(Continued from page 22)

cions among Brazilians that preparations for soccer's premier event beginning next month are tainted by corruption, raising questions about how politicians who benefit from construction firms' largesse can be effective watchdogs over billion-dollar World Cup contracts. Anger over perceived corruption helped fuel huge protests last year, and there are fears more unrest could mar the Cup.
• "These donations are making corruption in this country even worse and making it increasingly difficult to fight," said Renato Rainha, an arbiter at Brasilia's Audit Court, which is investigating the spending on Brasilia's stadium. "These politicians are working for those who financed campaigns."
• ___

• DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) -- The Kremlin urged the Ukrainian government Monday to engage in talks with representatives of the eastern part of the country following the controversial referendums where about 90 percent of voters said they backed their regions' sovereignty.
• The statement signaled that Russia has no immediate intention to annex the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, like it did with Crimea following a similar referendum in March. The cautious stance appears to reflect Russian President Vladimir Putin's hope to negotiate a solution to what has become the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
• The Kremlin also urged the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to help broker talks between the central government in Kiev and representatives of the east after Sunday's vote.
• Ukraine's central government and the West have condemned the balloting as a sham and a violation of international law, and accused Moscow of fomenting the unrest in a possible attempt to grab more land weeks after the annexation of Crimea -- accusations that Russia has denied.
• "The farce, which terrorists call the referendum, will have no legal consequences except the criminal responsibility for its organizers," Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said in a statement Monday.
• ___