Russia surprised by Western approach to crisis in Ukraine Russia says it's surprised that a number of European politicians have rushed to support early presidential elections in Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow says the move contradicts an earlier peace deal that envisaged such elections only upon completion of the constitutional reform. Moscow is accusing Western countries of not caring about the fate of Ukraine and of taking a one-sided geopolitical approach. A 3-month campaign for a new election in May has kicked off in Ukraine, after President Victor Yanukovych was ousted by MPs. N. Korea patrol boat violated maritime border: South South Korea says a North Korean patrol boat has repeatedly crossed the disputed Yellow Sea border with the South. Seoul's Defense Ministry says no shots were fired and the patrol boat eventually retreated after warnings from the South Korean navy. The move is seen as an apparent show of force by Pyongyang at the start of South Korea-US military drills. North Korean incursions over the maritime border are not unusual and there were at least three last year. Pentagon chief plans to reduce U.S. army size U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has outlined his priorities for next year's defense budget cuts. The plan includes reducing the size of the U.S. army to its pre-World War II levels, from the current 520 thousand to between 440 to 450 thousand. Cold War-era Air Force fleets including the U-2 spy plane and the A-10 attack jet will also be retired. US active troop figures peaked at 570-thousand following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Afghan security operations kill 76 militants The Afghan government says a total of 76 militants have been killed during a series of military operations conducted since early Monday. The Interior Ministry says the operations spanned nine provinces. Three national police officers were also killed and six wounded. The operations came as the country prepares for the presidential and provincial council elections slated for April 5. Fresh peace talks start in Colombia The Colombian government and the FARC rebel group have begun a new round of peace talks in Havana, focusing on drug trafficking. However, the rebels are blaming the government for spying at the start of the talks. The peace talks began in November 2012, aiming at ending five decades of armed conflict between the government and the armed leftist rebels. The two sides have already discussed agrarian reform and land redistribution, as well as the rebels' participation in politics once they disarm. Japan plan keeps nuclear as key energy source Japan has unveiled its first draft energy policy since the Fukushima meltdowns three years ago, saying nuclear power remains an important source of electricity for the country. The draft says Japan's nuclear energy dependency will be reduced as much as possible, but that reactors meeting new safety standards should be restarted. Japan has 48 commercial reactors, but all are offline until and unless they pass the new safety requirements set after the 2011 nuclear crisis. Mysterious illness hits children in California A rare and mysterious polio-like illness may have afflicted up to 25 children in California, several of whom have suffered limb paralysis. Health experts are struggling to identify the cause of the ailment. Keith Van Haren is a pediatric neurologist at Stanford University. "Our suspicion is that it's a virus, but that's unproven. There are other viruses that can do this. We know it's not polio virus. And the California Department of Public Health as well as other investigators are really hard at work trying to figure out what might be causing this." Since 2012, between 20 and 25 previously healthy children from across California have shown signs of the illness. One of the children remains in serious condition but none have died from the syndrome. China turns up smog alert China has raised the smog alert for its northern and central regions, with heavy smog expected to continue for another two days. The National Meteorological Center is turning up the alert from yellow to orange, the second-highest level. This round of heavy air pollution has persisted since Thursday. In Beijing, an orange alert has been in effect since Friday. So far 147 industrial companies in the city have cut or suspended production. Beijing labor shortage hampers business Beijing is facing an acute labor shortage, with positions in the IT and manufacturing sectors unfilled. Official figures show in the first six months of 2014, Beijing companies will have 556,000 new positions, while the labor supply in the capital is less than half of that. Some experts suggest an imbalance in educational priorities, with a greater focus on academic subjects, as one factor in the labor shortage.