Russia Shows Its Muscle As Crimea Breaks Away

Whatever the government in Ukraine says or does, events on the ground suggest that Crimea has already for all intents and purposes broken away; certainly Kiev's orders no longer stretch as far as this region.

Unidentified gunmen have taken over the parliament and the region's main airports in the space of twenty four hours.

They would not answer when I questioned them and asked if they had been sent by Moscow.

In many ways it did not matter - their appearance pretty much gave the game away.

They carried Kalashnikovs, they spoke Russian and their combat fatigues looked suspiciously like Russian issue - albeit without insignia.

The way they moved and patrolled the airports suggested too that this was no dad's army but a well-trained unit doing a professional job.

At times as they stomped up and down ostentatiously it seemed as though they were there just for the cameras.

It was perhaps a signal from the Kremlin that it could put its men on the ground whenever it wanted and there was nothing anyone else could do.

It was a projection of power and reach.

Elsewhere images were captured of Russian helicopters flying into the airport at Sevastopol: yet another direct challenge to the authority of the government in Kiev.

The acting interior minister called the action an invasion and an occupation.

Moscow denies that it has violated Ukrainian sovereignty - officially at least it says it respects its neighbour's borders.

But the pro-European government setting itself up in Kiev is seen as a threat by Moscow.

Ukraine has always been viewed by the Russian ruling elite as part of its sphere of influence.

Moscow may have lost the Western part of Ukraine (for now?) but you can bet it will not allow the same thing to happen in the south and the eastern parts of the country.

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Obama Warns Russia Against Crimea Invasion

US President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that any military intervention in Ukraine would be "deeply destabilising", as Kiev claims Russian troops have invaded.

He said: "The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine.

"We are now deeply concerned by reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine."

US officials say Mr Obama may cancel plans to attend the G8 summit in June if it is proved that Russia has sent troops into the Crimea.

Men claiming to be members of a local militia at a checkpoint

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to host the economic meeting in Sochi, the site of the recent Winter Olympics.

The administration official said the US was in discussions about the summit with European partners, adding that it was difficult to see how leaders would attend if Russia had forces in Crimea.

The US has also warned that discussions on deepening trade ties with Moscow may be halted in response to any Russian aggression.

Armed men outside Simferopol airport

Mr Obama's warnings come after Ukraine's Acting President appealed to Russia to stop "naked aggression" in the Crimean peninsula amid claims from Kiev 2,000 Russian troops have invaded.

Oleksandr Turchynov said: "I personally appeal to President Putin to immediately stop military provocation and to withdraw from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea ... It's a naked aggression against Ukraine."

Speaking after a private meeting at the United Nations, Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, Yuriy Sergeyev, said there was an "external presence" in Crimea "encouraging separatism".

He added he had told the council about "unspecified and armed forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine".

After unrest in Kiev, tensions have shifted to the Crimea region

US officials have told Fox News they see "evidence of air and maritime movement into and out of Crimea by Russian forces".

When asked about the claims, Russia's envoy to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, said Moscow was complying with agreements with Ukraine.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague will visit the country on Sunday and hold talks with Ukraine's new leaders.

Earlier on Friday, armed forces seized two airports in the region, but Moscow denies being behind the takeovers.

Russia denies being behind the seizure of the airports

Ukrainian security sources claim they have regained control of Simferopol and Sevastopol airports amid earlier reports Russian forces tried to seize them.

Armed men were seen patrolling the perimeter at Simferopol, a civilian airport, and there were also reports Russian forces were blocking Sevastopol's military airport.

Despite the claims from Kiev, a military source quoted by the Interfax news agency said the armed men at Sevastopol had extended their control by taking over the runway.

Ukraine's State Border Guard Service said about 30 Russian marines from the country's Black Sea Fleet had taken up position outside the coast guard base in Sevastopol.

Moscow has said armoured vehicles were moving around Crimea for "security reasons".

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Ukraine: US In Fresh Warning To Russia

The United States has issued a fresh warning against Russian military intervention in Ukraine after it emerged troops were on alert for an urgent drill to test their readiness for combat.

Secretary of State John Kerry said any action would be a "grave mistake" - a remark that was set to fuel already-heightened Russian suspicions over Western intentions.

Kerry says it would be hypocritical of Russia to send troops into Ukraine

He said it would be hypocritical for Moscow to send troops into another country after spending the last several years opposing foreign military action in the likes of Libya and Syria.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov

"Any kind of military intervention that would violate the sovereign territorial integrity of Ukraine would be a huge, a grave mistake," he said.

Mr Kerry, who also announced that the Obama administration was planning $1bn in loan guarantees for Ukraine and would consider additional direct assistance in the future, insisted that US policy toward Ukraine was not aimed at reducing Russia's influence.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's ex-president Viktor Yanukovych - who has been put on the international wanted list - remains in the country, according to the deputy general prosecutor.

Mykola Golomcha said: "We have information indicating Yanukovych is still in Ukraine."

He did not give further details of the whereabouts of the leader who has been missing since Friday when he fled Kiev. He is wanted by police in the country on charges of mass murder.

Ukraine's pro-European protest leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk has now been nominated as premier until presidential elections are held in May.

Members of Ukraine's Berkut riot police unit

The appointment came amid rising tensions in Crimea. Pro-Russia separatists and supporters of Ukraine's new leaders came head to head outside Crimea's regional parliament before a key debate.

Around 2,000 people, many of them ethnic Tatars who are the indigenous group on the Black Sea peninsula, gathered in Sevastopol in support of the 'Euro-Maidan' movement.

In Kiev, several hundred pro-Russia demonstrators chanted their loyalty to Moscow and denounced the "bandits" who had seized power in the Ukrainian capital.

Those who died in the Kiev clashes are being mourned

Isolated skirmishes could be seen among the crowds and there were reports of missiles being hurled, but police appeared to be holding the two sides apart as the emergency session took place inside the parliament to discuss the crisis.

Crimea was gifted to Ukraine in 1954 in the Soviet-era by then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. With a part of Russia's Black Sea fleet based in the port of Sevastopol, it remains the only region of Ukraine where ethnic Russians dominate in numbers.

Russia's foreign minister said the "nationalist and neo-fascist" sentiment in western Ukraine must be "decisively condemned".

Sergei Lavrov's warning came as Ukraine's acting interior minister said he had disbanded the elite Berkut riot police that protesters blamed for scores of deaths in last week's clashes.

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Qantas To Axe 5,000 Jobs After £126m Loss

Australian airline Qantas has announced it will cut 5,000 jobs after posting a first-half net loss of £126m.

The airline, which is battling record fuel costs and fierce competition from subsidised rivals, is working to slash costs by £1.08bn over three years.

Part of the restructuring programme will see 5,000 full-time positions lost from its 32,000-strong workforce.

A wage freeze will also be applied across the whole company until the airline returns to a profit.

The airline also highlighted "significant changes" to its fleet plans and network and a reduction in capital expenditure of £500m over the next two financial years.

Chief executive Alan Joyce said: "We are facing some of the toughest conditions Qantas has ever seen.

"Hard decisions will be necessary to overcome the challenges we face and build a stronger business."

He added the Australia had been "hit by a giant wave of international airline capacity", with a 46% increase in competitor capacity since 2009.

Following a profit warning in December, ratings agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's downgraded Qantas' credit rating to "junk" status, increasing the cost of financing for the airline.

Qantas has since been working on its finances to convince the government it deserves a debt guarantee and also lobbying the Australian government to relax the Qantas Sales Act, which limits foreign ownership in the airline to 49%.

The loss for the six months through December 2013 followed a £68m profit for the same period in 2012.

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US Pair Brave Ukraine To Adopt Four Children

Money Talks In Battle For Control Of Ukraine

Updated: 11:21am UK, Monday 24 February 2014

By Tim Marshall, Diplomatic Editor

Money talks and the EU, the US, and Russia are all shouting.

Having overthrown the government of Viktor Yanukovych, the new powers in Kiev are not about to receive the $15bn bailout Moscow had offered to keep Ukraine leaning eastwards.

President Putin might also decide that the 30% discount he gave Ukraine for Russian gas last year might have been a little generous.

The new Ukrainian Speaker of Parliament may have made him think it was way too generous with a statement about "returning to the path of European integration".

With Ukraine's economy on the brink of default and its foreign reserves draining away, the EU has re-entered the game.

The deal probably being put on the table is for up to $20bn in return for Kiev signing the trade deal it rejected late last year.

Hence the arrival of the EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton.

The Americans made sure they are noticed by sending along Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt to meet the new government, have his photo taken, and issue a statement that the US will be pressing the IMF to make emergency loans.

Ukraine's debt is $73bn and it needs to pay $12bn of that this year.

The Russians are not out of the game. They would have taken Friday's EU-brokered deal which left Yanukovych in power for the rest of the year, but now they must fall back on Plan B.

Assuming Plan B does not involve military manoeuvres (still unclear) then they can now still offer some funds in order to keep influence on Kiev, and shore up the pro-Russian support in  parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.

The senior figure in the new government is the newly released from jail Yulia Tymoshenko.

She may have been imprisoned by the Yanukovych government, but it was on charges of improperly overseeing the original Russia/Ukraine gas deal when she was Prime Minister.

She has cordial relations with President Putin whereas Yanukovych is reportedly held in disdain by the Russian strongman.

The Ukrainian economy is weak. Corruption and misrule, involving members of successive governments has meant that while its neighbours to the west, who escaped the Soviet Union 20 years ago, have become more prosperous, it has lagged behind.

Per capita economic output is about $7,300, next door in Poland it is $22,000.

Ukraine has an educated population of 46 million people and the potential to become a far more prosperous country.

Those who believe its future is linked to closer ties with the EU believe they are on the right track, those who look to the Russian and Kazakhstan markets disagree. 

Down in the Russian-speaking Crimea a few town halls area are already flying Russian flags, although this is localized and not an official decision at regional level.

All talk of economic development would be meaningless if wide-scale violence breaks out and the country is dismembered.

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Ukraine: Russia Warns Of 'Dangerous' Dilemma

Yanukovych Survived One Revolution But Not Two

Updated: 11:00pm UK, Monday 24 February 2014

Former President Viktor Yanukovych built a reputation as a political street fighter throughout his career.

While he may have survived one revolution, the second has dealt him the final blow.

Mr Yanukovych's dramatic ousting is in many ways a fitting end to a career littered with controversy.

Long plagued by allegations of corruption and a love of luxury, the former president was said to have mastered the art of political survival.

Mr Yanukovych was first deposed after winning a presidential vote in 2004, only to be re-elected six years later. 

His rise to power was equally meteoric.

Hailing from Ukraine's industrial Donetsk region, Mr Yanukovych has previously said his childhood was mired by poverty.

Orphaned at the age of two and raised by his grandmother, he has recalled running around the streets barefooted. 

He fell in with a local street gang in the late 1960s and was convicted of robbery in 1967 and assault in 1970. He served prison sentences for both crimes, although his criminal record has since been inexplicably cleared.

The former leader cut his teeth in politics in his native Donetsk in the 1990s. He served as governor of Donetsk Oblast from 1997 until 2002, when he was appointed prime minister.

His first run at the presidency was in 2004.

He "won" the election, only to be promptly deposed following mass protests, which bore startling similarities to those which would follow 10 years later.

Allegations of fraud and voter intimidation in the second-round ballot promoted the occupation of Kiev's Independence Square, or Maidan, where protesters have returned recent months.

The movement, known as the Orange Revolution, forced the Ukrainian Supreme Court to order a re-run of the vote. 

Mr Yanukovych lost to his Western-backed opponent Viktor Yushchenko, but managed to retain leadership of his Party of the Regions.

He was not out of favour for long, and was again appointed prime minister in 2006.

Four years later, his campaign for Ukraine's top job proved more successful and he defeated Orange Revolution leader and long-time opponent Yulia Tymoshenko by 3.48% of the vote.

Shortly afterwards Ms Tymoshenko was imprisoned for abuse of power; a move which many suggest was orchestrated by Mr Yanukovych.

The Tymoshenko case and successive allegations of corruption earned him considerable criticism from opponents and western leaders during his time in office. 

But it was his decision to pull out of a long-awaited free trade deal with the European Union which sparked the mass protests which led to his downfall. 

The former president is now in hiding, with an arrest warrant out against him.

He stands accused of "mass murder" over the death of dozens of protesters.

Nevertheless, in a move typical of his political career, Mr Yanukovych is yet to formally admit defeat, denouncing the revolution against him as a political "coup".

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Volcano Sinabung Erupts Killing 14 In Indonesia

Fourteen people, including four pupils on a school trip, have been killed after a series of huge eruptions thundered from a volcano in Indonesia, officials have said.

Mount Sinabung, which has been rumbling for months, sent hot rocks and scorching ash up to 2,000m (16,000ft) into the air.

The four high-school students and their teacher were killed on the excursion to see the volcano up close, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency.

A local television journalist was also among the dead. Officials fear there could be more fatalities.

"We suspect there are more victims but we cannot recover them because the victims are in the path of the hot (ash) clouds,"  said Mr Nugroho.

More than 30,000 people have taken refuge since Sinabung, on the island of Sumatra, started erupting in September.

Sinabung spews ash in November last year

But some villagers had returned home on Friday after authorities advised that houses outside of a 5km (3.1 mile) radius of Sinabung were safe.

Saturday's eruptions sent lava and pyroclastic flows up to 4.5 km from the volcano. 

All those who had been allowed to return home on Friday were ordered back into evacuation centres following the eruptions.

Sinabung had been quiet for around 400 years until it rumbled back to life in 2010, and again in September last year. 

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Diver Dies On Costa Concordia Salvage

A diver has died while working on the shipwrecked Costa Concordia after apparently gashing his leg on an underwater metal sheet.

Italy's civil protection agency, which is leading the removal of the Concordia from the Tuscan coast, said the diver was Spanish.

It was widely reported in Spain and Italy that he was Israel Franco Moreno, of La Coruna, and in his 40s.

Tuscany's La Nazione newspaper said the diver had been working on preparations to attach huge tanks on to sides of the Concordia, to float the ship off its false seabed and tow it to a port for eventual dismantling.

The newspaper reported he gashed his leg on an underwater metal sheet and was then unable to get free.

It said he bled heavily before a diver colleague was able to bring him to the surface. He was reportedly conscious upon surfacing but later died.

The job to right the ship last year took around 19 hours

He is the first  diver to die in the line of work on salvaging the Concordia ever since it slammed into a reef off Giglio island in January 2012, killing 32 passengers and crew.

In a statement, the head of the civil protection agency, Franco Gabrielli, expressed condolences for the death and recalled the dedication of people working on the wreckage, saying they had worked "for two years without a break, in difficult conditions not without risks, to achieve the common goal of removing the Concordia from Giglio.

The Concordia was righted in preparation for removal during a 19-hour engineering feat last autumn, in which a system of pulleys wrenched the 300-metre-long (1,000-foot-long), 115,000-ton cruise ship from its side to vertical.

A dozen giant tanks were affixed to its exposed port side and filled with water to help pull the ship upright.

The current project that the diver was working on was to prepare the starboard side, which had been underwater until the ship was righted, to hold a similar number of tanks.

Francesco Schettino, the ship's captain currently on trial for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and leaving the ship before all passengers were evacuated.

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Ukraine Activist 'Crucified And Had Ear Cut Off'

A Ukrainian activist who went missing during anti-government protests has stumbled into a village near Kiev saying he was beaten and tortured.

Dmytro Bulatov, 35, told Ukraine's Channel 5 television: "They crucified me, they nailed down my hands. They cut off my ear, they cut my face. There isn't a spot on my body that hasn't been beaten."

Mr Bulatov, a member of Automaidan, a group of car owners that has taken part in the protests against President Viktor Yanukovich, was reported missing on January 22.

In the television interview his face and clothes were seen covered in clotted blood, his hands were swollen and bore the marks of nails.

Protesters in central Kiev after clashes with riot police

He is among several activists whose disappearances have increased tensions the country.

One of the activists, Yuriy Verbytsky, was found dead in a forest while another, Igor Lutsenko, survived a severe beating and was hospitalised.

Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, who visited Mr Bulatov in hospital, said: "What was done to Dmytro was an act to frighten all citizens who are being active now."

The UN's human rights office has called on Ukraine to launch an independent investigation into deaths, kidnappings and torture during the weeks of political unrest.

An anti-government protester at the site of clashes in Kiev

Rupert Coville, spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights, said the issue "should be promptly, thoroughly and independently investigated".

The UN statement came as Russia's outspoken Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted that US Secretary of State John Kerry's planned meeting with Mr Klitschko was a "circus".

The talks on Saturday are also expected to include Ukraine's pro-opposition popstar Ruslana.

Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin ridiculed US talks with the opposition

Mr Rogozin suggested: "It's also necessary to involve Verka-Serdyuchka in the talks," referring to a Ukrainian drag queen popstar.

"Her/his authoritative opinion should be heard by the White House and taken into account!"

Meanwhile, President Viktor Yanukovych, 63, who sparked protests when he backed out of an agreement to deepen ties with the European Union in November, has taken sick leave.

Mr Yanukovych decided the ex-Soviet republic should strengthen ties with Russia.

The embattled leader, who has an acute respiratory illness and high fever, has already lost his prime minister Mykola Azarov, who resigned on Tuesday.

Ukraine's armed forces today urged the president to take "urgent steps" to ease the crisis, entering the fray on a political level for the first time.

"Servicemen and employees of Ukraine's armed forces ... have called on the commander-in-chief (Mr Yanokovych) to take urgent steps within the limits of existing legislation with a view to stabilising the situation in the country and reaching consent in society," the defence ministry said in a statement.

They "noted that a further escalation of the confrontation threatens the country's territorial integrity," the statement added.

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'Suspicious Powder' Found Near Super Bowl Site

A white powder sent to at least five hotels near the Super Bowl site in New Jersey appears to have been a hoax threat, police have said.

The envelopes were posted to hotels close to the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, where more than 80,000 NFL fans are expected for Sunday's game.

They were found at an Econo Lodge, a Renaissance Inn and the Homestead Inn, while two other envelopes destined for a Holiday Inn Express and a Hampton Inn were intercepted by police.

No injuries were reported and an investigation by FBI counter-terrorism officers and hazardous substances teams found the contents of the envelopes were harmless.

A package containing white powder was also posted to an address in New York where the city's former mayor Rudy Giuliani has a consulting firm.

A spokesman for the New York Police Department said the envelope was the only suspicious package they were investigating.

It is thought the envelopes sent to the hotels were all posted from the same source, although it is not known whether they are linked to the package found in New York.

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