Rally off as killed
protester
honoured

Mikhail Zhiznevsky, 25, was one of two protesters who died of gunshot wounds on Wednesday.

The opposition contends they were shot by police in an area where demonstrators had been throwing rocks and firebombs at riot police for several days.

The memorial service is to take place at Independence Square in the centre of Kiev, where protesters have established a large tent camp and held demonstrations around the clock since early December.

Sunday rallies in previous weeks have attracted especially large crowds, sometimes exceeding 100,000 people.

The protests began in late November after President Viktor Yanukovych shelved a long-awaited agreement to deepen ties with the European Union, but they have been increasingly gripped by people seeking more radical action even as moderate opposition leaders have pleaded for a stop to violence.

A crowd besieged a building on Saturday, throwing fireworks, firebombs and rocks, near the protest tent camp where about 200 police were sheltering, but had created a corridor allowing police to leave by yesterday.

Thousands of people were already in the square yesterday afternoon, but opposition leaders were thought to have been betting that by not 
formally calling people together for a rally the event would be 
smaller.

The overnight outburst came soon after opposition leaders issued a defiant response to Yanukovych’s offer to make Arseniy Yatsenyuk, one of their top figures, the country’s prime minister.

While not rejecting the offer outright, Mr Yatsenyuk said more of the opposition’s demands must be met, including Mr Yanukovych’s resignation.

He vowed that protests wouldcontinue.

About half of Ukraine’s people favoured deeper integration with the EU, according to polls, and many Ukrainians widely resent Russia’s long influence over the country.

In the past week, demonstrators have seized government administration buildings in a score of cities in western Ukraine, where Mr Yanukovych’s support is weak and desire for European ties is strong.

Meanwhile, the death toll from clashes between Egyptian security forces and protesters on the third anniversary of the country’s 2011 uprising has risen to 49.

The Health Ministry, quoted by the official MENA news agency, said another 247 were wounded. The Interior Ministry said 1,079 people were arrested.

Security forces crushed demonstrations by rival Islamists and some secular activists.

Pro-army civilians joined the police in some of the clashes.

In Tahrir Square, birthplace of the 2011 uprising, huge crowds at government-backed rallies demanded army chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi should run for 
president.