Russia threatens Ukraine as ousted president missing

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine's ousted president remained in hiding Monday with a mass murder arrest warrant on his head as Russia said the turmoil in Ukraine represented a threat to its own citizens. Viktor Yanukovych was last seen in the pro-Russia region of Crimea on Sunday when he relinquished his official security detail and shirt down communications, Interior Minister Arsen Avakhov said. He said Yanukovych and his aides were all being investigated for murder in anti-government protests in which more than 100 died.

 Meanwhile, the parliament in Kiev set new elections of May, well ahead of the December ones that Yanukovych had agreed to, and it reached out to Europe and the West for financial assistance for its ailing economy. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met Monday with Ukraine parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchinov, the country's acting president who said he hoped to form a unity government by Tuesday to calm a nation jittery over Russian threats and angry about an apparent lavish lifestyle led by the ousted regime. "I wish he would be punished for all he did, all the blood he shed," said grandmother Tamara Pokyska, who was lining up to board a bus for a tour of Yanukovych's compound near Kiev. "I was here from the first day and I was here with my grandson when they burned the square and I can't forget it," she said, crying. "He should be executed," said Stanislaw Castaca, a volunteer at a clothes distribution point for protesters. "But we should also thank him – he united the people in different regions – places that don't normally get along – against him." Russia Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev questioned the legitimacy of the new Ukrainian authorities on Monday and alleged that the new regime in Ukraine came to power as a result of "armed mutiny."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/24/ukraine-yanukovych-arrest-warrant/5772717/

Ukraine explodes in violence

KIEV, Ukraine — Weeks of calm were shattered Tuesday when protesters clashed with police outside parliament over the delay of a reform bill, leaving several dead and the police promising "severe measures" if demonstrations do not halt. Government troops attacked a protest camp and fired stun grenades and gunshots at thousands of marchers, killing at least nine people, said opposition lawmaker Lesya Orobets. Six police officers have been killed as well, says the government. The pop of grenades could be heard and clouds of tear gas and smoke from burning cars and trucks filled the streets. Tents from the camp were set on fire. "This is crazy, it's like a real war – they are going to kill each other," said protester Liudmila Mazur, 50, as she watched about 100 protesters attack a police barricade that blocked the way to parliament. "I don't know if there is another way now as the government understands only force. When we were protesting peacefully, they didn't hear us. I just hope people won't get hurt," Mazur said.

 The clash began after parliament delayed Tuesday's session scheduled to take up the issue of constitutional reform that would limit presidential powers. Thousands of people marched toward the parliament building to put pressure on lawmakers, shouting, "Shame!" The violence followed a compromise reached over the weekend in which protesters agred to vacate a city hall they had occupied for more than two months in exchange for the release of jailed protesters. Ukrainian authorities issued an ultimatum threatening "severe measures." "If the troubles here don't stop by 6 p.m., we will be obliged to restore order by any legal means," the government stated. "This is the most dramatic period in the history of Ukraine since independence," opposition leader Arseni Jazenjuk said. "The Ukrainian people are fighting for their freedom and liberty and we will fight until victory."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/18/ukraine-opposition-protests-kiev/5575711/

U.N. Panel Says North Korean Leader Could Face Trial

GENEVA — A United Nations panel has served notice to Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, that he may be personally held liable in court for crimes against humanity committed by state institutions and officials under his direct control. A letter conveying this notice is part of a report by the panel to the United Nations Human Rights Council, released Monday after a yearlong investigation. The report is viewed by rights activists not only as the most detailed and authoritative body of data on the state of human rights in North Korea, but also as a milestone in the international debate on one of the world’s most reclusive and isolated countries. In the letter, dated Jan. 20, the panel chairman, the retired Australian judge Michael Donald Kirby, summarized the investigation’s findings of crimes against humanity committed by officials that could be inferred to be acting under Mr. Kim’s personal control.

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/18/world/asia/un-panel-says-north-korean-leader-could-face-trial.html

Syria peace talks failure spurs U.S.-Russia recriminations

(Reuters) - The United States accused Damascus on Monday of paralyzing Geneva peace negotiations, while Russia denied that and said nations backing Syrian rebels were leaning toward trying to end the civil war on the battlefield rather than in talks. A second round of talks in Geneva broke up on Saturday with chief mediator Lakhdar Brahimi lamenting a failure to advance much beyond agreement on an agenda for a third round later.

 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said President Bashar al-Assad's government was behind the impasse, aided and abetted by Russia and other allies of Damascus. "The regime stonewalled. They did nothing except continue to drop barrel bombs on their own people and continue to destroy their own country. And I regret to say they are doing so with increased support from Iran, from Hezbollah and from Russia," he said in Jakarta during a trip to Asia and the Middle East. Kerry appeared to be trying to tighten diplomatic pressure on Assad to reach a political settlement that would end government attacks on rebel-held areas and relieve the plight of tens of thousands of Syrians cut off from humanitarian aid. Pressing Moscow to wring a more flexible stance from Assad, he said: "Russia needs to be a part of the solution", rather than helping the Syrian leader with arms and other support.

 In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hit back, citing "evidence that certain sponsors of the opposition are starting to create a new structure" bringing in Assad foes who have left the main opposition National Coalition. "In other words, a course is being set to move away from the negotiations track and once again place bets on a military scenario," Lavrov said at a joint news conference after talks with his Eritrean counterpart. He also faulted the United States for failing to ensure the presence of a broadly representative opposition delegation at the Geneva talks, saying that Russia had done its part in getting Assad's government to the table. "Russia is always being urged to make more of an effort to resolve the Syrian conflict," Lavrov said. "When we hear that Russia must take some steps, it's necessary to remember one simple truth: We have done everything we promised."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/17/us-syria-crisis-idUSBREA1G0R420140217

Iran general says US is heading for collapse

Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan was quoted by the Iranian Fars news agency warning Washington against any military action against Iran, and predicting that US was moving toward a final collapse.

 “Based on the remarks of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei), the ‘world arrogance’ is moving on a historical twist,” he said in an address, referring to the US. “And if it repeats its wrong method against Iran, it will no doubt have no destiny, but decomposition like the Soviet Union.” The remarks, the latest in a series of belligerent comments by prominent Iranian figures, came two days before Iran and world powers begin talks aimed at transforming an interim deal into a long-term accord on Iran’s rogue nuclear program. Last week, Iran’s chief of staff Hassan Firouzabadi warned the Islamic republic’s foes that Iran was prepared for a “decisive battle” if attacked.

 “We are ready for the decisive battle with America and the Zionist regime (Israel),” Fars news agency quoted Firouzabadi as saying. He also warned neighboring nations not to allow any attack to be launched on Iran from their soil. “We do not have any hostility toward regional states, but if we are ever attacked from the American bases in the region we will strike that area back,” he said. Washington has many military bases in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

 US Secretary of State John Kerry said late last month that if diplomacy with Iran fails, “the military option of the United States is ready and prepared to do what it would have to do.” But Firouzabadi accused the US of bluffing. “Over the past decade, they brought their forces but came to the conclusion that they can’t attack us, and left,” he said, dismissing the US military threat as nothing but a “political bluff.”

 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that the West should not have any delusions about using a military option. “I say explicitly, if some have delusions of having any threats against Iran on their tables, they need to wear new glasses. There is no military option against Iran on any table in the world,” he said. And last Sunday, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy Commander Ali Fadavi said the US knows that its aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf would be sunk if it launched a military strike on Iran. “The Americans can sense by all means how their warships will be sunk with 5,000 crews and forces in combat against Iran and how they should find its hulk in the depths of the sea,” said Fadavi, according to Fars. “They cannot hide themselves in the sea since the entire Middle East region, Western Europe, the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz are monitored by us and there is no place for them to hide.”

 Read more: http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-general-says-us-is-heading-for-collapse/

Rouhani blasts U.S. for “rude and offensive” ongoing threat

DUBAI -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hit out on Tuesday at Western assertions that a military solution to a nuclear dispute with Tehran remained an option and pledged that Tehran would press on “forever” with what he called peaceful atomic research. In a speech marking the 35th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Rouhani also attacked economic sanctions imposed by the West as “brutal, illegal and wrong” and said countries in the region had nothing to fear from Iran. Iran's military test-fired two new domestically made missiles on Monday, a gesture of national resolve ahead of talks next week with world powers to try to reach an agreement on curbing Tehran's nuclear programme. Rouhani said Western officials continued to argue that if such efforts came to nothing, there was always the option of using military force against its nuclear facilities. “I say explicitly to those delusional people who say the military option is on the table, that they should change their glasses ... Our nation regards the language of threat as rude and offensive,” he said. “I want to expressly announce that the movement of the Iranian nation towards the peaks of scientific and technical progress and advancement, including peaceful nuclear technology, will be forever,” he added.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-leader-hassan-rouhani-blasts-us-for-rude-and-offensive-ongoing-threat-of-military-action/

The U.S. Won't Save Israel From Iran

Many consider the Geneva negotiations over Iran to be a betrayal of Israel by America. Yes, it certainly is a betrayal. But is anyone really surprised? It should surprise no one that President Barack Obama didn't have Israel's back -- he has too many personal associations with Israel-haters to make him a reliable ally. But more fundamentally, it should surprise no one that an American president doesn't have Israel's back. American presidents have routinely ignored Israel's security needs, or turned on Israel, when doing so served American political interests. Americans look after American interests and if Israel's vital interests clash with American interests of the day, Americans will look after their own needs.

In every war involving Israel, the Arab states were the aggressors yet in every war, the Israelis knew they were fighting not only against the Arabs on the battlefield but against the U.S. diplomatically. The U.S. pressured Israel, generally successfully, to stop its military advances and to give up war gains. The U.S. under President Ronald Reagan opposed Israel's decision to destroy Saddam Hussein's Osirak nuclear reactor, and when Israel went ahead in 1981 Reagan embargoed delivery of F-16 fighters to punish Israel. The U.S. under President George H Bush insisted that Israel not retaliate against Iraq when Saddam Hussein launched 39 Scud missiles into Israel. The U.S. under President George W Bush opposed Israel's decision to destroy Syria's nuclear reactor, which Israel did anyway, and it opposed an Israeli military strike on Iran. The U.S. has historically been strongly predisposed against Israeli military action. Israel is on its own. The stars are aligned for a unilateral attack.

FULL STORY
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/lawrence-solomon/israel-iran_b_4771465.html

‘Death to Israel!' Iran Marks Islamic Revolution

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Iranians are celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians are rallying in Tehran, shouting the same old chants of "Down with the U.S." and "Death to Israel." Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted Iran for sending warships close to U.S. maritime borders. Netanyahu said the move shows that easing economic sanctions on Iran hasn't stopped its aggression. "The international easing of the sanctions against Iran has not led Iran to moderate its international aggression," Netanyahu told cabinet ministers at the weekly meeting. "The complete opposite has occurred." The Iranian fleet consists of a destroyer and a supply ship.

They're carrying an estimated 30 naval academy cadets for training along with the regular crews. Iran said the move is in response to the U.S. Navy's deployment near its own coastlines. "Iran's military fleet is approaching the United States' maritime borders and this move has a message," said Adm. Afshin Rezayee Haddad, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported. Last Friday, Iranian state-run television broadcast a documentary entitled, "Nightmare of a Vulture," featuring simulated attacks on Tel Aviv and Haifa and the USS Abraham Lincoln in response to a military attack on its nuclear facilities. "Anybody who thinks of attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran should be prepared to receive strong slaps and iron fists from the armed forces," Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says in footage taken from a 2011 speech to naval cadets. "And America, its regional puppets and its guard dog -- the Zionist regime -- should know that the response of the Iranian nation to any kind of aggression, attacks, or even threats will be a response that will make them collapse from within," he warned.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2014/February/Netanyahu-Iran-Sanctions-Relief-Backfiring/

Iran ready for 'decisive battle' with U.S. and Israel

Iran's Chief of Staff, General Hassan Firouzabadi, said Wednesday that Iran is ready for a "decisive battle" with the U.S. and Israel, and dismissed threats against Tehran as "political bluffing." “We are ready for the decisive battle against the U.S. and the Zionist regime,” the commander said, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. “If any war is launched against Iran, we won’t give any ground to the enemy and they themselves know this very well," he said. According to Fars, he stressed that Tehran has made sure it is prepared for this "battle" against Washington and Tel Aviv by "staging different war games."

 Iran's enemies have been preparing themselves to invade Iran, Fars cited the commander as saying, "They even moved their troops to the region, but eventually came to the conclusion that they lack the ability (to wage war on Iran) and left the region," he said. He went on to describe U.S. and Israeli threats against Iran as "just political bluffing." "Yet," he continued, "We warn that if an attack is launched on our troops from any territory, we will invade all the positions of the enemy." “If we are targeted from the U.S. bases in the region, we will hit those bases," he said.

 On Saturday, Fars reported that Iranian warships were "approaching the U.S. maritime borders." The move was reportedly meant to send "a message" to the Obama Administration. The Pentagon said on Monday it was unconcerned by the announcement, noting that lots of countries operated in international waters in the Atlantic. The Pentagon has no information the ships are approaching the Atlantic yet, spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said, adding that "to our knowledge, this is an announcement only at this point." "We are not concerned about their announcement to send ships into the Atlantic. As I said earlier, freedom of the seas applies to every nation," Warren said. He said if Iranian ships do head into the Atlantic, "they should not be surprised to find many other navies also sailing in the Atlantic."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.573868

Diplomacy is failing in Syria, Obama acknowledges

The Obama administration acknowledged Tuesday that diplomacy, the main pillar of its Syria policy, is failing even as civil war is destroying the country, leaving open the question of what the United States will or can do to stop the slaughter. Negotiations between the Syrian government and parts of the opposition are “far from achieving” a peaceful end to the conflict, President Obama said, and in Geneva, the United Nations envoy leading the talks said they aren’t getting anywhere. “With each passing day, more people inside of Syria are suffering,” Obama said. “The state of Syria itself is crumbling. That is bad for Syria. It is bad for the region. It is bad for global national security, because what we know is, is that there are extremists who have moved into the vacuum in certain portions of Syria in a way that could threaten us over the long term.” The president’s dire assessment, and an acknowledged dearth of policy options, created one of the most dismal pictures to date of Syria’s violent disintegration and the administration’s inability to affect events. Obama ruled out direct U.S. military intervention, at least for now, but offered no new substitute to address a crisis he called heartbreaking and risky for the entire Middle East.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/diplomacy-is-failing-in-syria-obama-acknowledges/2014/02/11/822065e6-935c-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html

Iran says warships to approach US borders

An Iranian naval officer has said a number of warships had been ordered to approach US maritime borders as a response to the stationing of US vessels in the Gulf, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "Iran's military fleet is approaching the United States' maritime borders, and this move has a message," the agency quoted Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad as saying on Saturday. Haddad, who is described as the commander of the Iranian navy's northern fleet, said the vessels had started their voyage towards the Atlantic Ocean via "waters near South Africa", Fars reported. Fars said the plan was part of "Iran's response to Washington's beefed up naval presence in the Persian Gulf".

 The report, which carried no details of the vessels, could not be confirmed independently. The Reuters news agency quoted an anonymous US defence official as casting doubt on the Iranian claims. But the official added that "ships are free to operate in international waters". The US and regularlys stage naval exercises in the Gulf, saying it wants to ensure freedom of navigation in the waterway, through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports passes. The US bases its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Iranian officials have often said Iran could block the Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Gulf, if it was attacked over its disputed nuclear programme. Fars said the Iranian navy had been developing its presence in international waters since 2010, regularly deploying vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates. Missile tests Hard-line Iranian MPs meanwhile have accused the president, Hassan Rouhani, of halting a scheduled missile exercise, the state news agency said Sunday. IRNA reported that 24 members of parliament said in a statement that the Supreme National Security Council, headed by the president, stopped the annual test and did not approve its budget. Hard-liners are at odds with Rouhani and his foreign minister, Javad Zarif, over their policy of outreach to the West.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/02/iran-says-warships-sailing-towards-us-borders-20142942033302719.html

Attempted Hijacking of Turkey-Bound Plane to Sochi

A passenger aboard a commercial airline flight from Ukraine to Turkey tried to hijack it to Sochi, Russia, on Friday after the Winter Olympics had started there but the plane landed safely in Istanbul, Turkish news reports said. The passenger, who was not identified, claimed to be armed with a bomb, the Turkish television stations NTV and CNNTurk quoted a Transport Ministry undersecretary, Habib Soluk, as saying. It was not immediately clear whether the passenger had been forcibly subdued or whether a bomb or other explosive was aboard. The aircraft was identified as a Pegasus Airlines flight from Kharkov, Ukraine. Television footage showed a Pegasus flight arriving in Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen airport. “While the plane was in the air, one of the passengers said that there was a bomb on board and asked the plane to not land in Sabiha Gokcen but rather to land in Sochi,” Mr. Soluk was quoted as saying. The Russian authorities have imposed intense security on the Winter Olympics because of the threat of terrorist attacks on the games, which began on Thursday and last through Feb. 23.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/world/europe/attempted-hijacking-of-turkey-bound-plane-reported.html


Turkey scrambled a jet fighter Friday to force down an airliner from Ukraine after a would-be hijacker on board brandishing a detonator ordered it to Sochi where the Winter Olympic opening ceremony was underway, Turkish officials said. A Turkish F-16 made the plane, from Turkey’s Pegasus airline and carrying 110 people, land in Istanbul. The hijacker was believed to be a Ukrainian man, according to Turkish media. Outlets reported that he was overpowered and security forces were on the plane. Habib Soluk, deputy Turkish transport ministry, said that the man was holding a detonator as he tried to get to the cockpit and claimed there was a bomb on board.“We are sure that he didn’t enter the cockpit. We know that the aircraft was hijacked before it entered Turkish airspace,” Mr Soluk said.

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/world/story/hijack-attempt-ukraine-turkey-airliner-report-20140208

Officials downplay Sochi security concerns

Just hours before the start of the opening ceremony in the Sochi Winter Olympics, senior Russian government officials insisted security fears are unfounded -- practically guaranteeing it has done everything possible to make sure the games are as safe as possible. Dmitry Kozak, a Russian deputy prime minister, told reporters in Sochi that Russian security forces were working with colleagues from Europe and North America to minimize the risk of a terrorist attack at the games, which officially started on Thursday, Sky News reported. "There is no reason to believe that the level of danger in Sochi is greater than at any other point on the planet, be it Boston, London, New York or Washington," he was quoted as saying. IOC President Thomas Bach said Friday that things are going smoothly in Sochi with only a "small hiccup here or there" heading into Friday night's opening ceremony. The International Olympic Committee held its first daily coordination commission meeting Friday with Sochi organizers to review operations. Bach told the IOC assembly "everything is going pretty smoothly." He adds that "as always in the first days of the games, there is a small hiccup here or there, but nothing really substantial so far." He did not say what those problems were. Bach said the IOC is looking toward Friday night "full of anticipation and excitement and hope that we will have a great opening ceremony for a great Olympic Games."

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/02/07/officials-downplay-sochi-olympics-security-worries-ahead-opening-ceremony/

Russia Claims U.S. Meddling Over Ukraine

The tense Russian-American jockeying over the fate of Ukraine escalated on Thursday as a Kremlin official accused Washington of “crudely interfering” in the former Soviet republic, while the Obama administration blamed Moscow for spreading an intercepted private conversation between two American diplomats. An audiotape of the conversation appeared on the Internet and opened a window into American handling of the political crisis here, as the two diplomats candidly discussed the composition of a possible new government to replace the pro-Russian cabinet of Ukraine’s president, Viktor F. Yanukovych.

It also turned the tables on the Obama administration, which has been under fire lately for spying on foreign leaders. The developments on the eve of the Winter Olympics opening in Sochi, Russia, underscored the increasingly Cold War-style contest for influence here as East and West vie for the favor of a nation of 45 million with historic ties to Moscow but a deep yearning to join the rest of Europe. The tit for tat has been going on since November, when Mr. Yanukovych spurned a trade deal with Europe and accepted a $15 billion loan from Moscow. Months of street protests have threatened his government, and American officials are now trying to broker a settlement — an effort the Kremlin seems determined to block.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/world/europe/ukraine.html

Syria misses chemical weapons handover deadline

Syria on Wednesday missed a deadline to hand over all the toxic materials it declared to the world's chemical weapons watchdog, putting the program several weeks behind schedule and jeopardizing a final June 30 deadline. At the same time, opposition activists say the Syrian air force is attacking the country's biggest city, Aleppo, with barrel bombs, forcing many to flee. Turkey was turning away some of those refugees because camps were now full. Under a deal reached in October between Russia and the United States, which helped avert a U.S.-led missile strike against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, Syria agreed to give up its entire stockpile of chemical weapons by February 5.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/us-syria-crisis-chemical-idUSBREA140K820140205

peace doves attacked at Vatican

VATICAN CITY - Two white doves that were released by children standing alongside Pope Francis as a peace gesture have been attacked by other birds. As tens of thousands of people watched in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, a seagull and a large black crow swept down on the doves right after they were set free from an open window of the Apostolic Palace. One dove lost some feathers as it broke free from the gull. But the crow pecked repeatedly at the other dove. It was not clear what happened to the doves as they flew off. While speaking at the window beforehand, Francis had appealed for peace in Ukraine, where anti-government protesters have died. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-peace-doves-attacked-at-vatican/

IRAN- nuke deal possible in six months

(Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Mohammad Zarif said on Monday a final deal with world powers on Tehran's nuclear program is possible within six months if there is good will and he was not worried about the U.S. Congress trying to impose new sanctions. U.S. President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address last week to veto any legislation that threatens the talks with Iran. U.S. senators including some of Obama's Democrats have co-sponsored a bill that would impose new restrictions on Iran if talks on a permanent accord falter. But Iran has warned that it will walk away from negotiations - raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East - if the bill becomes law. It is now stalled in the Senate. "With good will we can reach an agreement within six month," he said in a speech to the German Council on Foreign Relations. "I don't fear a decision in the U.S. Congress ... The U.S. president has promised to veto it."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/03/us-iran-nuclear-zarif-idUSBREA120MP20140203