Brussels, March 2
NATO's secretary-general warned Moscow on Sunday it was threatening peace in Europe with its seizure of Crimea and should "de-escalate tensions", but diplomats said the alliance was unlikely to agree on major steps to rein Russia in.

Speaking moments before chairing an emergency meeting of NATO ambassadors, Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that Russia's actions in Ukraine could destabilise the continent. "What Russia is doing now in Ukraine violates the principles of the United Nations charter," Rasmussen told reporters before a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, made up of the permanent representatives to the 28-nation military alliance.

"It threatens peace and security in Europe. Russia must stop its military activities and its threats." Despite the strong words, diplomats said they did not expect NATO to agree on significant measures to pressure Russia, with the West struggling to come up with a forthright response that does not risk pushing the region closer to military conflict. The stand-off has created the greatest moment tension between Russia and the West since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, an event Russian President Vladimir Putin has described as the geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.

"Don't expect big decisions," said one NATO ambassador. Another diplomat to the military alliance added: "I think we must be careful not to give the Russians anything that could rile up pro-Russian sentiment in Crimea."

Despite a 90-minute phone call between President Barack Obama and Putin on Saturday, and other calls to the Kremlin by European leaders, Russia shows no sign of backing away from its de facto occupation of Crimea and presence in east Ukraine.

US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia it could face targeted sanctions including visa bans, asset freezes and trade isolation if it did not back down, and said major world powers were determined to isolate Moscow. Moscow has said it is merely protecting the lives of Russian-speaking nationals, and appears to be calculating that the West will not risk a wider conflagration by taking anything approaching military action against it.

While Ukraine is associated to NATO, it is not a member and therefore cannot invoke the alliance's most powerful diplomatic tool, known as Article 5, which states that an attack against one member is an attack against all.

Given those limitations, diplomats and military experts said the most that could be expected might be that the US would move some warships into the Black Sea, an action it could undertake unilaterally, rather than under NATO's auspices.

Several NATO and European Union member states depend on Russia for energy, giving them geopolitical reasons for wanting to maintain decent relations with Moscow, even if they deplore its actions in Ukraine. After more than a decade of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, and having failed to prevent Russia's partial occupation of Georgia in 2008, there is a deep-seated reluctance among Western powers to provoke a military escalation. — Reuters

Ukraine calls for ‘real steps’

KIEV: Ukraine called on Sunday for "real steps" by world leaders to help his country, saying it was on the brink of disaster and that Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions amounted to a declaration of war. 

Beijing, March 2
China today blamed an unprecedented "terrorist attack" by knife-wielding assailants at a railway station that killed 33 persons and injured over 130 on Islamist militants from the volatile Xinjiang province and described the slashing rampage as the country's 9/11.

It was a macabre night at the crowded Kunming railway station, the city known for its serenity, when a group of black-clad knife and sword-wielding attackers, including two women, mowed down people at random, sending shock waves across the nation which prides itself in its watertight security.

The police fatally shot four attackers, including a woman, during the mass knife-attack which went on for 25 minutes in Kunming, the capital of southwest Yunnan province. They are searching for at least five more attackers.

Over 10 "terrorist suspects" were involved in the last night's attack, while left 33 people, including 29 civilians, dead and over 130 injured. Most of the victims sustained head injuries as the militants went on the stabbing spree.

One more female suspect has been arrested and is being treated in hospital for unspecified injuries. Reports said Chinese police captured an injured woman militant who was reportedly being interrogated to get more details.

Evidence at the crime scene showed that the attack was orchestrated by separatist forces from Xinjiang, home to the mostly-Muslim Uygur minority, the municipal government of Kunming said today. TV footage showed police recovering swords carried by some of the assailants. — PTI

Doha, March 2
Five Indians were among 11 expatriates killed in a deadly blast at a Turkish restaurant here in Qatar's capital. The blast tore through the Turkish restaurant, which is attached to a mall in Doha and next to a petrol station on Thursday, killing 11 people, five of them Indians.

The Qatar government has announced a probe into the explosion that also injured 35 persons.

The Indian victims have been identified as Riyas Kizhakemanolil, Abdul Saleem Palangad, Zakaria Padinjare Anakandi, Venkatesh and Shaikh Babu, The Peninsula reported.

Four Nepali nationals and two people from the Philippines were also killed in the explosions.

The Indian Embassy is in contact with all concerned to repatriate the bodies to their native places, Ambassador Sanjiv Arora said.

Of the 10 injured still undergoing treatment, eight are adults and two children. They comprise three Nepalese, three Pakistanis, two Filipinos, one Egyptian and one Indian, Gulf Times reported.

Qatari Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani visited the site.

The Interior Ministry announced the formation of a special committee to investigate the incident and a report is expected to be submitted by the end of this week.

"The investigation is going in full swing and the initial report is expected to be issued by the end of this week," local Arabic-language Al Sharq newspaper reported today.

With serious concern being raised about the safety of gas tanks and cylinders used in eateries, especially those based in petrol station complexes, Qatari authorities are gearing up to launch inspection campaign at eateries across the country to ensure that they comply with the safety standards and requirements, the paper said. — PTI

Bangkok, March 2
People today voted peacefully in five Thai provinces where Opposition protests had blocked balloting during snap polls last month, the first step to complete a controversial election that could pave the way for the formation of a new government.

A man casts his ballot at a polling station in Samut Sakhon province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, on Sunday. Reuters

No violence was reported during the voting and the Election Commission said the polling was "peaceful".

Around 120,000 people were registered to vote across over 100 constituencies in the five provinces, it said. Reports said voter turnout was only around 10 per cent.

Violence had erupted in Bangkok and other parts of the country ahead and during the February 2 snap polls, boycotted by main opposition Democrat Party demanding the ouster of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Opposition-backed protesters had blocked polling in several Opposition stronghold provinces and in some parts of Bangkok on February 2 and during advance polling on January 26.

Thailand has been in a political crisis since mass rallies began in November. The protesters are demanding an unelected People's Council to replace the Yingluck regime.

The protesters accuse Yingluck of acting as a proxy for her fugitive brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006. He lives in self-exile in Dubai to escape a jail term on a corruption conviction. — PTI

Maiduguri, March 2 
Twin car bomb blasts at a bustling city marketplace turned buildings into rubble and tore apart bodies the same night an attack on a farming village razed every thatched-roof hut.

At least 90 persons were killed as Nigeria's Islamic extremists stepped up attacks as the military and the government failed to suppress the four-year-old Islamic uprising in the northeast of the country.

In Maiduguri, capital of Borno state and birthplace of the Boko Haram terrorist network, the attackers chose a densely populated area with narrow alleyways to maximise the number of casualties.

The victims included children dancing at a wedding celebration and people watching a soccer match at a cinema, survivors said.

Fifty-one bodies were retrieved by Sunday morning, but many more were believed buried in rubble, said a Red Cross official. Some persons were burnt beyond recognition in fires caused by the explosions.

In a village 60 km away, suspected extremists conducted a strike on Saturday night, killing 39 persons, according to cab driver Mansur Buba. He said he returned home today to find victims being buried in Mainok village, which had been attacked many times in the past year.

A state security service agent said no huts were left standing there.

In Maiduguri, the headquarters of the army and air force offensive against Boko Haram, the first blast took place in a pickup truck loaded with firewood, said Hassan Ali, leader of an anti-terror vigilante group.

Many more people were killed in the second blast, which was timed to catch people who rushed to the aid of those wounded in the first explosion, survivors said. — AP