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From Washington, this is VOA news. Major economic powers suspend Russia from the Group of 8 bloc, and Ukraine orders a total military pullout from the Crimean peninsula. I'm Michael Lipin reporting from Washington.
President Barack Obama and leaders of other major economic powers have agreed to suspend Russia from a major international coalition in response to its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. Mr. Obama met with the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Canada and Japan and the Netherlands on Monday. Together those nations make up the Group of 7 industrialized economies. In a joint statement, the G7 leaders said they were suspending Russia's participation in the expanded Group of 8 industrial nations until Moscow changes course on Ukraine. Ukraine's interim government has ordered its troops to withdraw completely from Crimea, where Russian forces have taken control of major Ukrainian military installations in recent days. Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, said he ordered the pullout in response to Russian threats against the lives of Ukrainian service members and their families. Ukrainian leaders also fear Russia will try to occupy parts of their country's mainland. VOA correspondent Steve Herman reports from Kyiv. While there are hopes that an emergency Group of 7 meeting in The Hague can use diplomacy to defuse the crisis, Ukrainian officials say their country's northern, southern and eastern borders are increasingly under threat but their military is ready to defend the homeland. Ukraine National Security and Defense Council Secretary Andriy Parubiy says there are about 100,000 members of Russia's military poised along Ukraine borders. The cabinet minister contends that despite assurances from Russian officials that they are engaged in routine drills, in reality those forces are on full alert. Parubiy also says the interim government has given Russia an ultimatum to free Ukrainian officers who are being held in Crimea after Russian forces seized nearly 200 Ukrainian military installations. Steve Herman, VOA news, Kyiv. Malaysia says a new analysis of satellite data indicates its missing passenger jet crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. Malaysian authorities made the announcement on Monday, saying they believe there were no survivors from the 239 people where were on board the Malaysia Airlines plane that vanished on March 8th. The news came as an Australian Navy ship tried to locate several objects seen by aircraft searching for the missing plane in Indian Ocean waters, southwest of Australia. The United States has criticized an Egyptian court's decision to impose death sentences against 529 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood movement, calling the moving shocking. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said Monday it seems impossible that the hundreds of defendants could be tried in accordance with international standards in only two days. VOA's Elizabeth Arrott has more from Cairo. The condemned were convicted of killing a policeman, attacking others and destroying property. The sentencing came after just two court sessions and before the defendants lawyers say they were permitted to make their case. The majority was condemned in absentia, with fewer than 200 of those on trial in court, 16 suspects were acquitted. An appeal is permitted, and given the rushed circumstances of the trial, human rights and legal experts believe the verdict is unlikely to stand. Even members of the government-linked National Council for Human Rights condemned the verdict. Member Nasser Amin wrote on Twitter the court ruling "will be overturned as soon as the defendants demand a retrial." Elizabeth Arrott, VOA news, Cairo. An investigative reporter has helped Ghana's police to break up a forced prostitution ring in the African nation and rescue six Vietnamese women. The ring, allegedly run by two Chinese men, was broken up this month thanks in part to the reporting of local newspaper, The New Crusading Guide. And week four of the Oscar Pistorius trial began on Monday with police reading text messages from the athlete's girlfriend who said she sometimes was afraid of Pistorius. Police say Reeva Steenkamp sent a message less than three weeks before Pistorius fatally shot her. They said the message was, "I'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and of how you will react to me." You can find more on those stories by checking our website at voanews.com. That's where we're updating the news from around the world 24 hours a day. I'm Michael Lipin reporting from Washington. |