Russia to meet EU and US for talks over Ukraine crisis
Top-level talks scheduled for next week as tense standoff with pro-Russia separatists continues in eastern Ukraine
Senior figures from Russia, Ukraine, the EU and the US are set to meet for talks on the situation in Ukraine next week, it has been announced, in what will be the first meeting of the four since the crisis erupted.
The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, will join the US secretary of state, John Kerry, his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine's foreign minister, Andriy Deshchytsia.
News of the meeting emerged as a tense standoff between pro-Russian sectarianists and Ukraine security forces continued in the country's east.
Iran, six powers face 'significant gaps' in nuclear talks
VIENNA
(Reuters) - Negotiators from Iran and six world powers struggled on Wednesday to narrow "significant gaps" in talks aimed at clearing the way for a long-term accord on curbing Tehran's nuclear program.
The negotiators from Iran and the so-called P5-plus-one - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - plan after their two days of talks in Vienna to start drafting the agreement to meet a self-imposed July 20 deadline.
"The Iranians clearly have a sense of urgency to get a deal done, as does the P5+1," a Western diplomat close to the talks told Reuters.
Family of journalist held in Egypt says health worsening
The family of an Al-Jazeera journalist detained in Egypt for nearly eight months called for his immediate release Tuesday, saying his health has deteriorated during a hunger strike.
Abdullah Elshamy, a journalist for the pan-Arab news network, was arrested on August 14 when police dispersed supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi at the massive Rabaa Al-Adaweya protest camp in Cairo, killing hundreds in clashes.
Since the army ousted Morsi in July, the military-installed authorities have criticised the Qatar-based channel's coverage of the crackdown on his supporters.
In a statement sent to AFP on Tuesday, Elshamy's family called for his "immediate and unconditional release, after his health has deteriorated as a result of a hunger strike that has made him lose more than 30 kilos (65 pounds)".
China warns it cannot be contained as US defense secretary visits (+video)
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says he wants to create a framework to 'manage competition.' He visited China's first aircraft carrier yesterday.
The timing was part of the message: The day afterChina brought US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagelon board its first aircraft carrier as the first foreign visitor, its defense minister warned that no one, not even theUnited States, could contain its military ambitions.
“With the latest developments in China, it can never be contained,” Gen. Chang Wanquan said, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. The US is “a country of worldwide influence, and the Pacific Ocean is huge enough to hold both China and the US for common development and also huge enough to hold the otherAsia-Pacific countries.”
Mr. Hagel hopes to create a framework to "manage competition" between the US and China, and to reassure other countries in the region who fear being trampled by China – and might take action to send a message to Beijing.
Six-year-old Afghan girl saved from marriage to cover father's debt
April 9, 2014 -- Updated 0558 GMT (1358 HKT)
Her big brown eyes, framed by long soft lashes, are wide open as she takes in the unfamiliar surroundings. She's never stepped foot into a place like this, with books, computers, classrooms and musical instruments. In fact Naghma has never been to school, let alone one that looked like this.
The seven-year old dressed in a blue headscarf and a tattered, red dress, is at Afghanistan's National Institute of Music with her father, Taj Mohammad. He's a big man with kind eyes and wears a grey shalwar kameez, Afghanistan's traditional dress. Naghma's older brother, nine-year-old Wakhil, is also with them, popping in and out of every nook and cranny, exploring this new and foreign world.
But as they walk along the hallway, Naghma refuses to leave her father's side. She is his shadow -- a daddy's girl. It's right beside him, holding his hand that she feels most comfortable.
Shukhov Tower: The Eiffel of the East
The proposed demolition of a rusting Soviet radio tower in Moscow has ignited a passionate, international conservation campaign. Why?
The slender, steel frame of the Shabolovka Tower rises above the rooftops of Moscow. At 160m (525ft) high, it is a single exclamation mark in an otherwise dense urban landscape. Its filigree design gives it a delicate and ephemeral quality, but the radio tower has been a fixture of the skyline since 1922.
Commissioned by Lenin in 1919, the tower is commonly referred to as the Shukhov Tower after its designer - leading engineer Vladimir Shukhov, whose pioneering architectural vision first brought news of the modern world to the Soviet people.
"Communication and radio was the new thing, the latest technology at the time. Shukhov's tower was spreading the word of the new age," says Richard Pare, who first photographed the tower in 1993.
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