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Russian forces storm Ukraine naval HQ in Crimea
Ukrainian officers leave as Russian soldiers stand guard at the Ukrainian navy headquarters in the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Wednesday. AFP
Malaysia jet search appears deadlocked
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Russian forces storm Ukraine naval HQ in Crimea
Sevastopol/Simferopol, March 19 Russian soldiers and so-called "self-defence" units of mainly unarmed volunteers who are supporting them across the Black Sea peninsula moved in early in the morning and quickly took control. Shortly after the incident, Ukraine's acting Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh said in Kiev that the country's forces would not withdraw from Crimea even though Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a treaty to make it part of Russia. But an hour later, Ukrainian servicemen, unarmed and in civilian clothing, began walking out of the headquarters. Interfax Ukraine news agency said the commander of the Ukrainian navy, Admiral Serhiy Haiduk, was among those who left and was driven away by officers of Russia's FSB intelligence service. The report could not be independently confirmed. The first group of servicemen was followed within a few minutes by a handful of troops in Ukrainian uniform, looking shell-shocked at the dramatic turn of events. "This morning, they stormed the compound. They cut the gates open, but I heard no shooting," said Oleksander Balanyuk, a captain in the navy. "This thing should have been solved politically. Now, all I can do is stand here at the gate. There is nothing else I can do," he told Reuters, appearing ashamed and downcast. Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported that Alexander Vitko, commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet which is based in Sevastopol, had been involved in talks at the headquarters. Viktor Melnikov, in charge of the "self-defence" unit, said talks were going on to negotiate a surrender. "We've had difficult negotiations with the command here," he told reporters. "Some Ukrainian servicemen are already leaving — without their uniforms — but there was no violence." A Reuters reporter saw three armed men, possibly Russian soldiers in unmarked uniforms, at the gate and at least a dozen more inside the compound. Protection from ‘fascists’
In Kiev, pro-Western Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk ordered his first Deputy Prime Minister and the acting Defence Minister to fly to Crimea to "resolve the situation," a senior minister told a Cabinet meeting. But Sergei Askyonov, Crimea's new Prime Minister since the Russian takeover, said Vitaly Yarema and Ihor Tenyukh were not wanted in Crimea and would not be permitted to land. Thousands of Russian soldiers took control of Crimea in the buildup to a weekend referendum last weekend in which the region, with ethnic Russians in the majority, voted overwhelmingly to leave Ukraine and join Moscow. Putin said his move to take control of Crimea was justified by what he calls "fascists" in Kiev who overthrew pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovich last month after three months of often deadly street protests. Ukraine and Western governments have dismissed the referendum, which has triggered the worst crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War, as a sham and say there was no justification for Putin's actions. Moscow officially denies deploying extra troops. Russian soldiers in the region are wearing unmarked uniforms, making it difficult to verify exactly who is who on the ground. — Reuters Peaceful takeover
* Russian soldiers and so-called "self-defence" units of mainly unarmed volunteers move in and quickly take control; no shots fired *
An hour later, Ukrainian servicemen, unarmed and in civilian clothing, begin walking out of the headquarters *
According to reports, Ukrainian navy commander
Admiral Serhiy Haiduk among those who leave * Within a few minutes, a handful of troops in Ukrainian uniform follow the first group of servicemen India won’t support sanctions against Russia
New Delhi: With Russia facing sanctions from the US and some other countries after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine, India on Wednesday made it clear that it will not support any "unilateral measures" against the Russian government. "India has never supported unilateral sanctions against any country e.g. Iraq or Iran. Therefore, we will also not support any unilateral measures by a country or a group of countries," government sources said. The remarks came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin explained the situation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who underlined India's position on "unity and territorial integrity" of countries and hoped a diplomatic solution would be found to the issue. — PTI |
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Malaysia jet search appears deadlocked
Kuala Lumpur, March 19 Malaysia's transport minister ordered an inquiry after security guards carried out the distraught mother of a passenger on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 from a briefing room where she had protested about a lack of transparency, 12 days after the plane vanished. "They are just saying wait for information. Wait for information. We don't know how long we have to wait," cried the woman before being whisked away from a massive media scrum. Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he regretted the anguish. "Malaysia is doing everything in its power to find MH370 and hopefully bring some degree of closure for those whose family members are missing," he said in a statement. Prospects that a 26-nation operation would lead to quick results appeared to be dwindling, however, as investigators confirmed they were focusing on the remote southern Indian Ocean after failing to find any traces of the jet further north. "Our top priority is being given to that area," Hishammuddin told the news conference, confirming an earlier Reuters report. No wreckage has been found from Flight MH370, which vanished from air traffic control screens off Malaysia's east coast. The methodical shutdown of the communications systems, together with the fact that the plane appeared to be following a planned course after turning back, have been interpreted as suggesting strongly that foul play, rather than some kind of technical failure, was behind the disappearance. The police have searched the homes of the 53-year-old pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27. Among the items taken were a flight simulator Zaharie had built in his home. Malaysia's police chief, Khalid Abu Bakar, said an examination of the flight simulator showed its data log had been cleared on February 3. — Reuters China wants its warships in Indian waters to search for plane
* With the search for missing Malaysian plane turning to India's neighbourhood, China has sought permission for sending its four warships into the Indian waters, causing a major dilemma for New Delhi *
China, whose 150 nationals are on board the aircraft, has sent a formal request to India to allow their warships including a salvage vessel and two frigates to enter Indian waters in the Andaman Sea to locate the plane *
India, which had suspended the search operations for last three days, resumed efforts on Wednesday to locate the aircraft in South Indian Ocean region *
India will take a decision on the request after consulting the defence forces, particularly the Navy |
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Former ISI chief ‘knew’ of Osama’s Pak hideout
New York/Islamabad, March 19 Soon after the US Navy SEAL raid on Bin Laden's house, "a Pakistani official told me the US had direct evidence that the ISI chief, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, knew of Bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad," the New York Times reported in an article by senior journalist Carlotta Gall. "The information came from a senior US official, and I guessed that the Americans had intercepted a phone call of Pasha's or one about him in the days after the raid", Gall wrote in the article titled 'What Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden', adapted from the book 'The Wrong Enemy: America in Afghanistan, 2001-2014', to be published next month. Gall covered Afghanistan and Pakistan for the paper from 2001 to 2013. "He knew of Osama's whereabouts, yes," the Pakistani official was quoted as saying. "Pasha was always their blue-eyed boy," the official said, adding he was surprised to learn this. Reacting to the NYT report, Pakistani intelligence sources dismissed it as "baseless". The report added that the haul of handwritten notes, letters, computer files and other information collected from Bin Laden's house during the raid revealed regular correspondence "between Bin Laden and a string of militant leaders who must have known he was living in Pakistan, including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Mullah Omar of the Taliban". "Saeed and Omar are two of the ISI's most important and loyal militant leaders. Both are protected by the agency. Both cooperate closely with it, restraining their followers from attacking the Pakistani state and coordinating with Pakistan's greater strategic plans. Any correspondence the two men had with Bin Laden would probably have been known to their ISI handlers," it said. — PTI
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Russian troops and unarmed men stormed Ukraine's naval headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Wednesday and raised the Russian flag in a tense but peaceful takeover that signals Moscow's intent to neutralise any armed opposition.
