Troops on the front line of Ukraine's battle with Russian-backed rebels wonder if it's about to get much worse
CBSN
Eastern Ukraine — Amid mounting fear that Russia was on the brink of a full-scale invasion, CBS News senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams and her team were near the front lines on Tuesday of the conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels that has simmered for almost eight years. They witnessed heavy artillery fire.
Suspected Russian military vehicles were spotted in the two breakaway regions of Ukraine that President Vladimir Putin recognized as independent on Monday — a move that has drawn fierce international condemnation and is expected to bring a round of new international sanctions against Moscow.
Ukraine has accused Putin of trying to revive the Soviet Union, and the country's president is asking for more international help urgently. But as Williams reported, the war in the breakaway regions of Ukraine's eastern Donbas area has been underway since 2014.
Noumea — France's president held a flurry of meetings with local representatives in the restive Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Thursday, urging calm after deadly rioting, and vowing thousands of military reinforcements will stay in place to quell what he called an "unprecedented insurrection."
Kathmandu — Nepali climber Phunjo Lama on Thursday reached Mount Everest's summit in 14 hours and 31 minutes, smashing the record for the world's fastest ascent of the mountain by a woman. Climbers usually take days to reach the top of the 29,032-foot mountain, spending nights on its different camps to rest and acclimatize.
New Delhi — Indian justice officials have changed course amid outrage over the bail terms set for a teenager accused of killing two people while driving a Porsche at high speed while drunk and without a license. The 17-year-old son of a wealthy businessman had been ordered to write a 300-word essay and work with the local traffic police for 15 days to be granted bail — a decision that was made within 15 hours of his arrest.
Zurich — A woman jogger was killed by a naked man who was screaming and attacking people in a lakeside park in Switzerland, police said Wednesday. The attack happened Tuesday evening in Mannedorf on Lake Zurich, around 12 miles southeast of Switzerland's biggest city, the Zurich cantonal police said.
Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they are recognizing a Palestinian state in a historic move that drew condemnation from Israel and jubilation from the Palestinians. Israel immediately ordered back its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland and appeared ready to do the same with its ambassador to Spain.