BBC News:莫斯科人集会支持克里米亚加入俄罗斯
There are reports of a tense standoff between armedmen believed to be Russian soldiers and Ukrainianforces at a base just outside the Crimean city ofSevastopol. Christian Fraser has been outside thebase.
We've been to, looks like a very tense situation at the base. There are two trucks that belongto the Black Sea fleet, it has been maneuvering in front of the gates, so we don't know whatthey're trying to do, and there is a crowd of sort of people there who are pretty hostile, um,we understand that some journalists get out of the car and take photographs, now our reportsay they've probably been beaten, so we try to keep a very late presence, it looks quite atense situation, you can imagine what the Ukrainian soldiers must have been going throughinside, because at the moment, the gates are still locked, but there is no sign of the base, thatwe've been to that they've driven through that gates.
Russian parliamentarians have given a standing ovation to a delegation of politicians fromCrimea, promising support if they wanted to become part of Russia. Thousands of people haverallied in Moscow in support of the government' s moves in Crimea. Richard Galpin was out thedemonstration.
Today, thousands of people attended a rally outside the Kremlin here in Moscow in support ofthe government's plan to annex Crimea. In parliament nearby, MPs had earlier given a warmwelcome to a delegation of Crimean politicians who are now putting in place plans for areferendum in the region in just nine days time. Assuming the vote is in favor of becoming partof Russia, then a few days later, the Russian parliament will start debating legislation to try tomake it legal.
In Crimean itself, there is a growing unease among the regions of indigenous Tatarpopulation at the prospect of joining Russia. A BBC correspondent in the town of B saysskinheads with baseball bats have been seen marking Tatars' houses with crosses.
A French newspaper says it's uncovered evidence, suggesting that the former PresidentNicolas Sarkozy tried to tamper with the judicial system. Le Monde says the allegations came tolight when Mr. Sarkozy's phone was tapped. Hugh Schofield reports.
A complicated affair this, the central point of which is that for the last year, Mr. Sarkozy hasapparently had his phone tapped. According to Le Monde newspaper, what investigatorsdiscovered from the phone taps was that Mr. Sarkozy was getting inside information aboutvarious inquiries from a senior prosecutor at the appeals court, this prosecutor, it's claimed,nearing retirement, wanted a job as a state councillor in the Monaco and in return for his help,Mr. Sarkozy personally took steps to try to secure that job.
Mr. Sarkozy denies all the allegations. And his lawyer says the phone taps were illegal.
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The former Turkish military chief, Ilker Basbug has been released from a life sentence, imposedfor conspiring to overthrow the government. In a televised statement, he said the Turkishnation had understood that he and other convicted officers had nothing to do with plottingcoups. He called for justice against those who'd had him locked up for more than two years.From Istanbul S G reports.
General Basbug's release could prove a turning point in the so-called Ergenekon trials in Turkeywhich have seen dozens of senior officers, lawyers and journalists jailed. General Basbug wasconvicted of plotting to overthrow the government last year. But on Thursday, Turkey's topcourt decided that the correct trial procedures had been followed. The trials were seen as partof a long-running battle by the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tame Turkey's powerfularmed forces.
Diplomatic sources say South Africa has expelled three Rwandan diplomats in connection withan attack earlier this week on the home of an exiled Rwandan dissident. General KayumbaNyamwasa was not at his home at the time. The property was damaged and a computer andsome documents were taken. Rwanda has reportedly expelled six South African diplomats inresponse. General Nyamwasa was earlier shot in South Africa but survived the attack.
The Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that he and his Cabinet will take a paycut to bring down the government's wage bill. President Kenyatta said that he and his deputywill take a 20% cut in salary, correspondents say the issue of politician's pay is a highlysensitive one in Kenya.
Saudi Arabia has designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. Two Jihadistgroups fighting in the rebel side in Syria, the Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and theLevant were also named as terrorist groups by the interior ministry. The Muslim Brotherhood isalready banned in Saudi Arabia.
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