According to FIFA, 2018 soccer World Cup in Russia still going ahead...
Right Sector leader is wanted by Interpol:
Interpol has issued a red notice for far-right Ukrainian politician Dmytro Yarosh based on Russian accusations that he encouraged extremism and terrorism.
Russia says Yarosh, leader of the ultranationalist party Right Sector, used the mass media to incite terrorist and extremist activities, the red notice states.
Yarosh, 42, is known for his anti-Russian remarks. He calls Russia Ukraine's "eternal foe," and has said a war between Russia and Ukraine is "inevitable."
Moscow accuses Yarosh of publicly calling on anti-Russian forces to orchestrate terror attacks against Russia, and Russian media frequently refers to him as being a fascist.
He garnered 1 percent of the vote as a candidate in Ukraine’s presidential election in May.
Russian prosecutors said in April that they had sent Interpol materials related to Yarosh's arrest.
More from our news desk on the FIFA ruling:
FIFA has dismissed calls to move the 2018 World Cup from Russia, or that some countries would elect to boycott the event.
Russia's alleged involvement in the shooting down of a Malaysian passenger plane in Ukraine led to a public discussion of a possible boycott.
Some German politicians also called for relocating the tournament and suggested Germany as alternative hosts.
FIFA in a statement on July 25 said, "History has shown so far that boycotting sports events or a policy of isolation or confrontation are not the most effective ways to solve problems."
It also said that the World Cup and its international spotlight "can be a force for good."
FIFA President Sepp Blatter already rejected calls to strip Russia of the World Cup after it annexed Crimea in March.
New tape from the SBU, Ukraine's security service, which has two separatists allegedly discussing shooting a plane down, minutes before MH17 went down. (It has English subtitles)
More from our news desk on the latest leaked SBU tape:
Ukrainian security services have released what they claim is an intercepted telephone conversation implicating pro-Russian separatists in the July 17 downing of a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine.
The recording, posted to YouTube on July 25 by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), purports to reveal a conversation between rebel commander Igor Bezler and a separatist two minutes before the plane was shot down.
The separatist tells Bezler that a plane is flying overhead, to which the commander replies by asking whether it is a spy plane or “a big one,” the SBU alleges.
Bezler then purportedly tells the militant to relay the information "up the chain."
The SBU had earlier published what it called three intercepted conversations that it says proves the rebels were responsible for shooting down the plane.
Very powerful front page from "Novaya Gazeta"
From our news desk:
Russia has accused the U.S. administration of a "smear campaign" over Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on July 25 that the U.S. State Department was trying to influence international opinion through "unfounded public insinuations" that Moscow is supplying pro-Russian separatists with weapons and firing on eastern Ukraine.
It said Washington "fully shares the responsibility for the bloodshed" in eastern Ukraine after backing an "unconstitutional coup" in Kyiv.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said at a briefing on July 24 that Russia was firing artillery across the border into Ukraine to target Ukrainian military positions.
She also said that Washington has "new evidence" that Russia intends to provide more heavy weaponry to pro-Russian separatists fighting Ukrainian government forces in the east.
Still waiting for word on potential EU sanctions. Latest from our news desk:
EU leaders are expected to agree on restrictions to exporting oil technology as part of a new sanctions package targeting Russia while excluding the Russian gas sector from the punitive measures, according to EU sources.
EU members have shown hesitance to impose penalties impacting Russian gas, which Europe relies on heavily for energy.
The exclusion of gas-extraction technology from the sanctions improves the likelihood that EU leaders will agree on a sanctions package punishing Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis, according to a diplomatic source in Brussels.
EU Council President Herman van Rompuy said in an official letter sent to EU heads of state that the gas exclusion is based on "the need to preserve EU energy security," according to two sources who read from the letter.
A new warning from the Pentagon:
The Pentagon says it believes Russia could deliver multiple launch rocket systems to pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine “potentially today.”
"We have indications that the Russians intend to supply heavier and more sophisticated multiple launch rocket systems in the very near future," Pentagon spokesman Steve Warren said July 25.
Warren suggested Russia had moved the weapons close to the Ukrainian border and said that Moscow could transfer the hardware to the rebels “at any time, at any moment.”
A day earlier, the U.S. State Department said it had evidence that Russia is firing artillery to attack the Ukrainian military and that Moscow intends to provide more heavy weaponry to the separatists.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on July 25 accused Washington of "unfounded public insinuations" that Moscow is arming the rebels.