Pro-Russian activists storm administration buildings in Luhansk
Hundreds of pro-Russian activists have stormed administration buildings in Luhansk, one of the largest cities in eastern Ukraine.
They are seeking a referendum on granting greater authority to Ukraine's regions.
The move further raises tensions in the eastern part of the country, where activists have seized control of government buildings in at least 10 cities and towns.
Ukraine authorities say the government has already begun the process of decentralizing state power, but pro-Russia activists have no intention of fulfilling the Geneva agreement.
Earlier this month, Ukraine and Russia agreed on tentative steps to halt violence and calm tensions in eastern Ukraine.
However, Ukrainian military are trying to encircle the city of Slovyansk as seven military observers have been held hostage by pro-Russia activists.
Ukraine and Russia have been blaming each other for the rising tensions.
The US and EU have imposed another round of sanctions against Russia.
Iran ready for nuclear deal: Iran President
Iran's President, Hassan Rouhani, says Iran is ready for a nuclear agreement if other parties are also ready.
The comment comes ahead of expert-level nuclear talks between Iran and major powers to be held in New York next month.
Rouhani also says repairing ties with the U.S will require more time.
Iran and six major powers, including the U.S. and China, struck an interim deal last year, in which Tehran agreed not to expand its nuclear program for six months.
The parties have set a July deadline to clinch a long-term deal.
DPRK starts live-fire drill near inter-Korean border: YTN
A live-fire drill by North Korea along its disputed maritime border with South Korea on the west side of the Peninsula came to an abrupt end today, just minutes after it first began.
The South Korean side says the North fired off around 50 artillary shells for about 10-minutes this afternoon before abruptly brining the exercise to an end.
None of the North's shots penetrated South Korean-controlled waters.
Despite this, the exercise did put South Korea's defense ministry on alert.
The live-fire exercises come around a month after the DPRK conducted similar drills in the area, which culminated in the two sides trading shots at one-another.
Fresh wave of violence erupts in Syria ahead of election
A fresh wave of violence has hit Syria ahead of a presidential election set for June 3rd.
At least 37 people were killed in an explosion in the city of Homs on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, at least 14 students were killed when mortar shells hit a religious school in central Damascus.
A second shelling has also been reported but the number of casualties has not been disclosed.
The violence comes after President Bashar al-Assad registered his candidacy in the upcoming election, defying calls to step down.
Audio of conversation between air traffic control and missing plane's crew
Malaysian officials have for the first time revealed the audio communication between the missing flight MH370's cockpit and air traffic controllers to relatives of passengers in Beijing.
The conversation in English established communication between Mh370's cockpit and the radar unit in a control tower.
The hunt for MH370 has entered a new phase with eliminated surface searches, and will focus instead on an underwater sonar search for clues to the missing plane.
S. Korean president apologizes for ferry disaster
South Korean President Park Geun-hye has issued an official apology for the South Korean ferry disaster.
Park has also visited the joint memorial altar in Ansan to mourn the victims.
So far 193 bodies have been pulled from the sunken ferry.
109 others are still trapped below the surface.
In the wake of the ferry disaster, Park has promised to create a new "National Safety Office" tasked with dealing with large-scale emergencies.
South Korean prosecutors have charged all 15 crew members from the sunken ship with dereliction of duty for not helping passangers off the sinking ship.
Record carmakers, visitors attracted in Beijing auto show
The Beijing International Automotive Exhibition has come to an end.
The number of carmakers and visitors to this year's event hit record highs over the ten-day show.
The exhibition featured a lot of high-tech designs this year, including car networking technology based on cloud computing and automobile multimedia systems.
71 concept vehicles and 79 new energy sedans were displayed at the show.
Beijing to raise tap water price in May
The local regulator says that the cost of household water in Beijing will rise Tomorrow according to a new multi-tier pricing plan.
According to the plan, the lowest tier water price will rise from 4 yuan to 5 yuan per cubic meter, starting on May 1st.
That's for households with annual consumption rates of less than 180 cubic meters, which covers 90 percent of households.
Those with annual water consumption between 180 and 260 cubic meters will be charged 7 yuan per cubic meter. The water price for annual consumption over 260 cubic meters will rise to 9 yuan per cubic meter.
Under the new pricing system, industrial consumption will increase 2 yuan to over eight yuan per cubic meter.
Beijing has suffered water shortages for a number of decades. The city has only 100 cubic meters of water available per person locally, or one-tenth of the United Nations "danger threshold". |