Ukraine tycoon calls for action against rebels

Ukraine's richest man called Tuesday for workers to rally against the pro-Russian insurgency in the east, in an impassioned plea for an end to the bloodshed issued just days before the country's crunch election.
The appeal by billionaire powerbroker Rinat Ahkhmetov could mark a turning point in the conflict as he wields huge influence in the east as the owner of a vast coal and steel conglomerate.
"People are tired of living in fear and terror," Akhmetov said in an open letter in which he called for peace rallies in the eastern industrial belt known as Donbass.
In his strongest statement yet against the pro-Kremlin separatists who have seized a string of towns and cities in a matter of weeks, Akhmetov warned that their actions would lead to "genocide", according to AFP.