Salmond: Independent Scotland would not be foreign

March 05, 2014

LONDON (AP) — Scotland's leader took his call for independence to the heart of opposition territory in London on Tuesday, arguing that a separate Scotland would not be a foreign country to England.

First Minister Alex Salmond told an audience in London's political district that U.K. Treasury chief George Osborne had made a "monumental error" when he said an independent Scotland could not keep the pound as its currency.

Scots will vote in an independence referendum on Sept. 18. Salmond says a "yes" will mean a country with its own passports, taxes and policies - including an end to unpopular welfare cuts. But he wants to retain Britain's currency and its queen, as well as European Union membership.

"Scotland will not be a foreign country after independence, any more than Ireland, Northern Ireland, England or Wales can ever be foreign countries to Scotland," said Salmond, who argued an independent Scotland would be a counterbalance to London's economic dominance.

He said Osborne's "sermon on the pound" would come to be seen as a big mistake, and ejecting Scotland from the currency would leave the remainder of Britain holding the country's entire debt of more than 1 trilion pounds ($1.67 trillion).

Most polls suggest a majority of Scottish voters oppose independence, but Salmond said the gap was narrowing. "If you've got a positive message up against a negative message, then you will win," he told an enthusiastic audience at the event, sponsored by the left-leaning New Statesman magazine.

But not everyone was convinced. University researcher Anne Laybourne wondered what Salmond would do for her home region of Caithness in the far north of Scotland, which has a rickety railway and a hospital threatened with closure.

"If I had a vote, I would probably vote no," said Laybourne, who can't vote because she lives in England. "Maybe I'm just scared. I think there is fear there - but I like being part of the U.K."

Romanian Senate speaker quits, upstages government

March 04, 2014

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The speaker of Romania's Senate has resigned before the prime minister could remove him.

Liberal Party leader Crin Antonescu announced Tuesday on live television that he was leaving the country's second most powerful position, making himself the day's top news rather than the prime minister's success in winning parliament's approval for a new government.

The Liberals quit the coalition on Feb. 25 after Prime Minister Victor Ponta refused to accept their nominee for interior minister, a popular mayor. Ponta called the resignation "political suicide," while Antonescu urged Ponta to resign.

Parliament later approved a new left-wing coalition of loyalists, ethnic Hungarians and a champion runner. Antonescu is expected to be a candidate in Romania's presidential election in November. The incumbent, President Traian Basescu, will be stepping down after 10 years.

Italy's prime minister in Tunisia for talks

March 04, 2014

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has met with Tunisian leaders to push for closer cooperation on trade and immigration.

Renzi said he'd chosen Tunisia for his first foreign trip since taking office last week "to demonstrate that the Mediterranean must be at the heart of Europe, not its border." Renzi met with Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa and President Moncef Marzouki, as well as other officials during the visit Tuesday.

Renzi says relations with Mediterranean countries will be the "fundamental axis" of Italy's presidency of the European Union later this year.

Sweden's Princess Victoria drops Paralympic visit

March 04, 2014

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria has canceled her trip to the Paralympics in Sochi because of the crisis in nearby Ukraine.

The heiress to the Swedish throne was supposed to visit Sochi on Sunday and Monday, but royal palace spokeswoman Ulrika Naslund said Tuesday that she has canceled the trip after consultations with the Swedish government.

Naslund declined to give details, saying only that the visit was scratched because of the "current situation." A spokesman for Sweden's Paralympic team said the athletes are already in Sochi and will compete as planned.

Venezuela's Chavez everywhere a year after death

March 05, 2014

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — It's been a year since former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's death, yet it often seems the charismatic leader never left.

Chavez's portrait in a red beret is still seen on buildings, pins, action-figure dolls and daily on television. National guard troops have used a recording of Chavez reciting poetry played at high volume to disperse protesters in Caracas. Even when the Chavez highlight reel isn't playing, President Nicolas Maduro has been known to say he's spotted the man who hand-picked him to lead the country in a little bird or a subway tunnel's rock wall.

Wednesday's anniversary of Chavez's death follows weeks of sometimes violent protests that the government says have left 18 dead. Maduro appears ready to use Chavez's almost mythical status to steady his rule as protesters refuse to leave the streets.

Last week, Maduro announced 10 days of commemoration beginning Wednesday morning with a military parade in Caracas followed by a remembrance ceremony at Chavez's mausoleum and capped with the debut of director Oliver Stone's documentary "My Friend Hugo."

On Tuesday, workers for the state oil company were putting a fresh coat of paint on Chavez's mausoleum in preparation for those expected to flock to the site. "For me, he was something great," said Felida Mora, who travels about 20 miles (more than 30 kilometers) to Caracas from Los Teques at least once a month to pray nearby at an improvised tin-roof St. Hugo Chavez Chapel in the 23rd of January slum.

The small structure is painted red and white and contains a plaster bust of Chavez beneath a poster of the departed leader and Jesus Christ. On the bust is written: "You were, you are and you will be eternally our giant; we will always love you."

"I have cried a lot for him, more than for my family," Mora said. Chavez died on March 5, 2013, after a long battle with cancer. He chose Maduro, a former bus driver and union leader to be his successor, but the ride since his death has been anything but smooth. Inflation hit 56 percent last year, there are shortages of basic commodities such as cooking oil and flour and one of the highest murder rates in the world keeps people locked inside their homes at night.

Venezuela has been shaken by nearly a month of protests that have now settled into a pattern: Thousands march peacefully through the streets by day, but as night falls smaller groups confront authorities who respond with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Chavez's visage can be found in almost any corner of the capital and portraits of Chavez abound in the countryside as well: the leader wearing a farmer's sombrero, alongside soldiers in his red beret or greeting children or the elderly.

Maduro often calls himself the son of Chavez and when he makes speeches, there's often a photo of Chavez somewhere in the frame. The tourism ministry released a short video homage to Chavez — tweeted Tuesday by Maduro — crediting him with marking the start of Venezuelan tourism and teaching Venezuelans to love their country.

At 6 a.m. every day, Venezuelans can tune in to state television to hear Chavez sing the national anthem. The same channel plays reruns of his television show, "Hello President," on the weekends. There was a cartoon that portrayed Chavez meeting other historic figures in heaven.

"Maduro, even though he was hand-picked by Chavez, he doesn't have the charisma, the ability to engage audiences with him that Chavez had," said Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, a Caracas native who is an associate professor of media studies at the University of Georgia. "So he repeats, invokes Chavez, calls himself the son of Chavez as much as he can."

Historic: 1st state adopts plan to rein in feds

7th of March 2014, Friday

Georgia legislature: 'Enough is enough,' calls for restraints on Washington

BOB UNRUH

The plan to put the brakes on Washington’s expansion of the federal government is under way.

Convention of States confirmed that the Georgia legislature on Thursday passed the organization’s application “to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.”

State Sen. Cecil Staton, R-Macon, told the organization he is “pleased that the Georgia legislature has given voice to the frustrations of millions of Georgians.”

“Enough is enough. It is time to impose fiscal and other restraints on our runaway federal government. We urge other states to join us,” said Macon, the primary sponsor of the resolution.

“We Georgians have become the hope of the nation today,” said Jacqueline Peterson, the Georgia state director for the Convention of States Project. “Many thanks to our state legislators for standing for liberty. May God bless us, every single one!”

The idea is to have an Article V Convention of States, the one process the U.S. Constitution gives to citizens to bypass the White House, Congress and even their own governors to establish a new path for the nation.

The new president in 2017 would face new limits on executive orders, Commerce Clause actions, a balanced federal budget and a ban on using international treaties to govern inside the U.S. if the state-based movement is successful.

There could even be term limits for Supreme Court justices and Congress, and a mandatory sunset of all existing federal taxes.

The ideas are being discussed in legislatures where a Convention of the States has been proposed.

The Convention of States Project, launched by Citizens for Self Governance, is working to have state lawmakers call such a convention through the Constitution’s Article V.

Thousands of Americans already have signed on in support of the idea that Americans, themselves, need to address Washington’s massive spending, over-regulation and takeover of authority from states.

State lawmakers in Alaska, Alabama, Florida and elsewhere also are now looking at plans that if approved would be submitted to Congress in support of a convention.

Michael Farris, who has been know for years as the face of the Home School Legal Defense Association and Patrick Henry College, now is on the front line of seeking a convention in which state delegates would meet, agree on a path for the country and then tell Congress what will happen.

Tell Congress?

Exactly that, if the amendments are proposed at the convention and ratified by the states.

The organization proposes a convention for “the purpose of limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.”

“We believe the grassroots is the key to calling a successful convention,” the promoters say. “The goal is to build a political operation in a minimum of 40 states, getting 100 people to volunteer in at least 75 percent of the state’s legislative districts. We believe this is very doable. Only through the support of the American people will this project have a chance to succeed.”

Among the issues that could fall under the single subject would be a balanced budget amendment, a new definition of the General Welfare Clause, a redefinition of the Commerce Clause, a ban on the use of treaty provisions inside the U.S., limits on executive orders, term limits for Congress and the Supreme Court, federal tax limits and a sunset of all existing federal taxes.

“Of course, these are merely examples of what would be up for discussion,” the promoters say. “The convention of states itself would determine which ideas deserve serious consideration, and it will take a majority of votes from the states to formally propose any amendments.”

Farris told WND he expects support for a convention to be gathered over a period of two to three legislative cycles.

The timing would align with the 2016 presidential election.

Farris said it definitely would throw a wrench in the works.

“In my opinion, a good wrench,” he said. “We are convinced that Washington, D.C., is broken and that it will never, ever fix itself.”

He said all three branches need fixing.

“The judiciary legislates, the legislative branch, the Congress uses power it never was intended to have, and the president misuses power worse that George III ever thought of,” he said.

He earlier told WND that Washington, D.C., “will never voluntarily relinquish power.”

“If we allow Washington, D.C., to continue on its current course of big government, it will utterly destroy American liberty. Debt is the most tangible method of destruction. But big government complete with spying on the American public, the improper use of executive orders, over-regulation, etc., etc., will most certainly destroy American liberty relatively soon.”

Farris said trying to elect more conservatives hasn’t worked, and there really shouldn’t be a fear that the Constitution would be opened up to destruction. After all, any change would have to be approved by voters in 38 states.

“The Founders gave us Article V for the very purpose of creating structural change when the federal government abuses its power,” Farris said. “State legislatures control this process from beginning to end. Governors are irrelevant. Congress can only name the time and place. State legislature name the delegates and give them their instructions.

“We will either get good amendments or we will get nothing,” he continued. “The people who must approve the work product – state legislatures – are the ones who name the delegates. They are also the ones who give the convention its subject matter.”

Would anyone be interested in the idea of removing federal officials?

“State legislatures currently have no power to impeach federal officials from their states. This is not a viable option. This would, however, be a proper amendment to suggest at the Convention of States we are proposing. I like the idea of giving the state governments the power to impeach congressman and senators from their states,” Farris said

Another possibility?

“The federal courts regularly refuse to rule on constitutional issues they want to avoid by calling them ‘political questions’ or by claiming that no one has standing to sue … One of my ideas for an amendment would be to automatically grant state legislatures standing to challenge any action of the federal government as violating its constitutional limitations,” he said.

There also could be a fix to the problem of an entrenched Supreme Court.

“I [would] propose reconfiguring the Supreme Court after the model of the European Court of Human Rights. There are 46 nations in that court’s jurisdiction, and every nation appoints one judge. We should expand the Supreme Court to 50 justices and have the states appoint the justices for a specific term (six or eight years) with no right of reappointment. That one change would do more to ensure a constitutional government than anything I know,” Farris said.

The Convention of States Project contends that “who decides what the law shall be is even more important than what is decided.”

“The protection of liberty requires a strict adherence to the principle that power is limited and delegated,” the organization explained.

Even the Supreme Court has acknowledged the federal government has overreached, stating in a 1992 case: “The federal government undertakes activities today that would have been unimaginable to the Framers in two senses; first, because the Framers would not have conceived that any government would conduct such activities; and second, because the Framers would not have believed that the federal government, rather than the states, would assume such responsibilities.”...

Source: World Net Daily.

US prepares $1B aid package for troubled Ukraine

March 04, 2014

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — In a somber show of U.S. support for Ukraine's new leadership, Secretary of State John Kerry walked the streets Tuesday where nearly 100 anti-government protesters were gunned down by police last month, and promised beseeching crowds that American aid is on the way.

The Obama administration announced a $1 billion energy subsidy package in Washington as Kerry was arriving in Kiev. The fast-moving developments came as the United States readied economic sanctions amid worries that Moscow was ready to stretch its military reach further into the mainland of the former Soviet republic.

Kerry headed straight to Institutska Street at the start of an hours-long visit intended to bolster the new government that took over just a week ago when Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych fled. He lay a bouquet of red roses, and twice the Roman Catholic secretary of state made the sign of the cross at a shrine set up to memorialize protesters who were killed during mid-February riots.

"We're concerned very much. We hope for your help, we hope for your assistance," a woman shouted as Kerry walked down a misty street lined with tires, plywood, barbed wire and other remnants of the barricades that protesters had stood up to try to keep Yanukovych's forces from reaching nearby Maidain Square, the heart of the demonstrations.

Piles of flowers brought in honor of the dead provided splashes of color in an otherwise drab day that was still tinged with the smell of smoke. "We will be helping," Kerry said. "We are helping. President Obama is planning more assistance."

The Ukraine government continued to grapple with a Russian military takeover of Crimea, a strategic, mostly pro-Russian region in the country's southeast, and Kerry's visit came as Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wouldn't be deterred by economic sanctions imposed punitively by the West.

U.S. officials traveling with Kerry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Obama administration is considering slapping Russia with unspecified economic sanctions as soon as this week. Members of Congress say they're preparing legislation that would impose sanctions as well.

As Kerry arrived, the White House announced the package of energy aid, along with training for financial and election institutions and anti- corruption efforts. Additionally, the officials said, the U.S. has suspended what was described as a narrow set of discussions with Russia over a bilateral trade investment treaty. It is also going to provide technical advice to the Ukraine government about its trade rights with Russia. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be quoted by name before the official announcement was made.

Putin pulled his forces back from the Ukrainian border on Tuesday, yet said that Moscow reserves the right to use all means to protect Russians in the country. He accused the West of encouraging an "unconstitutional coup" in Ukraine and driving it onto anarchy, declaring that any sanctions the West places on Russia will backfire.

Speaking from his residence outside Moscow, Putin said he still considers Yanukovych to be Ukraine's leader and hopes Russia won't need to use force in predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine. In Washington, the White House said the $1 billion loan guarantee was aimed at helping insulate Ukraine from reductions in energy subsidies. Russia provides a substantial portion of Ukraine's natural gas and U.S. officials said they are prepared to work with Kiev to reduce its dependence on those imports. The assistance is also meant to supplement a broader aid package from the International Monetary Fund.

Clutching five red carnations, Svitlana Moherouska, an 18-year-old student at Kiev National University, said Ukraine desperately needs economic aid to ensure its people continue to collect salaries. She said joined in the protests, starting last November.

"We come here to leave flowers and to walk the streets where there was a war," she said. "It's very painful for us. It was hard for me to see how the police ran after our people. I hope it will be our victory and be a better life for us. But it will be very hard for us because the economy is very bad."

The U.S. officials traveling to Kiev said Washington is warily watching to see whether Russia will try to advance beyond Crimea. They cited reports of Russian helicopters nearly flying into mainland Ukraine airspace before being intercepted by jets controlled by Kiev. It's believed as many as 16,000 Russian troops have deployed to Crimea, while Ukrainian forces are amassing on both sides of an isthmus separating the region's peninsula from the mainland.

El Salvador's ex-rebel poised to win presidency

March 08, 2014

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — A former Marxist guerrilla who has promised to continue the government's popular social programs is poised to win El Salvador's presidential election runoff on Sunday, giving the ruling party a second consecutive term.

Most polls show Salvador Sanchez Ceren, 69, of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, with a lead that ranges from 10 to 18 percentage points ahead of San Salvador Mayor Norman Quijano, the candidate of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance, known as ARENA.

Quijano, 67, campaigned with Cold War references to the country's 12-year civil war, in which the United States backed the Salvadoran government against the FMLN to stop the spread of communism in Latin America. Quijano said Sanchez Ceren, one of the top rebel commanders, would take the Central American country down a communist path and invoked images of Venezuela's late socialist president Hugo Chavez.

"The FMLN proposals are based in giving the country's sovereignty to Venezuela," he said during the campaign. But analysts say the strategy backfired in the country of 6 million people more concerned with gang violence and a sluggish economy than ghosts of the past.

"(It) only works with one sector of society, the most conservative one in Salvadoran society, which is still afraid of an electoral victory by the FMLN," said political analyst Alvaro Artiga. Sanchez Ceren said he will take a moderate approach to government like that of his presidential model, Uruguay's President Jose Mujica, another former guerrilla who formed an inclusive government.

El Salvador has had one of the highest murder rates in the world, even with a 2012 gang truce that was billed as cutting the country's daily average of 14 dead — the majority gang members — in half. Current President Mauricio Funes, a former television journalist who never participated in the war, was elected in 2009 as the FMLN's first, unseating decades of ARENA governments. Sanchez Ceren would be the first true guerrilla to lead the country. He helped negotiate the 1992 Peace Accords that ended the war that left 76,000 people dead and 12,000 missing.

He campaigned door to door while his party worked to paint ARENA as the party of corruption. Funes pushed the investigation of former ARENA President Francisco Flores, formerly Quijano's campaign manager, over the destination of millions in aid he received from Taiwan.

Quijano criticized Funes for negotiating with criminals based in coming up with the truce between the country's two largest and most dangerous gangs, the Mara Salvatrucha and 18th Street. After an initial drop in killings in 2013, murders are on the rise again so far this year. According to police, between Jan. 1 and March 1, there were 501 murders, 106 more than in the same period of 2013. And many dead are starting to be discovered in mass graves, fueling criticism that the truce didn't nothing more than cause the gangs to hide their victims and create the illusion of less crime.

Sanchez Ceren said he will fight crime by boosting community investment, better education and fortified police. He will also continue Funes' social programs, including giving books, shoes and uniforms to school children, seeds and fertilizers to the poorest farmers and a small pension to the elderly.

Quijano said he would deploy the army to fight street gangs. He has proposed giving military training to all young men between ages 18 and 30 who are unemployed and not in school. Though Quijano initially criticized Funes' social programs, he says he will continue them as well.

Ultra-Orthodox rally in Israel against draft bill

March 02, 2014

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews rallied Sunday in the streets of Jerusalem, blocking roads and paralyzing the city in a massive show of force against plans to require them to serve in the Israeli military.

The widespread opposition to the draft poses a challenge to the country, which is grappling with a cultural war over the place of the ultra-Orthodox in Israeli society. The issue of army service is at the core of that struggle. Since Israel's founding in 1948, the ultra-Orthodox, who make up about 8 percent of Israel's 8 million citizens, largely have been allowed to avoid military service, compulsory for most Jewish men, to pursue their religious studies. Older men often don't work and collect welfare stipends while continuing to study full time.

The ultra-Orthodox insist their young men serve the nation through prayer and study, thus preserving Jewish learning and heritage, and by maintaining a pious way of life that has kept Jewish culture alive through centuries of persecution.

But the exemption has enraged secular Israelis who say the ultra-Orthodox are not doing their fair share. The issue featured prominently in last year's election, which led to the establishment of a center-right government that has been pushing for reforms that will require ultra-Orthodox to serve in the army. Parliament is expected to vote on the conscription bill this month.

"The change is beginning," Ofer Shelah, whose Yesh Atid party stands behind the push to draft the ultra-Orthodox, told Israeli Channel 10 TV. "This (law) will create a deep cultural change in the ultra-Orthodox public."

Shelah and his party believe integrating the ultra-Orthodox into the military ultimately will lead to their inclusion in the workforce and help sustain Israel's economic growth. Israel's central bank chief, as well as international bodies like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, warn that high unemployment in the ultra-Orthodox and Arab sectors threaten Israel's economic prospects.

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox streamed toward the entrance of Jerusalem as a heavy haze settled on the gathering. Men clad in traditional black suits and hats bowed and swayed in prayer as others danced in circles. Spectators packed the balconies and roofs of nearby buildings as a loudspeaker blared prayers. Many held signs reading "the Torah shall not be forgotten." Police said more than 300,000 people attended.

The city began grinding to a halt hours before the rally began. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said 3,500 police officers deployed for the rally. He said authorities closed the central bus station and halted nearly all public buses into the city. In addition, public transportation inside the city was being limited from afternoon until night. Some schools and government ministries also closed early.

Usually only men attend such public demonstrations, but ultra-Orthodox community leaders encouraged women and young children to take part. A major thoroughfare in Jerusalem was closed for traffic and reserved for ultra-Orthodox women in accordance with the community's strict separation of the sexes. Many women, wearing long skirts and head coverings, held prayer books close to their faces as they prayed, while young children ran between them.

"They came out of fear of one thing: that they are going to be changed, that they will be put in a melting pot and changed," ultra-Orthodox lawmaker Israel Eichler told Israeli Channel 2 TV. According to the draft bill up for a vote in Israel's parliament, only a fraction of eligible ultra-Orthodox Jews would be expected to serve, said Inna Dolzhansky, spokeswoman for lawmaker Shelah, who is also a member of the committee drafting the bill.

The army would be required to draft an increasing number of ultra-Orthodox Jews each year, with the goal of enlisting 5,200 ultra-Orthodox soldiers — roughly 60 percent of those of draft age — by mid-2017. Israel would grant financial incentives to religious seminaries that send their students to the army, she said.

If the ultra-Orthodox community does not meet that quota by then, the bill calls for mandatory service for ultra-Orthodox Jews and criminal sanctions for draft-dodgers. Beginning this year, the bill would require all ultra-Orthodox Jews aged 17 and a half to register at army recruitment offices, although not all ultra-Orthodox would be obliged to serve, said Nisan Zeevi, spokesman for lawmaker Yaakov Peri, who has helped draft the bill. He said the law would permit 1,800 ultra-Orthodox Jews to forgo army service for religious studies.

Orthodox Judaism expert Menachem Friedman said the law doesn't go far enough to properly integrate the ultra-Orthodox into Israeli society. But he said Orthodox leaders are sensing growing hostility from the secular majority, which has had to foot the bill for the community's welfare.

"Israeli society is saying enough is enough," said Friedman. "Everyone understands there is a very big problem and it cannot go on this way."

Philippines to upgrade navy base facing disputed waters

Manila (AFP)
March 06, 2014

The Philippines is to upgrade a navy base facing disputed South China Sea waters to serve the extra ships being acquired to protect its territory, the military said Thursday.

Navy spokesman Lieutenant-Commander Gregory Fabic said the military would build a 500-million-peso ($11.2 million) port at Ulugan Bay, the Philippine military base nearest to the Spratly Islands.

"It is being programmed for capability upgrade... we need to develop it to house the big vessels of the navy," he told reporters.

President Benigno Aquino is set to visit the base on May 20 to launch the upgrading, Fabic added.

The base on the west coast of Palawan island is the headquarters of naval forces guarding the waters on the west of the archipelago.

In recent years, the Philippines has been locked in an increasingly tense standoff with China involving disputed reefs and islands in the Spratlys and other areas of the South China Sea.

Under a program designed to improve the capability of one of Asia's weakest military forces, the Philippines has been acquiring naval vessels to create what the government described as a "credible deterrent" to protect its territorial integrity.

The navy has acquired two refurbished American coastguard frigates in the past two years, and they now lead patrols in the South China Sea.

The navy wants to acquire up to six more to guard the country's long coastline effectively, armed forces chief of staff General Emmanuel Bautista announced in January.

In 2012 the Gregorio del Pilar, one of the two refurbished frigates, confronted Chinese ships on Scarborough Shoal, a small outcrop just off the coast of the country's main island of Luzon.

The Chinese eventually gained control of the outcrop after Manila backed down. However, the Manila government sought UN arbitration to settle the dispute, a move rejected by China.

Last month the Philippines lodged a protest after the Chinese coastguard allegedly attacked Filipino fishermen off the shoal with water cannon on January 27. Beijing rejected the protest.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, including waters near the coasts of its neighbors.

Source: Space War.
Link: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Philippines_to_upgrade_navy_base_facing_disputed_waters_999.html.

Putin declares Sochi Winter Paralympics open

March 07, 2014

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — With a solitary Ukrainian athlete taking part in the opening ceremony, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the Winter Paralympics in Sochi on Friday against the backdrop of his country's military action in Crimea.

Ukraine delivered a pointed message by sending out only a single flag-bearer to represent the 23-strong team in the athletes' parade, an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

The appearance of the flagbearer, biathlete Mykhaylo Tkachenko, drew a roar from the capacity crowd at the Fisht Olympic Stadium. Entering in a wheelchair with the Ukrainian flag, he wore a serious expression and displayed no emotion.

The Ukrainian team had announced only a few hours earlier that it would not boycott the games, but said it could pull out of the 10-day event if the Crimea situation escalates. "I declare should this happen we will leave the games," said Valeriy Sushkevich, president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee. "We cannot possibly stay here in this case."

A lavish ceremony based on the mythical firebird of Russian folklore marked the start of the 11th Winter Paralympics, which features 547 athletes from 45 countries. It's the first time the event has been held in Russia and comes less than two weeks since the close of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

"I declare open the Winter Paralympic Games 2014, Sochi," Putin said at the ceremony, which was snubbed by many Western political leaders and dignitaries. In a separate statement distributed by games organizers, Putin said: "We are proud that our country has been entrusted with the honor to hold this unique event, which has no equal for its inspirational force.

"I wish all of the athletes success and all the best." Competition begins Saturday with Alpine skiing, biathlon, curling and hockey events. A Winter Paralympic record 72 gold medals are on offer. Ukraine's decision not to boycott the games came after discussions between team officials and athletes over whether to pull out in light of the crisis back home and Russia's takeover of the Crimean peninsula.

"I don't remember a situation when the organizing country during a Paralympics started an intervention on the territory of a country taking part," Sushkevich added. "I don't know what to extent the team can focus on the result now."

He said he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night to discuss the situation and request peace during the games. Suskevich said he did not receive any guarantees but it was important that Putin agreed to listen.

Ukraine's decision to compete was welcomed by the International Paralympic Committee. "We want sport to prevail and a full complement of teams to compete in what we are confident will be a fantastic Paralympic Winter Games," IPC President Phillip Craven said.

"All week the IPC has been working closely with the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee in an effort to keep them here in Sochi. The talking point of Sochi 2014 needs to be great sport and great athletes, not global politics."

The IPC has appealed for Russia to recognize the U.N.'s Olympic Truce, which asks warring parties to cease hostilities during the Olympics and Paralympics. Ukraine finished fifth in the medals table at the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver in 2010, with a total of 19 medals and five gold.

Ukrainian athletes chanted "peace to Ukraine" as they apparently walked out of a flag-raising ceremony in Sochi on Thursday night. That is now under investigation by the IPC as a possible breach of rules banning political protests.

"What we're trying to do is gather the evidence, gather the transcripts and then we will see if any steps are necessary," IPC spokesman Craig Spence said. "If there was a political protest, obviously we'd be disappointed by that because we have said all week that this is about sport, not politics."

In his speech at the ceremony, Craven noted that the former Soviet Union had refused to stage the Paralympics in 1980 in conjunction with the Moscow Olympics. "But dreams do come true, and since winning the games seven years ago, this part of Russia has undergone a monumental transformation," he said.

Continuing the patriotism of the Olympic opening a month earlier, Friday's show began with rhythmic marching by 126 dancers in the colors of the Russian flag. Russian classical music and dance were constant features in the ceremony, with dozens of young ballet dancers performing to Tchaikovsky's "Sugar Plum Fairy."

There were also regular animated interludes featuring the firebird, drawn by Oscar winning animator Alexander Petrov. Even the Russian winter tradition of ice fishing was celebrated in a performance featuring dozens of wheelchair dancers.

Rarely publicly visible in Russian society, disabled people played a leading role in the ceremony, led by singer Yulia Samoilova, who led a choir in performing a song entitled "Together." A promotional video for the Paralympics that was displayed at the end of the ceremony explicitly spoke out against discrimination on the grounds of "sexual orientation," a contentious issue in view of Russia's law banning gay "propaganda" among minors.

Ukraine peace sought for Paralympics in Sochi

March 01, 2014

LONDON (AP) — Leaders of the Paralympics expressed hopes Saturday for a peaceful outcome in Ukraine after Russia executed a de facto military takeover of the Crimea region as athletes arrived in nearby Sochi for next week's start of the Winter Paralympics.

Russia's intervention in Ukraine has escalated in the days since the end of the Sochi Olympics, with global concern over the country's troop movements replacing the widespread praise for its staging of the Winter Games.

The Paralympic flame was lit Saturday at a ceremony in St. Petersburg, the birthplace of Russian President Vladimir Putin, ahead of the flame's 10-day trip that ends in Sochi on Friday for the opening ceremony of the games in the coastal Russian resort. Later Saturday, Russia's parliament gave Putin permission to deploy the military to protect Russian interests in the Crimean peninsula, west of Sochi on the Black Sea.

Russia's actions could violate the Olympic Truce, a U.N. resolution that asks warring parties to cease hostilities during Olympic events. The Paralympics end March 16. "As with situations around the world, we hope a peaceful resolution can be found in the spirit of the Olympic Truce, which has covered the Paralympic Games since 2006," the International Paralympic Committee said in a statement to The Associated Press.

"We want the story here to be the great festival of sport that has already taken place in Sochi and will continue now that athletes are arriving for the start of the Winter Paralympics." U.N. members, including Russia, have not always honored the Olympic Truce. During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in August 2008, Georgia and Russia fought over the Moscow-backed Georgian province of South Ossetia.

Sochi is just 475 kilometers (295 miles) southeast of the Crimean regional capital, Simferopol, but team officials expressed no security concerns. U.S. team spokesman Patrick Sandusky said he sees no threat to the Paralympics. "Nothing has changed in our planning," he said.

British Paralympic Association chief executive Tim Hollingsworth said his organization was monitoring events in Ukraine and took regular security advice from the UK's Foreign Office.

NASA plots daring flight to Jupiter's watery moon

By SETH BORENSTEIN
March 5th 2014, Wednesday

WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA is plotting a daring robotic mission to Jupiter's watery moon Europa, a place where astronomers speculate there might be some form of life.

The space agency set aside $15 million in its 2015 budget proposal to start planning some kind of mission to Europa. No details have been decided yet, but NASA chief financial officer Elizabeth Robinson said Tuesday that it would be launched in the mid-2020s.

Robinson said the high radiation environment around Jupiter and distance from Earth would be a challenge. When NASA sent Galileo to Jupiter in 1989, it took the spacecraft six years to get to the fifth planet from the sun.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute astronomer Laurie Leshin said it could be "a daring mission to an extremely compelling object in our solar system."

Past NASA probes have flown by Europa, especially Galileo, but none have concentrated on the moon, one of dozens orbiting Jupiter. Astronomers have long lobbied for a mission to Europa, but proposals would have cost billions of dollars.

Last year, scientists discovered liquid plumes of water shooting up through Europa's ice. Flying through those watery jets could make Europa cheaper to explore than just circling it or landing on the ice, said NASA Europa scientist Robert Pappalardo.

NASA will look at many competing ideas for a Europa mission, so the agency doesn't know how big or how much it will cost, Robinson said. She said a major mission goal would be searching for life in the strange liquid water under the ice-covered surface.

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb said going to Europa would be more exciting than exploring dry Mars: "There might be fish under the ice."

Russia Moves to Reinforce Space Ties With Kazakhstan

Moscow (RIA Novosti)
Mar 05, 2014

Russia has tentatively approved a new agreement to strengthen space ties with Kazakhstan, which currently hosts Russia's largest launch facility.

The deal is set to provide a general framework to bolster bilateral collaboration, even as Russia inches closer to completing a new domestically based space center to reduce its dependence on its former Soviet neighbor.

The prospective agreement, which will now go to Russia's parliament for ratification, also seeks to define customs procedures for space hardware and demarcate liability and intellectual property in joint activities, Russia's Cabinet of ministers said Friday.

Russia leases Kazakhstan's Baikonur space center, from which it launches all of its manned space missions and its largest rocket, the Proton, for $115 million annually under a contract until 2050.

Russia is currently building its own Vostochny space center in the Far East, which is expected to begin test launches next year and become the country's primary launch facility within the next decade.

Disagreements about the terms of Baikonur's lease have periodically soured relations between the two countries, most recently over a $90 million cleanup bill of an explosion of a Proton rocket in July that spilled hundreds of tons of highly toxic fuel at the site.

Tensions were seemingly defused in December when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the two countries had signed a three-year roadmap on the cooperative use of Baikonur.

But earlier this month the head of Kazakhstan's space agency, Talgat Musabayev, said in an interview that Russia was holding up the transfer of a launch complex to the country that was provided for in the December agreement.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Russia_Moves_to_Reinforce_Space_Ties_With_Kazakhstan_999.html.

Russia, India to discuss space cooperation

Moscow (Voice of Russia)
Mar 03, 2014

Russia and India have agreed to hold consultations on space cooperation and joint projects in this field, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Wednesday, February 26.

"We also discussed GLONASS and think there is an enormous potential for cooperation in this area and the joint use of space services in general," Rogozin, who is co-chair of the Russian-Indian inter-governmental commission on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation, said.

He noted that this year India would be celebrating the 30th anniversary of its first astronaut Rakesh Sharma's space flight accomplished in 1984.

"We have agreed to hold a series of consultations between our space agencies to engage our Indian partners in the plans and projects to be undertaken by the United Rocket and Space Corporation," Rogozin said.

He met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid and Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.

Source: Space Mart.
Link: http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Russia_India_to_discuss_space_cooperation_999.html.

Putin uses carrot and stick to dominate neighbors

March 06, 2014

MOSCOW (AP) — As a counterweight to the European Union, Russia's Vladimir Putin is pursuing an ambitious dream rooted in memories of Soviet glory: The Eurasian Union.

It's a strategy to pull former Soviet satellite states back into Moscow's orbit through a combination of incentives and threats. And embattled Ukraine, a huge country of 46 million people, has lain at the center of the game plan.

Putin has put the Eurasian Union at the top of his presidential agenda, voicing hope that the new grouping could become a major economic powerhouse on par with the EU. He has sought to lure ex-Soviet nations with cheap energy and loans, while also expanding his military presence in these countries whenever he can.

Russia's offer of $15 billion to make Ukraine drop a trade accord with the EU was a carrot in Putin's Eurasia program. His deployment of troops to take over Crimea is a stick. Here is a look at how Russia has fared in bringing other former Soviet neighbors under its thumb:

IN PUTIN'S POCKET Putin understands that it's not just military might that matters in winning allies. Cash counts, too. He formed an economic bloc with Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2010 with a goal to bolster mutual trade through the removal of customs barriers. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan also want to join, and Tajikistan could be on membership track, too.

This Customs Union is the basis for the Eurasian Union, a more ambitious economic bloc set to be formed in 2015. Belarus, led by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko — dubbed "Europe's last dictator" — has been Russia's closest ally. Lukashenko has kept most of the economy in state hands and depended on cheap energy supplies and loans from Russia to keep it running. Belarus also has been an important military partner, hosting Russian military facilities and conducting joint maneuvers with Russian forces.

Kazakhstan, led by autocratic President Nursultan Nazarbayev, is the second largest country by territory and economy among the ex-Soviet nations. Nazarbayev has maneuvered between Russia and the West during more than two decades in power. But Russia has little leverage over Kazakhstan, whose energy riches and booming economy make it nearly an equal partner.

Armenia, whose economy has been crippled by a blockade imposed by arch-enemy Turkey, has been a staunch Russian ally. It has depended on Russian loans and hosted a major Russian military base. Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished Central Asian nation rocked by political instability, hosted a U.S. air base key for supporting operations in nearby Afghanistan. The base is now being shut down under Russian pressure. Kyrgyzstan also hosts a Russian air base, which is set to expand.

Tajikistan, one of the poorest ex-Soviet nations on Afghanistan's northern frontier, hosts an estimated 5,000 Russian troops and depends on Russian economic aid and remittances from migrants working in Russia.

WESTWARD GAZE Some ex-Soviet nations have developed strong ties with the West and shed Russia's influence. Energy-rich Azerbaijan has been shipping its Caspian oil to Western markets via a pipeline bypassing Russia and stayed away from any Russian integration projects. At the same time, it has maintained friendly ties with Russia, where some of its richest tycoons have major assets.

Georgia built strong ties with the West under U.S.-allied former President Mikhail Saakashvili, who sought to restore control over Moscow-backed breakaway provinces, triggering the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. The war was an extreme outcome, but the Kremlin has made a habit of keeping neighbors in line by promoting pro-Russian separatists on their territory.

Saakashvili's party lost control to a coalition led by a billionaire tycoon, who made his fortune in Russia and moved to normalize ties with Moscow. A candidate backed by him won a presidential vote last year. Despite Georgia's ongoing rapprochement with Russia, political ties have remained frozen over Moscow's recognition of independence of Georgia's separatist provinces after the war. Georgia is unlikely to be drawn back into Russia's orbit.

Impoverished Moldova, located between Ukraine and Romania, has sought to build closer ties with the West and faced Russian trade sanctions. Moscow has no economic interests in Moldova, but has vowed to preserve a military foothold there. Russian troops have remained in its breakaway province of Trans-Dniester since a conflict in 1992, and Moscow has rejected Western demands to recall them.

Several former Warsaw Pact nations in eastern Europe and ex-Soviet Baltic nations have joined the EU and NATO and are now safely outside Moscow's reach. Russia's relations with some of them often have been strained by political disputes, but Moscow lacks levers to pressure them.

SITTING ON THE FENCE Resource-rich Uzbekistan, led by authoritarian President Islam Karimov, who has been in office for more than two decades, has aspired for regional domination and zigzagged between Russia and the West. Karimov often had rocky relations with the West, which has criticized Uzbekistan's rights record. But he also has been very nervous about Russian influence and stonewalled Moscow's offers for closer economic and political cooperation.

Turkmenistan, a desert nation sitting on huge natural gas reserves, is ruled by authoritarian President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov. It has stayed away from Russia-dominated alliances and sought to develop close energy ties with both the West and China.

Putin: Russia has right to use force in Ukraine

March 04, 2014

MOSCOW (AP) — Accusing the West of encouraging an "unconstitutional coup" in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow reserves the right to use its military to protect Russians there but hopes it won't need to. The Russian leader's first comments on Ukraine since its fugitive president fled came as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kiev to meet with Ukraine's new government.

Putin declared that Western actions were driving Ukraine into anarchy and warned that any sanctions the West places on Russia for its actions there will backfire. "We aren't going to fight the Ukrainian people," Putin said, adding that the massive military maneuvers Russia had been doing involving 150,000 troops near Ukraine's border had been previously planned and were unrelated to the current situation in Ukraine. He ordered the troops back to their bases.

The U.S. announced a $1 billion aid package Tuesday in energy subsidies to Ukraine, which faces a looming financial disaster. NATO members met in Brussels and announced that the alliance would hold talks Wednesday with Russian officials about Ukraine, while world markets rose, buoyed by Putin's apparent efforts to de-escalate tensions.

"We are going to do our best (to help you). We are going to try very hard," Kerry said upon arriving in Kiev. "We hope Russia will respect the election that you are going to have." Ukraine's finance minister, who says the country needs $35 billion to get through this year and next, was meeting with International Monetary Fund officials.

Tensions remained high in Crimea, with troops loyal to Moscow firing warning shots to ward off protesting Ukrainian soldiers. Heavily armed pro-Russian forces took over the strategic peninsula on Saturday, surrounding its ferry, military bases and border posts. Two Ukrainian warships remained anchored in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, blocked from leaving by Russian ships.

The new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev, which Putin does not recognize, has accused Moscow of a military invasion in Crimea, which Putin denies. "Those unknown people without insignia who have seized administrative buildings and airports ... what we are seeing is a kind of velvet invasion," Russian military analyst Alexander Golts told The Associated Press in Moscow.

Yet world markets seemed to recover from their fright over Ukraine, clawing back a large chunk of Monday's stock losses, while oil, gold, wheat and the Japanese yen gave back some of their gains. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 200 points Tuesday on the news that Putin had pulled back troops from Ukraine's border.

"Confidence in equity markets has been restored as the standoff between Ukraine and Russia is no longer on red alert," said David Madden, market analyst at IG. Speaking from his residence outside Moscow, Putin said he still considers Viktor Yanukovych to be Ukraine's president and hopes that Russia won't need to use force in predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.

Putin also insisted that the Russian military deployment in Crimea has remained within the limits set by a bilateral agreement on a Russian military base there. He said Russia had no intention of annexing Crimea, but insisted its residents have the right to determine the region's status in a referendum set for later this month.

Putin accused the West of using Yanukovych's decision in November to ditch a pact with the EU in favor of closer ties with Russia to encourage the months of protests that drove him from power and put Ukraine's future in turmoil.

"We have told them a thousand times 'Why are you splitting the country?'" he said. Yet he acknowledged that Yanukovych has no political future and said Russia gave him shelter only to save his life. Ukraine's new government wants to put the fugitive leader on trial for the deaths of over 80 people during protests last month in Kiev.

At the House of Commons in London, British Foreign Minister William Hague rejected Putin's arguments. "The suggestion that a president who has fled his country then has any authority whatsoever to invite the forces of a neighboring country into that country is baseless," he told U.K. lawmakers.

Ukraine's dire finances were a key issue in the protests that drove Yanukovych from power. On Tuesday, Russia's state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom said it will cancel a price discount on gas it sells to Ukraine. Russia had offered the discount in December as part of Russian help for Ukraine. Gazprom also said Ukraine owes it $1.5 billion.

Crimea still remained a potential flashpoint. Pro-Russian troops who had taken control of the Belbek air base in Crimea fired warning shots into the air Tuesday as around 300 Ukrainian soldiers, who previously manned the airfield, demanded their jobs back.

About a dozen soldiers at the base warned the Ukrainians, who were marching unarmed, not to approach. They fired several warning shots into the air and said they would shoot the Ukrainians if they continued to march toward them.

Park of the same compound was still being held by Ukrainians. "We are worried. But we will not give up our base," said Capt. Nikolai Syomko, an air force radio electrician holding an AK-47 and patrolling the back of the compound. He said the soldiers felt they were being held hostage, caught between Russia and Ukraine.

The new Ukrainian government says troops that have overtaken Belbek and other Ukrainian military bases across Crimea were Russian, but Putin denied it, saying they were self-defense forces answering to Crimea's pro-Russian regional government.

Putin said the 22,000-strong Ukrainian force in Crimea has dissolved and its arsenals have fallen into the hands of the local government. Those officials claimed Tuesday that 5,500 Ukrainian soldiers had switched their allegiance from Kiev to them and said they were seeking to move up a vote planned for March 30 on the region's status.

Russia is demanding the implementation of a Western-sponsored peace deal that Yanukovych signed with the opposition last month that set a new Ukrainian presidential election no later than December. Yanukovych fled the capital hours after the signing and ended up in Russia, and the Ukrainian parliament then set the vote for May 25.

The EU's 28 heads of state and government will hold an emergency meeting Thursday to decide whether to impose sanctions against Russia. John Herbst, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who now is director of the Center for Complex Operations at the National Defense University, told the AP it was a critical time for Europe.

"It's a breach of international law, of national sovereignty, by a major power," Herbst said about Russia's actions in Crimea. "We haven't seen such a breach in Europe since the Nazis."

Sullivan reported from Crimea. Ivan Sekretarev in Sevastopol, Juergen Baetz in Brussels and Raul Gallego in Crimea contributed to this report.

A look at Russian, Ukrainian militaries

March 03, 2014

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has effectively seized control of Ukraine's strategic Crimean peninsula without firing a shot, but many in Ukraine and elsewhere fear the Kremlin might follow up by sending troops into Russian-speaking regions of eastern Ukraine. Such a move could trigger open hostilities between the Russian and Ukrainian militaries. Here's a look at the two forces:

RED ARMY HEIRS Both militaries are the successors of the Soviet army and have inherited its arsenals, structure and tactics. Ukraine surrendered its share of Soviet nuclear arsenals to Russia in the early 1990s.

The Russian military is much bigger, at 1 million men, compared to Ukraine's 180,000. The Ukrainian military has an estimated 200 combat aircraft and about 1,100 tanks, while Russia reportedly has about 1,400 combat aircraft and several thousand tanks.

Russia and Ukraine divided the Soviet Black Sea Fleet after the 1991 Soviet collapse. However, Ukraine has struggled to maintain its share of the fleet and has just a few combat-ready ships, far outnumbered by the Russian navy, which has a lease of the Crimean port of Sevastopol until 2042.

UNEQUAL OPPONENTS The Russian military has undergone a major modernization in recent years, receiving large supplies of new weapons and conducting massive exercises. Cash-strapped Ukraine couldn't afford such a buildup and its forces have slowly degraded.

In addition to the funding shortage, the Ukrainian military's readiness was hurt by last year's decision by President Viktor Yanukovych to end conscription and turn the military into a volunteer force. The last wave of conscripts is half way through its one-year term, and their morale could be low. The new Ukrainian government has tried to call up some reservists, but it's unclear whether that will work.

The Russian military has largely recovered from its post-Soviet meltdown, and it recently has run a series of war games unseen since the Cold War times. An exercise involving 150,000 troops, hundreds of tanks and dozens of combat planes has been launched across western Russia just as Russian forces overtook Crimea. President Vladimir Putin attended the maneuvers Monday at a shooting range near St. Petersburg.

DIVIDED LOYALTIES Ukraine's loyalties have been sharply divided between the Russian-speaking east and south, where people favor close ties with Moscow, and the west, where residents want to integrate more closely with the European Union.

Ukraine's armed forces reflect that divide. Units stationed in Russian-speaking regions are mostly manned by local residents who don't necessarily support the new government in Kiev. That raises doubts about their loyalties in case of a military conflict with Russia.

The Ukrainian military's reluctance to confront the Russians became obvious in Crimea, where a newly-named Ukrainian navy chief went over to the pro-Russian local government, a day after his appointment. Regional officials say that thousands of Ukrainian servicemen have done the same, but that claim can't be independently confirmed.

TENSE STANDOFF IN CRIMEA Forces of Russia's Black Sea Fleet based in Crimea and additional Russian troops sent to the peninsula have seized or blocked Ukrainian air bases, air defense missile batteries and other military facilities, and garrisons throughout the region. Ukraine's military acknowledged that "practically all" of its military facilities in Crimea have been surrounded or taken over.

A ferry crossing linking Crimea with Russia has been overtaken by Russian forces, which would allow a quick military buildup in Crimea, if Russia chooses to do so. A narrow strip of land linking the peninsula with mainland Ukraine also has been sealed by armed people.

The Ukrainian military said Russia has recently brought four navy ships from other seas to the Crimean port of Sevastopol. The Russians have demanded that Ukrainian soldiers in Crimea lay down their weapons. Some have agreed and left or joined pro-Russia forces. But others have refused and barricaded themselves at their bases.

Invasion of Ukraine isn't Putin's only option

March 03, 2014

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin knows there is little the West can do to get him to reverse his mobilization in Crimea, or to stop him from sending additional troops into other parts of Ukraine. But trade sanctions against Russia could be painful, and there are ways for him to get what he wants — keeping Ukraine from slipping out of his grasp — without ratcheting up the military pressure.

The plan Russia pushed Monday calls on Ukrainian politicians to return to their earlier agreement to form a government of national unity. Importantly, the presidential election under that scenario would be held in December and not in May, as the government formed by victorious protesters has planned.

This would buy the Kremlin time. In the coming months the Ukrainian economy could go into free fall, with the West helpless to stop it. There would be new pressure within Ukraine to turn to Russia. A similar thing happened when Ukrainians grew weary of the pro-Western leaders swept into power by the 2004 Orange Revolution.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on Ukraine to return to a Feb. 21 agreement between Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his opponents just before Yanukovych fled to Russia and his opponents named a new government. Ironically, that agreement received the blessings of the West, but not Russia, at the time. Lavrov said representatives of Russia-friendly Ukrainian regions should be brought into the new government.

"Instead of a promised national unity government, a 'government of the victors' has been created," he said at U.N. meetings in Geneva. This has been the position of the Kremlin all along, but now it is negotiating from a position of strength.

Russia has taken control of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula where the Russian Black Sea Fleet is based. Russian troops controlled all Ukrainian border posts and all military bases on Monday. Putin also has left open the option of sending troops into eastern and southern Ukraine, where many ethnic Russians live. "We are talking about protection of our citizens and compatriots," Lavrov said Monday.

This has raised fears in Kiev and the West that Russia will annex these regions as well. The current instability plays into Moscow's hand by making it more difficult for the new government to persuade the International Monetary Fund to provide the billions of dollars in loans that Ukraine needs to avoid default. An IMF delegation was to arrive in Kiev on Tuesday.

Putin cannot afford for Russia to cede influence over Ukraine to the West. The country of 46 million people is an important trade partner, holds pipelines that carry Russian natural gas to Europe and is central to his ambitions of restoring Moscow's influence over much of the former Soviet Union. The Crimean Peninsula is of particular importance, both strategically and sentimentally.

For Russians, Ukraine is part of their history and their faith, and family ties run deep. Ukraine, which became independent with the 1991 Soviet collapse, has always seemed like an artificial state to many Russians, including Putin.

Since three months of protests, which included elements of Ukrainian nationalism, drove the Moscow-supported government out of Kiev, Russian state television has portrayed Ukraine as under threat from "fascists" supported by the West. If Putin were to back down now, Russians would see it as his failure.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said world leaders "are prepared to go to the hilt in order to isolate Russia." Putin is unlikely to be too worried about a threat to kick Russia out of the Group of Eight leading industrial countries, even though he was set to host the next summit in June. He skipped the summit hosted by President Barack Obama in 2012.

Kerry's warning of possible visa bans, asset freezes and penalties on trade and investment, however, may have gotten Putin's attention and most certainly alarmed many of the wealthy businessmen in his circle.

Kerry made clear that if Russia stood down, the U.S. would work with Ukraine's government to make sure Russian interests in Crimea were respected and the naval base was allowed to remain. "We believe there are many alternatives before you get to an invasion, and none of those have been tried at this point in time," Kerry said Sunday on ABC television. He was due in Ukraine on Tuesday to meet with the new government.

While Putin most likely is relishing Russia's ability to strike fear in Kiev and world capitals, Lavrov's statements suggest he might be willing to make a deal that could serve him better in the long run.

Lynn Berry, The Associated Press' news editor for Russia and the CIS, has covered the region since 1995.

An AP News Analysis

Thousands march in pro-invasion rally in Moscow

March 02, 2014

MOSCOW (AP) — Thousands are marching in a pro-invasion rally in downtown Moscow one day after Russia's parliament gave President Vladimir Putin a green light to use military force in Ukraine.

At least 10,000 people bearing Russian flags marched freely through Moscow on Sunday, while dozens of people demonstrating on Red Square against an invasion of Ukraine were quickly detained by Russian riot police.

The Associated Press witnessed over 50 detentions and spotted at least five police vans, which carry between 15 and 20 protesters, driving away from the square. Many Russians believe the country should maintain strong ties with Ukraine's predominantly Russian-speaking eastern and southern regions. But Russia's state-controlled TV stations have ratcheted up that rhetoric after months of pro-democracy protests in Ukraine forced its Russia-leaning President Viktor Yanukovych to flee Ukraine.

Russian troops take over Ukraine's Crimea region

March 02, 2014

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops took over the strategic Crimean peninsula Saturday without firing a shot. The newly installed government in Kiev was powerless to react, and despite calls by U.S. President Barack Obama for Russia to pull back its forces, Western governments had few options to counter Russia's military moves.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sought and quickly got his parliament's approval to use its military to protect Russia's interests across Ukraine. But while sometimes-violent pro-Russian protests broke out Saturday in a number of Russian-speaking regions of eastern Ukraine, Moscow's immediate focus appeared to be Crimea.

Tensions increased when Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, made a late night announcement that he had ordered the country's armed forces to be at full readiness because of the threat of "potential aggression."

Speaking live on Ukrainian TV, Turchynov said he had also ordered stepped up security at nuclear power plants, airports and other strategic infrastructure. Ignoring President Barack Obama's warning Friday that "there will be costs" if Russia intervenes militarily, Putin sharply raised the stakes in the conflict over Ukraine's future evoking memories of Cold War brinkmanship.

After Russia's parliament approved Putin's motion, U.S. officials held a high-level meeting at the White House to review Russia's military moves in Ukraine. The White House said Obama spoke with Putin by telephone for 90 minutes and expressed his "deep concern" about "Russia's clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The White House said Obama told Putin that the United States is calling on Russia "to de-escalate tensions by withdrawing its forces back to bases in Crimea and to refrain from any interference elsewhere in Ukraine."

A statement from the Kremlin said Putin emphasized to Obama the existence of "real threats" to the life and health of Russian citizens and compatriots who are in Ukrainian territory. The statement indicated that Russia might send its troops not only to the Crimea but also to predominantly ethnic Russian regions of eastern Ukraine.

"Vladimir Putin emphasized that, in the case of a further spread in violence in eastern regions (of Ukraine) and Crimea, Russia maintains the right to protect its interests and the Russian-speaking population that lives there," the Kremlin statement said.

Obama told Putin that he would support sending international monitors to Ukraine to help protect ethnic Russians. He said the U.S. will suspend its participation in preparatory meetings for June's G-8 summit in Sochi, Russia, the site of the recently concluded Winter Olympics, warning that Russia's "continued violation of international law will lead to greater political and economic isolation."

NATO announced a meeting for Sunday of the North Atlantic Council, the alliance's political decision-making body, as well as a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the allies will "coordinate closely" on the situation in Ukraine, which he termed "grave."

The U.N. Security Council met in an open, televised session for about a half hour on Saturday afternoon after closed-door consultations, despite initial objections from Russia to an open session. The council heard speeches from a U.N. deputy secretary-general and several ambassadors, but did not take any action.

Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.N. Yuriy Sergeyev asked the Security Council "to do everything possible now" to stop what he called Russian "aggression." Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said the government in Kiev needs to get away from "radicals" and warned, "such actions they're taking could lead to very difficult developments, which the Russian Federation is trying to avoid." He said Russia was intervening at the request of pro-Russian authorities in the autonomous Crimea region that is part of Ukraine.

Calling the situation in Ukraine "as dangerous as it is destabilizing," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power said, "It is time for the Russian military intervention in Ukraine to end." She warned that "Russia's provocative actions could easily push the situation beyond the breaking point." She asked that Russia directly engage the Ukraine government and called for international monitors to be sent to Ukraine to observe the situation.

"Russia and the West find themselves on the brink of a confrontation far worse than in 2008 over Georgia," Dmitri Trenin, the director of Carnegie Moscow Center, said in a commentary posted on its website. In Georgia, Russian troops quickly routed the Georgian military after they tried to regain control over the separatist province of South Ossetia that has close ties with Moscow.

The latest moves followed days of scripted, bloodless turmoil on the peninsula, the scene of centuries of wars and seen by Moscow as a crown jewel of the Russian and Soviet empires. What began Thursday with the early-morning takeover of the regional parliament building by mysterious troops continued Saturday afternoon as dozens of those soldiers — almost certainly Russian — moved into the streets around the parliamentary complex and seized control of regional airports, amid street protests by pro-Russian Crimeans calling for Moscow's protection from the new government in Kiev.

That government came to power last week in the wake of months of pro-democracy protests against the now-fugitive president, Viktor Yanukovych, and his decision to turn Ukraine toward Russia, its longtime patron, instead of the European Union. Despite the calls for Moscow's help, there has been no sign of ethnic Russians facing attacks in Crimea or elsewhere in Ukraine.

Obama on Friday called on Russia to respect the independence and territory of Ukraine and not try to take advantage of its neighbor's political upheaval. He said such action by Russia would represent a "profound interference" in matters he said should be decided by the Ukrainian people. He has not said, however, how the U.S. could pressure Moscow to step back from its intervention.

The Russian parliament urged that Moscow recall its ambassador in Washington in response to Obama's speech. On Friday, Ukraine accused Russia of a "military invasion and occupation" in the Crimea, where Russia's Black Sea fleet is based. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk called on Moscow "to recall their forces, and to return them to their stations," according to the Interfax news agency. "Russian partners, stop provoking civil and military resistance in Ukraine."

Ukraine's population of 46 million is divided in loyalties between Russia and Europe, with much of western Ukraine advocating closer ties with the European Union while eastern and southern regions look to Russia for support. Crimea, a semi-autonomous region that Russia gave to Ukraine in the 1950s, is mainly Russian-speaking.

In his address to parliament, Putin said the "extraordinary situation in Ukraine" was putting at risk the lives of Russian citizens and military personnel stationed at the Crimean naval base that Moscow has maintained since the Soviet collapse.

Despite Putin's sharp move, there were possible signs Saturday that the Russian leader could soften his approach. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was freed a week ago after more than 2 ½ years in prison, was reported to be heading to Moscow for a meeting with Putin on Monday, though her spokeswoman denied that. Putin has had good ties with Tymoshenko in the past, and he may look to her for a possible compromise.

In a statement posted on her party's web site, Tymoshenko urged the U.N. Security Council to meet in Kiev and asked the EU leaders to convene a meeting in Crimea. She urged the West to help protect Ukraine's territorial integrity, asked Ukrainians to remain calm and voiced hope that diplomacy will succeed.

Putin's parliamentary motion loosely refers to the "territory of Ukraine" rather than specifically to Crimea, raising the possibility that Moscow could use military force in other Russian-speaking areas in eastern and southern Ukraine, where many detest the new authorities in Kiev.

But in a note of restraint, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said the motion doesn't mean the president would immediately send additional troops to Ukraine. "There is no talk about it yet," he said.

Pro-Russian protests were reported Saturday in the eastern cities of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk and the southern port of Odessa. In Kharkiv, 97 people were injured in clashes between pro-Russia demonstrators who flushed supporters of the new Ukrainian government out of the regional government building and hoisted the Russian flag on top of it, according to the Interfax news agency.

Trenin, of Moscow's Carnegie office, said that Putin could be seeking to "include Crimea within the Russian Federation and eastern and southern regions of Ukraine forming a separate entity integrated with Russia economically and aligned with it politically."

"It is not clear at this point whether Kiev will be left to build a rump Ukraine with the western regions or whether it will be swayed to join the eastern regions," he wrote. In Crimea, the new pro-Russian prime minister — who came to power after the gunmen swept into parliament on Thursday — claimed control of the military and police and asked Putin for help in keeping peace. There was no visible presence of Ukrainian troops Saturday.

The deputy premier in the Crimean government told Russian news agency RIA Novsti that Ukrainian troops were disarmed and others joined the Crimean people to help patrol the territory. The report couldn't immediately be confirmed.

Crimean Tatars, the historic hosts of the land who make up 12 percent of the island's population and stand strongly for Crimea remaining part of Ukraine, didn't put up any visible resistance Saturday.

"The last two or three days have turned around the life of all the people in Crimea," said Refat Chubarov, a Crimean Tatar leader. "They've taken over military bases and civil institutions. That's why Crimean society is filled with fear. People are afraid of everyone and everything."

Crimea only became part of Ukraine in 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred jurisdiction from Russia, a move that was a mere formality when both Ukraine and Russia were part of the Soviet Union. The Soviet breakup in 1991 meant Crimea landed in an independent Ukraine.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt summed the situation up simply: "What's happening in Crimea is a Russian takeover. There is no doubt about that," he told Swedish Radio. "Russian military forces are involved and there has been a local takeover of power."

Russia put pressure on Ukraine from another direction when a spokesman for state gas company Gazprom said that Ukraine owed $1.59 billion in overdue bills for imported gas. Sergei Kuprianov said in a statement carried by Russian news wires that the gas arrears would endanger a recent discount granted by Russia.

The Russian payment demand and loss of the discount would accelerate Ukraine's financial crisis. The country is almost broke and seeking emergency credit from the International Monetary Fund. The tensions barely touched everyday life in Simferopol, the regional capital of Crimea, or anywhere on the peninsula. Children played on swings a few blocks from the parliament building, and most of the city's stores were open. Couples walked hand-in-hand through parks. Crimea's airports — civilian and military — were closed to air traffic, but trains and cars were moving to and from the Ukrainian mainland. The civilian airport in Simferopol was reopened late Saturday night.

"Things are normal," said Olga Saldovskaia, who was walking through town with her son and grandson. While she doesn't like having gunmen in the streets, like many people in this overwhelmingly ethnic Russian city, she also found their presence reassuring.

"If anyone tries to hurt the people here, they will protect us," said Saldovskaia. She said she sympathized with the pro-democracy protesters in Kiev, but also worries that turmoil in the capital could lead to violence against ethnic Russians. She added, though, that she definitely doesn't want Crimea to become part of Russia.

"Russia is not just all flowers and candy," she said. Moscow has remained silent on claims that Russian troops are already in control of much of the peninsula, saying any troop movements are within agreed-upon rules governing the semi-autonomous Ukrainian region.

Meanwhile, flights remained halted at Simferopol's airport. Dozens of armed men in military uniforms without markings patrolled the area. They didn't stop or search people leaving or entering the airport, and refused to talk to journalists.

AP journalists crossing into Crimea from mainland Ukraine were briefly stopped at a checkpoint manned by troops in unmarked camouflage uniforms as well as officers in uniforms of the Berkut, the feared riot police that cracked down on anti-Yanukovych protesters before he fled the capital a week ago.

Vladimir Isachenkov reported from Moscow. AP reporters Karl Ritter and David McHugh in Kiev, Julia Subbotovska in Simferopol, and Cara Anna at the United Nations contributed to this report.