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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 1 February
Deaths mount daily as renewed fighting hits eastern Ukraine

N. VASILYEVA dents from Avdiivka, Pavlo
Associated Press Zhebrivsky, head of the
AVDIIVKA, Ukraine (AP) — administration in charge of
Heavy artillery and rockets the government-controlled
hit residential areas in east- parts of the Donetsk region,
ern Ukraine Tuesday amid said on Facebook.
a new outburst of fight- With no signs of an imme-
ing between government diate evacuation in sight,
troops and Russia-backed some residents went to a
separatist rebels, leaving local bus station, hoping to
at least eight people dead get away from the heavy
and dozens injured. shelling. Volodymyr Bassak,
Salvos of heavy-caliber ar- 67, was waiting to catch
tillery were heard through- a bus Tuesday morning to
out the night and late a city some 200 kilometers
morning in Avdiivka, a town (125 miles) north because
on the northern outskirts of of the lack of heat in his
the separatist stronghold home. “The house was
of Donetsk where residents shaking — (shelling) was re-
have been without elec- ally intense at about four in
tricity for days. In Donetsk, the morning,” Bassak said
at least one civilian was as he brushed tears from his
killed by shrapnel. eyes. “There were flames
Fighting around Avdiivka along the front line.” A Ukrainian soldier inspects a crater left by an explosion in Avdiivka, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 31,
has cut water and power Valery Tretyakov said he 2017. Fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine
supplies for most of the was having tea at home escalated on Tuesday, killing at least eight people late Monday and early Tuesday, injuring doz-
town and it was left without in Donetsk when he heard ens and briefly trapping more than 200 coal miners underground, the warring sides reported.
heating in the dead of win- a big explosion and the (AP Photo/Inna Varenytsia)
ter. Temperatures plunged sound of shattered glass. He
to minus 18 Celsius (0 F) on rushed into the bedroom News Agency also reported that shelling around Avdiiv- nian military operation in
Tuesday morning. and saw his wife bleeding that four fighters died and ka killed at least three gov- the east reported an un-
The warring sides blamed from a shrapnel wound to seven were injured over- ernment troops and injured specified number of civilian
each other for the spike her neck that proved fatal. night along with three civil- 24 more. Another seven sol- casualties. It said the rebels
in hostilities, the worst in “It was impossible to stop ians. Oleksandr Turchynov, diers were killed on Sunday turned down the govern-
months. The Ukrainian gov- bleeding,” Tretyakov said. chairman of the Ukraini- and Monday, the govern- ment’s offer for a cease-
ernment was considering “One minute and that’s an Security and Defense ment said. fire to allow the dead and
evacuating 12,000 resi- all.” The rebels’ Donetsk Council, said on Tuesday The press office of the Ukrai- wounded to be moved.q
France: New report says candidate’s family made $1M as aides

Associated Press Altogether, the aide work over 15 years, not the euros ($91,000) in total, the al slander campaign.”
PARIS (AP) — French presi- brought Fillon’s family near- 500,000 euros ($540,000) paper said, adding their Fillon has said he paid two
dential candidate Francois ly $1 million. The Canard over eight years the weekly actual jobs were “very eva- of his children, “who were
Fillon not only paid his wife Enchaine newspaper re- had reported last week. nescent.” lawyers,” for “specific as-
for an allegedly fake job as ports in its Wednesday’s is- Their daughter, Marie, and The Conservative hopeful, signments” when he was
a parliamentary aide, but sue that Fillon’s wife earned son, Charles, also were one of the top contend- a senator. However, Marie
also employed two of the more money over a longer hired by Fillon as his par- ers in the upcoming French and Charles still were in law
couple’s children for the period than reported previ- liamentary aides when he presidential election, said school when they worked
same positions, a weekly ously. Penelope Fillon made was a French senator in Tuesday night he was the for their father, French news
newspaper is reporting. 830,000 euros ($900,000) 2005-2007, earning 84,000 victim of a “very profession- media reported.q