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By Matthew Lee The Associated Press WASHINGTON » Unsuccess- ful with previous threats, the United States and its Euro- pean allies stepped up their pressure on Russia to end its intervention in Ukraine on Monday by imposing the most comprehensive sanc - tions against Russian offi- cials since the Cold War. Acting in concert with Europe, the Obama admin- istration froze the U.S. as- sets of seven Russian offi- cials, including top advisers to President Vladimir Putin, for their support of Crimea's vote to secede from Ukraine, while similar sanctions were imposed on four Ukrainian officials for instigating Sun - day's Crimean referendum. Although the threat of sanctions has failed thus far to persuade Putin to drop support for Crimea's secession and potential en - try into the Russian Feder- ation — or to pull back from threatening military moves near Ukraine's south and east — President Barack Obama said failure to step back now would draw move severe consequences. "If Russia continues to in - terfere in Ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanc- tions," Obama declared at the White House shortly af- ter the penalties were an- nounced. He noted that Vice President Joe Biden would be traveling to Europe late Mon- day to reassure Eastern Eu- ropean leaders of America's commitment to them and that he himself would be go- ing next week on a previously planned trip to make a simi- lar point. Secretary of State John Kerry also is expected in Europe in the coming days. "We'll continue to make clear to Russia that further provocations will achieve nothing except to further isolate Russia and dimin - ish its place in the world," he said. "The international community will continue to stand together to oppose any violations of Ukrainian sov - ereignty and territorial in- tegrity, and continued Rus- sian military intervention in Ukraine will only deepen Russia's diplomatic isolation and exact a greater toll on the Russian economy." But administration critics said Obama's actions were too little to convince Putin of anything. "I think Vladimir Putin must be encouraged by the absolute timidity," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who had just returned from a weekend trip to Kiev. "I don't know how it could have been weaker, besides doing nothing — seven people being sanctioned after naked aggression has taken place." WOrLd U.S., Europe order Russia sanctions By Maria danilova The Associated Press KIEV, UKrAINE » Russian President V ladimir P u- tin recognized Crimea as a "sovereign and indepen- dent countr y " Monday, just hours after the strate- gic Black Sea peninsula de- clared it had broken away from Ukraine. The moves triggered the toughest Western sanctions against Russia since the Cold War — with Washington and the European Union retali - ating with asset freezes and travel bans and U.S. Presi- dent Barack Obama vow- ing to "in- crea se the c o s t " i f the K rem - lin does not back down. Ukraine's turmoil has become Eu - rope's most severe secu- rity crisis in years and ten- sions have been high since Russian troops seized con- trol of Crimea, which de- cided in a Sunday referen- dum to merge with Russia. Putin signed a decree rec- ognizing Crimea's indepen- dence, and Russian troops were massed near the bor- der with Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's acting presi- dent raised tensions on the ground by calling for the ac- tivation of some 20,000 mil- itary reservists and volun- teers across the country and for the mobilization of an- other 20,000 in the recently formed national guard. In the Crimean capital of Simferopol, ethnic Russians applauded the Sunday refer - endum that overwhelmingly called for secession and for joining Russia. Masked men in body armor blocked ac - cess for most journalists to the parliament session that declared independence, but the city otherwise appeared to go about its business nor - mally. T h e U. S . , E U a n d Ukraine's new government do not recognize the ref - erendum held Sunday in Crimea, which was called hastily as Ukraine's politi- cal crisis deepened with the ouster of pro-Russia Presi- dent Viktor Yanukovych fol- lowing months of protests and sporadic bloodshed. In addition to calling the vote itself illegal, the Obama ad - ministration said there were "massive anomalies" in bal- loting that returned a 97 percent "yes" vote for join- ing Russia. Moscow considers the vote legitimate and Putin was to address both houses of parliament Tuesday on the Crimean situation. In Kiev, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov vowed that Ukraine will not give up Crimea. "W e ar e rea dy fo r ne g ot i - ations, but we will never re- sign ourselves to the annex- ation of our land," a somber- faced Turchynov said in a televised address to the na- tion. "We will do everything in order to avoid war and the loss of human lives. We will be doing everything to solve the conflict through diplo - matic means. But the mil- itary threat to our state is real." The Crimean referendum could also encourage rising pro-Russian sentiment in Ukraine's east and lead to further divisions in this na - tion of 46 million. UKrAINE Crimea 'sovereign and independent,' says Putin Bold declaration over Ukraine's breakaway region as West swi\ly retaliates Andrei Udovichenko — The AssociATed Press Ukrainian troops with white bands on their sleeves march past an unmarked russian military vehicle outside a military base in Perevalne, crimea, Ukraine, on Monday. PAblo MArTinez MonsivAis — The AssociATed Press President barack obama pauses while speaking about Ukraine on Monday in the James brady Press briefing room at the White house in Washington. Putin lAi seng sin — The AssociATed Press People holding balloons pose next to a message reading "Pray for Mh370" during an event for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, in kuala lumpur, Malaysia, on Monday. By Ian Mader The Associated Press KUALA LUMPUr, MALAySIA » Officials revealed a new timeline Monday suggest- ing the final voice trans- mission from the cockpit of the missing Malaysian plane may have occurred before any of its communi - cations systems were dis- abled, adding more uncer- tainty about who aboard might have been to blame. The search for Flight 370, which vanished early March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, has now been expanded deep into the northern and southern hemispheres. Australian vessels scoured the southern Indian Ocean and China offered 21 of its satellites to help Malaysia in the unprecedented hunt. With no wreckage found in one of the most puzzling aviation mysteries of all time, relatives of those on the Boeing 777 have been left in an agonizing limbo. Investigators say the plane was deliberately di - verted during its overnight flight and flew off-course for hours. They haven't ruled out hijacking, sabotage, or pilot suicide, and they are checking the backgrounds of the 227 passengers and 12 crew members, as well as the ground crew, to see if links to terrorists, personal problems or psychological issues could be factors. Malaysian Defense Min - ister Hishammuddin Hus- sein said finding the plane was still the main focus. "The fact that there was no distress signal, no ransom notes, no parties claiming re - sponsibility, there is always hope," Hishammuddin said. Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said an initial investigation in - dicated that the last words heard from the plane by ground controllers — "All right, good night" — were spoken by the co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid. Had it been a voice other than that of Fariq or the pilot, Zaha - rie Ahmad Shah, it would have clearest indication yet of something amiss in the cockpit before the flight went off-course. Malaysian officials said earlier that those words came after one of the jetlin - er's data communications systems — the Aircraft Communications Address- ing and Reporting System — had been switched off, suggesting the voice from the cockpit may have been trying to deceive ground controllers. However, Amhad said that while the last data transmission from ACARS — which gives plane perfor - mance and maintenance in- formation — came before that, it was still unclear at what point the system was switched off, making any implications of the timing murkier. Uncertainty about jet's timeline of contacts Ocean search radius expands as timing of jet's final communications gets revised MALAySIA By Esam Mohamed The Associated Press TrIPOLI, LIByA » U.S. Navy SEALs seized an oil tanker off the Mediterranean is- land of Cyprus, stopping an attempt by a Libyan militia to sell the shipload of crude in defiance of the Libyan gov- ernment. Supporters of the militia, which calls for au- tonomy for the eastern half of Libya, vowed Monday to try again to export oil again from the ports they control. The attempted sale of the oil — Libya's most cru - cial resource — was a stark symbol of the weakness of Libya's central govern- ment, which has been un- able to impose its author- ity over the North African nation since the ouster and killing of longtime strong- man Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Power in the coun- try has fragmented among multiple, heavily armed mi- litias, most of them region- ally based. The tanker, Morning Glory, was seized late Sun- day by U.S. Navy comman- dos in international waters off Cyprus, the Pentagon said in a statement. Rear Adm. John Kirby said no one was injured in the operation, which was approved by Pres - ident Barack Obama. WOrLd Libya tanker seized by Navy SEALs forces 327 Walnut St., Red Bluff (530) 529-4004 Voted Best Carpet / Floor Covering Store in Tehama County. DALE'S CARPET & DESIGN Barlow Insurance Agency 1106 Main St. Red Bluff Cell (530) 366-0147 sbarlow@farmersagent.com Fast Free Phone Quotes Seth Barlow Insurance Agent License OH89548 Auto•Home•Business•Workers' Compensation Low Cost Insurance & Personal Service J. C. Olander,Attorney U C Davis School of Law 1985 Bankruptcy and Estate Planning are my Specialties! 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