticket? Visiting France? The Mediterranean Sea, Holland, Tunisia, Luanda? How can I have a holiday, where can I find the money? I am longing for everywhere, only to return.

Anke.

13 November, 1989

My friend walks into the bathroom and beams. He asks: "What do you think about our victory?"

1/55

  1. Gallery: 25 Years Since The Berlin Wall Fell

    West Berlin policemen and East German Volkspolizei face each other across the border in Berlin, circa 1955

1961: Soldiers build the Berlin Wall, as instructed by the East German authorities, in order to strengthen the existing barriers dividing East and West Berlin

]]>

Border guards on opposite sides of the wall, viewed from the western side

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Families and friends, once neighbours, wave across to each other over the wall

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Berlin Wall Fall: Millions To Party Like It's 1989

Berlin Wall Fall: Millions To Party Like It's 1989

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  1. Gallery: Berlin Wall Fall 25th Anniversary

    The installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) along a former Berlin Wall location is illuminated next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

People pass by a light installation of balloons tethered to lamps illuminating the course of the Berlin Wall

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Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union (C), places his hands in wet cement attached to a section of the former Berlin Wall.

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An impression of the hand of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is seen in cement.

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Berlin Wall Fall: Millions To Party Like It's 1989

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1/15

  1. Gallery: Berlin Wall Fall 25th Anniversary

    The installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) along a former Berlin Wall location is illuminated next to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

People pass by a light installation of balloons tethered to lamps illuminating the course of the Berlin Wall

]]>

Former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union (C), places his hands in wet cement attached to a section of the former Berlin Wall.

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An impression of the hand of former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is seen in cement.

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Jihadis Join Cruises To Get To Syria And Iraq

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 07 November 2014 | 18.46

Jihadis Join Cruises To Get To Syria And Iraq

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Would-be jihadis are booking tickets on cruise ships in an attempt to reach Syria and Iraq without attracting the attention of Turkish security forces.

Interpol has urged screening to be improved at all transport hubs - "airports and, more and more, cruise lines" - to stop fighters reaching Turkey, from where thousands of foreigners seeking to join Islamic State have already crossed into Syria.

The warning came as US aircraft bombed militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the Ahrar al-Sham brigades in northern Syria.

US officials have said a Nusra Front cell is planning an attack against American interests. Initial reports suggested French-born bomb maker David Drugeon was among those hit and possibly killed in the airstrikes. 

Special teams have been set up at Turkish airports and bus stations to intercept foreign jihadis aiming to cross the long and porous border, according to local officials.

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  1. Gallery: The Battle Against IS In Syria

    Smoke rises above the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani during fighting - seen from the Turkish border town of Suruc

Syrian rebel fighters fire a heavy machinegun against IS positions from a location west of Kobani. A rebel flag covers the front of the truck

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An EA-18G Growler electronic warfare plane launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson as part of the US operation against IS militants

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Jihadis Join Cruises To Get To Syria And Iraq

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Would-be jihadis are booking tickets on cruise ships in an attempt to reach Syria and Iraq without attracting the attention of Turkish security forces.

Interpol has urged screening to be improved at all transport hubs - "airports and, more and more, cruise lines" - to stop fighters reaching Turkey, from where thousands of foreigners seeking to join Islamic State have already crossed into Syria.

The warning came as US aircraft bombed militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front and the Ahrar al-Sham brigades in northern Syria.

US officials have said a Nusra Front cell is planning an attack against American interests. Initial reports suggested French-born bomb maker David Drugeon was among those hit and possibly killed in the airstrikes. 

Special teams have been set up at Turkish airports and bus stations to intercept foreign jihadis aiming to cross the long and porous border, according to local officials.

1/15

  1. Gallery: The Battle Against IS In Syria

    Smoke rises above the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani during fighting - seen from the Turkish border town of Suruc

Syrian rebel fighters fire a heavy machinegun against IS positions from a location west of Kobani. A rebel flag covers the front of the truck

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An EA-18G Growler electronic warfare plane launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson as part of the US operation against IS militants

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US General Backs Israel's Tactics In Gaza War

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter

The most senior military official in the US has backed Israel's "knock on the roof" warning tactic, used during this summer's war in Gaza.

Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said the technique of dropping a low-explosive shell on residential buildings as a warning prior to a full airstrike was an example of Israeli efforts to limit civilian casualties.

Made during a speaking event at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs in New York, his comments follow Amnesty International's recent criticism of Israel's targeting of buildings in Gaza, which led to a significant number of civilian deaths.

General Dempsey said the underground tunnel networks used by militant groups in Gaza "caused the IDF some significant challenges", but said that in his opinion Israelis "did some extraordinary things to limit civilian casualties".

He also confirmed that the US had sent a team from the Defence Department to Israel in recent months to see what military lessons could be learned from Operation Protective Edge - the 50-day war in Gaza that raged in July and August this year.

UN figures suggest that of the 2,192 Palestinians killed, at least 1,523 were civilians.

In September, a report by Human Rights Watch described Israel's strikes around three United Nations schools in Gaza as "war crimes".

An Amnesty International report this week examined eight incidents in which a total of 111 people were killed, of whom at least 104 were civilians, including 66 children.

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  1. Gallery: Daily Life Among The Ruins Of Gaza

    A Palestinian woman hangs laundry on a rope outside her house that witnesses said was damaged by Israeli shelling during the most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the east of Gaza City

Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed in August to a ceasefire aimed at ending a weeks-old conflict which left more than 2,100 Palestinians and scores of Israelis dead. The first torrential downpour of an approaching winter has soaked the Gaza Strip, compounding the difficulties of thousands of Palestinians who scrambled to patch homes wrecked during the conflict

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Dozens Of Tanks Enter Ukraine From Russia

A column of 32 tanks has entered Ukraine from Russia, as clashes threaten to derail an ineffective ceasefire.

Ukraine's military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said a convoy made up of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer cannons and 30 trucks of troops and equipment had crossed the border into the rebel-controlled Luhansk region.

The move comes the day after fighting with pro-Russian rebels killed five Ukrainian soldiers and injured 16, he added.

More follows...


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Israel 'Flouted The Laws Of War' In Gaza

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 05 November 2014 | 18.46

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter, in Jerusalem

Amnesty International has claimed Israeli forces "flouted the laws of war" on numerous occasions during this summer's conflict in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of civilians.

The group's latest report, Families Under The Rubble, examined a series of airstrikes on Palestinian homes during "Operation Protective Edge".

Some of the strikes resulted in entire families being killed.

It focuses on eight incidents in which a total of 111 people were killed, of whom at least 104 were civilians, with 66 children among them.

Amnesty claims the cases indicate that Israel failed to observe its obligations under international law to limit the risk to civilian lives.

"Israeli forces have brazenly flouted the laws of war by carrying out a series of attacks on civilian homes, displaying callous indifference to the carnage caused," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East Director.

Throughout the conflict, the Israeli military issued numerous statements insisting they were doing all they could to protect civilians.

They accused militants from Hamas and other organisations of being responsible, as a result of hiding in civilian areas and using residents as human shields.

Although the Amnesty investigation did identify named individuals who may have been the targets in some of the cases, the report claims Israel has failed to explain why the targeting of those individuals justified the huge loss of civilian life.

The most deadly airstrike examined was that on the three-storey al-Dali building in Khan Younis on 29 July, in which 36 members of four families were killed, including 18 children.

Amnesty identified one of the building's residents, Ahmad Muammar, an engineer for Islamic Jihad, as the likely target of the strike.

Witnesses told Amnesty investigators how Muammar used a room inside the house for work using computers and electronics.

The second most deadly case documented occurred in Khan Younis on 20 July, when 24 civilians, including 19 children, were killed following an airstrike on the Abu Jame house.

Amnesty believes a member of the Hamas armed wing may have been standing near the house.

In both cases, the report claims Israel has failed to explain what the targets were or why they justified the clear risk to civilians.

"The onus is on Israeli officials to explain why they chose to deliberately flatten entire homes of civilians (...) even if a fighter had been present in one of these residential homes, it would not absolve Israel of its obligation to take every feasible precaution to protect the lives of civilians caught up in the fighting,"  Mr Luther added.

Nearly 2,200 Palestinians died during the 50-day war in Gaza between July and August. UN figures suggest at least 1,523 of those killed were civilians.

During the conflict Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza fired thousands of rockets into Israel, resulting in the death of six civilians, including one child. Some 66 Israeli soldiers were killed over the course of Operation Protective Edge.

:: The Israeli government issued a statement in response to the Amnesty report:

Amnesty's report on this summer's conflict between Israel and the Hamas terror group accuses Israel of wrongdoing while producing no evidence. At the same time the report ignores documented war crimes perpetrated by Hamas, including the use of human shields, as well as ammunition storage and firing at Israeli civilian population centres from within schools, hospitals, mosques and civilian neighbourhoods in Gaza.

The report does not mention the word terror in relation to Hamas or other armed Palestinian groups, nor mentions tunnels built by Hamas to infiltrate Israel and perpetrate terror attacks.

By ignoring the nature of the enemy Israel faced in Gaza - a terror group recognised as such by the European Union, the United States and others - Amnesty's report fails to contribute to the important discussion needed to solve the conflict.

Instead, Amnesty serves as a propaganda tool for Hamas and other terror groups.

In Israel, investigations are currently underway by several bodies, inside and outside the Israel Defence Forces, into over 90 incidents. Two criminal investigations are underway.

These measures are dismissed by Amnesty as insufficient yet in comparison to Israel's rigorous procedures Amnesty's own methodology raises questions: The report was not written by Amnesty staff but by local contractors not mentioned by name and referred to only as "field workers".

Their own credibility in producing the testimonies detailed in the report is never questioned; independent verification of their claims apparently not deemed necessary.

The extreme bias of the report is best displayed in its recommendations: Hamas is not mentioned, as if the group has no responsibility for the bloodshed; meanwhile, the report dismisses Israel's security challenges.

Amnesty should understand that producing a narrow, decontextualised report restricts its capability to advance positive change.


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US Midterms: Republicans Take Over Senate

US Midterms: Republicans Take Over Senate

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Video: Republicans Take Control Of Senate

By Sky News US Team

The US Republicans have swept to power in both houses of Congress for the first time in eight years in midterm elections shaped by President Barack Obama's unpopularity.

Results continue to trickle in across the US, but the conservatives won seven seats from Democrats, one more than they needed to take control of the 100-seat Senate.

Tha takeover will limit Mr Obama's political influence and curb his legislative agenda in his last two years in office.

West Virginia, Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, North Carolina and Iowa all fell to the conservatives.

The Democrats are still battling to hold on to Senate seats in Virginia and Alaska, while Louisiana's race will go to a run-off next month.

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  1. Gallery: Midterms: Election Day In America

    The Empire State Building in New York City turns red to mark the Republican triumph in the Senate midterm election races

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell will be the next leader of the US Senate as his party swept to power

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The conservatives cruised to control of the Senate, boosted their House of Representatives majority and chalked up a slew of gubernatorial victories, breaking political opponents' hearts

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Elections judge Constance Rolon, 96, hands out "I Voted!" stickers in Denver, Colorado

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US Midterms: Republicans Take Over Senate

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Video: Republicans Take Control Of Senate

By Sky News US Team

The US Republicans have swept to power in both houses of Congress for the first time in eight years in midterm elections shaped by President Barack Obama's unpopularity.

Results continue to trickle in across the US, but the conservatives won seven seats from Democrats, one more than they needed to take control of the 100-seat Senate.

Tha takeover will limit Mr Obama's political influence and curb his legislative agenda in his last two years in office.

West Virginia, Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, North Carolina and Iowa all fell to the conservatives.

The Democrats are still battling to hold on to Senate seats in Virginia and Alaska, while Louisiana's race will go to a run-off next month.

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  1. Gallery: Midterms: Election Day In America

    The Empire State Building in New York City turns red to mark the Republican triumph in the Senate midterm election races

Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell will be the next leader of the US Senate as his party swept to power

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The conservatives cruised to control of the Senate, boosted their House of Representatives majority and chalked up a slew of gubernatorial victories, breaking political opponents' hearts

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Elections judge Constance Rolon, 96, hands out "I Voted!" stickers in Denver, Colorado

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Car Rams Pedestrians As Jerusalem Clashes Erupt

A driver has rammed his car into a crowd of pedestrians in East Jerusalem in what police said was a "hit-and-run terror attack".

Ten people were said to have been injured, one of them critically.

After coming to a halt, the driver reportedly got out of his car and attacked passers-by with a metal bar, before being shot dead by police.

"A commercial vehicle hit and ran over pedestrians at a light rail station," police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

She indicated that the incident took place on the border between west and annexed East Jerusalem. 

Video: Palestinians Clash With Police

It came as Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters at the city's Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

More follows ...


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Ebola Victims Break Quarantine In Hunt For Food

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 04 November 2014 | 18.46

Ebola patients in West Africa are exposing others to the deadly disease as they are being forced to leave quarantine to search for food, charities have warned.

Aid agencies working with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) are desperately trying to get food to those being monitored to stop them from leaving clinics and spreading the virus.

In Sierra Leone, a government system in place to feed those in quarantine is not working properly and volunteers are "working against the clock" to provide food to 2,100 people in Kailahun and western areas of Freetown, Christian Aid said.

Jeanne Kamara, the charity's director in Sierra Leone, said: "This is a huge concern. People infected with Ebola are desperately searching for food and are in turn exposing others to the disease.

"They are jostling with people in the market and infecting others through bodily contact. We urgently have to provide food to those who need it to prevent the risk of further spread."

Video: Why Is Ebola So Dangerous?

Travel has been restricted in parts of the country preventing trucks from freely delivering food, which has increased in price because of its short supply.

The British public has so far donated more than £5m to the DEC campaign to help people affected by the Ebola crisis

The first £5m given was matched by the Government, bringing the total to more than £10m.

Video: Sept 2: Patient Flees Quarantine

Another concern for aid workers is the impact of the disease on children's education.

Mike Noyes, ActionAid's head of humanitarian response, said: "At the moment all schools in Liberia are closed and the education of children is in danger of completely coming to a halt.

"Parents are very concerned about their children falling behind.

Video: West Africa Ebola Crisis DEC Appeal

"Many families cannot afford to hire private tutors and others are afraid to hire them because of the potential risk of contact and infection.

"Children living under quarantine in Liberia and Sierra Leone are understandably frightened and unsettled."

The World Health Organisation says the disease has killed around 5,000 people and infected more than twice as many.

Video: Ebola: Busting The Myths

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Ukraine Leader's Threat After Rebel Elections

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is threatening to abandon a peace plan with pro-Russian separatists after they held elections aimed at demonstrating their independence.

Sunday's election of leaders in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine were backed by Russia, but condemned by Ukraine, the US and European powers.

Mr Poroshenko hit out at the "pseudo-elections" as a "brutal violation" of the 5 September truce deal, the Minsk Protocol.

"This farce at gunpoint has nothing in common with the expression of will," he said.

"It cannot be called an election by definition. Bandits, terrorists and interventionists can crown themselves deputies, prime ministers and ministers. They may even call themselves kings or emperors.

"Still, no matter what they put on their heads, they will remain occupants, criminals and militants."

The September accord, whose signatories included Russia, was intended to pave the way for an end to the seven-month conflict with a ceasefire and an offer of autonomy - but not independence - for the rebels.

Video: Western Ukraine Votes To Look West

But Mr Poroshenko has said he and his security chiefs will "re-examine" Kiev's commitments to the ceasefire deal, including considering the "abolition" of the key law offering separatists autonomy within Ukraine's existing borders.

Alexander Zakharchenko, a former electrician turned insurgent leader, won the election in Donetsk, while Igor Plotnitsky, an ex-Soviet army officer, was elected in neighbouring Luhansk. They both won by large margins.

Mr Zakharchenko said: "Ukraine does not want peace, as it claims. Obviously it is playing a double game."

Russia, which risks an intensifying of tough EU and US economic sanctions, ignored Western appeals not to recognise the rebel vote, which demonstrated Ukraine's inability to control the east.

Video: A New Life As Refugees In Murmansk

"Those elected have received a mandate to resolve the practical issues of re-establishing normal life in the region," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Russia also blocked an attempt in the UN Security Council to criticise the elections.

The US followed Europe in slamming the rebel polls, which were held without recognised election observers.

The White House said: "These sham elections contravened Ukraine's constitution... and the most basic electoral norms," while the State Department warned Moscow that recognising the polls "would only serve to isolate it further".

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  1. Gallery: Ukraine Crisis Escalates In Donetsk

    As Ukraine's parliament ratifies an agreement for closer ties with the European Union, fighting continues in Donetsk

  2. A pro-Russian rebel walks past burnt-out vehicles in the eastern industrial Ukrainian city

  3. A resident cleans glass from his home after the rebel-held city is shelled overnight

  4. Three people were killed and five wounded in the attack

  5. Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko holds aloft the agreement signed by MPs to strengthen the country's political and economic ties with the EU

  6. Ukraine's MPs ratified the deal during a live video link with the European Parliament

  7. MPs also approved legislation granting greater autonomy to the rebel regions as well as an amnesty for most of those involved in the fighting

And German Chancellor Angela Merkel's top spokesman described as "incomprehensible" Moscow's endorsement of the vote - in which the Kremlin-backed candidates faced no serious competition - and warned this would "further aggravate the crisis".

The separatist uprisings in eastern Ukraine began shortly after Russia's troops annexed the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea in March.

More than 4,000 people have died in the conflict.


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Oscar Pistorius Prosecutors Lodge Appeal

Prosecutors have filed an appeal against the verdict of culpable homicide against Oscar Pistorius and the five-year jail sentence he received.

The Paralympian was cleared of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after a seven-month trial.

"Today, we announce that the NPA filed the application for leave to appeal both the conviction and sentence," the National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement.

"The appeal on conviction is based on the question of law."

The Olympic and Paralympic athlete killed Ms Steenkamp after shooting four times through a locked lavatory door in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013.

Video: Pistorius Leaves Court For Prison

Pistorius admitted shooting the 29-year-old model at his Pretoria home, but told the court that he had thought she was an intruder.

The state sought to prove that Pistorius had deliberately shot Ms Steenkamp.

However, Pretoria High Court judge Thokozile Masipa found there was not enough evidence to convict the 27-year-old of premeditated murder.

Video: South Africa's Appeal Process

Instead, she found him guilty of culpable homicide, a charge equivalent to manslaughter.                

Pistorius is currently serving his sentence in a hospital section of a Pretoria prison.

If Judge Masipa agrees to hear the appeal it will extend a legal process that has already captured the attention of million of people around the world.

Video: Pistorius Sentencing Highlights

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  1. Gallery: Sentencing Day For Pistorius

    South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius arrives at the court in Pretoria for sentencing over the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp

  2. He was convicted last month of "culpable homicide" - South Africa's equivalent of manslaughter. Continue through the gallery for more pictures from the day on which he was jailed for five years

  3. Pistorius walks into the courtroom

  4. Pistorius hugs his father Henke Pistorius ahead of his sentencing

  5. Carl Pistorius, brother of Oscar Pistorius, attends the sentencing hearing

  6. Pistorius stands in the dock as his sentence is delivered

  7. Judge Thokozile Masipa sentences Pistorius to prison for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

  8. Pistorius is led to holding cells

  9. Pistorius holds the hands of family members after being sentenced

  10. His defence team said he would spend a sixth of the term in prison - 10 months - before being placed under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence

  11. Reeva's mother June agrees justice had been served as she reacts to the jailing of Oscar Pistorius over her daughter's killing

  12. Friends of Reeva Steenkamp, Gina and Kim Myers

  13. Pistorius (C) enters a police van after his sentencing

  14. A general view of Pretoria Central Prison


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