Top level talks between the United States and Russiato try to ease the crisis over Ukraine have ended instalemate. After hours of discussions in London, theRussian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said therehad been no common vision with his US counterpart John Kerry. Speaking through aninterpreter, Mr. Lavrov said a referendum on Sunday in Crimea on whether to join Russiashould go ahead on schedule.
We have repeated our position that was expressed by the President of the Russian Federation.We will respect the will of people of Crimea. That would be expressed at the referendum on the16th of March.
Mr. Kerry warned that if the vote went ahead, there will be sanctions. The two men agreed tostay in touch. But the BBC diplomatic correspondent says the tone of their meetingsuggests the crisis is deepening, raising tension to levels not seen since end of the Cold War.
The governor of the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk says Russians were behind theviolence that broke out between rival demonstrators on Thursday leaving one man dead. Hedismissed as a distortion of Russian government's statement blaming the clashes on Ukraine.From Donetsk, here is Steve Rosenberg.
Russia's foreign ministry claimed that pro-Moscow demonstrators had been set upon byfar-right activists backed by the government in Kiev. But the governor of Donetsk region SergeiTaruta told me that none of that corresponded to reality. He accused Russians of aggressiverhetoric. It is a war of words which erupted in violence yesterday, and there is concern here,that there could be more unrest in the coming days.
Information is emerging that the Malaysian Airlines plane missing since Saturday continued tosend routine alternative signals at least 5 hours after it was reported lost. The BBC haslearned that the signals were received by a satellite company based in London. A BBCcorrespondent says there is no way they could have been sent unless the plane was intactand had power. He said the information should make it possible to calculate an approximateposition for the aircraft.
The competence of South Africa's police has come under the spotlight at the murder trial ofthe athlete Oscar Pristorius.Andrew Harding reports from Pretoria.
Under cross examination, the first officer to arrive at Oscar Pristorius' home was obliged toacknowledge a series of basic errors. The athlete's gun was handled without protective gloves.At least one of his expensive watches were stolen from his bedroom before the forensic teamshad even finished their work. Evidence was moved around, it was even alleged the police hadlied in their statements about the time a key detective had arrived. The athlete's lawyers haveraised some serious questions today about the police's handling of the crime scene, but thejudge will have to decide whether the prosecution's case has been undermined.
World News from the BBC.
Venezuela's Foreign Minister Elias Jaua has accused the American Secretary of State John Kerryof inciting violence in his country, calling him a murderer. Mr. Jaua was responding tocomments Mr. Kerry made on Thursday when he accused the Venezuelan government ofwaging a terror campaign against its own people in response to opposition protests.Twenty-eight people have died since the unrest began over a month ago.
An Indian diplomat has again been indicted in the United States on charges of visa fraud andlying about how much she paid a domestic worker. The move reopens a case that has sparkeda bitter diplomatic row. Nick Bryant reports.
Just 2 days after a judge dismissed her case on the grounds that she enjoyed diplomaticimmunity. Devyani Khobragade has been re-indicted on the same charges as before. India'sdeputy consul in New York at the time of her arrest last year, her case caused uproar backhome, particularly because she was strip searched after being apprehended. She has pleadednot guilty to lying to the American government to get her Indian housekeeper a work visa andalso to underpaying her. Her diplomatic immunity no longer applies because she's back inIndia.
The Panama Canal authority has approved a deal to settle a dispute over cost overruns thatdelayed a project to widen the water way. The Spanish-led construction consortium and thecanal authority will each invest an extra 100 million dollars in the scheme which is due to becompleted next year.
The French footballer, Nicolas Anelka has announced that he is leaving his English club WestBromwich Albion with immediate effect. Anelka was suspended for 5 matches for what wasdeemed a racially aggravated goal celebration. He performed the quenelle salute which manyconsidered to be anti-Semitic. In a post on Twitter, Anelka said the club had imposed conditionshe couldn't accept.
And that's the latest BBC World News.