Euro 2012 a political headache for Ukraine

The daughter of jailed Ukraine ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko says Kiev should host Euro 2012 football as planned, despite allegations of political repression.

Ukraine will take a first major step away from dependency on Russian gas supplies on Thursday when it seals a $10 billion shale gas deal with Royal Dutch Shell. Due to be signed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the production sharing agreement will mark the biggest contract yet to tap shale gas in Europe and the largest single foreign investment in the former Soviet republic.

Ukraine gave Russia one last chance on Thursday to resolve their second major gas dispute in three years as President Dmitry Medvedev blamed Kiev for behaving unreasonably.Energy-dependent Ukraine has been pressuring Russia to revise the terms of a contract which Kiev signed after having its winter supplies cut off in 2009 -- a controversial Kremlin move that also affected parts of Europe.

KIEV (Reuters) - An International M

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Last year, the Ukrainian economy nearly collapsed in the global financial crisis as steel plants stopped production and construction cranes froze. Angry Ukrainians lined up to empty their bank accounts and Kiev restaurants idled without customers....