Newsline - 27 April 2010: Ukraine's parliament descends into chaos over a military deal with Russia. The UN warns that famine is iminent in drought-stricken Niger. And Dutch police say they've arrested a group of alleged financial backers of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers.

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Parliamentary chaos in Ukraine
Chaotic scenes in Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday, where the speaker was pelted with eggs while angry MPs set off smoke bombs during a parliamentary vote. They were protesting against a deal with Russia to allow Moscow to keep its Black Sea naval base in the south of Ukraine until 2047. The original lease was to end in 2017. Today's fracas shows that Ukraine is currently divided between pro-Russian and pro-European factions, says Dutch Eastern Europe expert René Does from the University of Amsterdam.

Tamil Tigers fundraisers arrested in the Netherlands
Police in the Netherlands have arrested seven men on suspicion of raising funds for the Tamil Tiger rebel group in Sri Lanka. The men are believed to have collected thousands of euros for the LTTE through fundraising, selling DVDs and organising illegal lotteries. The Tamil Tigers are listed as a terrorist group by the Dutch government. Police spokesman Wim de Bruin explains how the men were arrested.

Niger on the brink of a major food crisis
The UN World Food Program doubled its food aid to Niger on Monday, warning that the food crisis in drought-stricken country is only just beginning. Its Niger deputy director Gianluca Ferreira told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that the situation is getting worse every day.