13:18
17.5.2014
13:21
17.5.2014
"Even cats voted in the Donetsk Peoples' Republic referendum."
13:38
17.5.2014
From RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:
"Central Electroral Commission says it has registered more than 500 observers for presidential election."
"Central Electroral Commission says it has registered more than 500 observers for presidential election."
13:41
17.5.2014
13:45
17.5.2014
More on separatist authorities in Donetsk seeking to join Russia. This via Itar-Tass:
DONESTSK, May 17 (Itar-Tass) - Donetsk People's Republic has prepared a query for allowing it to accede Russia.
"Our industry is linked with Russia. If we maintain close economic relations with Russia, the Donetsk People's Republic economy will develop," the Donetsk People's Republic Prime Minister, Alexander Borodai said on Saturday.
"The query will be sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry after the republic's government is formed. The official draft has been prepared. It is timely to talk about the concrete date for sending the query," the
Donetsk People's Republic press service told Itar-Tass.
Earlier, on May 12, the Donetsk People's Republic asked Moscow to consider its accession into Russia.
"We, the people of Donetsk, based on results of the May 11 referendum and the declaration of sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic, declare that from now on DPR is now a sovereign state," Republic Co-Chairman Denis Pushilin said.
"Given the will of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic, and in order to restore historical justice, we ask Russia to consider the issue of our republic's accession into the Russian Federation," he said.
"Our industry is linked with Russia. If we maintain close economic relations with Russia, the Donetsk People's Republic economy will develop," the Donetsk People's Republic Prime Minister, Alexander Borodai said on Saturday.
"The query will be sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry after the republic's government is formed. The official draft has been prepared. It is timely to talk about the concrete date for sending the query," the
Donetsk People's Republic press service told Itar-Tass.
Earlier, on May 12, the Donetsk People's Republic asked Moscow to consider its accession into Russia.
"We, the people of Donetsk, based on results of the May 11 referendum and the declaration of sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic, declare that from now on DPR is now a sovereign state," Republic Co-Chairman Denis Pushilin said.
"Given the will of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic, and in order to restore historical justice, we ask Russia to consider the issue of our republic's accession into the Russian Federation," he said.
13:47
17.5.2014
This just in from AFP:
SIMFEROPOL, May 17, 2014 (AFP) - Leaders of Crimea's Tatar community on Saturday called off a ceremony to commemorate 70 years since their deportation by Stalin, after an official ban and fears of unrest.
Tensions have risen between local authorities and the Tatars -- Turkic-speaking Muslims who make up about 12 percent of Crimea's population -- since Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in March.
In a statement on its website the Tatar assembly, the Mejlis, said it had decided to cancel Sunday's ceremony in the regional capital Simferopol.
"No mass rallies will take place in the centre of Simferopol," it said, calling instead for Tatars to gather at religious centres and for smaller ceremonies at the railway station and a city park.
Authorities in Crimea had on Friday banned all public gatherings until June 6 amid fears they would descend into violence.
Tens of thousands usually gather in central Simferopol for the rally, marking the day on May 18, 1944, when Soviet secret police began shipping Crimean Tatars to Central Asia.
Some 200,000 Crimean Tatars were deported, accused of collaborating with Nazi Germany during its World War II occupation of the Black Sea peninsula.
Many families returned in the late 1980s but tensions remain high amid lingering distrust and disputes over land ownership.
The United Nations on Friday voiced concern about "serious problems" of harassment and persecution of the community since the annexation.
US Secretary of State John Kerry also denounced fresh rights abuses, saying in a statement: "Murder, beatings and the kidnapping of Crimean Tatars and others have become standard fare."
Tensions have risen between local authorities and the Tatars -- Turkic-speaking Muslims who make up about 12 percent of Crimea's population -- since Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in March.
In a statement on its website the Tatar assembly, the Mejlis, said it had decided to cancel Sunday's ceremony in the regional capital Simferopol.
"No mass rallies will take place in the centre of Simferopol," it said, calling instead for Tatars to gather at religious centres and for smaller ceremonies at the railway station and a city park.
Authorities in Crimea had on Friday banned all public gatherings until June 6 amid fears they would descend into violence.
Tens of thousands usually gather in central Simferopol for the rally, marking the day on May 18, 1944, when Soviet secret police began shipping Crimean Tatars to Central Asia.
Some 200,000 Crimean Tatars were deported, accused of collaborating with Nazi Germany during its World War II occupation of the Black Sea peninsula.
Many families returned in the late 1980s but tensions remain high amid lingering distrust and disputes over land ownership.
The United Nations on Friday voiced concern about "serious problems" of harassment and persecution of the community since the annexation.
US Secretary of State John Kerry also denounced fresh rights abuses, saying in a statement: "Murder, beatings and the kidnapping of Crimean Tatars and others have become standard fare."
14:34
17.5.2014
A couple tweets from the BBC's Mark Lowen:
14:35
17.5.2014
14:36
17.5.2014
14:36
17.5.2014