International

Ukrainian parliament appoints speaker Oleksander Turchinov as interim president

The Ukrainian parliament has appointed its speaker Oleksander Turchinov as interim president. The call comes one day after parliament voted to oust President Yanukovych, whose whereabouts remain unknown. The Ukrainian parliament on Sunday voted by an overwhelming margin to temporarily hand over the duties of president to parliament speaker Oleksander Turchinov until new elections are held on May 25. The decision comes one day after parliament voted to oust President Viktor Yanukovych. The legitimacy of the […]

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Ukraine parliament names acting president, seeks government

(Reuters) – Ukraine’s parliament, exercising power since mass protests put the president to flight, named its new speaker as acting head of state on Sunday to replace Viktor Yanukovich and worked to form a new government. In a hectic round of voting in the chamber, near where triumphant but wary protesters remain encamped on Kiev’s main square, lawmakers stripped the still missing president of his abandoned country home. Its brash opulence, now on display, has […]

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Militants shoot down Iraqi helicopter and occupy northern town

By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD Sat Feb 22, 2014 4:47pm EST (Reuters) – Militants shot down a helicopter on Saturday and briefly occupied a town, in an escalating turf war with Iraq’s government that has killed at least 25 people in two days, police said. All four crew members were killed when their helicopter was downed during a reconnaissance flight over the town of Karma in Iraq’s western province of Anbar, where the army is engaged […]

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Japan drafts revision of arms exports ban: source

By Nobuhiro Kubo TOKYO Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:51am EST (Reuters) – Japan has drafted new guidelines that would reverse a decades-old ban on weapons exports, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday, a move that could further strain ties with neighbors China and South Korea. Tokyo has been reviewing the self-imposed export ban under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new security strategy, aimed at bolstering the self-reliance of the military. Serving as […]

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Blast in Russia kills three, authorities suspect gas

MOSCOW Sun Feb 23, 2014 1:55am EST (Reuters) – An explosion that investigators said may have been caused by gas killed three people at a shopping complex in Russia’s remote Altai region in southern Siberia on Sunday, law enforcement authorities said. Russian authorities are on alert for any attacks during the 2014 Winter Olympics, which end on Sunday in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. Initial reports gave no information about the cause of […]

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Beauty queen the latest victim in Venezuela unrest

(Reuters) – A local beauty queen died of a gunshot wound on Wednesday, the fifth fatality from Venezuela’s political unrest, as imprisoned protest leader Leopoldo Lopez urged supporters to keep fighting for the departure of the socialist government. Tensions have risen in Venezuela since Lopez, a 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist, turned himself in to troops on Tuesday after spearheading three weeks of often rowdy protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s government. The latest victims of the unrest […]

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Ukraine’s Yanukovich agrees ‘truce’ with opposition, to start negotiations

(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said on Wednesday (February 19) he had agreed a “truce” with opposition leaders, after street violence in which at least 26 people were killed, and a start to negotiations to end further bloodshed. A statement on the presidential website said that during talks with the three main opposition leaders, Yanukovich had agreed firstly a truce and secondly “the start to negotiations with the aim of ending bloodshed, and stabilizing […]

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Obama Warns Ukraine Of Consequences If Violence Continues

(Reuters) — U.S. President Barack Obama warned Ukraine on Wednesday (February 19) that there would be consequences if the violence in Kiev continues, saying the United States holds theUkrainian government responsible for dealing peacefully with protesters. Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Obama said the Ukrainian military should not step into a situation that could be resolved by civilians. “We hold the Ukrainian government primarily responsible for making sure that it is dealing with peaceful protesters in an appropriate way, that the […]

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West readies Ukraine sanctions for 26 deaths in Kiev, Yanukovich slams coup bid

(Reuters) – Western powers threatened sanctions on Wednesday over the death of 26 people in the worst violence since Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, pressuring President Viktor Yanukovich to compromise with his pro-European opponents. Yanukovich, backed by Russia, denounced the overnight bloodshed in central Kiev as an attempted coup, and his security service said it had launched a nationwide “anti-terrorist operation” after arms and ammunition dumps were looted. In the western bastion of Ukrainian […]

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25 killed in Kiev as Ukraine protest turns bloody

(Reuters) – Ukrainian protesters poured on to a central Kiev square on Wednesday, preparing to confront police anew after the bloodiest day since the former Soviet republic, caught in a geopolitical struggle between Russia and the West, won its independence. After hours of clashes, police had gained ground overnight in Independence Square, center of three months of protests against President Viktor Yanukovich, and were occupying about a third of the square at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) on […]

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At least 4 killed, dozens injured in Beirut blast

A BLAST has occurred near in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. The explosion is the latest to hit a predominantly Shiite area. The explosion, which killed at least four people and wounded dozens, appeared to have been carried out by a pair of suicide bombers making use of a motorbike. The blast happened in the suburb of Beir Hassan, a stronghold of support for the Shiite Muslim political movement Hezbollah. The Abdullah Azzam […]

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Klitschko quits talks as police move in on Ukraine protesters

Ukrainian opposition leader Vitali Klitschko has quit talks with President Viktor Yanukovich, saying that no progress had been possible. The discussions were held after the deadliest day so far of the current crisis. Klitschko said that he had quit talks after Yanukovich made an unconditional demand that the central square in Kiev be cleared. “Unfortunately, I bring nothing good from the talks,” he said. “The government must immediately withdraw troops and put an end to […]

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