“John Paul II's blood stolen from Italian church”, “What's behind Ukraine's political crisis?”, “Magazine that revealed Hollande affair fined for snaps of minister”, “Ice Hockey: Playing is Kazakhstan is worse than prison, claims ex-con Mike Danton”

cnn.com. “John Paul II's blood stolen from Italian church”- Missing: One small, round, golden container. Contents: The blood of the late, soon-to-be-canonized Pope John Paul II. If found, please notify Italian police and the church of San Pietro della Ienca.

“What's behind Ukraine's political crisis?”- Young and old, they have braved the freezing cold for weeks to voice their discontent. Using snow, wood, metal and tires, thousands of protesters have barricaded themselves into a makeshift tent city, paralyzing central Kiev and refusing to leave until their demands are met.

zeenews.com. “Magazine that revealed Hollande affair fined for snaps of minister” - The French magazine that reported President Francois Hollande's affair with an actress has been fined for breach of privacy in a separate case brought by France's culture minister, according to a lawyer.

inform.kz. “Kazakh PM briefed on Aktobe further development” - Kazakh Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov has commented on further development of Aktobe city. As earlier reported, President Nursultan Nazarbayev set the task on developing Aktobe and Shymkent as large megacities. 

khaama.com. “A New Great Game in Central Asia” - Is there a new “Great Game” springing into existence in Central Asia? Many pundits and journalists who write on the region and its global importance argue that there is. In fact, after the Cold War and the birth of the five republics of Central Asia, this debate has dominated much of the analysis of the region.

dailystar.co.uk. “Ice Hockey: Playing is Kazakhstan is worse than prison, claims ex-con Mike Danton” - Great Britain stars Mark Richardson, Robert Dowd, Robert Farmer and Ben O’Connor were all wooed by big-money deals in the former Soviet state but only O’Connor has lasted more than a few months. Now ex-NHL star Danton - who served five years for conspiracy to murder - has lifted the lid on life at Kazakh side Beibarys Atyrau, where he played earlier this season.

channelnewsasia.com. “Three H7N9 cases in same Chinese family” - Three members of the same Chinese family have contracted H7N9 bird flu in the province worst-affected by the current spike in cases, the official Xinhua news agency reported.