- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
Boxer-turned-mayor Klitschko vows 'to take up arms' for Ukraine
Heavyweight boxing champion turned Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko says he is ready "to take up arms" defending Ukraine against a feared Russian invasion.
The burly 50-year-old also used an interview at his mayoral office -- decorated with one of his world title belts -- to accuse his former training ground Germany of failing to back Ukraine at its time of dire need.
"I am ready to take up arms and fight," Klitschko told AFP.
On the same day, Russia rolled its tanks across neighbouring Belarus for live-fire drills that revved up worries the Kremlin was readying plans to attack Ukraine.
"I go to a shooting range. I can fire from almost any weapon," Klitschko said.
He stepped away from the bright lights of big-money boxing and into the complex world of politics just as Ukraine was swept up by a pro-EU revolution that toppled a Russian-backed leader in February 2014.
He was elected as mayor of Ukraine's capital later that year on a wave of euphoria as the ex-Soviet state stepped out of Russia's orbit.
The subsequent eight years have been marked by a bloody conflict across Ukraine's Russian-speaking separatist east and attempts by Moscow to rope Kyiv back into its geopolitical sphere of influence.
Russia's demands that Ukraine never be admitted into NATO -- and for the US-led alliance to pull its forces out of eastern Europe -- set the stage for the Kremlin's current confrontation with the West.
Klitschko called the notion of Russia attacking Ukraine "horrifying".
"We are afraid to even think about it," he said from behind his papers-strewn office desk. "But there is a good saying: if you want peace, be ready for war."
- Picking sides -
Klitschko spent most of his professional career living and training in Germany.
But Berlin's close business relations with Moscow and more measured diplomatic approach towards the Kremlin have been a source of endless frustration for Kyiv.
Germany had come under fire over its refusal to send weapons to Ukraine -- and for barring overflight rights for planes that did.
Berlin's eventual offer to dispatch 5,000 helmets drew widespread ridicule in Ukraine.
Klitschko said he found Germany's position "at this critical moment difficult to understand".
"I have officially asked our partners to clearly determine which side they are on -- on that of Ukraine, which is defending itself, or on that of the aggressor," he said.
"I understand that Germany has its political and economic interests, but I want to assure German politicians that Germany's main interest is stability in Europe."
Ukraine has still managed to secure a steady supply of weapons from other European powers as well as the United States.
Klitschko said Russia's biggest fear was the prospect of seeing Ukraine "turn into a successful European state".
"So Russia is doing everything to destabilise the situation, to avoid that success," he argued.
He also firmly defended his vow to take up arms and fight.
"You do not attack the strong -- you fear them. That's why we have to be strong and clearly say that they won't be able to just take us," he said.
"We are preparing for the worst."
O.M.Souza--AMWN