Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/274183
By Laura Mills The Associated Press MOSCOW » Russia rallied support Friday for a Crimean bid to secede from Ukraine, with Russia's top lawmaker assuring her Crimean counterpart that the region would be welcomed as "an absolutely equal subject of the Russian Feder - ation." Across Red Square, 65,000 people waved Russian flags, chant- ing "Crimea is Russia!" The strategic peninsula in southern Ukraine has become the flashpoint in the battle for Ukraine, where three months of protests sent President Viktor Ya - nukovych fleeing to Russia. Russia calls the new Ukrainian govern- ment illegitimate, and has seized control of Crimea, where it has a major naval base on the Black Sea. Cr i mea's pa rl i a ment h a s called a March 16 referendum on whether the semi-autonomous re - gion should join Russia outright, a move President Barack Obama has called a violation of interna - tional law. Russian President Vladimir Pu- tin said Tuesday that Russia has no intention of annexing Crimea, but Valentina Matvienko, the speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, made clear that the country would welcome Crimea if it votes in the referendum to join its giant neighbor. About 60 per - cent of Crimea's population iden- tifies itself as Russian. "If the decision is made, then (Crimea) will become an abso- lutely equal subject of the Rus- sian Federation," Matvienko said during a visit from the chairman of the Crimean parliament, Vlad- imir Konstantinov. She spoke of mistreatment of Russian-speak- ing residents in Ukraine's east and south, which has been Russia's pri- mary argument for possible inter- vention in Ukraine. The Russian parliament is scrambling to make it easier for Crimea to join Russia. Russia's constitution lets the country an - nex territory only by an agree- ment "initiated... by the given for- eign government." That would en- tail signing an agreement with the new authorities in Kiev, whom Moscow doesn't recognize. New legislation would sidestep that requirement, according to members of parliament, who said a new bill could be passed as soon as next week. Near the parliament building, 65,000 people gathered at a Krem - lin-organized rally in support of Crimea. "We always knew that Russia would not abandon us," Konstan - tinov shouted from the stage. He also called on Moscow not to for- get other Russia-leaning regions. "We must not leave the Ukrai- nian people at the mercy of those Nazi bandits," he said, referring to the new government in Kiev. Heavy presence at vote The referendum will be con- ducted with what Crimean au- thorities have said are more than 11,000 pro-Russian forces in the region. The troops control all ac- cess to the peninsula and have blockaded all Ukrainian military bases that have not yet surren- dered. Russia has denied that its forces are active in Crimea, describing the troops who wear green uni - forms without insignia as local "self-defense forces." But many of the troops, who are armed with ad - vanced heavy weaponry, are being transported by vehicles with Rus- sian license plates. Hoping to pressure Russia to roll back its military presence, the United States imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on Rus - sians and other opponents of the new Kiev government on Thursday. The European Union suspended talks with Russia on a wide-ranging economic agreement and on grant - ing Russian citizens visa-free travel to the 28-nation bloc, a long-stand- ing Russian objective. Russia belittled the moves, with Vladimir Chizhov ,the Russian am- bassador to the EU, telling Rus- sian news agencies: "If someone thinks that they can scare us with such horror stories, then they are deeply mistaken." Crimea would be the first ter - ritory to join Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which broke away from Georgia af - ter a brief 2008 war with Russia, have been recognized as indepen- dent by Moscow, but there have been few serious moves to enable them to join Russia. ukraine Top lawmaker: Russia would welcome Crimea Referendum on bid for secession set; Western threats shrugged off Vadim Ghirda — The associaTed Press Ukrainians, back-dropped by a statue of Ukrainian poet and national symbol Taras shevchenko, pose with the country's flag during a rally against the breakup of the country in simferopol, Ukraine, on Friday. news feed LOS anGeLeS » Dorian Pren- tice Satoshi Nakamoto said Thursday that he is not the creator of bitcoin, adding fur- ther mystery to the story of how the world's most popular digital currency came to be. The denial came af - ter Newsweek published a 4,500-word cover story claiming Nakamoto is the person who wrote the com - puter code underpinnings of bitcoin. In an exclusive two-hour interview with The Associ - ated Press, Nakamoto, 64, denied he had anything to do with it and said he had never heard of bitcoin until his son told him he had been con - tacted by a Newsweek re- porter three weeks ago. Nakamoto acknowledged that many of the details in Newsweek's report are cor - rect. But he strongly dis- puted the magazine's asser- tion that he is "the face be- hind bitcoin." Since bitcoin's birth in 2009, the currency's creator has remained a mystery. The person — or people — be - hind the digital currency's inception have been known only as "Satoshi Nakamoto." — The Associated Press BuSineSS Man said to create bitcoin denies it aLeXanDria, Va. » A judge Friday questioned the viabil- ity of a prosecution against a man accused of conspiring to illegally build hundreds of un- traceable rifle silencers on a no-bid contract, ostensibly for the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6. At a pretrial hearing, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema suggested that there may be classified evi - dence in the case that shows Mark Stuart Landersman, a race-car mechanic from Temecula, had legitimate — but off-the-books — authori - zation from the Navy to build the silencers. "It is intriguing ... that if there is genuine authoriza - tion to obtain this type of weapon under this type of method — off-the-record, off the books — that makes it very difficult" for pros - ecutors to win their case, Brinkema said. Brinkema said the pros- ecution of Landersman is "a unique, one-of-a-kind sit- uation" and said the gov- ernment's pursuit of a con- viction against him may be leading prosecutors "deeper and deeper into a morass that may go nowhere." — The Associated Press COurt Judge: Deal for rifle silencers may be legit raMaLLaH, WeSt Bank » Pal- estinian President Mahmoud Abbas said there is "no way" he will recognize Israel as a Jew- ish state and accept a Palestin- ian capital in just a portion of Israeli-annexed east Jerusa- lem, rebuffing what Palestin- ians fear will be key elements of a U.S. peace proposal. Abbas' comments sig- naled that the gaps between him and Israeli Prime Min- ister Benjamin Netanyahu remain wide after seven months of mediation efforts by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Abbas, whose remarks were published on Friday by the Palestinian news agency WAFA, said he withstood in - ternational pressure in the past, when he sought U.N. rec- ognition of a state of Palestine over Washington's objections. Speaking to youth activ- ists of his Fatah party, he suggested he would stand firm again, particularly over the demand that the Pales - tinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Netanyahu has said such recognition is required as proof that the Palestinians are serious about peace. — The Associated Press MiDDLe eaSt Abbas: No recognition for a Jewish state CaraCaS, VenezueLa » Ven- ezuela is coming under in- creasing international scru- tiny amid violence that most recently killed a National Guardsman and a civilian in a clash at a protest barricade. United Nations human rights experts demanded an - swers Thursday from Vene- zuela's government about the use of violence and impris- onment in a crackdown on widespread demonstrations. The six experts, who re- port to the U.N.'s top human rights body in Geneva, wrote the administration of Presi- dent Nicolas Maduro about allegations of protesters be- ing beaten and in some cases severely tortured by security forces, and taken to military facilities, cut off from com - munication and denied legal help, U.N. officials said. Venezuela's U.N. Mission in Geneva called it part of a disinformation campaign to undermine the government. In Washington, the per - manent council of the Orga- nization of American States met into the early hours of Friday to discuss the situ- ation in Venezuela, without making any decision. — The Associated Press SOutH aMeriCa International scrutiny of Venezuela grows WaSHinGtOn » President Barack Obama is beginning a new effort to help students take the first step toward get - ting a college education. During a visit to a Mi- ami high school on Friday, Obama was announcing a new initiative to help stu- dents complete the Free Ap- plication for Federal Stu- dent Aid, or FAFSA, form. The application is required for students to receive fed- eral student aid, like Pell Grants, or federal student loans. States, colleges and universities also award stu - dent financial aid based on the form. Yet more than 1 million high school seniors annually do not file a FAFSA, the Edu - cation Department says. As part of an effort to broaden access to education, Obama was announcing that, starting in the fall, the Edu - cation Department will begin working with states to iden- tify students who have not completed the form. States can then use that informa- tion to help schools and school districts work with these students on filling out the form. — The Associated Press eDuCatiOn Obama promotes initiative for college VincenT YU — The associaTed Press an election poster reading "march 9 is the election of the 13th supreme People's assembly" is seen Feb. 24 on a window of a building in Pyongyang, north Korea. By eric talmadge The Associated Press tOkYO » North Korean vot- ers will make a choice Sun- day when they elect a new national legislature, but not for a candidate. The ruling elite have already done that for them, and there's only one per district. They get to vote "yes" or "no." Virtually all pick "yes." One thing they don't get to decide is whether to bother voting. Going to the polls is expected of all eligible vot - ers, which effectively makes North Korean elections a powerful tool for checking up on the people. For outsiders trying to figure out what's going on in North Korean politics, Sunday's elections for the Supreme People's Assem - bly may shed some light on what personalities are cur- rently in favor and likely to dominate in the years ahead. For North Korean authorities, the elections provide both a veneer of democracy and a means of monitoring the whereabouts and loyalties of average cit - izens. Colorful posters urging citizens to go to the polls line the streets in Pyong - yang and other cities. Along with nearly 700 other 'depu- ties" expected to be seated in the new assembly, supreme leader Kim Jong Un himself has announced his candi - dacy — in District 111 on sa- cred Mount Paekdu. Official turnout rates in North Korean elections are generally reported at over 99 percent, a practice inspired by the tradition of Stalin's Soviet Union. Sunday's will likely be the same. No drama in North Korea elections aSia NEWS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, March 8, 2014 » more aT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS and TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4