Top news: Dozens of armed men took control of government buildings, including the parliament building, in Ukraine’s Crimea region on Thursday, raising Russian flags and pledging loyalty to ousted President Viktor Yanukovych. Overnight, a series of raids thought to have been carried out by Russian nationalists further stoked tensions in Ukraine’s only province with an ethnic Russian majority.
Interim President Olexander Turchynov, who came to power after parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from office over the weekend, warned against “military aggression” and ordered Russian troops to remain on their naval base in Crimea. “I would like to call on the leadership of the Russian Federation to respect the basic agreements on the Russian military presence in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,” he said.
Yanukovych, meanwhile, declared that he remains the lawful president of Ukraine and appealed to Russian authorities to “secure my personal safety from the actions of extremists.” Yanukovych is thought to have arrived in Russia, after fleeing Kiev over the weekend.
War in Syrian: The U.S. State Department on Wednesday slammed the Syrian government for retaliating against opposition negotiators after a second round of failed peace talks in Geneva. “The United States is outraged by reports that the Assad regime has arrested family members of the Syrian Opposition Coalition delegation to the Geneva II peace talks, designated delegates as terrorists, and seized delegates’ assets,” said State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki.
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Middle East
- The Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham, an extremist group operating in Syria, hasdemanded a levy from Christians in exchange for protection in the northern city of Raqqa.
- Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad claimed to have notched a major military victory on Wednesday, killing more than 175 rebel fighters in an ambush east of Damascus.
- An Egyptian court on Wednesday sentenced 26 men to death for funding a terrorist group that allegedly aimed to attack ships in the Suez Canal.
Africa
- A suicide bomber killed 10 people at a Mogadishu café on Thursday in an attack later claimed by the Somali militant group al Shabab.
- Hundreds of thousands of people have been denied urgent medical care in South Sudan because of attacks on medical facilities, according to a new report from Doctors Without Borders.
- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday criticized Uganda’s new anti-gay legislation, calling it “atrocious” and drawing parallels to Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa.
Europe
- A German court on Thursday cleared former President Christian Wulff of corruption charges.
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel will address the British parliament on Thursday before meeting with David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and Ed Miliband.
- Italy’s Five Star Movement on Wednesday expelled four senators for criticizing the anti-establishment party’s leader, Beppe Grillo.
Americas
- Hundreds of people marched in support of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman on Thursday in the northwestern Mexican city of Culiacan.
- Pope Francis on Wednesday called on Venezuelans to end the “violence and hostility” and to “promote reconciliation through mutual forgiveness and sincere dialogue.”
- Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate to 10.75 percent from 10.50 percent, halving the pace of rate increases.
Asia
- Thailand’s anti-corruption commission is expected to bring negligence chargesagainst Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Thursday, as protests continue in the capital.
- Prominent Chinese economist and ethnic Uighur Ilham Tohti could face the death penalty after being charged with separatism in China’s Xinjiang region, his lawyer said Wednesday.
- India’s Navy chief, Admiral DK Joshi, resigned on Wednesday after a series of tragic operational accidents.
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-By Ty McCormick
