DHAKA: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree recognising Crimea as a sovereign state, paving the way for it to be absorbed into Russia.The decree said it had taken into account Sunday`s referendum in Crimea, in which officials said 97% of voters backed breaking away from

DHAKA: US president Barack Obama imposed sanctions on 11 Russians and Ukrainians on Monday blamed for Russia’s military incursion into Crimea, including two top aides to Russian president Vladimir Putin.Obama’s order freezes any assets in the United States and bans travel to the 11

DHAKA: The US city of Los Angeles was awoken just before dawn on Monday by a relatively powerful magnitude 4.7 earthquake, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.Residents of the Hollywood neighbourhood said they were shaken by the quake, which lasted just a few seconds.Burglar

DHAKA: Malaysia police are looking into possible pilot suicide in their investigation into missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, as it emerged that the last message from the cockpit, believed to be from co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, came around the time that two of the plane’s crucial

DHAKA: Ukraine’s foreign minister denounced Russian ‘provocations’ on Monday, warning of a troop build-up on the border and the presence of ‘political tourists’ in its eastern regions.‘We are very much concerned by the number of Russian troops on the (border),’ Ukraine

DHAKA: The EU has agreed to impose travel bans and asset freezes against 21 officials from Russia and Ukraine, following Sunday’s referendum in Crimea.The individuals affected are seen as having playing a central role in Crimea’s move to break away from Ukraine and join with

DHAKA: Crimea’s separatist leader on Monday said Russia had sent the autonomous republic the equivalent of nearly 295 million euros in ‘financial assistance’, a day after it voted overwhelmingly to split from Ukraine.‘The Russian Federation today gave the republic 15 billion

DHAKA: Chinese vice foreign minister Li Baodong on Monday repeated Beijing’s call for calm and restraint in Ukraine, after Crimea’s Moscow-backed leaders declared a 96-percent vote in favor of quitting Ukraine and annexation by Russia.Li, speaking to reporters ahead of a visit to

DHAKA: European Union foreign ministers will agree asset freezes and travel bans on Russian individuals after Ukraine’s Crimea region voted for annexation by Russia.British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Monday, reports The Jerusalem Post.‘We will agree today, I’m

DHAKA: Russia’s lower house of parliament will pass legislation allowing Ukraine’s southern Crimea region to join Russia ‘in the very near future’.News agency Interfax cited its deputy speaker as saying, reports The Jerusalem Post.‘Results of the referendum in Crimea clearly

DHAKA: Crimea’s separatist parliament on Monday introduced the Russian ruble as a second official currency alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia, after declaring independence following a referendum to break with Ukraine and join Russia.The parliament said in a statement that the hryvnia could

DHAKA: Crimea’s pro-Moscow prime minister Sergiy Aksyonov on Monday said he was leaving for Moscow after the local assembly approved a motion to secede from Ukraine and apply to become part of Russia.‘We are flying to Moscow,’ he tweeted, after local authorities had earlier said a

DHAKA: Ukrainian troops will remain in Crimea, the country’s defence minister said Monday even as media reported the separatist peninsula planned to disband Ukrainian units there.‘Troops that are deployed (in Crimea) will stay there,’ Ukraine defence minister Igor Tenyukh told a

DHAKA: India remains the biggest buyer of arms in the world, importing nearly three times as many weapons as its nearest competitors China and Pakistan over the last five years.A Swedish think tank said on Monday, reports NDTV.The total volume of arms sales was up 14 percent in 2009-13

DHAKA: Crimea’s regional assembly on Monday declared independence from Ukraine and applied to join Russia.The assembly said all Ukrainian state property on the peninsula would be nationalised, reports The Straits Times.‘The republic of Crimea appeals to the United Nations and to all

DHAKA: Malaysia drew a fresh round of scathing criticism from China on Monday over conflicting information on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, with state media and social media users voicing increasing scepticism as the search enters its 10th day.Malaysian prime minister Najib

DHAKA: EU foreign ministers are due to discuss further sanctions against Russia after a Moscow-backed referendum in Crimea backed a split from Ukraine.The 28-member bloc is considering a visa ban and an asset freeze against a number of Russian officials, BBC reported.More than 95% of

DHAKA: Hundreds of 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, reports BBC.On Tuesday, if the restrictions remain

DHAKA: A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Chile`s Pacific coast Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.The quake`s epicenter was 60 kilometers (37 miles) west-northwest of Iquique, Chile, and its depth was 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), the USGS said, reported CNN.There were no immediate

DHAKA: Some 25 countries are now involved in a vast search operation for the missing airliner 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, reports BBC.An already complex