Ukraine leader: ‘Careful optimism’ on peace talks

Ukraine leader: ‘Careful optimism’ on peace talks

NEWPORT, Wales

Ukraine’s president expressed “careful optimism” Thursday that a peace deal could be reached with Russia-backed separatists at their upcoming talks, even as he and NATO leaders agreed that Moscow should be punished for its role in the insurgency.

President Petro Poroshenko said he was ready to order a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine if a deal is signed at scheduled talks today in Minsk, Belarus. The rebels said they were ready to declare a truce if agreement can be reached on a political settlement for the mostly Russian-speaking region.

As head of state, Poroshenko said he is “ready to do my best to stop the war,” and he voiced “careful optimism” about the meeting.

Before flying to Wales for the meetings with NATO leaders, Poroshenko discussed the outlines of a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also expressed optimism about the chances of reaching agreement.

For all the upbeat assessments, however, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was skeptical of Russian motives.

NY cops to wear body cameras

new york

Sixty New York City police officers will wear body cameras as part of a pilot program in the wake of a federal lawsuit challenging the department’s controversial stop-and-frisk tactics and the recent death of Eric Garner during an arrest, city officials said.

Police Commissioner William Bratton announced the program Thursday, saying officers in at least one precinct in each of New York City’s five boroughs will begin wearing the surveillance devices.

Lava flowing toward homes in Hawaii

HONOLULU

Residents in a rural, isolated region of Hawaii’s Big Island still reeling from a recent tropical storm turned their attention to a potential new disaster Thursday as scientists warned that a lava flow from a nearby volcano had moved to within a mile of some homes.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said lava from the Kilauea volcano could reach the Kaohe Homesteads in five to seven days if it continues its steady advance through cracks in the earth.

The sparsely populated subdivision is part of the Puna region, where Tropical Storm Iselle made landfall about a month ago, toppling trees onto homes and wiping out electricity.

Militants kidnap dozens of men

BAGHDAD

Militants affiliated with the extremist Islamic State group abducted dozens of men from a Sunni village north of Baghdad on Thursday, residents said, as two separate car bombings killed 23 people in the capital.

The militants took some 50 men from Tal Ali village, around 170 miles north of Baghdad, according to residents. The men were loaded onto trucks and driven away, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution.

Dinosaur may shed light on huge beasts

NEW YORK

Researchers studying the remains of an enormous dinosaur — a creature that was bigger than seven bull elephants — have given it an equally colossal name: Dreadnoughtus, or “fearing nothing.”

Scientists hope its unusually well-preserved bones will help reveal secrets about some of the largest animals ever to walk the Earth.

The four-legged beast, with a long neck and powerful 29-foot tail, stretched about 85 feet long and weighed about 65 tons. That’s more than seven times the weight of even a plus-size male African elephant.

Combined dispatches