EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels are discussing the bloc’s response, including imposing a visa ban and an asset freeze against a number of Russian officials following Crimea’s controversial referendum on Sunday.
According to Crimean officials, Sunday’s referendum overwhelmingly backed leaving Ukraine.
Ukraine’s chief electoral official, Mikhail Malyshev, said the vote was nearly 97% in favor of joining the Russian Federation, with a turnout of 83%.
The EU has already suspended talks on an economic pact with Russia and an easing of visa restrictions.
The EU will impose a visa ban and an asset freeze against a number of Russian officials following Crimea’s controversial referendum
Speaking in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the “so-called referendum” was “illegal under the constitution of Ukraine and under international law”.
“I call upon Russia yet again to meet with Ukrainian leaders and to start a dialogue with them, and to try to move to de-escalation, please, as quickly as possible. We’ve seen no evidence of that,” Catherine Ashton told reporters.
The baroness said the EU “can’t simply sit back and say this situation can be allowed to happen”, but that ministers needed to think carefully about what their response should be.
The White House has also described Russia’s actions in Crimea as “dangerous and destabilizing”, and said the international community would not recognize the results of a poll “administered under threats of violence”.
President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that Washington is also ready to impose “costs” over its actions in Ukraine.
Crimean parliament has formally declared independence from Ukraine and asked to join the Russian Federation.
The move follows Sunday’s controversial referendum which officials say overwhelmingly backed joining Russia.
The government in Kiev has said it will not recognize the results. The US and EU say the vote was illegal and have vowed to impose sanctions on Moscow.
The Crimean peninsula has been under the control of pro-Russia forces since late February.
Moscow says the troops are pro-Russian self-defense forces and not under its direct control.
The crisis follows the ousting of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych on February 22, following months of street protests and deadly clashes.
Ukraine’s interim PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk has called the vote “a circus performance” which had been backed up by “21,000 Russian troops, who with their guns are trying to prove the legality of the referendum”.
Crimean parliament has formally declared independence from Ukraine and asked to join the Russian Federation
The vote was boycotted by many among Crimea’s minority Ukrainian and Tatar population, and the election process has been widely criticized.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev has formally approved the partial mobilization of 40,000 reservists, in response to what it called the “war-time situation”.
Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov described the referendum as a “great farce” which “will never be recognized either by Ukraine or by the civilized world”.
According to the vote in Crimea’s parliament on Monday, Ukrainian laws now no longer apply in the region and all state Ukrainian state property belongs to an independent Crimea.
The region will adopt the Russian currency, the rouble, and will move to Moscow time – two hours ahead – by the end of March.
The document approved by Crimean lawmakers also appealed to “all countries of the world to recognise it as an independent state”.
The referendum on breaking from Ukraine and joining Russia was called in early March by the Crimean parliament, with voters asked to choose between joining Russia, or having greater autonomy within Ukraine.
There was no option for those who wanted the constitutional arrangements to remain unchanged.
Ukraine’s chief electoral official, Mikhail Malyshev, said the vote was 96.6% in favor of joining the Russian Federation, with a turnout of 83%.
Crimea’s Tatar population – about 12% of the population – said they would boycott the vote, fearing their lives would be worse under the Kremlin.
The Tatars were deported to Central Asia by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1944. They were only able to return with the fall of the Soviet Union and many want to remain in Ukraine.
A new research suggests that doing at least two and a half hours of vigorous exercise each week cuts the chance of developing flu.
Around 4,800 people took part in this year’s online Flu Survey, run by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Moderate exercise did not appear to have a protective effect, the researchers said.
Overall, flu rates have been relatively low this winter.
Doing at least two and a half hours of vigorous exercise each week cuts the chance of developing flu
One of the questions people must answer when they register, as well as their age, if they are around children and if they have been vaccinated, is how many hours of “vigorous exercise” they do each week, such as running, fast cycling or competitive sports, ranging from none to more than five hours.
They are then asked to log in each week and note how they are feeling, and whether or not they have any flu-like symptoms.
The research findings suggest 100 cases of flu per 1,000 people could be prevented just by engaging in vigorous exercise.
Researchers also said this year’s survey found some of the lowest reports of flu-like illness in recent years.
Over the winter flu season, only 4.7% of reports were positive for flu-like symptoms compared with 6% last year.
Children also appear to have had lower levels of flu-like illness than last year with just 5% reporting symptoms this flu season compared with 7.9% last year.
Left-wing rebel Salvador Sanchez Ceren’s victory in a tight presidential run-off election has been confirmed by El Salvador’s electoral court.
The electoral court said Salvador Sanchez Ceren won 50.11% of the votes in the March 9 poll, defeating conservative candidate Norman Quijano, who polled 49.89%.
Norman Quijano had challenged the result, alleging fraud.
The court’s decision makes Salvador Sanchez Ceren the country’s first ex-rebel to serve as president.
Salvador Sanchez Ceren won 50.11 percent of the votes in the March 9 presidential poll (photo Reuters)
On Sunday, the court said that there was not enough evidence to back Norman Quijano’s claim.
“Based on the results, Salvador Sanchez Ceren and Oscar Samuel Ortiz are declared president and vice-president elect respectively, for the period from 1 June 2014 to 1 June 2019,” court president Eugenio Chicas was quoted as saying by Reuters.
El Salvador’s outgoing President Mauricio Funes said he would meet Salvador Sanchez Ceren later on Monday to begin the handover process.
Salvador Sanchez Ceren became vice-president of El Salvador in 2009, while Norman Quijano was the mayor of the capital, San Salvador.
Crimea referendum showed support for a split from Ukraine with election officials saying that 96.6% of voters backed joining Russia.
The government in Kiev described the vote as a “circus performance” and said it would not recognize the result.
The EU and US say the referendum was illegal, but Russia says it was consistent with international law.
President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that Washington is also ready to impose “costs” over its actions in Ukraine.
Crimea PM Sergei Aksyonov celebrated referendum results
As polls closed on Sunday night, the White House said the international community “will not recognize the results of a poll administered under threats of violence”, describing Russia’s actions as “dangerous and destabilizing”.
The new authorities in Kiev say Russian troops moved in to Crimea after Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president, Viktor Yanukovych, was ousted following months of street protests.
Crimean leaders are expected to formally apply to the Kremlin on Monday to join Russia.
The Russian parliament had been expected to wait until Friday to begin debating the relevant legislation. It is now believed the process of absorbing Crimea could take place under existing laws.
Australia is taking control of the “southern vector” search for the missing Malaysian Airlines jet, Australian PM Tony Abbott says.
According to Malaysian officials, flight MH370 was intentionally diverted and could have flown on either a northern or southern arc from its last known position.
More than 20 nations have been asked to help search for the missing jet, and evaluate radar and satellite data.
There has also been scrutiny of the last communication from the plane.
Malaysian officials said on Sunday that the last words from the cockpit – “All right, good night” – came after the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which transmits key information about the plane to the ground, had been deliberately switched off.
On Saturday, Malaysian police searched the homes of Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid. A flight simulator taken from the captain’s home was being re-assembled and examined at police headquarters, officials said.
Friends of both pilots – who investigators say did not ask to fly together – have expressed disbelief at the possibility of their involvement.
Australia is taking control of the “southern vector” search for the missing Malaysian Airlines jet
Investigators are also looking at passengers, engineers and other ground staff who may have had contact with the aircraft before take-off in their search for clues.
Malaysia Airlines plane, carrying a total of 239 passengers and crew, left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 00:40 local time on March 8.
The plane disappeared off air traffic controllers’ screens at about 01:20, when it was over the South China Sea.
Malaysian officials said on Saturday that according to a military radar, the aircraft then turned and flew back over Malaysia before heading in a north-west direction.
A satellite was able to pick up a signal from the plane until 08:11 local time, although it was unable to give a precise location.
Investigators are now looking at two possible corridors – a northern corridor stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through to northern Thailand, and a southern corridor stretching from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.
Australian PM Tony Abbott said he was adding more resources to the search in response to a request from Malaysia.
Tony Abbott told parliament on Monday that Malaysian PM Najib Razak asked Australia to “take responsibility for the search on the southern vector, which the Malaysian authorities now think was one possible flight path for this ill-fated aircraft”.
“I agreed that we would do so. I offered the Malaysian prime minister additional maritime surveillance resources which he gratefully accepted.”
Malaysia’s navy and air force were also deploying assets to the southern corridor on Monday, Malaysia’s transport ministry said.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Authority said it was not possible for the plane to have reached its airspace undetected.
Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority said it had checked its radar recordings but “found no clue” connected to the flight.
Aside from Australia, Malaysia has sent diplomatic notes requesting assistance to 25 countries.
Police will monitor traffic in Paris on Monday after pollution levels prompted the French government to impose major restrictions.
Only motorists whose cars have odd-numbered registration plates will be allowed to drive.
On Tuesday, if the restrictions remain in place, it will be the turn of those with even-numbered plates.
Ministers acted after air pollution exceeded safe levels for five days running in Paris and surrounding areas.
The smoggy conditions have been caused by a combination of cold nights and warm days, which have prevented pollution from dispersing
The measure has been tried once before, in 1997. Paris air quality monitoring body Airparif says it had a noticeable impact on improving air quality, although critics have disputed its findings.
Motorcycles will also be covered by the ban, which runs from 05:30 local time to midnight on Monday. There are exceptions for electric and hybrid vehicles, and for cars carrying three or more passengers.
Police will monitor traffic in Paris on Monday after pollution levels prompted the French government to impose major restrictions (photo AP)
Those flouting the restrictions will face a small fine although there will be free parking for those with number-plates ending in an even number.
Delivery companies are already complaining of lost income. Politically the stakes are high, with elections for Paris mayor due to start next week.
Opposition leader Jean-Francois Cope complained that the ban “lacks coherence, explanation and on the ground it’s really panic”.
On Friday, public transport was made free of charge for three days in an attempt to encourage people to leave their cars at home. This measure will continue on Monday.
The capital’s air quality has been one of the worst on record, French environmental agencies say, rivaling the Chinese capital, Beijing, one of the world’s most polluted cities.
On Friday, pollution levels hit 180 microgrammes of PM10 particulates per cubic metre, more than double the safe limit of 80.
PM10 particulates are emitted by vehicles, heating systems and heavy industry.
Pollution levels were said to have fallen on Sunday but were expected to rise again on Monday.
The government is to review pollution levels again, before deciding whether to extend the driving restrictions for longer.
Officials say one heavy rainfall would have more effect than a one-day ban.
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit off the northern coast of Chile on Sunday evening, prompting a brief evacuation of part of a coastal area but not causing any injuries or significant damage.
The strong quake – originally measured as a 7.0 – was centered 37 miles west-northwest of Iquique and struck at a depth of 12.4 miles, the US Geological Survey said Sunday. It hit at 6.16 p.m. local time.
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit off the northern coast of Chile on Sunday evening
An emergency office said there was no major damage resulting from the quake, except for two small roadside rock falls in the Arica and Parinacota region.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no tsunami was expected.
A second quake, a 5.1 at almost the exact same location, followed 10 minutes later. An aftershock at 6.2 followed about six hours later.
You can show your St. Patrick’s Day spirit by drinking an ice-cold mug of green beer.
1.Choose a light colored beer. You can make darker beer green, but it requires so much food coloring that your teeth will turn green.
St Patrick’s Day green beer
2. Squirt 4 – 6 drops of green food coloring in the bottom of a beer glass. Use more drops for beer of a darker hue. Use liquid food coloring, as opposed to gel; it’ll mix with the beer much more easily.Don’t use blue food coloring. You may think it will mix with yellow beer to make green, but since the colors aren’t pure pigments, you’ll end up with something closer to turquoise.
3. Fill the mug with beer. The food coloring will mix with the beer as you pour, tinting your beer a lovely green. Don’t stir the beer, or it’s likely to go flat.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a standard muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
Beat the cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and egg whites together on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium for 2 minutes, until smooth. Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full with white batter; set aside.
Stir 4 drops of red food coloring into the remaining bowl of batter to make the batter pink, stir in the raspberry oil. Pour 1/3 of pink batter into a resealable plastic bag and set aside.
Mix more food coloring into the remaining bowl of pink batter until it is an orange/red color and pour the batter into a resealable plastic bag. Cut a corner off the bag, stick the open tip into the center of each cup of white batter and squeeze in about two tablespoons of red batter.
Cut the corner off the bag with the pink batter, stick the open tip into the center of the red batter and squeeze about 1 tablespoon pink batter into each cup.
Bake the layered cupcakes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
Florida-based safety sign company Accuform Signs has teamed up with the A&E television network to create a new line of Duck Dynasty-inspired workplace safety signs meant to catch the attention of employees.
The company has signed a two-year licensing deal with the A&E to use characters from the Duck Dynasty reality show on their products.
The purpose of the new signs, according to Accuform CEO Wayne Johnson, is to attract and keep an employee’s attention, thus ensuring better safety measures in the workplace.
“Featuring pop culture icons like Duck Dynasty on workplace identification products is a unique way for workers to connect with their company’s safety program,” Wayne Johnson told the Tampa Bay Times in a recent interview.
Accuform Signs has teamed up with the A&E to create a new line of Duck Dynasty-inspired workplace safety signs
Instead of using the traditional workplace safety sign that often depicts simple wording warning against a safety violation, the new Duck Dynasty-themed signs will be multi-colored and feature a Duck Dynasty character acting out the safety situation. For example, one sign shows Willie Robertson wearing an orange hard hat. Another sign for protective eye-wear will reportedly show a member of the Duck Dynasty clan wearing protective goggles.
The new safety-sign campaign proves fitting, as a major theme on the Duck Dynasty reality show revolves around the Duck Commander business and often shows the Robertson family members working in the Duck Commander warehouse, either handling heavy machinery for packaging their products or making duck calls. Another theme of the show is the Robertson family’s love for hunting, which also carries its only necessary safety precautions.
Since its first airing in 2012, Duck Dynasty reality show has hit mainstream success and the Robertson family has been signed to various marketing deals.
In January, the Robertson family teamed up with the Mossberg gun company to produce a new line of shotguns, semiautomatic rifles and a semiautomatic pistol that feature the Duck Commander company name and the slogan “Faith. Family. Ducks”.
Retail stores across the US also carry Duck Dynasty merchandise, such as camouflage clothing, hunting gear, and of course, duck calls. Big-name brands and stores that have teamed up with the Duck Dynasty name include Walmart, Under Armour, and Target, among others.
Twenty five countries are now involved in a vast search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that disappeared over a week ago, Malaysian officials say.
The search area – from central Asia to the southern Indian Ocean – takes in large tracts of land and sea.
An already complex search operation has become even more difficult, Malaysia’s acting transport minister says.
Crew, passengers and ground staff are being investigated after it was confirmed the jet was commandeered.
Investigators are trying to obtain more radar and satellite data from any of the countries that flight MH370 may have passed over, with its 239 crew and passengers.
The leaders of several Asian countries have been briefed by the Malaysia government in what acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has described as a new phase of the search.
“From focusing mainly on shallow seas, we are now looking at large tracts of land, crossing 11 countries, as well as deep and remote oceans,” he said at a news conference.
Malaysian officials are contacting countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, China, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and France.
Twenty five countries are now involved in a vast search operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
They are also asking countries to provide assistance in the search for the plane, including satellite data and analysis, ground-search capabilities, and maritime and air assets.
After checking their radar recordings, Pakistani civil aviation officials said they had found no sign of the missing jet.
Malaysian national police chief Gen Khalid Abu Bakar said background checks had been requested on all passengers aboard the plane, but that so far nothing suspicious had been reported – though some intelligence agencies still had to respond.
The police are also reportedly looking at the family life and psychological state of the plane’s pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, and searched their homes on Saturday.
Zaharie Shah and Fariq Abdul had not asked to fly together, Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed at the news conference.
Officers spoke to relatives of Zaharie Shah and experts are examining the pilot’s personal flight simulator. Police have visited his house for a second day.
Those who know Zaharie Shah, 53, insist he is a normal family man.
With 18,000 hours of flying experience, Zaharie Shah is a self-confessed “aviation geek” and proudly posted pictures online of the flight simulator he built at home.
Fariq Hamid was said to be engaged, and had just graduated to the cockpit of the Boeing 777. A local community leader described him as a “good boy, a good Muslim, humble and quiet”. The only known blot on his record is that he invited two female passengers into the cockpit of a 2011 flight from Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, in breach of regulations.
As well as the crew and passengers, police are investigating the engineers and other ground staff who may have had contact with the aircraft before take-off.
A team from British telecommunications company Inmarsat team arrived on Saturday in Malaysia.
An Inmarsat satellite is said have continued receiving signals from flight MH370 at least five hours after the plane was reported lost.
A team of French investigators is to travel to Malaysia on Monday to help with the search, the French transport ministry has said in a statement. They will join members of the US National Transportation Safety Board already in Malaysia.
Duck Dynasty’s John Luke Robertson attended the annual Southeastern Livestock Exposition (SLE) Rodeo at the Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery, Alabama.
John Luke Robertson, 18, spoke with attendees prior to the rodeo’s start, took part in a meet-and-greet and participated in the opening ceremonies with his sister, Sadie Robertson, during Saturday’s matinee performance.
While speaking with the crowd, John Luke Robertson answered several questions, including one about how filming impacts his family and the way they spend time together. He responded by saying that while sometimes it can be stressful, they still enjoy being with one another.
John Luke Robertson attended the annual Southeastern Livestock Exposition Rodeo at the Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery
Following his appearance, fans lined up at the coliseum hoping for a chance to meet John Luke Robertson and get their picture taken with him.
In addition to seeing the reality star, attendees were able to watch some of the top cowboys and cowgirls compete for record prize money during today’s rodeo.
Other entertainers set to appear at this year’s rodeo, which will continue at 7 p.m. tonight, include world champion bull rider Donnie Gay and local musical act Trotline. In addition, this year’s clown, Keith Isley, will keep rodeo lovers entertained throughout the performance.
The SLE Rodeo tickets, which are $16 for adults and $9 for kids, are on sale at the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Office located at 201 S. Bainbridge.
Online retailer Alibaba Group has announced plans for a flotation in the US.
The Chinese e-commerce giant said the move will make it “a more global company”.
The move had been widely predicted by analysts, who expect it to be the biggest share offering by a tech firm since Facebook’s flotation in 2012.
They predict that the listing will raise up to $15 billion.
However, Alibaba did not reveal when the initial public offering (IPO) would take place or on which exchange.
The move is expected to benefit Yahoo, which owns a significant stake in Alibaba and could see the value of its investment rise considerably.
Alibaba Group has announced plans for US flotation
“Alibaba Group has decided to commence the process of an initial public offering in the United States,” the firm’s statement said.
“This will make us a more global company and enhance the company’s transparency, as well as allow the company to continue to pursue our long-term vision and ideals.”
The news comes two days after another Chinese tech giant, Twitter-like service Weibo, announced plans for a $500 million US listing.
Speculation about a New York listing for Alibaba began last September, when the company abandoned plans for a stock offering in Hong Kong after talks with regulators broke down.
Alibaba’s management structure, which allows senior executives to retain control of the board of directors, fell foul of Hong Kong’s listing rules.
Alibaba Group is already the world’s largest online retailer, with more than 500 million customers and more than 800 million product listings.
Venice and the surrounding region are voting on whether to break away from Italy.
Recent opinion polls suggest that two thirds of the 4 million electorate favor splitting from Rome, but the vote will not be legally binding.
The poll was organized by local activists and parties, who want a future state called Republic of Veneto.
This would be reminiscent of the sovereign Venetian republic that existed for more than 1,000 years.
Venice and the surrounding region are voting on whether to break away from Italy
A focal point for culture, architecture and trade, Venice lost its independence to Napoleon in 1797.
Online voting is due to continue until Friday.
The vote received very little coverage in Italy’s national media but the organizers said they expected as many as two million people to take part.
It also reflects a growing separatist mood in parts of Europe, such as Spain’s Catalonia region and Scotland, which votes on whether to become independent in September.
Moves towards independence often evoke more sympathy in wealthy northern Italy, where many resent what they see as the poorer south’s waste and corruption.
Luca Zaia, governor of Veneto, the Venice region, rejected suggestions that the Italian constitution would prevent secession.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard celebrated their engagement with an intimate party in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.
According to Us Weekly, Johnny Depp, 50, and Amber Heard, 27, enjoyed a party at The Carondelet House. They reportedly arrived an hour after guests, which included Marilyn Manson, Steven Tyler, Mandy Moore, Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and Rick Ruben.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard celebrated their engagement with an intimate party in downtown Los Angeles
Amber Heard wore a white silk spaghetti-strap “vintage dressy” ensemble for her big night, with her blonde locks down.
Johnny Depp went for a casual black suit and matching top hat.
Amber Heard’s sister arrived with the couple, as well as Johnny Depp’s 11-year-old son, Jack.
Chris Brown has been reportedly arrested at the rehab centre where he was being treated in California.
Whilst the exact details are not known, Chris Brown was discharged from the facility for failing to comply with its rules and regulations.
Chris Brown was then taken to a Los Angeles jail where he’ll stay until a court appearance on Monday.
Chris Brown was discharged from the rehab facility for failing to comply with its rules and regulations
In November, the singer was sentenced to three months of in-patient rehab.
It was suggested by probation officers overseeing him following the punishment for the 2009 attack on his ex-girlfriend Rihanna.
Police officials in California said Chris Brown co-operated with officers when he was arrested at the Malibu treatment facility but a probation spokesman wouldn’t reveal what he had done.
More information is likely to come out when he appears before a judge next week.
Chris Brown had been ordered to remain in rehab for anger management treatment.
A letter from the facility in January stated that Chris Brown was also being treated for bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and past substance abuse.
The Future Music Festival final day has been cancelled in Malaysia following a death at the event.
Acts including Rudimental, Eric Prydz and Pharrell Williams were due to perform in Kuala Lumpur.
Organizers say they have taken local authorities’ advice to not proceed with Day 3 of the festival.
Details of who died are not known, but reports of five deaths linked to drugs have been dismissed.
The Future Music Festival final day has been cancelled in Malaysia following a death at the event
In a post on the festival’s Facebook page, organizers wrote: “A police report has been filed and we are working very closely with all relevant authorities in examining and determining the cause of this very unfortunate incident.
“In the interest of public safety we have heeded the authority’s advice to not proceed with Day-3 of Future Music Festival Asia 2014.
“This is also to help in the ongoing investigation. We appreciate the understanding of all parties and will share updates on this matter as soon as possible. “
Refunds are being offered through the event’s website.
The Future Music Festival (FMF) has been running in Malaysia since 2012. It’s a spin-off of the same event which has been held in various Australian cities since 2006.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has urged the US to discuss “peace and sovereignty” in a high level commission mediated by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).
Nicolas Maduro also asked President Barack Obama not to heed US factions that he says want to kill him.
Venezuela blames the US for the anti-government protests that have left 28 people dead in the past month.
The US says Venezuela is using it as a scapegoat for its internal problems.
Earlier, thousands of government supporters marched through the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to thank the country’s security forces for their policing of the recent unrest.
Nicolas Maduro and several military leaders held speeches praising the “civic-military” partnership.
The president also proposed the creation of a “high-level commission” to discuss “peace and respect to the sovereignty” in Venezuela.
Nicolas Maduro has urged the US to discuss peace and sovereignty in a high level commission mediated by the UNASUR
Nicolas Maduro said he wanted the head of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, to negotiate with a “high-level officer” of the US administration under the auspices of UNASUR.
“President Obama: give peace, and respect, a chance and let’s set the foundation for a new type of relations between the US, Venezuela and if possible, Latin America and the Caribbean,” Nicolas Maduro told the crowd in a speech broadcast on radio and TV.
He also warned Barack Obama against agreeing to alleged plans to kill him, put forward by “extremists” in the US administration.
“It would be the worst mistake in your life to authorize the assassination of President Nicolas Maduro and fill [Venezuela] with violence,” he told the crowd, adding he was a “humble president and bus driver” who like Barack Obama also had “African grandparents”.
Venezuela’s opposition has called for further protests on Sunday against “Cuban repression” in the country and criticized the government’s march.
“We know soldiers and officials are against this act ordered by Cuba,” Maria Corina Machado, an opposition leader, wrote on Twitter.
The opposition says it will continue to protest against Venezuela’s high inflation, food shortages and violence levels until there is a change of government.
A stampede among jobseekers taking a recruitment test in the national stadium in Nigeria’s capital Abuja has left at least seven people dead and many others injured.
A journalist for AFP news agency said he had counted seven corpses.
Nigeria stampede among jobseekers taking a recruitment test in the national stadium in Abuja
The stampede came during a recruitment exercise by the immigration department. Tens of thousands had turned up to take the test, according to reports.
There is a high level of unemployment in Nigeria especially among young people. In 2011, it stood at 23.9%.
Survivor Rosemary Ogida told AFP that she could remember being picked up by three men.
“I cannot even imagine the number of people that stamped on me,” she said.
Slovakia’s PM Robert Fico and independent challenger Andrej Kiska will run for a second round of the country’s presidential elections.
In Saturday’s first round, Robert Fico polled 28.2% with Andrej Kiska on 24% on a turnout of 43.4%.
Independent conservative Radoslav Prochazka was third with 20.8%.
As no candidate gained 50% of the votes, a second round run-off will be held in two weeks’ time for the mainly ceremonial post.
Robert Fico’s left-wing Smer party won the parliamentary election in 2012.
The 49-year-old had previously served as prime minister from 2006 to 2010, pursuing an anti-austerity agenda.
Since the 2012 elections Robert Fico’s party has governed alone – the first time since independence that a party secured an absolute majority in the Slovak parliament.
Slovakia’s president has the power to appoint the prime minister, as well as the main figures in the judiciary.
Independent challenger Andrej Kiska and PM Robert Fico will run for a second round of Slovakia’s presidential elections (photo SITA/Jozef Jakubèo)
However, parliament exercises legislative power.
Robert Fico’s bid for the presidency is widely seen as an attempt to make his domination of Slovak politics total.
Outgoing President Ivan Gasparovic was elected for the first of two five-year terms in 2004 as voters united against former PM Vladimir Meciar.
Slovakia adopted the euro in 2009 during Robert Fico’s previous term as prime minister.
The country has since seen significant economic growth.
Past governments had been blamed for privatization scandals and other forms of corruption.
Analysts say challenger Andrej Kiska, a 51-year-old millionaire, is riding a wave of continuing popular anger at allegations of sleaze and distrust in established parties.
Andrej Kiska says he wants to fight corruption and create a more efficient government.
The Kuala Lumpur homes of the two pilots of missing Malaysia Airlines plane that vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board are being searched by police.
Malaysian police are also reportedly looking at the family life and psychological state of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.
This comes after the authorities said the communications systems of the plane had been deliberately disabled.
The Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight is believed to have then changed course.
According to satellite evidence, the Boeing 777 could have continued flying for a further seven hours after its last radar contact, Malaysian PM Najib Razak said.
He added that the plane could be anywhere from Kazakhstan to the Indian Ocean.
Najib Razak stopped short of saying it was a hijacking, saying only that they were investigating “all possibilities”.
In a separate development, India on Sunday suspended its search for the plane around the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands and also in the Bay of Bengal.
Delhi said it acted at the request of the Malaysian authorities.
China – which had 153 citizens on board flight MH370 – has urged Malaysia to continue providing it with “thorough and exact information” on the search.
The homes of Zaharie Ahmad Shah and Fariq Abdul Hamid were searched on Saturday, a senior police officer familiar with the investigation was quoted as saying by Reuters.
“We are not ruling out any sort of motivation at the moment,” the official said.
Malaysian police are also investigating the family life and psychological state of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid
The authorities have so far released no new details on the pilots’ investigation.
However, nothing has been ruled in or out – so terrorism, piracy or even an elaborate suicide are all options now being considered.
Zaharie Ahmad Shah joined Malaysia Airlines more than 30 years ago, and was considered a very experience pilot.
Fariq Abdul Hamid recently graduated to the cockpit of a Boeing 777. It is believed that he was considering marriage.
It was also reported that Fariq Abdul Hamid had drawn scrutiny after he and another unnamed pilot invited two female passengers to sit in the cockpit during a flight in 2011, according to the Associated Press.
Flight MH370 left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 00:40 local time on March 8 and disappeared off air traffic controllers’ screens at about 01:20.
PM Najib Razak told a news conference on Saturday that new satellite evidence shows “with a high degree of certainty” that the one of the aircraft’s communications systems – the Aircraft and Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) – was disabled just before it had reached the east coast of Malaysia.
ACARS is a service that allows computers aboard the plane to “talk” to computers on the ground, relaying in-flight information about the health of its systems.
Shortly afterwards, near the cross-over point between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic controllers, the plane’s transponder – which emits an identifying signal – was switched off, he said.
According to a military radar, the aircraft then turned and flew back over Malaysia before heading in a north-west direction.
A satellite was able to pick up a signal from the plane until 08:11 local time – more than seven hours after it lost radar contact – although it was unable to give a precise location, Najib Razak said.
The prime minister went on to say that based on this new data, investigators “have determined the plane’s last communication with a satellite was in one of two possible corridors”: a northern corridor stretching from the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through to northern Thailand and a southern corridor stretching from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean
Investigators will now focus on trying to obtain the radar data from any of the countries the Boeing 777 may have passed over.
This could include Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India and Pakistan.
Along with the Chinese passengers, there were 38 Malaysians and citizens of Iran, the US, Canada, Indonesia, Australia, India, France, New Zealand, Ukraine, Russia, Taiwan and the Netherlands on board.
People in Ukraine’s region Crimea are voting on whether or not to re-join Russia in a referendum condemned as “illegal” by Kiev and the West but backed by Moscow.
Russian troops have taken de facto control of the majority ethnic-Russian region, and voters are expected to support leaving Ukraine.
Crimean Tatars are boycotting the vote, pledging their allegiance to Kiev.
Russia earlier vetoed a draft UN resolution criticizing the vote – the only Security Council member to do so.
The US-drafted document was supported by 13 Council members. China, regarded as a Russian ally on the issue, abstained from the vote.
The US and EU have warned they would slap further tough sanctions against Russian officials if the referendum goes ahead.
Crimea are voting on whether or not to re-join Russia (photo AFP)
Russia intervened in the Crimean peninsula by seizing control of government buildings and blocking Ukraine’s troops at their bases after the fall of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych on February 22.
However, the Kremlin officially denies deploying extra troops there, describing them as Crimea’s “self-defense forces”.
Polling stations across Crimea opened at 08:00 local time and will close 12 hours later.
Voters are being asked whether they would like Crimea to rejoin Russia.
A second question asks whether Ukraine should return to its status under the 1992 constitution, which would give the region much greater autonomy.
Some 1.5 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots, and the first results are expected to be released shortly after the referendum.
Ethnic Russians form a clear majority in the region (58.5%), and many of them are expected to vote for joining Russia.
Paris is introducing alternative driving days in an attempt to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution.
From Monday, drivers will only be able to use their vehicles every other day.
This is only the second time since 1997 that such a restriction has been enforced.
The French government made the decision after air pollution exceeded safe levels for five days running in Paris and surrounding areas.
Motorcycles will also be covered by the ban, which will allow only vehicles with number plates terminating in an uneven digit to take to the roads, beginning at 05:30 on Monday.
On Friday, public transport was made free of charge for three days in an attempt to encourage people to leave their cars at home. This measure will continue on Monday.
Paris is introducing alternative driving days in an attempt to tackle dangerous levels of air pollution
The smoggy conditions have been caused by a combination of cold nights and warm days, which have prevented pollution from dispersing.
The capital’s air quality has been one of the worst on record, French environmental agencies say, rivaling the Chinese capital, Beijing, one of the world’s most polluted cities.
On Friday, pollution levels hit 180 micrograms of PM10 particulates per cubic meter, more than double the safe limit of 80.
PM10 particulates are emitted by vehicles, heating systems and heavy industry.
The French government will review pollution levels on Monday, before deciding whether to extend the driving restrictions for longer.
