Thousands of opposition activists held demonstrations yesterday against the detention of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, clouding official celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Ukraine's independence declaration.

It&rsquo;s gone from elegant Sixties supper to supermarket staple, but in the right hands, the Chicken Kiev is still king.<b> Tim Walker</b> discovers how to make one that&rsquo;s regal, not retro.

Reporter says fine weather compensated for the injustice, lawlessness and chaos rife in the country

Roberto Mancini said yesterday that Manchester City must not panic in tonight's Europa League last-16 match with Dynamo Kiev. City lost 2-0 in Ukraine last week, leaving them in a vulnerable position this evening. Rather than desperately chasing the deficit, Mancini would rather City played their natural game and avoided the defensive errors that caused their defeat at the Lobanovsky Stadium.

Major changes to Britain's antiquated defamation laws will be outlined by ministers today with the publication of a bill to provide greater protection for free speech and an end to "libel tourism".

Dynamo Kiev 2 Manchester City 0

The Ukrainian capital, where Dynamo play City tonight, is steeped in history but it's frantically trying to modernise in time to co-host next year's Euros

Manchester City 3 Aris Thessaloniki 0 (Manchester City win 3-0 on aggregate)

The world of professional snooker normally spends the first bank holiday weekend of May basking in the sun of publicity that the World Championship final attracts. Instead it sits under a cloud, rocked by allegations that the reigning world champion, John Higgins, agreed to accept a bribe of £260,000 to lose frames.

This election was fought by and for Ukrainians, with no outside meddling

Rivals trade insults on eve of poll which will send one of them to political oblivion

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Victor Yanukovich was on course to clear the first round of voting in the Ukrainian presidential elections last night. Unofficial exit polls released before the close of polls revealed that the man whose corruption sparked the Orange Revolution was on track for a dramatic comeback, with 36.6 per cent of the vote. The same unconfirmed report, carried by the Russian Echo of Moscow Radio Station, put his arch rival Yulia Timoshenko on 26.4 per cent.

Football fans have to remember to take an ever-expanding assortment of paraphernalia with them to matches these days: ticket and scarf, whistle, fog-horn, rattle and – as of recently – a beach ball.