BBC News with Julie Candler
Nato says it's reviewing all ties with Russia because of the continuing crisis in Ukraine. The defence organization announced its decision after meeting with Russian officials in Brussels. From where Matthew Price reports.
The Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the situation in Ukraine presents serious implications for the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. He says Russia continues to violate Ukraine's sovereignty, because of that, the entire range of Nato-Russia cooperation is under review, planning for the first Nato-Russia joint mission has been suspended. Both were to have been involved in putting Syria's chemical weapons beyond use. Other contacts between Nato and Russia will also be stopped, for now Russia's envoy to Nato accused the alliance of applying Cold War stereotype to his country.
The Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has left Paris without talking to members of Ukraine's interim government. Mr. Lavrov met the American Secretary of State John Kerry and European foreign ministers and agreed to continue talks in the coming days. He said that pressure from international bodies such as Nato was not helpful.
“These actions are not helpful in creating atmosphere of dialogue and constructive cooperation. John Kerry admitted that this atmosphere needs to be created that under conditions of threats and ultimatums, it is difficult to work on honest agreements that could help the Ukrainian people to stabilize the situation.”
Later Mr. Kerry told a news conference they had initiated a process that he hoped would lead to a de-escalation in Ukraine.Separately, the Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the crisis in a phone call with the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The United Nations chief representative in Crimea has been forced to cut short his mission after he was threaten by armed men in the regional capital Simferopol. A British television reporter said Robert Serry was trapped in a cafe by a hostile pro-Russian crowd before being escorted to the airport.
The lead investigator in the trial in Egypt to three journalists from the Al Jazeera television network has taken the stand for the first time. The journalists are accused of spreading false news and helping the Muslim Brotherhood which the Egyptian authorities say is a terrorist group. The investigator said that Al-Jazeera's bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy belongs to the Brotherhood because he helped to broadcast news that benefits the group. A defence lawyer, F F said today's testimonies showed that the charges against the three journalists wouldn't stand.
“Today, the session was to hear witness testimonies, and the most important of these testimonies is that of a national security officer who is in charge of investigating the journalists. From the questions directed to him, it could be said that the accusations directed towards these three defendants have completely collapsed.”
World News from the BBC
Thousands of government supporters and troops have marched through Venezuela's capital Caracas to mark the first anniversary of the death of the former President Hugo Chavez. Foreign leaders joined the commemoration. In a speech, President Nicolas Maduro blamed right-wing radicals for the unrest that his country has seen in the last three weeks. Eric Lemus reports.
It was always going to be difficult to replace a charismatic leader like Hugo Chavez. But maybe even President Nicolas Maduro didn't realize how tall an order that was. Mr. Chavez's endorsement won him last year's elections, but only just then he had to fight off accusations of fraud. In today's speech, Mr. Maduro praised the loyalty Venezuelans have shown to their dead leader. Many said the governing party would fall apart after the death of Hugo Chavez. And yes, despite the pressures, potential disputes have been kept well under wraps so far.
The United States says it's frozen more than $450m in assets hidden in European accounts by the former Nigerian leader Sani Abacha and his conspirators. The US Justice Department said that this is the largest action ever to seize funds linked to foreign official corruption. It said the assets were the proceeds of corruption during and after the military leader's time in power.
A theme park in southern England is to close temporally following threats by far-right organizations. The amusement park Legoland near London had been due to host a private fun day organized by the Muslim Research and Development Foundation. But this was cancelled following discussions with police.
Kosovo has played its first international football match 15 years after Nato intervened during the territories fight for independence from Serbia. Kosovo is not officially recognized by football's world governing body Fifa, because it's not a member of the United Nations. The match in Mitrovica against Haiti finished 0-0.