STAMFORD BRIDGE – Chelsea remain five points clear at the top despite lots of City pressure in the second half. United are ten points behind the leaders at third, although Southampton who play tomorrow could move back into that place.
BELARUS, Minsk – Rebel leaders of self proclaimed independent Donetsk and Luhansk are not present for today’s peace talks. The rebels have continued their offensive in eastern Ukraine targeting key strategic towns of Debaltseve and Vuhleshirsk. Water and electricity have been cut off with rebels surrounding government soldiers in the towns. 15 civilians have been reported killed in Donetsk, with Kiev losing 12 soldiers during fighting in the last 24 hours. Rebels say they have lost 13.
DISTANT ECHOES – Reminders from The Template Website
TEMPLATE ANALYSIS
Last night’s BBC documentary Putin, Russia and The West contained perhaps the most powerful and disturbing footage broadcast on terrestrial television yet.
A boy from a village in Chechnya is dragged out of his home by Russian soldiers, he is heard screaming for his life – ‘hy-aa Allah’ – and the narrator tells us that his body was found much later buried in a Russian base.
The pictures which were shot before the Moscow Theatre siege, and of course much earlier than Beslan, are perhaps also the first hard proof of what Russia’s soldiers were doing as they attempted to reconquer Chechnya for their president, Vladimir Putin.
Russia’s military doctrine when it comes to conquering and reconquering its restive Muslim provinces has been simple – the harder you hit them, the less likely they are to come back again.
UKRAINE, East – Debaltseve links Donetsk to Luhansk. Russian backed rebels in both areas have declared their intention to be ‘self ruled’. The OSCE blamed the rebels for violence in another strategic town – Mariupol – earlier this week.
Rebel leader Alexander Zacharchenko claims to be leader of the newly formed Donetsk People’s Republic.
USA, Washington – Obama has already said he’ll veto the bill which aims to run a 875-mile pipeline from Alberta in Canada to Nebraska, carrying tar sands oil, linking it to pipes in Texas. The bill was passed by 62 votes to 36. Republicans say the pipeline will bring jobs, whilst the opposing Democrats say it will damage the environment.
EGYPT, Sinai – Militants launched simultaneous attacks on police and army targets in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, which has been plagued with violence since the overthrow of the democratically elected President of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi.
