介绍:
U.S. not to recognize Crimean referendum: Obama
US President Barack Obama says the United States will not recognize the Crimean referendum, vowing to impose fresh sanctions on Russia.
He told Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone that the vote in Crimea violated the Ukrainian constitution and was conducted under duress of Russian military intervention.
Preliminary results of the Crimean vote show 95.5 percent of voters are in favor of rejoining Russia.
For his part, Putin told Obama that the referendum fully complied with the international law.
Put has earlier made clear Moscow would respect the choice of the Crimean people.
As part of the US response, Washington has canceled trade talks and military exchanges with Russia, and Obama has authorized visa bans and assets freeze on some Russians and Ukrainians blamed for Moscow's military takeover of Crimea.
Malaysia asks more countries to help assist search efforts
25 nations are now involved in a vast search operation for the missing Malaysian plane that disappeared over a week ago.
This comes following word from Malaysian authorities the missing plane had its radar and transponder intentionally turned off shortly after taking off.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has confirmed the plane turned around after the radar and transponder were shut down, then turned west back over Malaysia before disappearing.
As such, authorities have now expanded the search grid into the southern Indian Ocean and along a track heading into Central Asia.
Malaysian acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.
"At this stage both the northern and southern corridors are being treated with equal importance. We're asking countries that have satellite assets including the US, China and France, amongst others, to provide further satellite data."
He says the new search phase focuses on large tracts of land, crossing 11 countries, as well as deep and remote oceans.
Meanwhile, crew, passengers and ground staff are being investigated after it was confirmed the jet was commandeered.
Strong quake jolts Chile's North, no major damage
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Chile on Sunday evening, triggering a brief evacuation of part of the coastal area.
But it caused no injuries or significant damage.
The tremor hit in the ocean about 60 kilometers to the northwest of the port city of Iquique, at a depth of 20 kilometers.
The city was hammered by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake in 2005 which injured over a hundred people and left 11 dead.
Palestinians call on Abbas not to surrender to Obama's pressure
A number of Palestinian factions are calling on President Mahmoud Abbas to maintain his resolve in his meeting later on this Monday with US President Barack Obama at the White House.
A number of leading Palestinian groups, including Hamas which controls the West Bank, are pleading with Abbas not to surrender to any pressure Obama may put on him when it comes to any extension of the current peace talks.
The current window for negotiations, established by the US-side in brokering the current round of peace talks, is set to expire at the end of April.
Syria launches missiles into Lebanon's border town
The Syrian air force has launched an air assault into Lebanese territory.
It's being reported Syrian jets have launched several air-to-ground missiles at a mountain pass which is known to be a transit point for smugglers and an escape route for Syrian rebel forces.
The results of the Syrian air force raid remains unclear.
The area where the assault took place is also home to around 50-thousand Syrian refugees.
Meanwhile, Turkey has scrambled a pair of jets to intercept a pair of Syrian fighter jets near its borders.
No shots were fired, as the Syrian jets turned away just over two miles away from the Turkish border.
China, South Korea start 10th FTA talks
China and South Korea have begun their 10th round of negotiation on the bilateral free trade agreement in Ilsan, north of Seoul.
The talks, scheduled to last until Friday, focus on such areas as goods, service and investment trade and intellectual property.
The two sides completed the first stage of the FTA talks in early September, tentatively agreeing to abolish tariffs on 90 percent of all products.
China unveils landmark urbanization plan
China has unveiled its first-ever national-level urbanization roadmap.
The new document places a focus on "human-centered and environmentally friendly" development.
The National New-type Urbanization Plan contends urbanization serves as a strong engine for sustainable and healthy economic growth.
The latest government figures show the urbanization ratio in China currently sits at 53.7-percent, far lower than the 80-percent average of developed countries.
The new plan has set a target of creating an urbanization ratio of 60 percent by 2020.
