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BBC News with Julie Candler
Ukraine's Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov has given pro-Russian militants who've occupied government buildings in the east of the country until Monday morning to leave. He said otherwise, the armed forces would launch what he described as a full-scale anti-terrorist operation. Mr. Turchynov said in a live televised address that he would not allow a repetition of what happened in Crimea which was annexed by Russia last month. Our correspondent in Sloviansk Gabriel Gatehouse says that's a concern for many Ukrainians.
What some Ukrainians have been calling, the “little green men”, with very big guns, taking over state institutions especially we've seen that happening in Sloviansk, we've seen that happening in some other towns as well. And for some people that is a very worrying parallel indeed. But I've just been inside that main police station in Sloviansk which has been held by protesters. Some of them armed, some of them not, and for them, the parallel is altogether different, their parallel is with Maidan— Kiev Independence Square, and what the protesters did there back in February.
Russia has strongly condemned Ukrainian plans to deploy the armed forces in eastern Ukraine. Russian foreign ministry said the Ukrainian government was waging a war against its own people. At Russia's request, the United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the crisis in Ukraine in a few hours' time. The United States ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said the events in eastern Ukraine bore the whole mark of Moscow's influence.
“It has all the telltale signs of what we saw in Crimea. It's professional, it's coordinated. There is nothing grassroots seeming about it. The forces are doing in each of the six or seven cities that they've been active in exactly the same thing, so certainly, it bears the telltale signs of Moscow's involvement. ”
A huge forest fire in Chile's historic port city of Valparaiso has killed at least 11 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. More than 10,000 people have been evacuated including 200 prisoners. The Chilean President Michelle Bachelet who's in Valparaiso to oversee the relief effort, said it could be the worst fire in the city's history.
Images have an impact, this is a tremendous tragedy, possibly the worst fire in the history of Valparaiso, and everyone knows very well the impact. This is having on the lives of so many and all of the city. At this time, we know that 11 people have died, but in the next crucial hours, this figure could increase.
President Bashir al-Assad of Syria has said that the three-year-old civil war in his country is turning in the government's favor. During a visit to the Faculty of Political Sciences in Damascus, Mr. Assad said that his army was defeating what he called terrorists who've been seeking to overthrow him. He also said the government was having more success at national reconciliation.
World News from the BBC
Partial results from the presidential election in Afghanistan showed that a former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah is in the lead, with 10% of ballots counted. Dr. Abdullah has nearly 42% of the vote. His closest rival is a former finance minister Ashraf Ghani. David Loyn reports from Kabul.
This partial released results may not have finalized who's won the Afghan election, but it has made clear who lost. There were 8 candidates on the election day, and none came close to the leaders Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani. The third place Zalmai Rassoul admitted that he was out of the race. But the two leaders, each with around 40% of the votes counted, both claimed that they will win more than 50% when the final count comes in next month. Dr. Abdullah told the BBC that he was ahead in the 8 provinces that have not yet been counted. Dr. Ghani too, was confident.
The people of Guinea-Bissau have voted to elect a new president and members of parliament. The poll was intended to draw a line under a military coup in the west African state in 2012. A BBC reporter in the capital Bissau said turnout appeared to be high as he saw long queues at polling stations. He said there'd been no reported problems or incidents of violence. No elected leader has ever served a full term in Guinea-Bissau since it gained independence from Portugal in 1974.
Libya's Interim Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni is stepping down just days after being confirmed in the post. He made the decision after he and his family were the victims of an armed attack, saying he did not want to be the cause of bloodshed amongst Libyans' fighting over who should be premier.
Saudi Arabia says it has foiled two attempts to smuggle into the country illegal drugs from Bahrain. An interior ministry spokesman said five Saudi nationals and one Bahraini have been arrested with more than 22 million amphetamine pills. The drugs were hidden inside coils of barbed wire and rolls of plastic.
BBC News
