Top news: Crimea’s Moscow-backed parliament on Thursday voted unanimously to join the Russian Federation, setting a 10-day timeframe for a popular referendum on secession and dramatically escalating the international crisis in Ukraine.
The announcement comes as European diplomats gather in Brussels for an emergency summit aimed at ending the standoff over the Black Sea peninsula, which has been occupied by Russian troops since this weekend. Crimea is Ukraine’s only province with an ethnic Russian majority.
In Washington, President Barack Obama responded with an executive order authorizing sanctions and visa restrictions against those “responsible for or complicit in threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.” The EU is likewise considering targeted sanctions against Russia.
In his first interview since taking office, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to deescalate the crisis: “Mr. President, stop this mess,” he told the Associated Press on Wednesday.
War in Afghanistan: NATO forces inadvertently killed at least five Afghan soldiers on Thursday in an airstrike in eastern Afghanistan. A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the “unfortunate incident,” which is likely to further strain U.S.-Afghan relations at a time when the Obama administration is vigorously seeking a bilateral security agreement with Kabul. ISAF said an investigation into the circumstances of the friendly fire incident is underway.
Africa

•  Authorities in Niger on Thursday extradited Saadi Qaddafi, son of Muammar Qaddafi, to Libya, where he will stand trial for his role in suppressing the 2011 revolution.
• Ethiopian and Somali forces on Thursday took control of Rabdhure, a key town in central Somalia, handing al-Shabab its first territorial defeat since September.
• Clashes over delayed salary payments at a military base in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Wednesday left at least five people dead.

Europe

•  The EU on Thursday froze the assets of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and 17 senior members of his government.
•  One in three women in the European Union reported having experienced some form of physical or sexual violence since age 15, according to a new study.
•  Sweden followed Norway, Denmark, and the World Bank on Wednesday in announcing a partial aid cutoff to Uganda over its recent anti-gay legislation.

Middle East

• Tunisia lifted its state of emergency on Wednesday, three years after the uprising that toppled President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
• Israeli’s military on Wednesday seized an Iranian shipment of weapons reportedly destined for Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip.
• The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. on Wednesday slammed the Syrian government via Twitter for refusing to “seriously negotiate” the destruction of its poison gas facilities.

Americas

• Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday severed diplomatic and economic ties with Panama over what he termed a “conspiracy” against Venezuela.
• Former San Jose mayor Johnny Araya abandoned his bid for the Costa Rican presidency on Wednesday, paving the way for leftist candidate Luis Guillermo Solis.
• Clashes on Wednesday between illegal miners and guards at a silver mine in central Mexico left one miner dead.

Asia

• The brother of President Hamid Karzai bowed out of the Afghan presidential race on Thursday, announcing that he will back former Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul.
• Chinese authorities on Wednesday outlined plans to curb environmental pollution.
• The Pakistani government continued peace negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday, despite the killing of six soldiers in the country’s northwest.

-By Ty McCormick