Ukraine premier: Crimea will remain in Ukraine

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk talks with reporters during an interview with the Associated Press in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday March 5, 2014. Yatsenyuk said Wednesday that embattled Crimea must remain part of Ukraine, but may be granted more local powers. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk talks with reporters during an interview with the Associated Press in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday March 5, 2014. Yatsenyuk said Wednesday that embattled Crimea must remain part of Ukraine, but may be granted more local powers. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk talks with reporters during an interview with the Associated Press in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday March 5, 2014. Yatsenyuk said Wednesday that embattled Crimea must remain part of Ukraine, but may be granted more local powers. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk talks with reporters during an interview with the Associated Press in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 5, 2014. Yatsenyuk said Wednesday that embattled Crimea must remain part of Ukraine, but may be granted more local powers. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk talks with reporters during an interview with the Associated Press in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday March 5, 2014. Yatsenyuk said Wednesday that embattled Crimea must remain part of Ukraine, but may be granted more local powers. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

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KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — In his first interview since taking office, Ukraine’s new prime minister vigorously defended the legality of his government against attacks coming from Russia, but said Wednesday that Ukraine would be willing to consider granting more autonomy to the Crimea region to assuage the concerns of the province’s pro-Russian population.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk denied reports that Ukraine is seeking military assistance from the United States.

Since last weekend, Russian troops have taken control of much of the Crimea, a peninsula in the Black Sea where Russian speakers are in the majority.

Yatsenyuk, who took office last week, blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for causing one of the sharpest international crises in Europe since the end of the Cold War — and expressed fears about further possible Russian incursions.

Asked by AP if he was afraid that Russia might send troops to occupy other Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine, Yatsenyuk said: “Let me put it bluntly: yes, it’s still a concern and Russia is to realize its responsibility and Russia is to stick to its international obligation, to stop the invasion.

“Mr. President (Putin), stop this mess,” said Yatsenyuk.

The prime minister, approved by parliament on Feb. 27, also denied a report that cash-strapped Ukraine was negotiating with the United States for deployment of U.S. missile defenses in exchange for financial help.

“This is not true,” Yatsenyuk told the AP. “We have no talks with the government of the United States of America on any kind of deployment of any military forces. The only negotiations we have is to get financial support, financial aid from the United States government in order to stabilize the economic situation in my country. It’s absurd.”

On Tuesday, Putin said Ukraine’s current leaders had come to power as the result of an unconstitutional coup. In the interview, Yatsenyuk blamed Russia’s leader for the ongoing crisis and said Putin was the one acting outside the law.

“A number of military forces of the Russian Federation are deployed in Crimea. We cannot figure out the reason why Russian boots are on Ukrainian ground. And it’s crystal clear that it was ordered personally by President Putin. This is Ukrainian territory and Russia wants to grab control over Crimea. But I will underline again, we will do our best in order to regain control over Ukrainian territory. The Russian military is to be back in the barracks.”

“What happened in Crimea is unconstitutional and resembles … a coup supported by the Russian government and the Russian military,” Yatsenyuk said.

“The Ukrainian government is legitimate. And let me remind Mr. Putin that this government was supported by the constitutional majority of Ukrainian MPs with 371 votes. We are legitimate and we must fulfill our responsibilities. And we strongly recommend to our Russian partners to build up relations with the new Ukrainian government.”

A spokeswoman said it was the prime minister’s first sit-down interview since he assumed the post. Yatsenyuk, who spoke in English, said he hadn’t talked personally to Putin, “but it’s in the interests of our countries to start a dialogue.”

“First we need to stop the invasion and afterward we want Russia to (be) our partners, real partners and to stop this zero-sum game. It is to be a win-win game where both Ukrainian and Russian interests are considered,” he said. “So we urge the Russian government to start real talks with the new Ukrainian government and we ask Russia not to be a neighbor but to become a real partner.”

Yatsenyuk, 39, is a millionaire banker who has served as the economy minister, foreign minister, and then parliament speaker. He unsuccessfully ran for president in 2010. He is viewed as a technocratic reformer and enjoys the support of the United States.

Yatsenyuk said Crimea must remain part of Ukraine, but may be granted more local powers. He said was in favor of establishing a special task force “to consider what kind of additional autonomy the Crimean Republic could get.”

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Kiev to announce $ 1 billion in U.S. assistance to Ukraine in the form of energy subsides. Yatsenyuk told AP the economy of this former Soviet republic “is in a big mess” — but that the new government is taking action to improve things.

“The state treasury is empty. And due to unbelievable and unlimited corruption in my country we cannot collect revenues in order to execute our social obligations, but despite this we have a clear-cut action plan how to tackle economic problems.

“We resumed talks with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF mission is on the ground. A good gesture made by the United States government to support the state of Ukraine with $ 1 billion of guarantees is a first sign that Ukraine could be back on track in terms of economic stability.

“But we need to move further.”

Associated Press

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Ukraine premier: Crimea will remain in Ukraine

Chelsea maintains Premier League lead after late winner

John Terry, right, netted past Tim Howard as Chelsea beat Everton 1-0 in the Premier League.

• Chelsea defeats Everton 1-0 at home thanks to a goal in injury time


• The win puts the Blues four points clear of Arsenal atop the Premier League


• Chelsea rebounds after a loss in the FA Cup and draw in the league

(CNN) — After being humbled by Manchester City in the FA Cup and drawing against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League, Chelsea could hardly afford to drop points against Everton on Saturday.

The Blues didn’t — barely.

And it was the man who has been dubbed ‘Mr. Chelsea,’ the returning John Terry, who struck deep in injury time following a free kick from another Chelsea veteran, Frank Lampard.

Both were re-introduced to the starting lineup by manager Jose Mourinho against a stubborn Everton side chasing a European spot and the 1-0 victory increased Chelsea’s lead atop the table to four points over Arsenal, which played later.

Vintage Chelsea it wasn’t, but the result was all that mattered to the Chelsea skipper.

“We made it difficult but they are a very good side and are playing well under (Everton manager Roberto) Martinez,” Terry, sidelined the previous three games with a muscle injury, told BT Sport. “It was a tough game today. We’re delighted with the win and three points.”

Martinez wasn’t delighted, though.

He felt the free kick — given when Chelsea midfielder Ramires went down — shouldn’t have been given by referee Lee Probert.

“It was one of those situations where players were trying to buy too many free kicks,” Martinez told BT Sport. “You need a strong referee. The second half is a very, very tough game for referee.

“You can see they are trying to get a dead ball situation because they couldn’t get any joy from open play. You can see the reaction and way he loses his footing, it’s not because of contact. He is looking for the free kick.”

For more than 90 minutes, Everton indeed kept Chelsea at bay.

Everton had the better of play in the first half, with Petr Cech saving from Leon Osman and Kevin Mirallas scuffing his shot when in a good position at the edge of the box.

Chelsea could only go one way — up — and keeper Tim Howard foiled Lampard, Eden Hazard and Branislav Ivanovic before Terry’s winner.

“Great ball from Lamps,” said Terry. “I just managed to get a touch on it and I think it came off Howard in the end as well.”

Arsenal and Manchester City, coming off demoralizing 2-0 home defeats to Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the Champions League, respectively, faced Sunderland and Stoke City on Saturday.

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Chelsea maintains Premier League lead after late winner

Australian Premier Calls Election for September 7

CANBERRA — Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called a September 7 general election on Sunday, barely six weeks after he toppled former leader Julia Gillard in a party-room vote, ending a turbulent three years in power for the minority Labor government.

Rudd, who was dumped by his center-left party in June 2010, has generated a spike in public support since he returned but conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott is still favorite to win power.

Rudd’s Labor government could fall with the loss of just one of the 150 seats in parliament. His government currently holds 71 seats, the opposition 72, with one Green and six independent cross benchers.

Abbott’s opposition has promised to scrap an unpopular 30 percent tax on coal and iron ore mine profits, as well as a A$ 24.15/metric ton (1.1023 tons) carbon tax, if he wins power.

Rudd returned as prime minister on June 26 after he toppled Gillard, with a third of Gillard’s cabinet also stepping down.

His party has been in power since late 2007 and helped Australia’s A$ 1.4 trillion economy avoid recession following the 2008 global financial crisis, aided by a prolonged mining boom fuelled by resources demand from China and India.

However, a budget update on Friday showed Australia’s economic growth is slowing as the mining investment boom ends, with unemployment rising and the manufacturing sector in particular shedding jobs.

AMP Capital Investors chief economist Shane Oliver said the election campaign could usher in a quieter period in the economy because Australians usually restrain spending during elections.

“It would be good for confidence to see an end to minority government and to get the election out of the way,” Oliver said, adding a victory for the pro-business opposition parties could also boost business confidence.

HELL OF A FIGHT”

Rudd announced the election date in an email to his supporters, telling them “it’s on”, after visiting Governor-General Quentin Bryce, who is Australia’ head of state, to dissolve the current parliament.

“We’ve got one hell of a fight on our hands,” Rudd said.

The latest polls show Rudd has lifted Labor’s support to give the government a chance of victory, although the respected Newspoll in late July still had Rudd’s Labor Party trailing the opposition by four percentage points, 48 percent to 52 percent.

Analyst Nick Economou said polls have not swung back to Rudd enough to put Labor in a winning position, particularly in marginal seats in the outer suburbs of Australia’s major cities.

“Rudd has undertaken a risky strategy. The polls indicate that Labor has achieved the recovery of previously strong Labor voters. But I’m not sure that Labor’s message is resonating in key marginal seats,” Monash University’s Economou told Reuters.

“I can’t see that he can win.”

Online bookmaker Sportsbet.com, which takes bets in each of the 150 electorates, said current projections had Rudd winning 65 seats and Abbott’s conservatives 82.

Gillard introduced the price on carbon and the mining tax, and strengthened Australia’s defense ties with the United States, although her government was hamstrung by a lack of a parliamentary majority and party infighting.

Abbott has built a strong lead in opinion polls with his campaign to abolish the carbon tax, which he has blamed for pushing up electricity prices and for job losses.

He has also won support for his strong stance against asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat, with refugee policy set to play a leading role in the election.

Since returning to office, Rudd has announced Australia’s toughest measures to deter asylum seekers, announcing anyone who arrives by boat will be sent to either Papua New Guinea or Nauru in the Pacific for processing and resettlement.

The election date means Rudd will miss the G20 summit in St Petersburg on September 5-6, even though Australia will take over as chair of the G20 for the coming year.

(Editing by Paul Tait)

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Australian Premier Calls Election for September 7

Pakistani Premier Says Government Intends to Charge Musharraf With Treason

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Monday that his newly installed government intends to press treason charges against the former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, setting up a potential clash with Pakistan’s powerful military.

In a speech to Parliament on Monday that was sharply critical of the military, Mr. Sharif said that Mr. Musharraf had to answer for his acts during his years in power, comments that drew loud applause from Mr. Sharif’s supporters.

But the government has stopped short of pressing formal charges against Mr. Musharraf because Mr. Sharif says he wants to first consult with the country’s other political parties.

The treason case against Mr. Musharraf is pending in the Supreme Court, and charges have also been pressed in four other cases relating to Mr. Musharraf’s rule from 1999 to 2008. He has remained under house arrest at his villa outside Islamabad since April, shortly after his return from years of exile abroad.

Mr. Musharraf’s treatment has already stirred disquiet in parts of the military, which is uncomfortable at the sight of a former army chief being dragged through the courts, a shocking spectacle in a country where the military has ruled for more than half of its 66-year history.

Under the army’s supreme commander, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani military has largely stayed out of the political process of late.

But a treason charge, based on accusations that Mr. Musharraf subverted the Constitution by imposing emergency rule in late 2007, would considerably raise the ante. Musharraf supporters have hinted that should the charge go ahead, carrying with it the possibility of a death sentence, the army could intervene.

Ahmad Raza Kasuri, a senior aide to Mr. Musharraf, said it would open a “Pandora’s box,” while Mr. Musharraf’s spokesman warned that “the people of Pakistan will not tolerate this circus.”

“It takes the focus away from the serious challenges faced by the nation and could result in unnecessary tension amongst the various pillars of state, and possibly destabilize the country,” said Reza Bokhari, the spokesman.

Mr. Sharif and Mr. Musharraf have a bitter personal history dating back to 1999, when the army ousted Mr. Sharif in a coup, installing Mr. Musharraf as leader and, later, banishing Mr. Sharif into exile in Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Sharif returned to Pakistan in 2007, and his party won a comfortable victory in the May 11 election. Mr. Musharraf, meanwhile, returned from four years in exile to run in the election, only to find himself disqualified and bogged down with legal troubles.

But the treason charges are also being stirred by the Supreme Court, led by the independent-minded Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who is also an old rival of Mr. Musharraf. Some analysts said the judges had forced Mr. Sharif’s hand.

In the Supreme Court on Monday, judges questioned the attorney general about whether the government intended to bring charges. The government asked for 30 days’ leave, but the court instructed it to return to court and provide further details on Thursday.

Critics of the charges argue that Mr. Musharraf was not alone in his actions and that he enjoyed the support of senior officers and civilian officials when he was in power.

Salman Masood reported from Islamabad, and Declan Walsh from Johannesburg.

NYT > Global Home

Pakistani Premier Says Government Intends to Charge Musharraf With Treason

Turkey"s Premier Says It"s His Duty To Crush Protests

Enlarge image i

Protesters climb onto a police truck mounted with a water cannon during clashes with riot police at a demonstration in Ankara on Sunday.

Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

Protesters climb onto a police truck mounted with a water cannon during clashes with riot police at a demonstration in Ankara on Sunday.

Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday defended his order to forcibly evict thousands of anti-government protesters in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, saying that he had simply carried out his “duty” as the nation’s leader.

In a speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters, Erdogan also railed against foreign media coverage and social media amid criticism over his government’s handling of the protests, The Associated Press reports.

On Saturday, riot police backed by armored vehicles sealed off the Taksim Square and lobbed tear gas and fired water cannons to disperse a two-week-old demonstration that began as a protest against the development of the square’s Gezi Park but quickly blossomed into a larger show of people power against Erdogan’s Islamic-leaning government. Although the focus of the protests has been in Istanbul, they’ve spread to other parts of the country, including the capital, Ankara.

The AP says after the protesters in Istanbul were pushed out, crews worked through the night to remove any trace of the sit-in that had been the focus of the strongest challenge to Erdogan during his decade in office.

The AP said:

“Stone-throwing youths and riot police clashed in Istanbul’s Sisli neighborhood next to the Taksim area. Television footage showed police deploying two water cannon trucks against the youths, standing near a flaming barricade blocking the street. Rocks littered the roadway.

…

Protesters set up barricades and plumes of tear gas rose in Istanbul’s streets on Sunday after Turkish riot police rousted the group who had vowed to stay in Gezi Park despite Erdogan’s warnings to leave.”

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Turkey"s Premier Says It"s His Duty To Crush Protests

No German Tanks Please, Hungarian Premier Says

By Veronika Gulyas

MTI/MTVA Tibor Illes

Viktor Orban at Friday morning’s radio interview

Hungary’s Premier Viktor Orban detested a play of words by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday by saying Hungary wants no German cavalry to be sent to Hungary.

“Germany [at one instance] sent its cavalry to Hungary in the form of tanks. Please don’t send them again. That wasn’t a good idea then. It didn’t work out,” Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a radio interview on Friday.

The mention of cavalry echoes an earlier debate between Ms. Merkel and her political contender, former German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck, who is Germany’s Social Democratic Party candidate for Chancellor of Germany in the 2013 federal elections. Ms. Merkel represents Christian Democrats in the race.

“We should not always send out cavalry,” Ms. Merkel said Thursday, in response to Mr. Steinbrueck’s criticism of Hungary, who said he wouldn’t “exclude the possibility that Hungary has to leave the EU.”

Ms. Merkel was referring to Mr. Steinbrueck’s comment from back in his ministerhood. He then criticized Switzerland for its banking secrecy, saying in the past one may have sent in the cavalry to tackle such a problem.

Hungary is widely criticized for its constitutional overhaul. Many critics, such as the European Union and the U.S. say a recent legal change curbs the powers of the constitutional court and threatens the rule of law in the country.

The European Parliament has been discussing ways how Hungary could amend these issues. The Parliament will hold a debate in June based on a report by Rui Tavares, the body’s rapporteur for fundamental rights.

After Mr. Tavares’ report was published earlier in May, the EP’s Liberal Group recommended that the EU initiate proceedings against Hungary under Article 7 of the EU Treaty. This article allows suspending voting rights if a member country’s actions pose a clear risk of a breach of the EU’s common values, or if a member state is in serious breach of those values.

Ms. Merkel on Thursday said changes need to be made where Hungary’s constitutional reforms aren’t in accordance with European treaties.

Answering a question whether Hungary should be excluded from the EU, she said: “We shouldn’t be talking about exclusion; then we have no influence anymore.”

(Susann Kreutzmann in Berlin contributed to this article)

Emerging Europe Real Time

No German Tanks Please, Hungarian Premier Says

China Premier Li Keqiang in India

19 May 2013 Last updated at 02:44 ET

India has welcomed the Chinese premier’s decision to make it his first foreign stop since taking office in March

China’s Premier Li Keqiang is travelling to India in the first stop of his maiden foreign trip since taking office.

Upon his arrival in Delhi, Premier Li will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, followed by dinner at the Indian leader’s residence.

Border tensions and trade ties are expected to be among the issues discussed by the two men.

The neighbours are the world’s two most populous countries.

Beijing hopes the visit will help build trust and a new strategic partnership to the benefit of both countries, China’s official news agency Xinhua said.

Delhi thought “very highly” of Mr Li’s decision to make India his first foreign stop and the aim of the talks was to “enhance trust”, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said.

A decades-long border dispute flared up last month after India accused Chinese troops of crossing the countries’ de facto border in the Himalayas.

The dispute over the territory in the Ladakh region has dogged the two countries since the 1950s.

Boosting trade ties is also expected to dominate the talks. China is already one of India’s top trading partners and both countries have already agreed a new $ 100bn (£65bn) bilateral trade target for 2015.

Premier Li will spend three days in India before travelling on to Pakistan, Switzerland and Germany.

BBC News – Asia

China Premier Li Keqiang in India