Security fears mount over Ukraine vote

Ukraine's election body issued a stark warning Saturday that it may be impossible to hold next week's crucial presidential election in the east, where a pro-Moscow insurgency is threatening to plunge the country into all-out civil war. And Russia also questioned how an election taking place under the "thunder of guns" could possibly meet democratic norms. The Central Election Commission called for the authorities in Kiev to take urgent action to ensure security in the east, saying almost two million people could be prevented from voting on May 25 because of the rebellion. Its warning came as Ukraine's embattled Western-backed government was preparing to hold a second round of "national unity" dialogue called for under an OSCE-sponsored peace plan, according to AFP.