Irredentism

Nearly 500 coal miners in Ukraine's war-torn east were trapped on Jan. 26 after their pit lost power when a shell hit an electricity substation.
      
The accident occurred in rebel-controlled Donetsk city's Zasyadko coal mine -- one of eastern Europe's largest, where the same type of incident briefly trapped 300 miners on January 11.
      

Shelling hit a trolleybus in war-torn east Ukraine's Donetsk on Jan. 22 and killed at least 13 people, an official said, hours after peace talks in Berlin called for a ceasefire.
      

German bond yields saw their biggest daily rise in over a year on Wednesday ? a sign investors believe that any European Central Bank easing measures announced when the ECB meets today may fall short of their high expectations.

Former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou expressed the view that his newly-established movement could form an alliance with the party leading in opinion polls SYRIZA.

Papandreou announced that he is willing to cooperate with the likely winner in the early parliamentary elections on conditions that SYRIZA agrees to hold a referendum on reform policies.

Akis Tsochatzopoulos, in jail for money laundering, has asked for all the members of the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) when he was defense minister to be called in his appeal trial.

The ex-PASOK stalwart believes that their testimony will help prove that he did not accept millions in kickbacks when he secured armaments deals.

Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels were on Dec. 27 set to complete a swap of hundreds of prisoners as part of a new push for peace that came despite Kiev's decision to cut off key transport links to breakaway Crimea.
 

The latest push for peace in Ukraine appeared moribund on Dec. 25 after initial talks failed to agree when the warring sides should meet again to try ending their eight-month conflict.
       

Lawmakers in Greece are to make on Tuesday a second attempt at electing the country's new President.

The legislature in Athens failed to elect a head of state on December 17, since the only presidential candidate Stavros Dimas, the nominee of government partners from New Democracy and PASOK, was backed by only 160 MPs, with at least 200 (a two-thirds majority) needed for the step.

As many as 90 Russian trucks have delivered loads of humanitarian aid to the Donbass region in Eastern Ukraine.

The convoy has transported there medicaments, construction and New Year presents.

Deliveries have a total weight of 1.4 tons. Some reports say the amount is higher and even put the number of trucks at up to 170.

Just a few hours ahead of a crucial presidential ballot on Wednesday, Greece's conservative-led government warned that failure to elect a new President could have devastating consequences for the country.