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The Latest on U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Philippines (all times local):

11:30 a.m.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Russia is showing "some willingness" to start talking about a resolution to the crisis in Ukraine.

Tillerson made the comment after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. After the meeting, the Russian diplomat announced that the Trump administration was sending its new special representative for Ukraine negotiations to Moscow for talks.

Tillerson says the U.S. has been deliberate about coordinating with all the parties involved in the crisis. He says that's to avoid the perception the U.S. is trying to cut a side deal that would undermine any group's interests.

Tillerson says the U.S. has deep differences with Russia including on Ukraine, but that it's not a good idea to "just cut everything off on one single issue."

He says the U.S. and Russia still have important national security issues to discuss.

10:30 a.m.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the U.S. will respond by Sept. 1 to Russia's move to force a major reduction in American diplomatic staff.

Tillerson is speaking to reporters during a visit to the Philippines. He says he communicated U.S. plans to respond by that deadline to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in their meeting in Manila on Sunday.

Tillerson says he told Lavrov that the U.S. still hasn't decided how it will respond. He says he asked Lavrov "several clarifying questions" about the act of Russian retaliation in response to new sanctions passed by Congress.

Russia said recently it was forcing the U.S. to cut its embassy and consulate staff in Russia by 755 people. But there's been confusion because the U.S. is believed to have far fewer than 755 American employees in Russia.

8:20 p.m.

Russia is anticipating difficulties in ensuring a cease-fire in the last of the four safe zones in Syria.

That's what Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (sir-GAY' lahv-RAWF') has said in televised comments after his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Manila on Sunday.

Russia, Iran and Turkey agreed on a plan in May to establish four "de-escalation" zones in Syria, and they pressed the Syrian air force to halt flights over those areas.

Russia and Iran back Syrian President Bashar Assad. Turkey supports rebels fighting Syrian government forces.

Lavrov says he thinks "it will be difficult" to hammer out the details of the truce around the Syrian town of Idlib. He says Moscow hopes for a compromise to ensure the cease-fire if each country that wields influence in Syria including the United States can get the armed groups to comply.

7:50 p.m.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (sir-GAY' lahv-RAWF') says U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has asked him for details about Moscow's recent action to retaliate against American sanctions.

Lavrov who met with Tillerson in the Philippines on Sunday says he explained how Russia will carry out its response. But Lavrov isn't giving out details.

The Kremlin says the U.S. must cut its embassy and consulate staff in Russia by 755 people. But there's been confusion because the U.S. is believed to have far fewer than 755 American employees in the country.

Russia also closed a U.S. recreational retreat on the outskirts of Moscow.

Lavrov says he met with Tillerson because there's no alternative to dialogue.

There's no immediate reaction to the meeting from the U.S. side.

7:30 p.m.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (sir-GAY' lahv-RAWF') says President Donald Trump's special representative for Ukraine negotiations will soon make his first trip to Moscow.

Lavrov says U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made that commitment during their meeting Sunday in the Philippines.

Lavrov says American Kurt Volker will travel to Russia to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Volker will meet with Vladislav Surkov, the Russian envoy for the Ukraine crisis.

The Trump administration named Volker to the position in July. Volker made his first trip to eastern Ukraine last month.

Lavrov also says Tillerson agreed to continue a dialogue between U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. That channel was created to address hot spots, but Russia suspended it after the U.S. tightened sanctions on Russia.

6 p.m.

The top American and Russian diplomats are meeting for the first time since President Donald Trump reluctantly signed into law a package of new sanctions targeting Moscow.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (sir-GAY' lahv-RAWF') are sitting down in Manila, Philippines, on the sidelines of a regional gathering.

The two diplomats smiled and exchanged pleasantries but made no substantive remarks as journalists were allowed in briefly for the start of their meeting.

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The Latest: Tillerson says Russia willing to discuss Ukraine - ABC News

Albertina Nakale

Windhoek-Two Namibian students were among the five African students in Ukraine who survived a savage mob attack, which has been described as an xenophobic assault on Africans by Ukrainian nationals.

The students were attacked by a group of about 40 Ukrainians while taking a stroll in a public park in central Lutsk, a green city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine.

The attack happened last week Thursday evening and has left Namibian students fearing for their lives. The students allege the terrifying incident looked like it was a planned attack as the mob had gardening tools such as rakes, spades and wood, ready to attack and kill.

Two of my fellow students were beaten and left unconscious; two managed to escape with minor injuries and one was left bleeding. They are in a bad state and were back from the hospital without any medical assistance.This has left us traumatized and feeling threatened, one of the students narrated to New Era over the phone. The students who were assaulted are from Algeria, Libya, Namibia, Nigeria, and Senegal.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, confirmed the ministry has received reports of the attack.

Namibia is now waiting for a full official report from its embassy in Russia, which is responsible for Ukraine, on the health and safety of Namibian students in that country.

We heard about the attacks. We have contacted our embassy in Moscow because its the one accredited to Ukraine. They are trying to establish the facts. As soon as I have the facts I will inform the public. They are in contact with our students in Ukraine, Ashipala-Musavyi said.

The students are further aggrieved by the fact that the police had not arrested any of the people who attacked them.

Furthermore, the students also complained there are many agencies in Ukraine that overcharge students as much as N$60,000 for language courses, which they say is way too much.

Ukraineis a multi-ethnic and multicultural nationwhereracism and ethnic discriminationare arguably largely a fringe issue.

However, incidents of violence have been recorded where the victimsraceis widely thought to have played a role. Those incidents receive extensive media coverage and are usually condemned by all mainstream political forces. But Human Rights Watch has reported that racism and xenophobia remain entrenched problems in Ukraine.

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Namibian students attacked in Ukraine - New Era

Having entered the markets of Asia and Africa, Ukraine boosted its sugar exports almost sixfold in September 2016 - July 2017 (current marketing year) compared to the figures for the entire 2015/2016 MY.

Ukrinform learnt this from the Ukrtsukor National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine.

"Although the current marketing year has not ended yet, domestic sugar producers have already increased deliveries to the foreign markets almost sixfold, up to 751,000 tons, compared to the previous marketing year (132,200 tons in 2015/2016 MY). This is a big victory for producers which managed to enter completely new and unfamiliar markets and sell their products around the world," commented Ruslana Butilo, the head of the Associations analytical department.

As noted, Ukrainian sugar has entered the markets of Africa and Asia this marketing year. In particular, Ukraine has started to supply sugar to the markets of Sri Lanka, Libya, Myanmar, Cote d'Ivoire, Turkey, Somalia, Guinea and Togo.

Earlier, the Ukrtsukor forecasted that 2.0 million tons of sugar would be produced in Ukraine in 2017/2018 MY.

In 2015/2016 MY, 1.43 million tons of sugar were produced in Ukraine.

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Ukraine boosts its sugar exports sixfold in 11 months - Ukrinform. Ukraine and world news

The Engels project was funded by the Manchester City Council and was featured recently as the closing event of the biennial Manchester International Festival of the arts. The statue was ceremonially welcomed in front of an art theater called HOME, as a high-spirited crowd gathered in the parking lot to watch the film. The singer Gruff Rhys performed Communisms Coming Home.

Engels changed the course of history, said Noel Callaghan, 45, a local resident.

The ceremony also marked the centennial of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which was inspired by the ideas of Marx and Engels in their Communist Manifesto of 1848. And much of their analysis was based on Engelss own masterwork, The Condition of the Working Class in England, published three years before.

In Manchester, Engels is still revered. Alexandra Prodan, a 27-year-old medical secretary from Romania who has been living in Manchester for eight years, said the problem with communism was not with Marxist theory per se. In practice, Ms. Prodan said, communist regimes became totalitarian and oppressive.

Mr. Callaghan agreed. Corrupt people, he said, they corrupt things, dont they?

Ms. Prodan added: Even in the countries where people were oppressed, people were looking out for each other in a way. There was still a feeling of togetherness against the regime. This is basically what Engels wrote about. You know, its about the people coming together.

Manchester is still mourning after a terrorist attack in May. Were still conscious of it, Mr. Callaghan said. But in some respects residents seem more united than ever. You saw people mobilizing and coming together, Ms. Prodan said.

The newly erected statue is not the only tribute to Engels in the city. At the University of Salford, not far from where Engels worked at his family-owned mill, an innovative sculpture of Engelss iconic beard, meant to be climbed, is intended, the university claims, to inspire the next generation of artists, musicians and performers.

The statue is now installed in the city center to grant Engels official recognition, Mr. Collins said. Of course, things have changed a bit since his day. The statue now stands among such temples of Western capitalism as a McDonalds and a Hilton.

The festivals artistic director, John McGrath, said he expected the statues new location to invite people to think and ignite debate. In Mr. Collinss words: Whats interesting about socialism is that it announces itself.

Why Engels? To Mr. Collins, its all about contradictions, the contradictions we all live in.

Engels ran his familys factory, and yet he was dedicated to the emancipation of the working class, Mr. Collins said.

He was a capitalist by day and a communist by night, he added.

Like Engels, Mr. Collins suggested: Nobodys outside of a system. Were all kind of bound to it. He deemed Manchester to be home to important movements connected with social justice and with resistance.

Manchester retains a strong air of socialism. Not only did it elect a Labour member of Parliament in the recent general election, but 94 of the 96 city councilors are members of the Labour Party.

Weve got lots of statues for other 19th-century figures, said the leader of the Manchester City Council, Richard Leese. Why not give one to a German Manchester socialist?

It was hard to find a dissenting voice at the dedication of the statue. When asked about possibly glorifying a figure whose lifes work came to be associated with political regimes that ended up immiserating countless millions of people, Mr. Callaghan said that was not the point.

I dont think were necessarily celebrating it, he said. With time, youve got to acknowledge what happened in the past, dont you?

Barbara Woods, 70, who had accompanied her husband to the event, was practically alone in mildly criticizing the idea. We are for the working class, she said. But Im not 100 percent sure about a statue.

Personally, I dont see any need for it, she continued. I think we should let things lie and rather have a statue of somebody representing the region, not somebody whos come from somewhere else.

She suggested another influential part-time Mancunian, who worked at The Manchester Evening News for three years: Why not George Orwell?

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A Communist Icon Toppled in Ukraine Is Restored. In England. - The ... - New York Times

Svetlana Voilova in front of her destroyed apartment in Krasnagorovka. (photo credit:SETH J. FRANTZMAN)

KRASNOGOROVKA - Svetlana Voilova stands by the gate to what was once her apartment in a long brick house in Eastern Ukraine. In late July 2017, it was hit by incendiary artillery shells and destroyed. Now all that remains of what were once nine apartments are the chimneys and shell of the home. One man wounded in the shelling died in a hospital and another is still recovering.

Voilovas home is on the Ukrainian government-run side of the cease-fire line established in February 2015, in an agreement between Russia, Ukraine and two separatist areas known as the Donetsk Peoples Republic and Luhansk Peoples Republic.

The 13-point plan was supposed to include a cease-fire and removal of heavy weapons from the line of contact between Ukrainian and separatist forces. It is monitored by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE.

The conflict here has implications not only for relations between Russia and its neighbors, but also for NATO, European Union states and the United States, all of which have played a role in the conflict. The US, for instance, is reportedly in discussions to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons.

Despite the cease-fire, Ukrainian military personnel and civilians say that artillery shells regularly hit civilian buildings. From the 3rd of May, we had one wing of a school damaged and also the hospital, and in May, six apartments [were hit by shelling], says a military spokesman for the Ukrainian 92nd Brigade stationed in Krasnogorovka. In all, he details 41 buildings hit in shelling in this one town in recent months.

There is not one house here without damage, says Lena Meslitskaya, whose home is down the street from Voilovas burned apartment. These small brick homes surrounded by little vegetable gardens were built in the 1950s, when Stalin was in power. Meslitskaya has had to brick up and reinforce the windows from being shattered in the shelling.

For her mother, Maria, the war brings back memories of the Second World War. Born in 1928, Maria says she helped pick up the bodies of fallen soldiers after the battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history, which was fought in 1943.

Driving through towns that border the cease-fire line, evidence of the ongoing war is everywhere. Roofs are caved in from shells and some apartments that face toward Donetsk a city in separatist hands are deserted and windows shattered.

During the day the fighting is quiet, but at night gunfire is common. Heavier weapons, such as 120 mm. mortars, are also used, say Ukrainian officials. The OSCE says that both sides have committed violations over the years. In a tweet from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine on August 4, OSCE deputy director Alexander Hug said, Its time for sides to listen to the people of Donbass and to cease fire.

Before the war, Alina Kosse was director of a district center for childrens art. She says her town of Marinka was well-known in the area for producing talented youth, including ensembles that performed throughout Eastern Europe. After the conflict began in 2014, many people left their homes and the arts center was closed for a time.

Every day is Russian roulette, she says, showing bullets that have landed on her home, 2 km. from the cease-fire line. Her windows are sandbagged. I receive shrapnel in my roof, and this is considered a safe area, she says.

With the presence of the army in the town for three years, Kosse has tried to integrate the community with the soldiers. This area of Ukraine is Russian-speaking and when the war broke out some of these communities were briefly controlled by separatists, which means locals are not always reconciled with the Ukrainian government.

Kosse, whose family came from Greece to this region in the 18th century, argues that people should not betray their country. Its about motivation, it is in peoples hearts. My ancestors settled here. They are buried here. Why would I betray my history and roots?

Convincing locals to support the army is a central mission along the cease-fire line. In Avdiivka, Lt.-Col. Aleksander Samarsky, deputy-commander of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, says he works to combat Russian propaganda. That involves working closely with civilians. So if some schools and kindergartens are damaged, then our soldiers will go to them, and we try to examine the psychological state of children. They also work to remove land mines from local farms, he says.

All along the cease-fire line the burden on civilian life is difficult. People whose lives were centered on work across the line have shifted careers. Even though they can cross back and forth at several points along hundreds of kilometers of front line, the checkpoints and security checks take hours, locals say.

But many of the older people have lived through times of privation before under the Soviets. At a local lake a few kilometers from the conflict, hundreds of youth in skimpy bathing suits splash in the war.

Like in so many places in the world, life still goes on in the shadow of war.

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Ukraine in focus: 'There is not a house here not damaged by war' - The Jerusalem Post