BBC News:美國譴責俄羅斯對克里米亞的干預
Just hours after Russian and Crimean leaders signed a treaty incorporating the Black SeaPeninsula into the Russian Federation, there have been clashes at a military base in Simferopol.The Ukrainian military says one of its servicemen has been killed and another injured. TheDefence Ministry has now given servicemen the right to use weapons to protect themselves. InKiev, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said the conflict over Crimea had moved from a politicalto a military stage. He described the annexation as a war crime.
“Now the conflict is shifting from a political to a military phase. Russian soldiers have startedshooting at Ukrainian servicemen. ”
Ukraine had said it would never recognize Crimea joining the Russian Federation.
The United States has condemned Russia's intervention in Crimea, calling it a land grab and acontinuing assault on Ukrainian sovereignty. The American Secretary of State John Kerry saidPresident Obama could not stand by and do nothing.
“The President has made it clear that if there is this move to the full annexation which appearsto be clearly the direction that they have decided to move, it will be unfortunate. And it will notbe, because we want to create some kind of confrontation, but because there is no choice butto enforce the standards that the international community has worked on for so long.”
The US is promising further sanctions against Russia, a day after targeting the finances ofseven senior Russian officials. David Willis reports from Washington.
President Obama's decision to impose asset freezes and travel bans on nearly a dozenRussian and Ukrainian officials led to a mockery from some of those involved, including Russia'sdeputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who took to Twitter to point out that he didn't haveproperty or a bank account overseas. However Jay Carney told reporters that the sanctionswere costing Russia, and confirmed the administration was looking to target those closest tothe Russian government and Russian arms dealers in a further round of measures.
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the sanctions that had already been imposedwere unacceptable and threatened consequences. In a speech at the Kremlin, President Putinstrongly defended Russia's annexation of Crimea, and called on the United States to stopwhat he called the hysteria and rhetoric of the Cold War.
An Islamist website in Russia is reporting the death of the Chechen leader of the insurgency inthe north Caucasus. The site said, Doku Umarov, whom the media had nicknamed Russia's BinLaden had become a martyr, but did not give the details of how he died. Russia's NationalAnti-terrorism Committee said it could not confirm Mr. Umarov's death. His group has beenblamed for a string of bombings in recent years, including two attacks on Moscow.
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The families of Chinese passengers who aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight haveexpressed anger of what they say is the lack of support and information. One woman saidrelatives were facing mental breakdowns. From Beijing here's Damian Grammaticas.
Frustrations in Beijing are mounting. At the daily briefing by Malaysia Airlines officials, some ofthe Chinese families desperate to hear something definite, lost their tempers. A fewthreatened a hunger strike, convinced that the truth has been kept from them. China'sgovernment too isn't giving them much information or support. In Malaysia, investigators arenow unsure that it was someone on board who turned off the communications systems andturned the plane westwards. They are reconsidering mechanical failure as a possible cause forthe disappearance of the aircraft.
The medical charity MSF has issued dire warnings about the plight of refugees fleeing theCentral African Republic. A doctor in a refugee camp in neighboring Chad says that nearly halfthe patients he deals with are hungry. Another doctor spoke of children arriving with headwounds. The charity says many women have been forced into prostitution to feed theirchildren.
United States has broken up a large online child pornography ring and arrested 14 people.Officials said more than 250 children have been exploited in the US and five other countries. Agovernment spokesmen said they'd never before identified as many victims in oneinvestigation.
The Rolling Stones have called off their tour of Australia and New Zealand following the death onMonday of lead singer Mick Jagger's long-time girlfriend L'Wren Scott. The group said theyhoped their fans would understand the reason for their decision and hoped to reschedule theconcert. Mrs. Scott was found dead in her apartment in New York. In a statement, Mr. Jaggersaid he was struggling to understand Mrs. Scott's apparent suicide.
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