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By Mike Corder The Associated Press BRUSSELS » European Union lead- ers said Thursday they will hit more people with a travel ban and asset freeze, closing in on Presi- dent Vladimir Putin's inner circle to punish him in the escalating cri- sis over the Russian annexation of the Crimea peninsula. They also announced plans to scrap a scheduled EU-Russia sum - mit in June as part of the intensi- fying standoff over Ukraine, which has turned into one of the biggest political crisis in Europe since the Cold War. "We need to prepare to take fur - ther steps and we need to do it to- gether," said Swedish Prime Min- ister Fredrik Reinfeldt. "A strong Europe is the last thing that Pu- tin wants. He wants to split us up." Chancellor Angela Merkel said beyond increasing the number of Russians and Crimeans affected by asset freezes and travel bans — initially at 21 politicians and military commanders — the lead - ers would prepare stronger mea- sures for future use, which would include economic sanctions and an arms embargo. As Europe promised to get tougher, President Barack Obama announced the United States is also levying a new round of sanc - tions on individuals in Russia. Rus- sia hit back, imposing entry bans on nine U.S. lawmakers and offi- cials in response to Washington's sanctions. President Dalia Grybauskaite of Lithuania said the EU would not be far behind the United States. "It is already time to target the close circle of Putin," she said. "This list is not yet large enough and sufficient and is very low- level." The final number of officials was expected late Thursday. Beyond punishing Russia on Thursday, the EU also wanted to show backing for Ukraine, which lost Crimea to Moscow on Tues - day. British Prime Minster David Cameron said the two-day sum- mit would also focus on strength- ening Ukraine's fledgling govern- ment, calling on the 28 EU nations' need to bolster the new Ukrainian authorities with political commit- ments and economic aid. Ukraine's Prime Minister Ar- seniy Yatsenyuk will sign a polit- ical agreement Friday with EU leaders, underscoring Europe's commitment to the new leader- ship in Kiev. Speaking to France-24 televi- sion from Brussels, he called the agreement "the first big tremen- dous step to make Ukraine really a part of big Europe." "We do understand that this is only the first step," Yatsenyuk said. "But this will pave the way to real reforms ... that my country urgently needs." Despite the tough talk, there also is concern in Europe about in - flicting too much economic dam- age as the continent crawls out of a crippling financial crisis. The EU is Moscow's biggest trading partner, and Russia is the EU's third-largest partner, mostly thanks to exports of raw materi - als such as oil and gas. Because of the multi-billion trade exchanges, any step toward economic sanc- tions will not be taken lightly. "The Russian economy is al- ready hurt by what Putin is doing," Reinfeldt said, adding that a spree of retaliatory sanctions would hurt everyone. "We need to prepare ourselves and that means, of course, hurting ourselves in a way," he said. Russia: No hand on Ukraine Meanwhile, Russia's defense chief assured Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Thursday that Russian forces along Ukraine's eastern border have no intention of crossing into Ukrainian territory. A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby, said Ha - gel discussed Ukraine with De- fense Minister Sergei Shoigu in an hour-long phone conversation. "Secretar y Hagel appreci- ated Minister Shoigu's time and the minister's assurance that the troops he has arrayed along the border are there to conduct ex - ercises only, that they had no in- tention of crossing the border into Ukraine and that they would take no aggressive action," Kirby said. UkRainE EU targets Putin's inner circle, scraps summit Sergei Chuzavkov — The aSSoCiaTed PreSS Pro-russia demonstrators holding a russian flag, with the ukrainian emblem in the background, stand on the balcony of the regional administrative building aer storming it on March 5 in donetsk, ukraine. news feed WaSHinGTOn » More than 20,000 taxpayers have been targeted by fake Internal Revenue Service agents in the largest phone scam the agency has ever seen, the IRS inspector general said Thurs - day. Thousands of victims have lost a total of more than $1 million. As part of the scam, fake IRS agents call taxpayers, claim they owe taxes, and demand payment using a prepaid debit card or a wire transfer. Those who refuse are threatened with arrest, deportation or loss of a busi - ness or driver's license, said J. Russell George, Treasury inspector general for tax ad- ministration. Real IRS agents usually contact people first by mail, George said. And they don't demand payment by debit card, credit card or wire transfer. The inspector general's of - fice started receiving com- plaints about the scam in Au- gust. Immigrants were the primary target early on, the IG's office said. But the scam has since become more wide - spread. — The Associated Press CRiME IRS watchdog: Phone scam is largest ever WaSHinGTOn » The unem- ployment rate for veterans who served since 2001 dipped slightly in 2013 to 9 percent, the Labor Department re - ported Thursday. That's down from 9.9 percent the year be- fore, but well above overall civilian unemployment levels of around 7 percent over the same period. The youngest veterans, aged 18-24, posted an ultra- high jobless rate of 21.4 per - cent, said the agency's Bu- reau of Labor Statistics in its annual review of unem- ployment among former members of the armed ser- vices. The report documents that, despite training and job skills acquired in the mili - tary, young veterans of re- cent conflicts have gener- ally encountered more dif- ficulty in finding work than civilians. Veterans with the high- est unemployment numbers served in the military after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror at- tacks. For all veterans, the un- employment rate was 6.6 percent in 2013, down from 7 percent the year before. — The Associated Press vETERanS Vets' unemployment edges down, still high aRLinGTOn, viRGinia » A Guantanamo Bay prisoner who denies U.S. allegations that he's a former member of al-Qaida says he wants to go home to Yemen and live a peaceful life after 12 years at the military prison in Cuba. Speaking through a mili - tary representative, Ali Ah- mad al-Razihi told a prisoner review board Thursday he wants to return to his home town, get married and build his father's fruit and vegeta - ble business. "He's ready to live out the rest of his days as a peace- ful man, a family man and an entrepreneur and no lon- ger should be considered a continued significant threat to the United States," said a representative. A U.S. government state - ment read at the hearing said that a couple of years before his December 2001 capture, al-Razihi traveled to Afghan - istan, "where he almost cer- tainly joined and trained with al-Qaida " and that later he "almost certainly provided lo- gistical support at al-Qaida guest houses" and may have been a body guard to Osama bin Laden. — The Associated Press CUBa Guantanamo prisoner asks to return to Yemen kaBUL, afGHaniSTan » Four gunmen opened fire in a lux- ury hotel frequented by for- eigners in the Afghan capital Thursday, prompting guests and staff members to take refuge in the basement as se - curity forces killed the assail- ants in a three-hour standoff, officials said. The attack began around 6 p.m. and bursts of gunfire could be heard from inside the Serena hotel as Afghan troops cordoned off the area. The Taliban claimed re - sponsibility, saying its fight- ers targeted foreigners and dignitaries gathered at the hotel for a celebration mark- ing the Persian new year, Nowruz. A hotel worker named Gu- lam Ali told his brother over his cellphone that all the guests and staff members had taken refuge in the base - ment. Interior Ministry spokes- man Sediq Sediqqi described the attackers as young men who appeared to be about 18 years old and said all had been killed. The gun - men sneaked pistols into the heavily guarded hotel by hid- ing them in their socks. — The Associated Press afGHaniSTan Four gunmen killed in attack on luxury hotel WaSHinGTOn » The Pentagon has launched three separate reviews on how military med- als are awarded, in the face of broad criticism over the in- ability to recognize heroism in incidents such as the Fort Hood shootings and aborted plans to create a new award for drone pilots. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel signed a letter Thurs - day formally ordering a com- prehensive yearlong study in military awards, saying it will primarily focus on whether the department adequately recognizes all levels of com - bat valor and if the award processes are appropriate. In comments to Congress last week, Hagel said that as the U.S. comes out of its lon - gest war, it's an appropriate time to do a complete review of all military decorations. "As we scale back com - bat operations in Afghani- stan at the end of this year, it is imperative that we use the lessons learned from 13 years of combat experi - ence to improve the Depart- ment of Defense decorations and awards program," Hagel said in his letter to the Joint Chiefs Thursday. — The Associated Press HEROiSM Pentagon reviews will focus on military medals By Jeffrey Collins The Associated Press fORT BRaGG, n.C. » The Army general at the center of a sex- ual misconduct case that put the military justice system it- self on trial was spared prison Thursday and sentenced to a reprimand and a $20,000 fine — a punishment legal experts, members of Congress and women's advocates decried as shockingly light. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sin - clair, 51, immediately an- nounced his retirement, cap- ping a humiliating fall for the battle-tested commander once regarded as a rising star in the Army. A disciplinary board could still bust him in rank and severely reduce his pension. "The system worked. I've al - ways been proud of my Army," Sinclair said outside court af- ter reacting to his sentence with a smile and an embrace of his lawyers. "All I want to do now is go north and hug my kids and my wife." The former deputy com - mander of the storied 82nd Airborne Division was origi- nally brought up on sexual as- sault charges punishable by life in prison. He was believed to be the highest-ranking U.S. military officer ever court- martialed on such charges. But earlier this week, prose - cutors dropped those charges midway through the trial in a deal in which Sinclair pleaded guilty to committing adultery with one woman and conduct- ing inappropriate relationships with two others by asking them for nude pictures and exchang- ing sexually explicit email. While the charges against Sinclair carried a maximum of more than 20 years in prison, the plea bargain called for no more than 18 months. Under the sexual assault charges, Sinclair was accused of twice forcing a female cap - tain to perform oral sex and threatening to kill her if she told anyone about their three- year adulterous affair in Iraq and Afghanistan. The case started to crum - ble as Sinclair's lawyers ham- mered away at the woman's credibility and raised ques- tions about whether Sin- clair's commander improp- erly pressed ahead with a trial because of political con- siderations — namely, a desire to show the Army's resolve to combat sexual misconduct. MiLiTaRy General spared prison in sex case NEWS » redbluffdailynews.com friday, March 21, 2014 » More aT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS aNd TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4